THE FOOTNOTES

I believe this a photo of the infamous Jeremiah "Jerry" J. Noonan. Jerry was the husband of Maria A. Nolan Noonan and father of John "Mickey" J. Noonan. Jerry was born in Tuckahoe, NY in 1862, the third child of John Noonan and Mary Ann Flanigan. He died in NYC in May, 1941. This photo was taken in Paullina, Iowa sometime in the late 1880's.

Although no name is written on the photo, the age of the photo and it being co-located with Maria's old family photos from the same era indicate that it is likely Jerry (Bob's grandfather). Also, I think the physical resemblance indicates he is a Noonan ancestor.

Jerry was a "Fireman" with the railroad in Yonkers, NY until becoming a "Laundryman" when he moved to New Britain, CT around 1890. A Fireman worked in tandem with the Engineer in "driving" the train. He was responsible for stoking the fire with coal to ensure proper power and pressures in the steam engine were maintained at all times. A job working with the railroad during those days was for the adventurous; similar to working for an airline today.

Jerry was an adventurer. He was called a "wanderer" by his daughter Mary "Lil." The Irish call men like him "rovers." Lil further said that he was "brilliant;" however, he was also an alcoholic. In fact, his employer Mr. Charles J. Parker (Parker Shirt Company) was very much impressed with his intellect and pleaded with him to give-up the "drink." Jerry did not and ended-up departing New Britain for NY alone around July 1899. In the near-decade in New Britain he married (1893) and had three children: John (1894); Mary (1897); and Thomas (1899). Although his time in CT was relatively short, his legacy still runs strong...keep-up the great work!

Another anniversary--discharged from the navy on this date----looks like 65 years to me. Wonder if they are still using sails.
I understand oars are now passe.

We went to megan's for lunch on monday.here we are with meg,tabor, and the dogs.

The hand truck you see here started life as an outdoor cooker. As it outlived its usefulness, its potential for conversion to a handtruck was not lost on shrewd, calculating old Bob, who, in conference with Bob The Younger, with his engineering skills, transformed it into what you see today. Its use has already warded off several hernias, and an even more pronounced case of bowleggedness.

Peggy, Moe and I took Thomas to the park yesterday. He had a circus----rode on all the swings, slid down the slide innumerable times, and even taught himself how to climb up the slide, flip over and slide down again. I think we were all ready for our naps after that workout.

Our latest assignment in our writing class is to write about
recollectioms of our early school experiences. Mine couldn't be a lot earlier-----first day in Kindergarten:

On April 1, 1945,, our ship, USS-YMS-176 , was part of the invasion fleet which invaded Okinawa, only 300 miles from Japan.
On April 6, the Japanese went all out to destroy our armada, sending hundreds of Kamikaze (suicide planes) to attack us. It was a major encounter.
A few months ago, in our writing class, I drew upon that experience, sort of---as follows

"Hey, Bob. I noticed you seem to be limpimg a lot. Got a sore foot or something? What happened? How did you get that? Is it serious? How long has that been going on?"
"you heard about World War 2? I was in that one, ya know,in the navy, our side, on a minesweeper. Ya heard about the big battle for Okinawa where the navy had more casualties than the army with all those Kamikaze airplanes, ya know, the suicide pilots crashing their planes into our ships. Every day for about four months. I thought we would not get out alive, but here I am."
"What a brave guy. You fought gallantly, perhaps heroically, without concern for your own safety---thinking only of our precious freedom. That had to be a horror show! And what you got out of it was a crippling handicap. So the battle for Okinawa is where you gave much of yourself and got the bum foot?"
Well, no, I got it last week at my house, in the kitchen, when I dropped a bottle of beer on my foot."
"Then what's all this about Okinawa and the Kamikaze planes?"
"I just like to talk about it."

Rita, Bob, Moe and I were guests of June and Pat for dinner. June is a great cook and hostess and Pat is always most hospitable. A nice evening. My camera settings were bit off, so some pictures are a little dark. I never was good at details such as camera settings