Harold Raykovitz: 1927-2008

 

Yet another find in a drawer filled with memories.

 

 

 

 

Random Pics from the Past...and Present

Pictured above: 

I'm the geeky looking kid holding the pumpkin almost two months (?) after Halloween. My mother ( Mary Barbara (Raykovitz) Williams ) is holding my sister ( Diana Lee ), and her mother ( Mary Barbara (Geffert) Raykovitz ) is smiling down at all of us.

+  +  +

I recently received a copy of the photo below of my Uncle Tom Bolacker ( 1930-2014 ) when he was very young. Check out those socks!

I decided to post it here, along with a pic of him ( & family ) from the 1960's on the front porch of a home that several generations of the Raykovitz family visited over the years.

 

 

Below is a pic from my sister's wedding in October 1981.

 

To CR in Tacoma:

Two of "Slick's" brothers are in the pic: Carl (front left) & Mike (back right).

 

 

For those that have been visiting regularly, you know the story of Raymond Raykovitz's Marine Corps friend, Joe Sheridan. Several relatives commented that they had never seen pics of Joe after the war.

 

Here's a pic from their time in Australia.

 

And here are two pics from one of the last times the brothers and sisters of Raymond Raykovitz got together with Joe. He's on the left.

 

Even though Joe Sheridan survived his wounds, as you can see from the picture, he dealt with the aftermath his entire life.

 

 

 

Finally, speaking of homes owned by the Raykovitz clan in days gone by...anyone recognize this location? 

 

 

More in a few.

Middle Room in Mayflower Homestead

 

Above: Joe & Joan (cousins) in February 1968.

Below: The same room/view in April 2014.

 

 

 

 

I found the glass globe in the basement a few months back, along with the mirrored shadow box in the upper left of the first photo.

 

Note the still visible shadow on the wall where it once hung.

 

More pics to follow.

 

Happy Easter

Ray's Burial at Arlington

We have all seen pictures of war and its aftermath.

 

The one below, taken at Arlington in ( I believe ) December 1946, is pretty darn powerful in my book.

 

It was another recent find, with more to follow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Messenger: April 9, 1944

On this day in 1944, it was Easter Monday. My mother and her siblings did not have school that day,  and their father - my maternal grandfather - decided to take the day off from working in the coal mines, which according to my mom did not happen too often.

 

I don't have the time this morning to post the full story of what happened that day, but I will this weekend.

 

Stay tuned.

A Shot of Four Roses and a Cool Steg

My wife and I took my Mom & her sister Helen out for dinner to pre-celebrate my Mom's 82nd birthday last weekend. For a variety of reasons, we decided on going to Dukey's.

 

And guess what...we'll be back!

 

Good food, good prices, good service...and the place was packed. 

 

 

 

The conversation during dinner was wide-ranging, but at one point, I asked about my Mom's father and what type of beer he liked to drink. The unanimous answer was Stegmaier. And immediately thereafter, Aunt Helen added that he liked a shot of Four Roses from time to time, and that he did not like his beer cold.

 

More glimpses of the past...way too cool.

 

Now it's been at least 30 years since I was last at Dukey's, and probably just as long since I had a draught Stegmaier. As I was planning to drive home that evening, I wasn't able to do a shot of Four Roses, but in honor of days gone by and JTR...I will someday soon.

 

I will begin posting more regularly in the weeks ahead.

 

Ring a Ding-ding...do the Stegmaier thing!