Photo selected for San Diego Map Guide

In July, 2008 Jackie, myself and our two cocker spanials, Cava and Nikki took our RV to Carlsbad, California. Part of the trip was for vacation and the other part was to have Cava's radiation treatment. The vet clinic offered to keep both dogs for a day so that Jackie and I could travel and explore the area.

One morning we boarded the Coastal commuter that took us along the Pacific coast from Carlsbad to San Deigo. The weather was ideal and we had a wonderful time. Just the train ride in and of itself was terrific as we watched the surf along the ocean and traveled thru the small coastal towns.

I took my camera and took plenty of pictures. Many of my photos are posted on the Flickr website. To my surprise this picture was selected by a San Deigo map company to be included in it's guide map that is distributed to tourist. The picture was taken in the harbor just before we arrived at Seaport Village.

1930...Amel's Life on on the Farm

Amel was 14 years old at the time and worked on the farm as a laborer as did his older brother Clark. Elliot, 43 and Mabel, 35 had been married now for 11 years. Mabel was born in Montana and her Father was born in Germany and her Mother was born in Canada. Elliot and Mabel had two children together. Lee was now 9 years of age and Margaret was now 7 years old. Both were born in Montana as a result of when Elliot met Mabel while working in Montana. Elliot had left Missouri in search of work in Montana in 1917. Apparently, Elliot lived and worked in Montana at least until 1923 when Margaret was born.

According to this census my Great Grandparents John, 79 and Belle, 73 and Howard ,11 were living together. Howard, called Buster was the son of my Aunt Mary. On this census Howard too is listed as a laborer for general farm work.

Also highlighted on this census is Alva Simmons and his family. Alva was Elliot's brother and Amel's uncle. That makes Alva my Great Uncle.

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My Uncle Mike McCune

My Aunt Dolly married Mike McCune in St. Louis, Missouri and together they had Kay, Michael, Bev, Jerry, & Gary. Well, a few hours ago I discovered that my Uncle Mike grew up on a farm in Howell County, Brandsville, Missouri. According to the 1920 US census Mike was just 1 year & 2 months old at the time.

My Uncle Mike's Father was born in Iowa & his Mother was born in Texas. Mike had 3 sisters & a brother at this time. In about 2 years another sister would arrive.

Eventually, Uncle Mike's parents moved to St. Louis and lived on Lotus Street across from where Joseph & Della Froehly raised their family.

I have fond memories of my Uncle Mike and I'll always remember his laughter when he gave me my first sip of beer. It took place in Clayton, Missouri in my Grandma & Grandpa Froehly's kitchen where the men had gathered on an afternoon occasion. I was just barely walking by this time & Uncle Mike would call me over by saying "Hey Bud, come on over & try some of this." I liked Uncle Mike so I went right over & when he lowered the bottle I took my first swig of beer.

Well, I had never tasted anything like this before and it sure tasted different than the milk, water, or apple juice that I was used to. I remember the beer tasting bitter & strong. I'm sure I made quite a face and I just remember what a kick my Uncle Mike, my Dad, & Uncles Chubby, & Junior got out of it. They all howled with laughter.

In the 1950's I loved spending time at my cousins when they lived at 2315 Dawes in Overland, Missouri. Kay, Bev, & Mike were older than me and then on Sept. 2, 1956 twin boys, Jerry & Gary were added to the McCune family. Whenever I could stay overnight I would jump at the opportunity. There were always fun things to do like shooting baskets in the backyard or running around the neighborhood with the kids. On summer evenings I can remember the sun setting in the backyard and then all kinds of lightning bugs appearing as it got dark. It was magical!

New Years Eve and New Years Day was always a thrill as the entire family celebrated at the McCunes. I always knew there would be a great chance that I could sleep over. New Years Eve was always one of my favorite times because I would join in with my cousins making noise all throught the neighborhood celebrating the arrival of the New Year. We would always count down the last seconds.

The McCunes liked to have fun and I was a willing participant. The more, the merrier. I'll always remember my Uncle Mike's laughter. My next beer is with him in mind.

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Joseph, Della, & Virginia...1920

Joseph, Della, and 9 month old Virginia (my Mom) lived at 1420 North 23rd Street in 1920. They rented the house. Joseph, a repair mechanic at the Electric company was 25 and Della was 27.

The location of the residence was in North St. Louis close to where Della grew up. Joseph was raised in South St. Louis.

It is noted that Joseph's mother and father were from Alsace Loraine, France and German was their native tongue. On the other hand, Della's parents were from Ireland and their native tongue was Irish.

Joseph A. Froehly 1917 Draft Registration Card

Joseph A. Froehly signed up for the WW1 draft on June 5, 1917. He and Della were married at the time and lived at 2241 Missouri Avenue in St. Louis. Joseph worked as a machinist at Pan-Electric which was located at 4th St. and Gratiot St. The card indicates that Joseph was a natural born citizen and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was his place of birth. His birthdate was January 3, 1984.

Joseph and Della had no children at this time. However, their first child, Mary Virginia would be born 1 year and 8 months after Joseph signed his name on this draft card.

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Kevin Louis Kirn...My Nephew

Pictured is Kevin with his lovely wife, Kathy and their three kids. Here we see Kaila, Kory, and Kyle. They are a lot of fun to be around and I wish that I lived closer to spend more time with them.

Kevin was like a little brother to me while growing up and we have a great deal of history together. Whenever we get together we enjoy each other's company and it really doesn't matter how long it has been since the last time we saw each other.

I remember a spring in St. Louis back in the early 80's when I was a carpenter and married to Tina. I came home tired from work so I took a shower, got a bite to eat, and laid down on my bed for a nap. I was awakened to a strange noise I heard thru the opened window. The sound kept repeating itself and captured my curiosity. Now I was awake and had to find out what was going on. When I looked out my window there was nothing to be found, but when I went outside and looked over my house I discovered what was happening.

A large multi-colored hot air baloon piloted by Kevin was hovering over my rooftop and he was creating this sound by giving the baloon more gas. Now I was awake, but I thought I was still dreaming. Kevin and I always have a great laugh about this incident.

My sister JoAnn informed me on Sunday that Kevin has a cancerous tumor growing out of his right lung. I then called Kevin to find out that he was starting radiation treatment on the following day. Kevin, I know you'll pull thru. I'm counting on you!

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3859 Kosciusko St. Alfred & Lena's Home.

This map of St. Louis will give you a glimpse of where the Froehly household lived in south St. Louis in 1912. Along the river you will see a small red baloon with an "A" that denotes the location of the house. Keep in mind that the city was much smaller at this time.

Many Germans came to live in south St. Louis back then. As a result, quite a few brewery's sprang up in the surrounding area. There was the Lemp brewery, Falstaff Brewery, and the Anheuser-Busch Brewery.




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