Paul Revere School, Blue Island IL

11:58:00 AM judyo53 0 Comments

I attended Paul Revere School in Blue Island from Kindergarten through 5th grade.  I'm not sure if the following pictures are chronological as none of them were marked as to age or grade, and as you can see, one is missing.

The Flower Girl

9:22:00 PM judyo53 0 Comments

My Godparents

4:46:00 PM judyo53 0 Comments

My godparents were Uncle Ed (my Dad's brother)and my Mother's cousin Joanie Peters.  I've already described the shy quiet, tall and lanky Uncle Ed Reimer.  So now it's time to try to describe Aunt Joanie, the daughter of my Grandpa Ganzer's sister, Helen.


Joanie was younger than my parents and she was a pretty woman.  I was the flower girl in her wedding and her husband was kind of a skinny bug-eyed guy that wasn't very attractive.  They looked like an odd couple and they truly were.


I'm not quite sure how it happened, but Joanie lost her marbles at some point.  I was told that it was a drug addiction that started with sleeping pills followed by "pep" pills (what they called them back then).  Or maybe it was the other way around, but the pills screwed her up.

She ended up having 3 children, a boy and 2 girls.  As she went into her downward spiral, her son had to get his sisters off to school (her husband was at work) and she became a neglectful mother.  There were stories of her sitting in front of a mirror for hours trying on different wigs.  Then there were the stories of her buying dogs and treating them better than her children.

It got to the point of her wandering the streets in her nightgown one night and her visits to Tinley Park mental hospital on and off.  I don't know what happened to her but it was a real shame.

I remember visiting her house and I liked her children.  We never kept up with them after a while so I don't know what happened to any of them.

My Blue Island Friends

9:47:00 PM judyo53 0 Comments

I had a lot of friends. A handful lived on my block. Looking through pictures, I guess my first friend was a chubby boy named Ricky Koehler. He had a big brother named Jeff. They lived a couple houses down from us.



There was a somewhat quiet girl named Kim that had a really cool little play house in her back yard. I believe she lived on the last house on the southeast side of the block.

Another couple of people lived in a different house. First it was Scotty Wild (and he fit his name) who moved to Texas. I'm not sure if it was before or after but there was another girl that lived there but for some reason we had a love-hate relationship.

Then there were girls I met in school and who lived a little farther away. I already spoke of Lynn Mueller who lived in a cool custom built home on Vincennes Ave. I think there was a blonde named Patty whose house was on the way to school. Barb Fessler lived close to my school (Paul Revere Elementary School in Blue Island).


I attended many birthday parties and all my friends came to mine. I have a lot of birthday pictures. When we had parties they weren't fancy like they are now. It would always be held in the birthday girl's house and we'd play games like Pin the Tail on the Donkey, dropping clothes pins in a milk jug, marshmallow races (holding them on a spoon or balancing them on a knife) and various other games.

My Cancer Diagnosis

9:49:00 AM judyo53 0 Comments

Although creating a history line for you was something I always dreamed of doing, the reason I actually started doing it was because of my recent cancer diagnosis. I'm still in the early stages of this journey and don't know the whole story yet, but should find out soon.

I never liked going to doctors. My Dad never liked going to doctors. I was also mis-informed. I must have read an article somewhere about some type of female reproductive cancer that occurs mainly in women that have never had children. I guess my mind created a different story - rolling all female reproductive cancers into one and feeling protected because I had three kids. How stupid I was!

I only went to the doctor in 2009 because I had fallen down on my side and thought I broke a rib. It wasn't getting any better after 3 weeks (boy was that painful) so I found a local doctor who sent me for a CT scan. It didn't show any broken ribs but did show that my left kidney was heart shaped and double in size (I was supposedly born that way but we'll see with my new upcoming scans) and had a lesion on it. I looked it up on the Internet and many people have kidney lesions, so I didn't do anything about it, even though the doctor suggested getting an ultrasound.

I was also told I have a blood vessel type tumor (a hema-something) on my liver. I looked that up on the Internet and many other people have the same thing. So although I couldn't sleep for 2 weeks after hearing about those things they finally faded from my mind. Until now.

Anyway, the doctor I went to, a General Practitioner (GP) wanted me to catch up on tests I should have had done over the years. The first was a Pap smear.

Here is my time line:

4/2010 - supposedly was called about a bad Pap smear - never got the message - thought I was in the clear. However, I was diagnosed with hypothyroid disease (your mother and Uncle Chad also have this) and was put on Synthroid.
11/2010 - went in for my thyroid blood check and finally found out about the bad Pap smear. Was told to get a biopsy asap. Studied online about how the biopsy was done and was trying to find someone that would put me under anesthesia for it. No one would. They told me to take a Motrin if I felt the need. Didn't set any appointments.
1/2011 - started feeling pain in my groin area and a pain shooting down my inner thigh from the groin area down. Set up an appointment with a gynecologist for a colposcopy.
1/2011 - had the colposcopy - I took some pain meds and am glad I did as it was not pleasant! The results were severe dysplasia or CIN 3 - pre-cancer cells. She even went up higher in the cervical canal during the colposcopy (called ECC) and that was also dysplasia.
2/14/2011 - went to Palos Hospital for pre-surgery tests - chest x-ray, blood & urine tests and an EKG.
2/15/2011 - The EKG was not good and I had to go to a cardiologist to get an OK for surgery. Had a heart ultrasound done. I was given the OK.
2/16/2011 - cold knife cone biopsy - this is an out-patient surgery where I was anesthetized (light anesthesia, I was out and couldn't feel or remember anything, although the doctor told me I fought her all the way). Results given on 2/17/2010, a day after surgery, that I have cervical cancer.
2/28/2011 - first visit with gynecological oncologist, Dr. Jacob Rotmensch at Rush Medical Center in Chicago. With reports in hand from an ultrasound and the cold knife cone biopsy he thinks I could be Stage I and a radical hysterectomy with lymph node, surrounding tissue and ovary removal will be done. I have it scheduled on March 29th, 2011. That will tell me much more. That will tell me if it looks more like Stage I or if it has spread, and where it has spread.
3/14/2011 - will be having a CT & a PET scan. This will be the final decision maker at this point in time on whether I will have a radical hysterectomy or what kind of treatment I will need.
3/29/2011 - had my radical hysterectomy - removal of cervix, uterus, connective tissue and some lymph nodes plus both ovaries and fallopian tubes.  Supposedly all cancer was removed with clear margins and no lymph node involvement, but it was the most aggressive grade of cancer and radiation and light chemo will most likely be the recommendation.
May 2011 - I can't find the exact start date but I had 33 radiation treatments that spanned over 6 weeks as some weeks were shorter than others because of holidays.  I had a colonoscopy the first week of the radiation (not good timing) and it was all clear.  I went every day Monday through Friday.  I am very claustrophobic and it was quite uncomfortable since I had to lay face down on an uneven table on top of a "belly board."  I could never get comfortable.  Once I was in position I couldn't move for the entire treatment, which lasted at least 20 minutes.  Each treatment started with a scan first to make sure I was lined up properly and then I was "zapped" in 9 different areas.  I had to take a Xanax to keep me relaxed and one time I only took 1/4 of a pill (I was down to 1/2) and I freaked out on the table and had to get up and walk it off.  Not fun!  I also had to have an emergency root canal done towards the end and I was getting worn out from that and the radiation.  I was nauseous most the time during treatment and lost some weight.

I still feel like I'm healing from the cold knife cone biopsy at the time of this post. Actually, you are supposed to heal for 3 months after that surgery before having another, but they feel they cannot wait that long. I will be taking a trip with Grampa Jimmy to our townhouse in Scottsdale, AZ next week. Dr. Rotmensch told me to go on the trip (I asked if I should cancel it) as I would heal more which would make the operation easier for him. He also said I need to de-stress, although waiting for those scan results will be stressful.

I have been through many emotions. Fear, stress, sadness, anxiety, depression. I've had new aches and pains since the cold knife cone biopsy that I never had before. I keep thinking it's the cancer and it has spread.

One day I'll feel peaceful and think "if it's my time to go then that's how it is." On those days I don't fear death but just worry about Elle. Some days I'm in a deep depression.

Right after the diagnosis, cancer was on my mind 24/7. It was a heavy shadow I couldn't hide from. It is still on my mind all the time but it isn't controlling me as badly. Oh, I shed some tears just 2 nights ago, so it's a never ending roller coaster ride, and I don't even know everything yet.

Today I don't want to die. Today I'm not ready. I want to be around as long as I possibly can.  No matter what happens to me, Brett & Brendon will have good lives. Elle's life will probably not be so good if I'm gone. She is my beacon and my reason to fight for my life. And I will fight as hard as I can to be here for her.

Aunt Helen and Her Brood

10:31:00 AM judyo53 0 Comments

My Dad's sister was Aunt Helen, pictured in the first photo in the other Reimers post. She is the lady at the top left.

She was married to a school janitor and I believe they had 4 or 5 kids. Tommy was the oldest and I can't remember all of the other names of my cousins.

They lived in a little ranch style home (all on one level) and were the poorest of our clan. I remember going to their home and the toilet would be backed up and it smelled like a sewer. It was the only place I didn't want to eat at. Even as a young child I could tell a dirty home and I must have had a dirty fork or plate at one time and it grossed me out. I remember someone opening the refrigerator and for all the people who lived in the home, there wasn't much food in the fridge, but there was a six-pack of beer.

Aunt Helen was a jolly woman. I remember going to her house once and she had on long, dangly, fancy earrings and a white shirt with blood stains on it.

Aunt Helen gave me the idea for a continuing cartoon I used to draw. She told me how there was a miniature dinosaur in her kid's school. His name was Lurch. I told her there were no living dinosaurs. But she insisted that Lurch was definitely a miniature dinosaur. I'm sure Lurch was a lizard that looked like a dinosaur. I'm still not sure if Aunt Helen truly believed he was a dinosaur or if she had a twinkle in her eye when she said that, but at the time I think she really believed it.

So I created an ongoing cartoon series (wish I had saved them but I would actually send them to people) about Lurch, The Miniature Dinosaur. I drew him as a kind of stegosaurus with the plates down his back and a thick tail. When I was on vacation, I sent my best friend a cartoon of Lurch enjoying the beach and floating in the ocean on an innertube.

You, your mother and I all liked to draw. I also had a continuing drawing spree about 4 girls wearing different clothes. No stories like with Lurch, but I drew them a lot.

The Other Reimers

9:20:00 AM judyo53 0 Comments

My closest cousins were those on my Dad's side. We ended up both living in Oak Lawn (Dad was actually born in Oak Lawn, in the same house his brother Ed lived in up until his death).

Cousin Donald Reimer was a teenager when I was young and I thought he was the greatest! His Mom, Aunt Adeline, always let him have parties and I remember one where they were all dancing (including line dancing) and I remember them playing The Twist by Chubby Checker. He was a popular kid and always had girlfriends.

Donald was actually Ed & Adeline's nephew but his mother was an alcoholic. Story goes that she would always drop him off at Adeline's and Adeline said the next time and she's keeping him. And she did! Uncle Ed & Auntie Adeline adopted Dale.

Cousin Billy was a year younger than me so he was my buddy. He was funny and fun and I always loved going over to their house.

My Grampa Reimer lived in a little apartment in the basement. I didn't get to know him that well. He wasn't sociable and I don't even know when he died. I never met my Dad's Mom as she died before I was born.

My Dad's brother Uncle Ed (picture at left) was tall and slim with a quiet demeanor. Auntie Adeline was short and fat with the loudest voice that spurted out swear words. I always remember her yelling, "If you don't eat your God damn dinner you're not getting any God damn dessert!" But I loved her the best. She was a riot - funny and laughing a lot. A true character.

Uncle Ed and Auntie Adeline were such opposites. Ed was always in the background while Adeline was front and center. She was the president of the local VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) and we kids went there with our folks sometimes. Uncle Ed would be drinking pop while Adeline had her beers and shots.

I remember one time going to their house and Adeline told us to go outside and choose any of the "hot" (stolen) shoes she had in the trunk of her car. They were brand new and in boxes.

My cousin Donald Reimer was active in the Vietnam War when his fiancee broke up with him while he was overseas. I think he had one girlfriend after that and then there was Glen. He and Donald were "roommates."

Donald always had that whiny flare about him. I'm still not sure if he was a closeted gay or bi-sexual. Glen was even more gay acting. I remember them having us over for Thanksgiving dinner and they were proudly displaying their professionally framed photos of their poodle and their lace curtains.

Glen showed my Dad some pictures of Donald and him at a dress-up party where Glen was dressed as a woman. Instead of flinching, my Dad said, "Glen, you're beautiful!"

Both the Reimers and the Ganzers liked playing cards. Whenever Glen would play he would sit next to Donald and Donald would dole out the coins to Glen. One time at a VFW event Glen was sitting by himself, looking forlorn. We asked him where Donald was and he whined, "He's playing Bingo with the women." At my first wedding Dad told Mom to make sure to sit Donald next to his girlfriend. I asked, "Donald has a girlfriend?!" Dad replied, "Yeah, Glen!"

I can't remember how long that romance lasted but then Donald met another older guy that I can't remember his name. I truly think Auntie Adeline was in denial as she bragged about this guy taking Donald to Las Vegas and buying him a diamond ring. She never admitted that he was gay.

Donald and his new love opened a 7 Eleven store together and then retired to Arizona or somewhere west. My Mom never heard from him after my Aunt Adeline died.

Uncle Ed was a garbage collector. There were always car tires and other junk around his house. He died while hauling his newspapers up his steep basement stairs. He fell and broke his neck.

At that time, Aunt Adeline was wheelchair bound and had suffered a massive stroke. She died after but I can't remember when. Always an obese woman, she had thinned out a lot and actually looked very nice in her casket.

We kept in touch with Cousin Billy for a few years since his wife's family had some connection to my parents. But Billy and his wife ended up divorcing and no one has heard from them since. Funny how cousins that were once so close lose touch completely.

Schilling Cousins

8:57:00 AM judyo53 0 Comments

Dale and Brian Schilling were my second cousins. Their father was my Mom's cousin, Norman. His wife was Margie. Norman was the son of Grandma Ganzer's youngest sister Freida, who lived to be 105. That's me and cousin Dale as little ones.

They grew up in the Homewood-Flossmoor area. They had side-by-side farms. Uncle George and Aunt Frieda had cows and chickens and maybe some fields. One time when we went there for dinner Uncle John touched the electric fence and got fried. It was the second time he did it. Another time was at another Great-aunt and uncle's farm.

My cousin Dale Schilling was the same age as me and Brian was younger. I really loved both of them and we would visit a lot. When I was about 10 I would stay with them for a week at a time in the summer. They planted hay and I even went along on a tractor ride to watch them pick up and bale the hay.


We'd also play croquet on their large expanse of front yard. But my favorite thing was playing hide and seek in their basement. They also had some fun games and toys, like Mr. Machine.

Once in a while, we'd go to the other Schilling cousin's home. That was Robert (Mom's cousin, brother of Norman) and Whippie, his wife. I think they had 5 or 6 kids and I can't even remember them all. Elsie was the oldest and she was always kind of bossy and I never felt that comfortable around her. When she wasn't around I was "best friends" with Dale and Brian. But when she was in the picture I was always made to feel like the outsider. The sister closest to my age (maybe a year or two younger) was Cindy, but she always seemed much younger and a little goofy and I never bonded with her.

Both Norman and Robert were brought up speaking both German and English. There was a bit of intrigue when Robert's wife Whippie ran away with another man at one point. She was a wild child and a strange woman. She came back to Robert pregnant and he took her back!

We really didn't keep in touch once my Mom and Dad moved to Arizona, although I did accompany Mom to visits to Aunt Frieda and would see Aunt Margie once a year for a while. She was a tall, very friendly woman and still sends me e-mails. She and her husband Norman sold the farm and made a lot of money. They ended up opening a trucking business after their last name. They are both still alive as of this writing.

The last time I saw the rest of the Schilling clan was at Aunt Frieda's funeral. Dale is some kind of minister and owns an exercise place. I believe he and his wife had a bunch of kids but their only son died young in a car accident. He is kind of short, slim and bald.

Cousin Brian is tall and handsome and had two daughters. He was divorced last I heard. Elsie became an attorney and she was very nice upon meeting me after all these years. Aunt Whippie was still alive at that time and she couldn't believe I was there.

My Blue Island Backyard

11:32:00 AM judyo53 0 Comments

I would spend hours in my backyard in my Blue Island home. Sometimes alone, sometimes with your Uncle John and sometimes with friends.

The Ganzer Family

9:57:00 AM judyo53 0 Comments

Below are a couple of pictures of my parents and grandparents. I feel that looking through all of the old photos I have that my Mom favors Grandpa Daniel with her looks. Sometimes I see my brother (your uncle) Jimmy in both Grandpa's and Mom's photos.

I never mentioned that my Mom and Dad lived with Grampa and Grandma Ganzer for 7 to 8 years and purchased their first home in Blue Island with the cash they saved. I think they paid $8,000 for their house.

The Ganzer house was what we call a bungalow style. It was all brick and all on one level with a basement. It had an enclosed front porch, very small foyer, living room, dining room, kitchen with a walk-in pantry, 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. There was also an enclosed back porch.

Grandma Ganzer loved her gardening and always had pretty flowers growing in the spring and summer. There was a garage in the fenced-in backyard that had alley access.

The house I grew up in was different. It was all brick but more like a cape cod style (like the typical children's house drawings). On the main floor was the living room, dining room, kitchen, a bathroom and two bedrooms. Upstairs was a family room and my big and beautiful bedroom with my own bathroom (no shower or tub) and big closet. The basement was fully finished with a recreation room with a bar, bathroom with a shower, Dad's work room and a combination laundry room with a "summer kitchen."

I loved playing in our fenced-in backyard and Mom would bake cherry pies with the fresh cherries from our cherry trees (until the cherries had worms one year). We had a two car garage that also had alley access. Both of these Blue Island homes were towards the top of pretty steep hills.

Daniel Ganzer

9:25:00 AM judyo53 0 Comments

Born October 31, 1897 Died January 13, 1983
Full name: Daniel Herman Ganzer (I never knew about the "Herman")

Wasn't he a cute baby? I always thought Grampa Ganzer (your Great Great Grandfather) was so opposite of Grandma Emmy Ganzer. She was petite and sweet and Grampa was a big guy who was a curmudgeon. Oh sure, I saw him laugh and smile, but that is not what comes to mind when I think of Grampa.

He loved golf. Whenever we'd go there for Sunday dinner we all had to watch golf. He was an avid golfer and golfed into his old age.

It wasn't fun driving with Grampa behind the wheel. If he felt someone was trying to pass him he would speed up so they couldn't, and he actually said, "Oh, you're trying to pass me, I'll show you!" He was left a widower with Grandma Emmy's passing and lived in his Blue Island house until he didn't pass his last driving test.

He then moved in with my Mom and Dad. They almost babied him, helping him get dressed and everything. It seemed like he started going downhill with the loss of his "wheels" and freedom. He started depending on them and I think he liked the pampering.

He hated greeting cards for holidays. He gruffly complained that it's just for the card companies to make money. A few years before he actually died, he would complain when he received gifts for his birthday or Christmas. He would say, "Why did you buy me anything, you know I"m going to die soon."

As much of a meany I thought he was, I was surprised to see the little memorial he set up in the corner of his dining room up for Grandma Emmy after she died. He had a photo or more, some candles and other stuff of her's on display. I was truly surprised at his display of feelings as I did not expect it of him.

After one Christmas and hearing his complaints about the Christmas gifts he received, I had the family over for New Year's dinner. For some reason something wasn't cooking right and Grampa said, "You could get served faster at McDonalds." Well, duh! Your mother, Renee, was running behind his back with balloons and popping them. Poor guy. I believe he passed the next day and people thought it was my cooking that killed him (I'm sure they were joking...). But, he did get to wear the shirt I bought him for Christmas!

I didn't cry at Grandma Emmy's funeral even though I loved her so much. She was suffering and it was time for her to go. I wasn't planning on crying at Grandpa Daniel's funeral as I never felt close to him. But then the minister read the most beautiful letter that Grandpa wrote a couple of weeks before he died. I don't remember it all, just the part where he thanked Mom and Dad very much for taking them into their home and taking care of him. I cried like a baby, realizing that underneath that gruff exterior this man had a tender heart after all.

Phone Pals

8:50:00 PM judyo53 0 Comments

I guess it was because my Mom was an only child, and a daughter at that, that she and my Grandma Emmy had such a close relationship. They talked on the phone around 3 times a day.

It never bothered me until I was a teenager. Mom used to play cards with her neighbors in Oak Lawn and they usually played at our next door neighbor's house, Ellen Bosco. They would play in the afternoon.

Grandma Emmy would call our house looking for my Mom. One time she said, "Doesn't she ever stay home?" This sweet little old lady wasn't so sweet when Mom wasn't around to answer the phone.

Then she would call to tell me "Tell your Mom I'm taking a bath in case she calls." Or "Tell your Mom I'm vacuuming in case she tries calling and I don't hear her." One day I took one of these "tell your mom" calls and I must have been pms-ing because I angrily gave Mom the message when she got home and told her that she better not expect these kinds of phone calls when I move out because it's not gonna happen. I've never been a phone person and maybe that's why.

Emma Braun Ganzer

12:59:00 PM judyo53 0 Comments

B-July 13, 1900 D-November 7, 1973

Emma Braun Ganzer was my Grandmother, which makes her your Great Great Grandmother. She was the mother of my mother (your Grandma Bea). She married Daniel Ganzer. They lived in Blue Island.

I have a great old picture of Grandma and her family. The photo to the right must have been taken on the same day. I believe she had 4 sisters and one brother. I don't think I ever met her brother and I think he died young - in his teens or 20's maybe? Her sister Frieda is the aunt of mine that lived to be 105. Frieda was the youngest of the Braun clan.

Many people called Emma "Emmy." That's what my Grampa called her. She was a small lady and was as sweet as could be. Since my Mom was her only child, we were very close to Gram & Gramp Ganzer. We would eat dinner at their house almost every Sunday.

Towards the end of her life (I think she was in her early 70's when she died), she was constantly getting operated on and losing unneeded body parts. In fact, at one point in time there was a jar in our toy box at their house. In the jar were Gramma Emmy's kidney stones (probably gallbladder stones as they were pretty big - but we called them her kidney stones). Why they were in our toy box is beyond me. Since I was older I'd always remember to get to that toy box first so I could be the one chasing Johnny around with that jar of "kidney stones" instead of being chased by Johnny with them. I don't know what the deal was - I guess the fear of the chaser opening the jar and dumping those stones on the chasee. Gross!

As religious and sweet as Grandma was, it was always fun hearing her swear the few times she did. She would always say she got her hairs cut. I would correct her, "You got a hair cut." She said, "No, I got them all cut!"

Gramma Emmy wore false teeth since I can remember. The few times she would come over to our house and babysit we would ask her to perform her "trick." She would take her false teeth out, take a glob of Vicks VapoRub out of the jar, roll it in a ball, coat it with sugar and swallow it! I have no idea where that started, maybe one of us was sick and didn't want Vicks rubbed on our chest (something they used to do back then when kids had colds).

Back to Granda Emmy's operations, I felt she was suffering and as much as I loved her I knew she was going to go soon. In fact, for some reason when the phone rang this one day I knew it was the news that she was gone and I was right. Spooky!

I let her go because of her suffering but she haunted me for many years after. I would have very vivid dreams that she was still alive and I'd wake up all happy and then reality would set in that she was gone - long gone. I really missed that wonderful, happy little lady all these years.

The Dancers - Fred & Ginger

8:25:00 PM judyo53 0 Comments

Although my Mom and Dad were homebodies and family was most important to them, they also loved to dance. There were two famous dancing actors back then - Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. I always compared my parents to them since they danced so beautifully together. I can't believe I don't have a picture of them dancing.

Those were the only times they hired a babysitter or we stayed overnight at our Grandparent's house. I hated spending the night at their house.

They had an old furnace that sounded like someone walking heavily through the house. The bedroom we slept in always had the closet door open and the closet had a stained glass window in it and the moon would hit the window and there was always an amount of light coming through.

The closet door had a clothes hook on it and one of Grampa's coats was hanging on it with a hat on top. I would lay in bed all night staring at that coat with the hat being lighted from the closet window and hearing that furnace kick on in cold weather. I never got much sleep!

Harold "Bud" Reimer

11:44:00 AM judyo53 0 Comments

Born November 5, 1923 - Passed away March 7, 2002

I was a Daddy's girl. I've already written how my Dad wanted a baby girl as he helped to take care of one while he was stationed in Germany during World War II.

He was handsome, he was fun and funny, he was a hard worker and everyone loved him. His only real fault was that he was vain, but that gave us some laughs. He loved staying fit and trim and wore tiny Speedo bathing suits into his 70's.

He was also a perfectionist but he didn't really expect it of others. Supposedly, he was brought up poor and got a job at the age of 12 picking cotton! He was the first in his group of friends to own his own car.

He swore that his kids would not "want" for anything, the way he did when he was little. Our house was full of candy and treats and Dad and I both had a sweet tooth. The photo to the right is his confirmation picture.

I found out years later that Dad was a very jealous man and that surprised me. My Mom told me that while he was overseas during the war that he did not want her going to wedding showers or anything. I never saw that in him.

He loved long hair on women. My Mom kept her hair long until she looked silly. Even as an older woman, Dad would complain if she got it cut too short. He was angry when my Mom took me to get a "Twiggy" haircut when I was in 8th grade. He called me Butch until it started growing out.

But Dad was rarely mad and worked hard to give us our wonderful childhood in our nice homes, nice cars and our annual vacations. But he was always economical because he remembered being poor.

He never bought a new car and never had to place an ad to sell one of his beauties. He was a true family man and his hobby was taking care of his cars. The engines shined, the cars were kept meticulous. He did his own repairs and rarely had to go to an auto repair shop.

As hard as my Dad worked, he always had plenty of time to give to his family. I remember him coming home from working at the Post Office and playing with Uncle Johnny and me.

He worked at the Post Office (Oak Lawn) from the age of 18/19 until he retired in his 60's. He had so many sick days accumulated (I don't remember how many he had left but I believe it was more than a year or two - he was so reliable and I don't know if he ever called in sick) that he got some good money just for that.

He started as a mail sorter/carrier and worked his way up to a supervisor position. He did a temporary stint as the Postmaster of the Berwyn post office but did not accept the permanent assignment since he couldn't go home for lunch, and he loved being able to do that. The employees at that post office were sad as my Dad treated everyone so nice - and not many postal supervisors were nice. The employees at the Oak Lawn post office loved and respected him since he showed respect to them.

Most people that met Dad loved him. He was chosen to be the speaker at several events. The neighbors would help Mom throw surprise birthday parties for him. He was the go-to guy, always lending his tools and expertise.

I didn't think I'd ever be able to let him go. I'll write a separate post about his downhill spiral and some other stories as this is getting long.

Bernice Ganzer-Reimer

2:37:00 PM judyo53 0 Comments

Born October 8, 1924

Bernice or "Bea" is my Mother, and you know her as your Great-Grandma. She was the only child of my Grandparents, Emma Braun-Ganzer and Daniel Ganzer. She grew up in Blue Island with my grandparents and she worked downtown in an insurance agency office after high school and before she adopted me. Back in those days, women who adopted had to promise to stay home to raise the children.

She told me she dated a few men but then met my Dad, Harold "Bud" Reimer. They met in Luther League (a young folk's club sponsored by Lutheran churches). I mentioned before, my Grandmother preferred her dating Lutherans.

I believe my Mom, Bernice, went to a Lutheran School in Blue Island and then went to Dwight D. Eisenhower High School. She did not go to college but went straight into the work force.

She had a killer body; quite thin, nice average height (maybe 5'5" or 5'6"), big boobs and gorgeous legs and nice feet. She always kept her hair longish and it was really because my Dad, Bud, liked long hair. When she was in her 50's she started looking funny with longer hair and kept cutting it off a little at a time. I guess Dad finally got used to it, although he still complained when she'd get it cut too short.

She married my Dad during a leave from the Army. People talked, thinking she was pregnant. Well, that sure didn't happen. She was 29 when she adopted me.

She has always been a strong woman and Dad treated her like a queen, although she certainly took care of him. She was friends with our neighbors in Blue Island and became close, lifelong friends with our neighbors in Oak Lawn.

She and I butt heads when I was a teenager. When I started hanging around with boys who's brothers had their driver's licenses she would actually follow me around. Like I couldn't see her parked across the street in the big Bonneville Pontiac.

She was very opinionated and yelled a lot. I swore I wouldn't yell at my kids because I always hated her yelling at me. But I became a yeller too, unfortunately.

She didn't really believe in privacy. She felt we should all share everything with her. I learned when to keep my mouth shut.

But she was always loving and wanted a hug and kiss every night and that was another thing I hated when I was a teen. Both my parents were huggy, kissy, lovey dovey and I am the opposite.

As she grew older she became more mellow and in her late 80's she's still got all her marbles and she's been a lot of fun! I love her very much and didn't want to tell her about my cancer because I know she would be sooooo worried.

My Dog Inky

10:43:00 AM judyo53 0 Comments

Inky was a black cocker spaniel and the nicest, sweetest dog I've ever met. He lived until 14 and he was going downhill. Dad took him to the vet one day and came home without him. My Mom was a basket case and cried her eyes out - first time I ever saw her do that. I don't really remember how old I was and although I loved him, I was old enough to realize he wasn't living a good life so I let him go.

Years later we got a light colored cocker spaniel named Taffy but she bit one of Uncle John's friends (actually a couple of his friends) and I'm assuming they put her down. It was sad because she was good with the family but John would be rough housing with his friends and she would "come to his protection" and bite his enemy. I took her demise harder because she was still youngish and was just trying to protect her owners.

And then there was Pierre, the French poodle. Ugly little black thing and mean! He would bite people with no warning. But he didn't bite any kids as far as I can remember and I think we kept him until he was old.

I think I was already moved out when Mom & Dad got Muffin, the sheltie. She was cute and sweet and unfortunately became obese with Dad's doting love and overfeeding. She used to jump for frisbies until her poor little legs couldn't handle her fat body. The vet kept telling Dad, "You're killing her with kindness." But Dad felt that not feeding her snacks was punishing her and no one could get him to stop. She did live a pretty long life although I can't remember how old she was when she finally died.

Our Uninvited Guest

11:23:00 AM judyo53 0 Comments

While living a wonderful family life in a great little Chicago suburb of Blue Island, our idyllic little world was shattered by an unexpected visitor. My Dad, your Great Grandpa Bud, worked at the post office and left work very early in the morning. His shifts had changed over the years but this was pretty early.

At the time this happened, I shared a bedroom with your Uncle John while Dad worked on my new bedroom upstairs. My parents bedroom was right across the hall on the main floor of the house.

I was around 7 when this happened and John was around 3. It was still early and Mom, John and I were still in bed sleeping.

I heard my Mom yelling "Help! There's a man in the house!" I guess I didn't hear the "Help!" part and hear "there's a man in the house" and figured, "Oh, Grampa (Dan Ganzer) must be over. I got up and walked across the hall to my parent's bedroom and Mom screamed, "Get back in your room and lock the door!" I don't remember doing that but I must have.

Next I remember is walking with her down the hall to the front door and the screen door was closed but the front door was standing open. The police were called and they came over and investigated the entire house.

Here is the story as I got it (or remember getting it). The days used are examples. Dad remembered that he didn't lock the basement door Wednesday night. This man did not come upstairs until Friday morning! We had a big basement with a 2nd kitchen, workshop, family room and full bathroom. A person could easily live down there for a while as long as they were quiet. I might be wrong about those days, it could have been that the door was left unlocked Wednesday night and the guy came up Thursday, but I remember it the first way. Either way, it's scary!

Mom (Great-Grandma Bea or Bernice) told us she was laying in bed and heard something in the hallway. She briefly opened her eyes to see a man's shoes and legs standing in the door. She started moving around in the bed as if she were waking up in the hopes he would be scared away. Then she jumped out of the bed and tried to open an old door off her bedroom that used to go outside but probably hadn't been used in years and was stuck shut. She managed to open a window and that's when I heard the "Help!" scream. Supposedly, a neighbor heard her and said he was calling the police. Sometimes I wonder if it wasn't the neighbor as he seemed to be the only guy around at the time. She never saw his face and no one saw anyone running away, so the culprit was never caught.

And I was never the same. When we would go out of the house upon our return my Dad would have to hold my hand and we'd have to do the police investigation of the entire house, looking in closets, under beds, in attic cubbyholes.

That didn't last forever as time went on, but I had nightmares for at least 30 years after. Very vivid, realistic nightmares of someone breaking into the house, sometimes through a window, some that attacked me with guns or knives. Therapy wasn't popular back then and I never even told my parents about the dreams.

Unfortunately, my Dad built me the most beautiful bedroom upstairs that was big with a private bathroom and a walk-in closet. I believe it was painted lilac and white and I had two twin beds for sleepover guests. My bedroom and our family room were both upstairs. I would go to bed at night but I guess I was always a light sleeper (maybe because of the break-in). I guess I could tell when my parents went back downstairs to bed and then I would end up going downstairs and sleeping on the couch. My Mom finally put a sheet on the couch for me.

They told me even if someone broke into our house again that they wouldn't want to go upstairs because they'd be trapped. They reminded me that the guy that broke into our house walked past the couch on the way out the front door. But I couldn't stay asleep in my beautiful new bedroom. I can't remember how long that lasted.

Growing Up in Blue Island, IL

8:41:00 AM judyo53 0 Comments

I can remember walking to the general store (to me it was a candy store) at a very young age. Candy was a penny a piece back then and they had a big selection. Some items were 2 for 1 cent.

There was a playground I played at and when I was about 10 I met a family that was renting a house across the street. I had a best friend I will never forget and wished I could have found her later in life. Her name was Patty Mangan and she had a brother Ralph and a younger sister Beth. I hung out with her and her family all the time.

In fact, we both moved to different places around the same time. I think she moved somewhere in Chicago and we moved to Oak Lawn. My Mom took me to her house in Chicago a couple of times but then we didn't see each other anymore. I've thought about her and her family over the years. I always liked her brother Ralph - he was cute.

Besides playing in the park and at her house, I believe we all watched the Beatles first performance in the U.S. on a TV show called The Ed Sullivan Show. I think we even put our money together to buy our first Beatles record.

One of my other best friends, a chubby kid that lived just a couple of houses down, was a boy named Ricky Koehler. There was red-headed Shelly and cute Kim who had a neat playhouse in her backyard. There were the older granddaughters of one of our neighbors who lived in Indiana but would come for extended visits and I'd hang out with them. A few good friends lived a bit farther away - Lynn Mueller lived in a big, custom, modern house that I remember much about today. Her Dad worked for a vending company (or owned it) and one time we visited and it was like a dream - boxes and boxes of candy in a huge warehouse. My other friend was Barb and my Mom would drive me to her house.

Winter in Blue Island

IL is a flat state. You wouldn't know that living in Blue Island with it's hills. And that was perfect for winter fun. The teenage boys would build a snowy/icy slide ramp starting at Ricky Koehler's house (he had an older brother, I think Jeff), curving across the sidewalk and going down as far as they could make it across neighbor's front yards.

Every morning they would water and ice it down. The start of the "slide" was a mound of snow that they even carved out a little igloo like space in for the little kids. We'd be helped up to the top (or they might have had a ladder against it - I can't remember) and we'd be on our disk type sled (the round ones) and down we'd go. Sometimes you'd go off the side and have to start over, but most of the rides were all the way to the bottom.

My Dad (your great-grandfather Bud) would take us to Memorial Park. It had a pool for the summer and great snowy hills for sledding. We'd use the round sleds or the regular sleds. Lots of fun!

In the old days when I was a kid, laws were pretty lax. I remember Dad tying our sled to the back of his car and actually driving us slowly through Blue Island streets. He couldn't have gotten away with that in these times!

Many Happy Memories

It was like living the life of a Norman Rockwell painting. The 1950's family - Dad worked, Mom stayed home. Close-knit family life. Friendly neighborhood, 1950's suburban living. A truly idyllic childhood.

Your Uncle John

4:14:00 PM judyo53 0 Comments

Born November 1, 1957

I mentioned before that the rules of The Chicago Foundling Home were two babies per customer. So when I was four years old Mom & Dad (your great-grandparents) adopted your Uncle John. His name was Baby Boy Deiter (not sure how it was spelled) and we got him fresh from the hospital. There I am, holding him on his first day home. Unlike me at 7 months old, he was only a few days.

He had some problems and had marks on his body where he had something done - like needle marks, on his feet (or ankles or somewhere nearby) and I believe his temples, although my memory might be failing me - I was only four.

I was able to choose his outfit that we were going to bring him home in. I remember Mom dressing him (I think on a bed) and to me I thought when people wanted a baby they went to that baby store and picked one up.

The story with Uncle John was that his father was in his 40's (43 maybe) and was married with 5 kids. John's Mom was in her 20's (possibly 26) and was a waitress at a restaurant where John's Dad used to go. They got together and she got pregnant with John and couldn't take care of him on her own so she gave him up for adoption and we got him at the "baby store." After having a girl already it was time to switch it up and get a boy.

I forgot to tell my biological parent's story. Supposedly, my Mom was 18 and my Dad was 19. He was in the army (and a musician in the army band) stationed in Hawaii during the Korean War. He didn't have family or something and came home with my Mom's brother (my biological uncle) during a leave. In that short time he got my Mom pregnant. That's the story I was told and it's pretty risque for the early 1950's.

I think both John and I have done a little searching to find our biological parents, at least our Moms (don't know if our dads even know we exist), but unless each party is searching for the other the only thing you can do is petition the courts. There is no guarantee they will allow you to continue with the search and it costs a lot of money. You are basically paying a private detective that will find the location of your biological parent or their death certificate. I didn't go that far.

That has always left a void in my life. I love my parents and was not interested in replacing them. I didn't even feel the need to have a relationship with my biological mother. I just wanted to see what she looked like, and any half brothers and sisters I might have. None of my kids look like me so I was just curious to see my biological family.

The Chosen Baby

9:22:00 AM judyo53 0 Comments

My parents, Bud & Bernice (your great grandparents) adopted me at the age of 7 months. They wanted a girl. I believe I was about 4 years old when they told me. They gave me a book called "The Chosen Baby" which explains adoption to a child.

Since I was so young when they told me I never thought it was a big deal. I was surprised when a kid told me I was lying when I mentioned that I was adopted. I couldn't understand why he'd think I'd lie about that.

From what I was told at such a young age, I had it in my head that they looked over all the baby girls in the adoption home (Chicago Foundling Home) and said, "We'll take that one." They always talked about me staring at them with my big blue eyes. I was probably in my 30's before I realized that the adoption had been set up since they tried to match the child to the parents as closely as possible (race, religion, nationality). I was not actually chosen from a storeroom of baby girls.  That burst my bubble!  Funny how when something is ingrained into your head as a child you carry it with you for a long time - until the reality lightbulb goes off.

They did not choose to keep my name Paula. It was a choice between Shari (or Sherry) and Judy. You know what they chose. Judy Garland was popular at the time (she is Dorothy in Wizard of Oz), and there are a lot of 1950 Judy's.  You can almost tell the age in a decade of a woman named Judy.

The adoption wasn't finalized until they had me an entire year. They told me that some parents actually returned babies! I have my adoption papers somewhere and will have to find them. My birth certificate shows Bernice & Harold (everyone called him Bud) Reimer as my parents. I believe I was born in Cook County Hospital.

I was told The Chicago Foundling Home had an area were the pregnant women could stay until they had their babies. I'm not sure if that is true.

This was in the early 1950's, it wasn't acceptable to be pregnant without being married. Some young women would move elsewhere so neighbors and others in the family never knew they were with child. Once they had the baby they went home. I wonder what stories they told.

My Mom told me at some point that the foundling home had moved to a different state. Yet when I petitioned the court once to open my files I was told the Chicago Foundling Home was still in Chicago. I called once but only got an answering machine. I never went there in person. Adoption records are still closed in Illinois.

Through the years I really did feel special and chosen. If I had a choice of parents, I would choose them over and over again. I lived a Norman Rockwell picture, 1950's lifestyle. It was about as perfect as could be.

The Family History Starts Here

8:46:00 AM judyo53 0 Comments

I was 7 months old when I was adopted, probably close to the photo here. In fact, this might be my first photo on or near the day I was brought home. That's the living room in our Blue Island home with my Dad Bud, Inky our cocker spaniel, Mom Bernice and me. Look close and you'll see the weird clown on the top left of the chair.

I'm still not quite sure why I was so old as they usually adopt out newborns, like my brother, your Uncle John. I'm wondering if my biological Mom tried keeping me. This is a real missing link for me and I keep trying to trick Mom (Bea) into telling me the truth.  She swears she doesn't know.

My name was Paula Tackitt, and I guess my biological Mom's last name was Tackitt. My Mom & Dad (you don't remember Great Grampa Bud, but my Mom is Great Gramma Bea, or Bernice) got married young and everyone thought GG Bea was pregnant. They got married during one of GG Bud's army leaves (he was in WWII stationed in Germany - supposedly he was a cook). So there were rumors going around.

Turns out they couldn't have kids and they tried to adopt a baby. GG Bud helped raise a baby girl while in Germany during the war and he wanted a daughter because of that. They actually had fostered a little girl but her parents got back together and they lost her. If they hadn't lost her, they wouldn't have been able to adopt me. The policy of the adoption place I was at (called The Chicago Foundling Home), was two per customer. You could adopt two kids and you couldn't already have children.

Back then they tried to match race, nationality and even religion as close as possible. That's what Mom keeps telling me was the reason for my 7 month stay - trying to get the best match - I'm not buying it. My parents, your great grandparents, were both of German descent. One of my great grandmothers came to the U.S. on a boat straight from Germany. A couple of my Mom's cousins spoke both German and English at home. My parents were Lutheran and I found it funny that my Mom was only allowed to date Lutheran boys!

I was told I was German and English and my biological family, probably my Mom, was of Protestant faith. The picture to the right is the first professional set that was done.