June 6 is the 80th anniversary of D Day. I miss the days when Walt and Skeezix would have remembered that they were there. My Uncle Gabe, who is the soldier in our picture, joined the Army before the war began so he could get specialized training. He was one of the first people trained in the use of Radar. Because of his specialized training, he saw action in a lot of different theaters – but he was there for D Day. This picture was taken about six months before – I think he was home with us for Christmas. This was in the days before rural areas had electricity and telephones. A lot of people were still farming with horses – including us. My sister was born at the end of May, so my mother was still in the maternity home with her and we went in to see them. The lady who owned the Cream Station had invested in a wind charger so she could have electricity to sanitize the equipment she worked with. Because she had electricity, she also had a radio which was strong enough to pick up broadcasts from big cities. And, as news spread, all sorts of people started congregating around her cream station to listen to the radio broadcasts. She put her radio up in a window beside her porch. Her daughter took a lot of the kids out on the porch and got us busy playing ring toss and other games so we’d stay quiet enough for the grown ups to be able to listen to the broadcasts. It would be great to see some of the Gasoline Alley strips which were running between 1941 and 1945. Hats off to all those who have served.
June 6 is the 80th anniversary of D Day. I miss the days when Walt and Skeezix would have remembered that they were there. My Uncle Gabe, who is the soldier in our picture, joined the Army before the war began so he could get specialized training. He was one of the first people trained in the use of Radar. Because of his specialized training, he saw action in a lot of different theaters – but he was there for D Day. This picture was taken about six months before – I think he was home with us for Christmas. This was in the days before rural areas had electricity and telephones. A lot of people were still farming with horses – including us. My sister was born at the end of May, so my mother was still in the maternity home with her and we went in to see them. The lady who owned the Cream Station had invested in a wind charger so she could have electricity to sanitize the equipment she worked with. Because she had electricity, she also had a radio which was strong enough to pick up broadcasts from big cities. And, as news spread, all sorts of people started congregating around her cream station to listen to the radio broadcasts. She put her radio up in a window beside her porch. Her daughter took a lot of the kids out on the porch and got us busy playing ring toss and other games so we’d stay quiet enough for the grown ups to be able to listen to the broadcasts. It would be great to see some of the Gasoline Alley strips which were running between 1941 and 1945. Hats off to all those who have served.