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My parents then moved to the big city of Toledo. Both had jobs, my mother a telephone operator, my father a laborer. They rented an apartment with new furniture. Then the Big Depression hit in late 1929, when they lost everything, and were forced to move back to the old Homestead, where I was born in 1930. My father and his brother worked at the Sugar Beet Factory. |
We moved to Fremont, Ohio, and later to Tiffin. H became manager of a Kroger Grocery Store. We rented a house in Tiffin, and a few years later we moved to a new colonial house. My father convinced the bank manager to allow the rent paid to become the down payment to purchase the house. This procedure had never been done. Several years later he owned the house. This is now a common practice for banks. |
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During WW2 several Italian families arrived in Tiffin, where they endured much prejudice. My father hired a young Italian woman as a clerk in the grocery. She did well, everyone liked her, and soon all the prejudices disappeared. After that, once a week we received a huge tureen of delicious spaghetti and meatballs from the Italian grandma. During WW2, from 1941-1945, on the short main street in the small town of Tiffin Ohio, there was much bartering. All the shopkeepers were friends. My father traded the “hard to get” bananas, sugar, coffee, and steaks for nylons and shoes from the shoe store; same for clothes from Staub’s Clothing, as well as Cheney’s Restaurant for meals and chocolate sundaes for the kids. |
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There was a shortage of men due to the war. My father trained my mother to be a butcher when she worked in the grocery store. On Saturday night they worked until 10pm, so we kids were allowed to eat dinner at Cheney’s and go to a movie at the local Ritz Theater. (See pictures below of the Ritz Theater in Tiffin Ohio, taken August 2016) Our favorite movie was “Mrs. Miniver”, and we memorized all the dialogue and were able to act out the entire movie. At that time the draft rules were changed and men with families up to age 39 were to be drafted. My father missed being drafted by two days! I could never imagine him holding a gun or shooting another human being. |
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My father then left Kroger, after buying two small factories that made tiles for farmers’ fields. He invented “brick crete”, which was concrete bricks colored like clay bricks. His brother Neil managed the Ottawa factory, and he managed the one in Findlay. They both did well. This led to my father’s new business. He used brick crete first to build a house for our family. It was a beautiful ranch style home with heated floors, even in the connected garage, especially nice in the winter. After an article about brick crete was published in the Findlay newspaper, people began knocking on the door wanting him to build a house. He bought all the open land around us and built two long streets of houses that sold like hot cakes. He became friends with every family. |
During this time in Findlay, my sister Nancy had a Junior High School friend who spent time at our house almost every day. “Wink” Hollenback had no father, a working mother and sister, and had no real home life. At this time, my father was building the brick crete houses on our street, and because Wink followed him around every day, my dad said I am going to hire you as my “personal assistant”. My dad became his father figure, taught him about working, and helped him to feel needed. They were together every day for several years. My mother made him feel like part of our family, including him for a good dinner every night. She was known for always having plenty of food ready for everyone, including homemade noodles and cinammon rolls. Years later he visited my parents in California, along with his wife and children. He thanked them, saying “You saved my life.” |
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My father still thought Japanese people were our enemies and used the term “Japs”. That all changed when he met John, the Japanese gardener who worked for several families in the neighborhood. Once they met, they became friends. John and his parents had been confined in an internment camp during WWII. He was an American citizen. John stopped to visit every day, and they enjoyed a beer together. My father never used the word “Japs” again. Later when my father was in a nursing home, John visited him every day. When my father died, he left his golf clubs to John. Speaking of golf, my father had never played golf. After finally retiring in his 60’s he started playing. He was a natural. Ted, my father-in-law, had been the Director of Athletics at Heidelberg College in Tiffin, Ohio, and tried to teach him, but he had his own way of playing. After a few months playing regularly, he hit a hole-in-one! Ted never recovered from that. My father was the head of our family. He and my mother were always there for us. They adjusted to California living and my father finally did REALLY retire. We enjoyed frequent Sunday dinners at their house. He often treated the entire family to dinner at our two favorite restaurants, Anthony’s Fish Grotto and the Chuck Wagon. Every holiday at their house we would watch him carve a ham or turkey or barbeque pork chops. Every Christmas there would be gifts from him for everyone. He was a good shopper with good taste, especially for the ladies. We bought them a small electric organ and learned my mother could play “by ear”. My father loved to listen to her play. My father mentored Ray and helped him build a successful contracting business. Ray’s son Tom helped his father as a boy, and later inherited and continued the business. My father started painting charming landscapes and still lifes that included farmhouses, barns, and snow scenes. These pictures are now on the walls of our homes. |
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My husband Richard Kirby Turney died in 1971 in a scuba diving accident at the age of 41. My children were 18, 13, and 9 years of age. I began working full time at Home Federal Savings & Loan. Every day my father delivered a big bag of chocolate donuts, enough for everyone. All my co-workers loved him. During this time my parents provided backup support. If I had a sick child, they went to Grandma’s and soon felt better with her “magic” afghan and “magic tea cup”. My father picked up Ted my son every day from school and delivered him to his job. Laurie was attending Junior College, and Carrie was in 4th Grade. My father became Ted’s father figure. They mowed the lawn and took care of the pool. I would come home from work to find a note on the kitchen table “Home made Soup on the Stove and Cinnamon Rolls on the Counter”. He helped the grandkids when buying cars. He shopped around and dickered for the best deal, and often got “two for one” deals. He also taught me how to do my own dickering! My father-in-law died in 1979, my father in 1988, my brother-in-law in 1995, my mother in 1996, my mother-in-law in 1997, and my sister in 2004. I will always miss them all! I am proud to say that I helped to take care of all of them during their final days. |
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