May 25, 1969...HS Graduation pic with Family

Ok, I'm back with you. Now, some of you may say that I am jumping around with my story. Not a problem, my friend. Remember one thing...I like to move fast. I like to jump around a bit. Hang with me because I'm painting a collage here. I figure it is better to keep you on your toes or on the edge of your seat if your sitting down.

This pic was taken at 839 Westwood Dr. in Ballwin, Missouri. The subdivision was Claymont and our section was called old Claymont as time went by. My family moved here in 1962-3.

(remember...you can click on the pic to enlarge it.)

From left to right...my Dad Amel...Mark, my nephew...Patty, my niece that I am holding, me in cap & gown, my sister Mary in background, my sister JoAnn with baby Beth, my Mom Virginia, & my niece Karen. The picture I believe was taken by Gene Grant, my terrific Brother-in-Law who my sister JoAnn met at Brown Shoe Co. in Clayton, Mo.

It looks to me that my Mom & my sisters had there hair done together for this event as there is quite a similarity in style.

By the time my family moved to this house I was pretty much an only child as my syblings had moved out of the nest. Mary was married to Louis Kirn and lived down the street with their kids, Karen, Mark, & Kevin. JoAnn and Gene were married 2/8/62 and lived in St. Louis for a while and had young children, Steve, Patty, & Beth. My brother, Jack was in the Airforce and married Coby from Holland and their young kids were John & Margaret.

I was 8 1/2 yrs. behind my brother, Jack so there was a pretty fair gap in age between us really. It was just my parents & myself living under one roof and it seemed like I was the only kid since JoAnn & Jack moved on with their lives. However, since my sister Mary lived down the street with her kids & I was their uncle. Karen is 4 yrs. younger than me...Mark about 11 yrs...and Kevin is about 12 yrs. younger. Now, instead of me being the youngest kid in the family I was the oldest. I gradually gained a bit more of seniority around this time as I was now being referred to as "UncleBob."

Life seemed pretty good at the time & my family was proud of me for graduating from high school. I would spend the summer working as a carpenter for my uncle's company building modular homes and playing baseball. From there I was leaning towards going to college at Meramec Community College for a semester and then head up to Columbia, Mo. to continue my education at the University of Missouri. On the outside the future was bright, however on the inside I knew my draft number was 43 and the Viet Nam war was the main story each and every day on the news. Going to college would mean a draft deferment for me. I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with my life back then. I just knew that i did not want to go to war.