My Dad

A lot of my family photos were damaged in a fire. The few that I have tend to be damaged so they live in an envelope up in the loft. The following photos are a tribute to my dear darling Daddy.

Most of the early photos will have been taken in Elcho, Wisconsin. This is my dad's mother, Julia holding her first born up for the photo.
This another one of my dad as a baby. I guess he is about one as he seems pretty unsteady and needs to hold on to the highchair.

He seems to be a bit of a show-off even way back then.

As I mentioned, my dad is the first born of his family. His arrival in the world was followed by his sister, my Aunt Mary Ellen. Good pose there Don!

After seeing the appearance of a sister, my dad watches as his parents produce two more children, my Uncle Jim and Uncle Paul. This is the most damaged of all the photos, but it is so darling, I couldn't bring myself to throw it out. From left to right: Don, Paul and Jim.

My dad and his brother Jim seemed to have the closest relationship. Indeed Dad was always going to visit his brother Jim. When Jim got married, it was he, our Aunt Joyce and their children Mike, Paul and Steve that we saw the most. Sadly both my Uncle Jim and Uncle Paul are no longer with us. They are greatly missed.

As you can see from the very damaged photo of the three boys above, fishing took up a lot of leisure time both in the summer and winter (ice fishing - yuck!) The other activity that seems to go hand in hand with fishing in Northern Wisconsin is hunting. My Grandpa (left) and Dad with a couple of nice fat deer. They're posing outside the garage behind the family home in Elcho.

Children grow up, as children do. They learn manners, join the military and then they get girlfriends or boyfriends. After that they get married and have children of their own. From left to right, Dad, Mary Ellen, Jim and Paul.

My parents had moved into my grandparent's home in Wisconsin as my dad had just left the army. My mother went and had their first baby while staying there. Me! The above photo are the shell shocked new parents. Doesn't my mom have great legs? She's looking pretty glam for having just had a baby. This is my dad back in 1965. My Uncle Jim can be seen on the left edge of this photo. I can't help but think that Dad looks a bit like Drew Carey. These are the oldest photos I have of my dad. He had a birthday this week. Happy Birthday Dad. I love you. Peg