Month: June 2013

Diary

In Osceola For The Fourth

by Editorial Team
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On Saturday, June 30, Dale and family drove from Muscatine to Osceola.  Dale wrote, “Got to Mother’s at 5 p.m.  Went uptown at night.  Kids went to a show at night.”  Above: Dalene (with long hair) and Dale (with cigar) in 1951.
Diary

Early Computer Days

by Editorial Team
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In Minneapolis on Monday, June 29, 1959, Dale wrote, “Cool, high 63°.  Went to a store in St. Paul and bought Dalene some shoes.  Stan’s first day on his Santa Monica job.  He called at night to ask about his work history.  Helen and I looked up in my old diaries for his record of jobs.”  I needed that information for a security clearance questionnaire.  Above: the control console of the IBM AN/FSQ-7, the first computer I learned to program.  It filled a large room, employed vacuum tube technology, and was used by the Air Force SAGE system in the North American air defense program.
Diary

Ready For Vacation

by Editorial Team
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In Minneapolis on Friday, June 28, 1957, Dale wrote, “McCumber at the warehouse with me to take over next Monday for three weeks while I’m on vacation.  Stan came home about 7 p.m. from Muscatine.  Dalene, Sharon, and I went to a show.”  McCumber was a co-worker.  Sharon was Dalene’s friend.
Diary

1946 Dodge

by Editorial Team
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In Muscatine on Saturday, June 27, 1953, Dale wrote, “Helen and Dalene and I looked at a 1946 Dodge.  No deal.  Wind and rainstorm at night.  Lights went off for several hours.  To bed late.”
Diary

Stan The Lab Tech

by Editorial Team
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In Minneapolis on Wednesday, June 26, 1957, Dale wrote, “I mowed the back yard after work.  Stanley got a fulltime job at General Mills, starting next Monday, as Radiation Physics Laboratory Technician.  We are all pretty pleased about it.  He went to Muscatine to see Sue Timm.”  Above: General Mills Central Research Lab, built in the 1930s at 2010 Hennepin Avenue East, where I worked for the next two years.
Diary

We Adopt A Duck

by Editorial Team
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In Minneapolis on Monday, June 25, 1956, Dale wrote, “Stan brought a duck home, about one week old.  He picked it up on Central Avenue on his way to work.”  We kept it until it grew up.
Diary

From Osceola To Peoria

by Editorial Team
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On vacation Thursday, June 24, 1937, Dale wrote, “Got up early and left Osceola at 10 a.m.  Mother with us.  Drove to Peoria at 6 p.m. and stayed all night.”  That was a 250-mile drive on their way home to Washington, DC.
Diary

Columbia Heights Carnival

by Editorial Team
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In Minneapolis on Sunday, June 23, 1957, Dale wrote, “I patched a hole in the roof around a vent pipe.  Pretty high up there.  Stan mowed the front yard.  Dalene and friends went to the Columbia Heights carnival.”
Diary

G.I. Bill Of Rights

by Editorial Team
On Thursday, June 22, 1944, President Roosevelt signed the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 into law.  It was commonly known as the G.I. Bill of Rights.  (A later version was enacted after the Korean War.)  Watch the video to see how it came to be.
Diary

Checking Out ISU

by Editorial Team
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On vacation from Muscatine on Tuesday, June 21, 1955, Dale wrote, “At Gerald’s in the morning.  Drove to Ames to question college.  On to Wilma’s farm in the afternoon, then to Mother’s in Osceola.”  We had just visited Helen’s brother Gerald and his family in Latimer; Wilma (Helen’s sister) lived a couple miles north of Osceola.  I was considering Iowa State University in Ames.
Diary

From New Ulm To Latimer

by Editorial Team
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On vacation from Muscatine on Monday, June 20, 1955, Dale wrote, “Left New Ulm and arrived at Gerald’s in Latimer in the afternoon.  Hot driving.  Gerald and Ressia have a very nice place to live.  Lots of room, and quiet.  Dalene, Stan, and Carole went swimming at a nearby lake.”  Carole is my age, one of Gerald (Helen’s brother) and Ressia’s daughters.  Above: New Ulm, Minnesota, to Latimer, Iowa.
Diary

A 1947 Dodge

by Editorial Team
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In Muscatine on Friday, June 19, 1953, Dale wrote, “Temperature was up to 100° today.  I looked at a 1947 Dodge of Mahraum’s.  Dalene busted her beach ball.”  He just bought that ball the day before.  Mahraum’s was a service station in town.  Above: a 1947 Dodge ad.
Diary

Dale Opens A Bank Account

by Editorial Team
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In Muscatine on Wednesday, June 18, 1952, Dale wrote that he opened a checking account at Central State Bank for $75.  Stanley went swimming with Mike Collier, a high school friend.
Diary

Stan Visits Yates’ Home

by Editorial Team
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On Sunday, June 17, 1951, Dale and his family drove from Muscatine to Gerald Shaffer’s home in Latimer, Iowa, stopping at the Amana Colonies for lunch, arriving at Gerald’s at 2:00.  Dale wrote, “Genes there too.  Stanley went home with Bobby.  Helen, Dalene and I got home at 10 p.m.”  Above: Muscatine to Latimer.  Gerald was Helen’s brother.  Lela (Helen’s sister) and Gene Yates, daughter Nancy and son Bob lived in Perry, Iowa, at the time.  Five days later, Gene and Lela drove me to Osceola, where I stayed with my grandmother Jettie until Dale, Helen, and Dalene arrived about a week later.
Diary

At Como Park

by Editorial Team
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In Minneapolis on Sunday, June 16, 1957, Dale wrote, “Bought five used tires and four inner tubes for Stan’s car.  Bought two new tires for the Dodge.  Took Dalene and a girl friend to Como Park in the afternoon.”  Above: Como Park Zoo Carousel.
Diary

Shooting A Cap Gun

by Editorial Team
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In Muscatine on Sunday, June 15, 1952, Dale wrote, “Dalene and I drove to the bluff and she shot her cap gun at passing cars.  Took the family for a ride in the evening.”  That bluff was probably the one on U.S. Highway 22 east of town.  The gun may have been like Gene Autry’s, above.
Diary

Badminton Set

by Editorial Team
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In Minneapolis on Friday, June 14, 1957, Dale wrote, “I went to work early, had breakfast at café.  Took a kitchen window to have glass put in.  After work, I bought stakes and poles for Dalene’s badminton set.”
Diary

Ready To Travel

by Editorial Team
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Vacationing in Osceola from Washington, DC, on Sunday, June 13, 1937, Dale and Helen attended a Schaffer family dinner at the home of Pearl and Cedar Schaffer.  They spent the night at the farm of Louie and Ruth Schaffer.  Pearl and Louie were Helen’s brothers.  Above: Dale’s parents, Williams and Jettie, in front of Dale’s car loaded for its return trip to Washington.  Jettie went with them for a visit.
Diary

Hot Day In Muscatine

by Editorial Team
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In Muscatine on Thursday, June 12, 1952, Dale wrote, “Very hot today.  Too hot to sleep at night.  I slept on the front porch and Helen slept on the davenport until early morning.  Must be 100° in the shade.”  There was no home air conditioning (unless you were rich), which is probably why we went to so many movies – theaters were air conditioned.
Diary

Dale Has Pleurisy

by Editorial Team
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In Minneapolis on Wednesday, June 11, 1958, Dale wrote, “High 65°.  Beautiful day.  I had pleurisy all day at work.  Helen called the doctor at night, I’m not going to work tomorrow.”
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