Newspaper Find

A few years ago I was scanning the old newspaper reels of film looking for information about my classmates. I was preparing a booklet for our reunion, but was often side tracked by something else I read.  Imagine the fun I had when I came across this letter to the newspaper by a 1949 Scranton High School graduate. The newspaper was from 1952.

Marvin Grisso was my uncle, one of the younger brothers of my mother.  He was a sailor that seemed to always be at sea. I loved it when he would come and make a surprise visit to school. He returned to see his former teachers and administrators whenever he came home. And, of course, he came to see me.

 

 

 

Mondays With Mary - December 1994

'Tis the season....

At the Wright household that meant, it was deer season. When I was little, my uncles would point out the individual deer hanging in the basement and call them by their names. There was Donner and Blitzen. Some years Comet and others were there. My biggest fear was descending  the old cement stairs to see a big, beautiful deer hanging there with its tongue out just under its red nose. I suppose it was some form of child abuse, but I seemed to have grown up and turned out O.K. (at least a few people think so).

December 1994-Deer Season

Friday, Dec. 9

14 degrees at 5:30 a.m. vacuumed- washed
load of clothes.  Went to library for book in p.m.
John G and Eldon B came about 5 p.m.
Dean here at 7 p.m. played cards to-nite

Saturday, Dec. 10

18 degrees @ 5:30 a.m.  boys out hunting deer
1st day-2nd season-  no luck.
Whimpy Lewis out in a.m. saw a lot of
 does but no bucks. played cards to-nite
getting colder.  Jon B out to feed cows.

Sunday, Dec. 11

8 degrees below @ 5:30 a.m.
dropped to 13 degrees below by day-lite
boys hunted all day.  Eldon shot me a doe.
Played cards to-nite.   Chili at noon.  Meatloaf tonight.

Monday, Dec. 12

8 degrees @ 5:30 a.m.  I went to quilt. The boys
still hunting deer. No luck on bucks but
 lots of deer seen.  Baker's preg checked cows
5 open.  Talked to Scottie to-nite.  Cats eating
on deer - put in basement. Cards again tonight.

Tuesday, Dec. 13

2 degrees @ 4 a.m.  warmed up to 8 degrees by
6 a.m.  trees all frosty - cut the deer up and took a
back ham to Glidden to be dried.  Boys hunted till
noon and then went home.  I put up the x-mas
tree. Cooked some deer bones.  Dean and Eldon took
rest of deer home with them.


So, another deer season came to an end on the same day Mary's grandson, Scott, left for the Navy. He was back to join the hunters nine years later. Sadly, that was the first deer season without Mary. As much as the hunters enjoyed the hunt, the camaraderie and the card playing, everyone knew Mary loved the season as much as they did...maybe more.

April 1945

Our hometown weekly newspaper publishes a section called A Glance Into the Past from the files of The Scranton Journal.  I love reading this section. Sometimes I see my own name in the columns from fifty or sixty years ago. Sometimes I got a perfect spelling score if we are looking at sixty years ago or the fifty year old column might have some high school reference. Wow! Am I old or what!

This week's column featured an article from 70 years ago.  It begins: "The five sons of Mr. and Mrs. Jess Ray are in the armed forces. One of them is a prisoner of war in Germany".  Jess and Elsie (Tolsdorf) Ray were my husband's aunt and uncle.  The article goes on to tell where each son was serving.  Jess W. Ray, 29, was a boatswain's mate first class with the Navy sea bees overseas. George H. Ray, 26, was serving with the 6th marine division.  Calvin Lee Ray, 25, also a boatswain's mate first class serving on an overseas ship. Cpl. Dale F. Ray, age 25, was captured at Faid Pass February 17, 1943, and was in a  German prison camp.  Howard, age 21, was a machinist's mate first class stationed at Melbourne, Florida.

Over the years I heard comparisons of the Ray boys to the Sullivan Brothers. The Sullivan Brothers were five young men also from Iowa. Thankfully, my husband's cousins all came home from the war to lead long full lives. Sadly, this was not the case for the sons of Thomas and Alleta Sullivan.  Imagine hearing the statement, "The Navy Department deeply regrets to inform you that your sons Albert, Francis, George, Joseph and Madison Sullivan are missing in action in the South Pacific." Theirs is a very moving story, and one I hope you will read at www.homeofheros.com or google The Sullivan Brothers. There are many articles written about this tragedy.  From the site www.b-29s-over-korea.com their legacy is outlined. In addition to ships, a convention center, a Japanese school, a park, a street, a song, and maybe more named for the Sullivan Brothers, the US War Department adopted the Sole Survivor Policy.