He was part of the Greatest Generation. The generation that fought the Second World War, in the hope there would never be another. Members of this generation, those who returned from the horrors of war, were often quiet about what they’d witnessed. Perhaps they were just too busy catching up with their lives back home. Most probably, though, they didn’t want to bring the trauma they’d seen back to the surface. This may have been the case with Gary‘s uncle…
He was the only local boy to fight in Italy during World War One. Leo Paul Werne was a younger brother of Gary’s grandpa George. Born on January 25, 1891, he was 25 when the call came to sign up for the draft. Leo prepared to go “over there.” As part of the American Expeditionary Forces, Private Werne was a “Doughboy.” According to a front-page article in The Ferdinand News on May 23, 1919, Leo had quite an adventure: Returns…
What an enchanting name: Marie Antoinette Dansereau. Dad’s great-uncle Franklin Paul Vayo married her on June 4, 1904. Now before anyone gets all silly with a “let them eat wedding cake” meme, let me point out the phrase was first quoted long before the future bride of Louis XVI had even set her dainty foot on French soil. But as long as we’re talking about eating, it feels like poetic justice that Franklin (henceforth referred to as Frank) made a…
Philip Cassidy didn’t start out as a member of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. When he volunteered to serve in The Great War, he was a member of the 16th Division Army Cyclist Corps. Surely Philip wore this badge on his uniform cap with pride: Philip Markey Cassidy was born in Dublin, Ireland, on October 12, 1895. He was the fourth of seven children born to Daniel and Mary Jane. “Markey” was Mary Jane’s maiden name. Philip’s father, Daniel, was the…
After A Month of Reading Rot in August, it seemed only natural to move on to “A Month of Misery” in September. Seven books this month, but don’t worry, not all were miserable. I’ll let you know this up front: got my jabs yesterday and so we’ll make this quick. (This is definitely the easiest time I’ve had following Covid and flu vaccines, but there is still a tad bit of … misery.) Book 1: The Sun Also Rises by…
This is the story of Galen Francis Veayo. He was born in Ontario, Canada on September 16, 1920. A twin. His sister’s name was Oleavia. The son of Joseph and Nina, he was the nephew and namesake of Maine educator Galen I. Veayo. He was Dad’s second cousin; their grandfathers were brothers. By the time Galen was 10, his family had moved to his father’s hometown of Bangor, Maine. Galen’s high-school yearbook tells us he collected rare coins. He especially…
This is the story of Thomas Edward Regan. Sadly, I don’t know much about him, but I’ll share everything I’ve been able to piece together. We’ll start at the beginning: Thomas Edward Regan was born in New Haven, Connecticut, on June 27, 1946. He was his parents’ only child. He was born two months and a day after his namesake and grandfather died. Thomas Edward Regan was only 44 and had suffered from tuberculosis for years. Sadly, the grandson wasn’t…
While fluffing out Dad‘s side of the family tree this week, I came across an interesting fellow by the name of Harry Melbourn Nightingale. He was born in New Brunswick, Canada, on August 21, 1883. One of 11 children to Enoch and Martha. The family immigrated to Maine in 1890 and settled in Aroostook County. Harry went to school, grew up, labored sometimes as a farmer and sometimes “in the woods.” He worked at several shoe shops and the Turner…
Please don’t let the fancy title of this story make you nervous. Basically, epistolary apostolate means “the letter-writing apostle.” Brother Frank, I’m learning, loved to write letters. If you read The Mulligan Cousins a few weeks back, you’ve already “met” Brother Frank. He was Mom’s cousin by marriage (her aunt Marcella’s marriage, that is), as his birth mom, Mary, passed away when he was just five. Their home on Central Avenue in New Haven still looks great: Here is a…
She was just 13 years old. It must have felt like the world was exploding. Her uncles were in uniform. The radio blasted news of war. There was rationing of food and materials. Newspaper headlines were frightening. So Mom wrote poems. Some she included in letters to her aunt who lived an hour away. It wasn’t until after Sister Amabilis passed away that Mom discovered all her letters had been preserved. This poem about the USS Hornet was so long,…