52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - 2025; Week 24 "Romance"

MY FATHER...THE ROMANTIC CAR THIEF: 

When my parents were married on June 15, 1946 my father was just returning from service in WWII.  Their courtship had been unique in that they had not known each other but were brought together by my paternal grandfather.  My father had been born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and my mother had been born and raised in St. Joseph, Michigan, some 200 miles away.  The families knew each other, though, through another familial connection but my parents had never met.  While my father's parents, and even his brother and sister, had traveled numerous times to St. Joseph to visit my mother's family, my father had never joined his family on these trips.

When my father went into the service he was already engaged to someone from Detroit.  She was wearing his engagement ring and my father had presented her with a photo of himself in uniform with a personal inscription.  During his service in Central America, in the US Army Air Corps, his fiancee, Lillian, had "strayed" and my grandmother had been privileged to catch her in this indiscretion.  My grandmother, being a very controlling person, had demanded the engagement ring and photo back and Lillian was banished - never to be heard from again!

It was at this time that my father's parents traveled to St. Joseph to visit my mother and her family.  During this visit, my paternal grandfather played matchmaker and asked my mother if she would like to write to his son in the service who had just broken up with his girlfriend.  My mother agreed to write to the serviceman only if he were to write her first.  The correspondence began and would last for about 2 years until my father was discharged in February, 1946.  During this time my father decided that it would be a great idea to send his "new" girlfriend a photo of himself in uniform and this is the photo he sent her.  Evidently he had been raised to "waste not, want not" though my brother and I thought this was the most hilarious thing as we were growing up and would hear this story and see this photo:

In February, 1946 my father was discharged from the service and he returned to Detroit.  My mother and HER mother (chaperone, you know!) traveled to the train depot in Detroit to greet him.  This would be the first time my parents actually saw each other.  Immediately my father proposed, my mother accepted and she was given the same engagement ring that my father's previous fiancee had worn.  They were married just a few months later on June 15, 1946.  On their 25th anniversary, though, in 1971 my mother did get a new engagement and wedding ring set though she really never seemed to mind the original setting either.  It was more of a humorous story that was told over the years to friends who would always marvel at the recycled photo and ring.

But there is more to this story.  My parents were to be married in my mother's home town of St. Joseph.  A few days prior to the wedding my father arrived in St. Joseph with his new acquisition which was a used car that he had just purchased in Detroit.  He was most proud of this car and it would be their honeymoon transportation to Niagara Falls.

On June 15th, the day of the wedding, my father decided to move the car from my mother's house because he was sure his brother and other male friends were going to be playing a prank on him with his car.  Not knowing the area of St. Joseph he simply drove his car a few blocks from my mother's home and parked it in front of a house.  The wedding took place, the guests moved to the reception hall and the day was perfect.  After the reception my father walked back to pick up his car so he could go and pick up his new bride and they could start on their honeymoon.  But when he got to the place where he had parked the car, the car was GONE.

Thinking for sure that his brother, cousins, friends and/or my mother's three brothers had moved the car as a joke, he simply walked around the downtown area and happened upon his car which was parked in a parking lot of what he assumed to be a business of some sort.  He got in the car and proceeded back to pick up my mother at the wedding hall so he could drive her back to her home so she could change out of her wedding gown.  They had just pulled up in front of my mother's home when suddenly the police came up behind him, told him he was driving a stolen car, and despite protests that my father was the owner of the car, he was made to drive back to the police station.

My mother, so sure now that HER brothers had played some prank was so angry that she marched back to the reception hall where the party was still going on and confronted her brothers, cousins, brother-in-law and all professed innocence in the matter.

Back to the police station they all went where my father was being held as being in possession of a stolen car.  Everyone attempted to convince the police that my father was the rightful owner of the car, some offered to stay in his place and my mother's uncle even offered to put his nearby hotel up as collateral if the newlyweds could leave.  They were told, though, that this was a state offense and that my father would have to stay in the police station until word came from Lansing, the state capital, as to the rightful ownership of the car.

What had happened was that my father had purchased the car in Detroit from a man going through a divorce.  The man's wife had not known about the sale of the car and she reported the car stolen.  When my father had moved his car on the day of the wedding and parked it a few blocks away, the owner of that home had noticed the car parked there all day and reported it to the St. Joseph police who ran a trace of the license plate which came up as having been stolen in Detroit.  The police towed the car to the parking lot of the police station and my father, not knowing the area, simply got in the car and drove it away.

After sitting in the police station until 4 in the morning, the word finally came from Lansing that my father was indeed the rightful owner and my parents were able to finally leave on their honeymoon.

The next day they did make the front page of the St. Joseph newspaper which made for a repeat of a good story over the next 50 years.  My father even carried a copy of the newspaper clipping in his wallet those 50 years, as a reminder of the events of his unique wedding day:

The next morning, none the worse for wear, they posed with the car in front of my mother's home as they prepared to leave on their honeymoon:

 copyright 2025, Cheryl J. Schulte

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - 2025; Week 23 "Homemade"

HOMEMADE BY GRANDMA AND GRANDPA:

My maternal grandparents, Ella, nee Kolberg, and Joseph Kijak, were loving grandparents whose memories I will carry with me forever.  They were also very talented in woodworking (grandpa) and craft work (grandma).  Here are some examples of their talents, which I still have today, and am proud to display in my home:

Homemade by my grandmother:

My christening slip and gown made in 1948:

Christmas decorations:

Homemade Easter eggs:

Stuffed animals (2 poodles and "Tony the Tiger":

Baby clothes for me:

My Mickey Mouse stuffed animal, which my grandmother made in varying fabrics for many of my cousins, (it is stuffed with women's hosiery):

A foot stool, which my grandmother made by using 7 large empty juice cans and covered with material from coats that she would purchase at rummage sales.  She made these stools for many cousins, who still have their stools today, and who remember my grandmother with love: 

Homemade by my grandfather:

Doll furniture:

A toy trunk, made by my grandfather in 1927, for my mother when she was 2 years old.  I now use it in my home as a coffee table:

My mother's rocking chair, also made by her father in 1927, when she was 2 years old:

My grandparents were talented people and I know that they would be pleased to know that all the above items are in my home and are still displayed by me.

copyright 2025, Cheryl J. Schulte

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - 2025; Week 22 "Sports"

DETROIT SPORTS:

In my family, sports played a large part in the activities that my father (and my brother) enjoyed.  The Detroit teams were my father's passion, and he could always be found enjoying a game or three at the same time.

I can still see my father sitting in his recliner watching the Detroit Tigers on the large TV, watching another sport on a small 7" TV that he propped up on his stomach and holding a radio to his ear listening to another team.  Whether it was the Detroit Tigers playing baseball, the Pistons playing basketball, the Red Wings - and Gordie Howe - playing hockey or the Lions playing football, there was my dad.  In fact my parents had season tickets to all the Detroit Lions games for many seasons. 

In going through my photos for an interesting story to enhance this post I came across two photos of my paternal grandfather showing him enjoying sports.  

While I remember my grandfather vividly, and while we were extremely close, he never mentioned anything to me about having actively taken part in a sport.  But pictures do not lie!

Here is my grandfather, Elmer Schulte, in 1902 at the age of 8 with his bicycle.  I am taking liberties here for the purpose of this post that riding a bicycle is indeed a sport!  I am amazed at the size of the tires on this bike and how young my grandfather was when he had this bike.  He was also pretty well "dressed up" for a bike ride; was that the way children road bikes in the early 1900's?  Realizing this photo is well over 100 years old I did the best I could with scanning it:

Some years later, perhaps when newly married, my grandfather was shown in a baseball uniform out on the field catching a fly ball.  My grandmother wrote on the back of the photo that this was "Elmer in baseball uniform" though I never knew that he had actually played on a team.  

Was this a staged photo for fun showing him with feet off the ground catching the ball or was it a real game?  I don't know but it is a unique photo that is also over 100 years old:

While I remember my grandfather enjoying watching the Detroit teams on TV, and listening to them on the radio, it is interesting to me to realize that he also at one time did actually take part in sports.

Memories and newly discovered memories are enjoyable!

copyright 2025, Cheryl J. Schulte

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - 2025; Week 21 "Preservation"

KEEPSAKE ITEMS TO PRESERVE:

I have been very fortunate to have inherited many keepsake items from my parents, grandparents and even a few from great-grandparents.  These are very important to me and are items I want to preserve.  While I don't have children of my own, I am hopeful that my niece (with three young sons) or my nephew will one day continue to keep and preserve these items.

Here are some examples:

A six volume set of "The New Practical Reference Library Encyclopedia" dated 1915 which was owned by my great-grandfather, Rudolph Schulte (1869-1940).  The illustrations in these books are outstanding and they are handy reference guides to events in the world prior to 1915:

A German violin which also belonged to my great-grandfather, Rudolph Schulte (1869-1940).  Rudolph was an insurance salesman in the 1920's.  He had a client who could not pay his insurance premium so he gave Rudolph this German violin in exchange for his insurance premium.  The violin is dated from the 1850's:

A German prayer book which belonged to my great-grandmother, Bertha, nee Kramp, Kolberg (1860-1915).  She brought this book to the US when she immigrated on November 28, 1883 from Klein Tuchen, Kreis Bütow, Pommern, Preußen. This area is now, in 2025, known as Tuchomko, County Bytow, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland:

My most prized possession is this cut glass mushroom lamp which belonged to my great-grandparents, Rudolph (1869-1940) and Juliane, nee Feucht (1870-1907), Schulte.  This lamp dates to the mid-1890's and was in their home throughout their marriage and later passed down in the family until I received it.  This lamp is special to me because it is the only item I have of my great-grandmother who passed away at the young age of 36:

A childhood roll top desk that was my father's (1923-1996).  I still use this desk today to hold office supplies and I have a desk lamp placed on top:

A Polish flute (or better known as a recorder) which belonged to my great-grandfather, John Kijak (1861-1945), who used this flute to call sheep while he was still living in Poland.  He immigrated to the US from Taniborz gm. Kleszczewo pow. Poznan woj. Wielkopolskie (Greater Poland) on June 19, 1882:

A photo album that belonged to my great-grandmother, Amelia, nee Schluessler, Wellhausen (1876-1963).  This type of album is frequently seen now in antique shops:

My mother's (1925-2016) cedar chest which she received for her high school graduation in 1943 from her parents.  Her parents had this cedar chest hidden in their own bedroom, covered with a quilt, for weeks before the graduation and my mother told me she never noticed anything different:

 All of these items are important to me and are all displayed in my home.  It is important to me, as a genealogist and family historian, that these items continue to be preserved.

 

A message of appreciation goes to my cousin, Ina, in Poland for the correct wording of my ancestors' Polish home villages.

copyright 2025, Cheryl J. Schulte

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - 2025; Week 20 "Rubis Cousin's Reunion"

RUBIS COUSINS MEET AFTER 80 YEARS:

Newspapers and television broadcasts frequently have human interest stories of family members meeting after many years apart.  Back in 2012, I took part in arranging for my then 87 year old mother to reconnect with her then 85 year old cousin after 80 years apart.

I personally thought it was a slow news day in South Bend, Indiana but alas nobody in the media appeared to cover this story.  Instead I had to cover the event myself!

A few years earlier I had received an e-mail from a person who had come across my blog.  While I frequently receive such e-mails, none have ever had a connection with my mother's paternal grandmother's family which is the Rubis line from Poland.  My mother knew very little about her grandmother who had passed away in 1918 long before my mother was born.  My mother did know that her paternal grandparents had a very rocky marriage and had separated around 1900 and that her grandmother then had connected with another gentleman, moved to South Bend, Indiana from Bay City, Michigan, where she gave birth to 7 more children with this gentleman before she passed away in 1918.

That was why this e-mail I received a few years earlier surprised and pleased me as the woman writing indicated she had seen my blog, noted the banner on the blog that contained the 4 photos of my great-grandmothers and recognized the name of Mary Rubis Kijak.  This writer, D, told me that she believed my great-grandmother was her husband's great-grandmother as well.

E-mails went back and forth between D and myself.  She indicated that her mother-in-law was the daughter of Mary Rubis Kijak's oldest child from her relationship with Frank Banner, Sr.  While my mother knew that there were children from her grandmother's life with Mr. Banner she only remembered them from her childhood.  Living in the fruit belt of Southwest Michigan (St. Joseph) it was common for family members from other areas to visit St. Joseph during the summer to take the fresh produce home.  Evidently members of the Banner family would frequently do so, coming from nearby South Bend, Indiana (35 miles) and my mother remembered playing with these half cousins when they were children.

D and I exchanged information and I learned that D's mother-in-law, Betty, was very eager to see my mother again.  My mother as well was eager and did remember Betty as a child though 80 years had gone by.

On August 22, 2012 we had our reunion.  My mother and I drove from St. Joe to Mishawaka, Indiana and met Betty and her daughter-in-law, D, at a restaurant where we had a wonderful lunch and long conversations.  Both D and Betty had brought scads of photos with them.  Out came my Flip Pal scanner and I was able to scan all the photos right there at the table.  After lunch we went to Betty's house, near the Notre Dame campus, for some further visiting.  

Here is a photo of my mother (left) and Betty (right) at their reunion in 2012:

When there are sensitive issues involving ancestors it is often difficult to learn any of the details involved but Betty was very forthcoming with information on my great-grandmother's second family that I had not been aware of.  It was a very special reunion in many ways and one that my mother and Betty were so grateful for.

The next year D and I arranged another reunion with my mother, Betty and two other cousins, Martha and Evelyn.  Again we traveled to Mishawaka, Indiana and the 4 cousins had a grand reunion that they all thoroughly enjoyed.

Here are the 4 cousins at that reunion with Betty and my mother in the back row standing and Evelyn and Martha sitting:

Again, in 2015, the 3 cousins and D traveled to St. Joseph to take part in my mother's 90th birthday celebration.  Even after so many years apart the 4 women thoroughly enjoyed spending time together.

Since then all 4 cousins have passed away.  D and I still correspond and discuss how happy we are that we were able to get the cousins together when we did.  

This year, my mother would be 100 years old, and in thinking of this I was reminded of these reunions between these cousins.  All 4 women shared the same grandmother, Mary Rubis Kijak, while Martha and Betty had Mr. Banner as their grandfather and my mother and Evelyn had John Kijak as their grandfather.

And I learned a valuable genealogical lesson - "never say never" as there are always avenues to explore that will lead to new discoveries, though I always thought the chances of my finding further information on my Rubis ancestors were slim.

In the last few years I have learned that this is definitely not true, as I have had the immense joy to have connected with a cousin in Poland, from the Rubis side of both of our ancestors, and with her help I have been able to extend my Rubis ancestral line back more generations.

This information will be shared in further blog posts this year.  

copyright 2025, Cheryl J. Schulte

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - 2025; Week 19 "Mother's Day"

MOTHER'S DAY, 1950:

It was Mother's Day, 1950.  I was 20 months old and certainly old enough to give my mother a special Mother's Day gift.  My parents and I lived in an upper flat in Detroit and the only means of entrance and exit was by an outside staircase.  

All on my own I came up with this gift for my mother.  I worked on it the afternoon before Mother's Day.  Quite a gift, wouldn't you say?

Yes, that is a full body cast - the result of slipping on the bedroom floor the afternoon before Mother's Day and the accomplishment of doing the splits.  My poor mother didn't know what had happened and certainly didn't realize the magnitude of the injury.  She has told me that I cried so terribly that she called my father home from work and together they took me to Saratoga Hospital in Detroit.

There I was found to have a broken left leg.  There was an orthopedic surgeon at the hospital at the time and he performed a closed reduction of the left femur and set the leg with the full body cast.  

This was quite a chore for my petite mother to carry me up and down the stairs for the months it took to heal.  I had just been learning to walk and had to learn that all over again.

Fast forward to 1981 and I was now employed at Saratoga Hospital as the Medical Staff Coordinator.  Imagine my surprise to see the same orthopedic surgeon, Clarence Maguire, M.D., still on the staff nearly 30 years since he set my broken leg.  No, I didn't remember him; I just knew his name from my mother's tale!  He was near retirement and thoroughly enjoyed hearing how he had been the surgeon to take care of me on Mother's Day in 1950.  I showed him the photo and he chuckled and remarked that casts like that were certainly not used any longer.

In recent years, the 5 year old daughter of one of my goddaughters had the misfortune of breaking her leg after a fall off her bike.  She had a much smaller and prettier bright purple cast on her leg.  I showed her this photo of my broken leg and her only question was how I went to the bathroom with that cast on!  

Good question!

I will say that in the years after that Mother's Day I did manage to gift my mother much more appropriate and loving gifts though she would often remind me of the Mother's Day in 1950.

copyright 2025, Cheryl J. Schulte 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - 2025; Week 18 "Gravestones"

CLEANING A GRAVESTONE:

I am not necessarily a fan of social media per se but I do use Facebook for the many "research" related groups that are available on that site.

One of the groups that I belong to is devoted to memories of living in Benton Harbor and Saint Joseph, Michigan and contains a wealth of information on the history of my home town.

Recently there was a post on the site from a gentleman who announced that he had a "Gravestone Cleaning" business that he had just  begun and he was interested in spreading the word on this service.  He offered the first person who would respond a free cleaning of a family gravestone.  I responded to his post and, amazingly, he answered me that he would be willing to clean a gravestone of my choosing for free.  

My maternal grandparents, Joseph and Ella (Kolberg) Kijak, are buried in the Lincoln Township Cemetery in Stevensville, Michigan and I selected their gravestone for cleaning. I exchanged a few messages with this gentleman, who told me his name was Samuel, and he agreed to clean my grandparent's gravestone.

My grandparents bought the burial site and gravestone in 1955.  My grandfather passed away on October 23, 1960 and my grandmother on May 29, 1973.  Since I moved back to the area in 1997, I have visited their grave many times each year, placed flowers there every summer and have noticed the stone becoming more and more faded.  They had selected a stone at that time, with the engraving on both sides, and both sides were definitely seeing the effects of the weather and the last 70 years.

Kijak gravestone, 2025, before cleaning:

After Samuel finished his cleaning the results were amazing.

Kijak gravestone, 2025, after cleaning:

These are pictures from each side of the gravestone taken by Samuel.  I went to the cemetery the next day and the pictures don't even do the results justice, as the final results were perfect; just as though the stone was just placed.

I was very pleased with the work that Samuel did and I was happy to give him permission to use my pictures for his advertising.  

I wish him much success with his new business venture and I may use him in the future for the gravestone of my great-grandparents.

Joseph and Ella Kijak, August 8, 1945, Ella's 50'th birthday:

copyright 2025, Cheryl J. Schulte