Fond Memories
by Philip E. Cox (2001)

Being born on December 31 can either be a neat thing, or it can be not so neat. When you are young, you want to have a birthday that does not conflict with any other day of celebration. How would you like to have friends and relatives say Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday and then give you one gift? I cannot tell you how many times that happened to me when I was a youngster. Now, however it is kind of fun to say on December 31, this is my birthday, let’s celebrate. We usually go to a party on December 31 and so everybody celebrates my birthday with me.

Regardless of my thoughts on the issue, there I was, a bouncing baby boy weighing in at 10 pounds, born at 12 noon on Thursday, December 31, 1925. I was born at home as were my sister and brother. I really do not remember much that happened in the first few years. The stock market crash in October of 1929 did not bother me much then. However, as I look back now, I realize that we were rather poor. My father worked throughout the depression. His income supported our family of five. My mother's father lived in our home at that time and made some contribution. My father's income also supported his mother and father who lived in a house built by him, for them, on the rear of our lot. At various times a cousin or an aunt lived with us until other arrangements could be made for them. When I was growing up, we had a man living in our house as a roomer. It was not uncommon for people to do that at that time. It was a source of income. His home was in Chicago and he went home every weekend. He was trained in metallurgy and worked in an industrial plant nearby. He lived with us for several years. One summer weekend in the summer of 1934 when I was 8 years old, he took me to Chicago with him. He took me to the Chicago World’s fair. It was wonderful. I saw a TV for the first time and another memory was the orange sherbet we had for dessert at the Florida exhibit. That was a real treat for a poor boy from Elkhart, Indiana.

My mother and father were gentle and loving parents. In the difficult years that they were raising our family I always felt secure. I knew that I would be provided for and that they cared for me. We were not well to do, and although I knew that, I was never bothered by it. Christmas was always a day to look forward to, however we did not get as many presents as children do today. We usually got one thing that we had asked for if it was not too expensive. One year I got a pair of high-top shoes with a side pocket that had a knife in it. It was just what I wanted, and I was very happy with that present. I suppose my parents thought it was a very practical gift.

During the lean years, we raised much of our food. We had a large garden that provided most of our fresh vegetables and plenty to be canned or frozen. We raised rabbits and chickens for meat and every year my father butchered at least one hog and usually purchased half of a beef. The meat was either frozen or cured, so that we were always well fed. My mother cooked and baked and sewed and generally provided very nicely for all of us on a very modest income. My father loved ice cream, consequently we always had ice cream in the freezer. We all liked popcorn, so we grew our own popcorn and had lots of it in the evenings.

My father was a self-taught musician on the guitar, the mandolin, and the banjo. He was very good at all three. It was a real treat when he would get them out and play for us. He also was quite good on the harmonica. I got so I could play the harmonica rather well since you do not have to read music to be able to play the harmonica.

My grandfather, my mother’s father, lived with us until his death in 1945. My grandfather was a music man. He loved music and musical instruments. It seemed to me that he could play any musical instrument that you could name. He worked as a tool and die maker in a factory that made musical instruments of every description except string instruments. His two favorite instruments were the cello and the flute. I can remember being awakened on a Saturday or Sunday morning to the mellow sound of the cello or the flute being played by my grandfather.

My grandfather owned a building on the other side of town. He had many things in that building. He had a complete metal working shop with all of the tools of his trade. In later years during World War II, my uncle Jim used this shop to do some defense work for the war effort. In addition to all of the machine tools, he had nearly every musical instrument also stored in that building. He had other instruments stored in his bedroom in our home. Grandfather loved band music, so he started a band. I was 11 or 12 years old when the band started, and it continued until 1941 or 1942 when many of the members went off to war.

That neighborhood was composed of many Italian families, so when he let it be known that he wanted to start a band many of the neighbors volunteered to become part of the band. If they did not have an instrument grandfather would supply one. Some wanted to play but needed lessons he would give them music lessons. Of course, he recruited as many of his grandchildren as he could to play in the band. My Aunt Isabell lived in the house nearby and she had several children. At one time my cousin Robert played the tuba, Cousin Millard played the trombone or the French horn, cousin Marjory played the flute, and Cousin John played the trumpet. I played the clarinet, but not very well, since I had never learned to read music. So grandfather said perhaps I would do better on the snare drum. I believe he thought I could do the least amount of harm on the drum. My experience on the drum was very helpful to me in later life. I will explain later.

When I was 12 years old, I was a safety patrol boy at my grade school. It was an honor to be one. I was chosen captain. I had to schedule the other safety patrol boys and see that they were on duty on time. During the sixth grade I was selected as one of the outstanding safety patrol boys in Elkhart County. I, along with four other safety patrol boys, won a trip to Washington D.C. We went on the train and we were gone for 5 days. We saw many things in Washington. My teacher had given me a pocket size notebook for me to keep a diary during my trip. When I returned, I made a report to our class. My teacher said that it was very good, so good in fact that she thought it would be nice if I gave the report to the next parent-teacher meeting. I was petrified to think about going before them. However, I made the report and although I was shaky to start, I finally got through it. Now I know, my teacher was doing this for my own good. That was my first experience in speaking before an audience.

When I was 12 years old, I was baptized at the Central Christian Church, in Elkhart, Indiana. The practice in the Christian church is to baptize by total immersion. It was an unforgettable experience.

My grandparents on my father’s side were both born in North Carolina. My father was born there and lived there until he was in his teens. At that time, they moved to Fairmount, Indiana to find work. My father worked as a glass blower in that area. I am not exactly sure when he relocated to Elkhart but there, he met my mother who was born and raised in Elkhart. They were married in 1916. My father was 25 and my mother was 20. I am not sure where they lived when they were first married, but my father told me that soon after they were married, he made a down payment of $100.00 on their first house. I was born and raised in that house as were my brother and sister. They bought one other house in 1945 and lived in that one until my father died in 1961.

My mother’s mother was born in Pennsylvania and moved to Elkhart early in her life. Mother’s father was born in South Bend and moved to Elkhart to work for Buescher Band Instrument factory. He worked in that job all his life. My grandfather was very ingenious. He did everything from repairing watches to building a primitive automobile in 1910.

I never knew my maternal grandmother. She died a year before I was born, after being struck by a car as a pedestrian in downtown Elkhart.

My maternal grandfather then remarried and had one more son, but then divorced and I never knew that woman. That uncle was good to me. He lived in South Bend, and often came to visit. He and I would go fishing when he came to visit.

I knew my maternal grandfather very well because he lived with us as long as I could remember. He died in 1945 while I was in the Merchant Marine.

As my father’s parents grew older (late 60’s) in Fairmount, Indiana he decided it would be best for them, and for his peace of mind, that they live closer to him. He had two brothers and two sisters all living at that time. However, my father was not one to wait for someone else to do the right thing. He would do it himself. It always seemed to me that my father could do just about anything. We had a large city lot at that time and restrictions were not what they are now. This was sometime in the early 1920’s. My father, with my grandfather helping, completely built a 5 room and 1 bath house for his parents. It had both an upstairs and a basement. The house was built with cement blocks which he both manufactured and laid for the exterior walls. He had purchased a small cement block machine. My grandfather would make the blocks during the day, then my father would lay up the walls in the evening after working all day at his job. They did all of the carpentry work and the electrical and plumbing and heating. The home had a coal fired furnace and was well insulated. My grandmother and grandfather both lived out their lives in that house. The house was about 30 yards behind our house and my father put a battery powered telephone between the houses. When we were kids, we thought it was great fun to ring up grandmother on that telephone and she never tired of having us call on that phone.

My grandfather Cox died when I was 9 years old. It was the first time anyone close to me had died. It was quite traumatic. I remember seeing him dead in his bed before they came from the funeral home. When that happened, my father assumed the responsibility of taking care of both houses. In cold weather that meant taking care of another coal fired furnace. We had a stoker on our furnace, but dad had to hand fire grandmother’s furnace. When I was 12 years old my father asked me if I would be willing to stay at my grandmother’s house every night and take care of the furnace both morning and night. In addition to taking care of the furnace it would give her a feeling of security, having me sleeping upstairs. Since I loved my grandmother dearly, I readily agreed. I felt that he trusted me quite a bit to have me take that responsibility. One time when I was starting the fire in the morning, I tossed some kerosene in to get it started. When it did not start right away, I looked in to see why. Just as I looked in it exploded in my face. It singed off my eyebrows my eyelashes and quite a bit of my hair. I had burns on my face which really hurt a lot. My mother treated them with some kind of burn salve, and they took quite a while to heal. Fortunately for me all of the burns healed nicely, and I had no scars or lasting effects. Needless to say, I never tried to start the fire that way again.

Sometimes I would eat breakfast with my grandmother and sometimes I would eat at home. I was so close to home I could go either place. My grandmother always got up early and would bake biscuits for breakfast. I loved those hot biscuits with butter and honey. I ate many breakfasts at my grandmother's house, then I would hurry home and get ready for school. My grandmother told me many stories about when she was a little girl in North Carolina. She was born in 1855 and was just a child during the war between the states. She never called it the Civil War. She told me that a large group of northern soldiers camped on their property when she was about 4 years old. She remembers the captain in charge of the soldiers coming to their house. Her mother noticed that he was wearing a Masonic ring. She let him know that her husband was a Mason and that she was a member of the Eastern Star. He said she need not worry, that they would not take any of their fence rails for firewood nor would they kill any of their animals for food. Some of their neighbors did not fare so well. She said that the last evening the soldiers were on their property the captain came to their house for dinner. He held her on his lap and told her that he had a daughter at home. He tried to get her to say she was a Yankee. She said she would only say she was a Rebel. He gave her a button from his uniform. I have a confederate bond that was issued to her father. It was worthless when the war ended. My grandmother died in 1945, she was 89 years old.

When I went to junior high school and high school, I had to go downtown. Both schools were located side by side on High Street in Elkhart. The school was about 3 miles from home. We had to walk, or someone had to take us. There were no school buses if you lived within the city limits. I used to go from our house one block to a more direct street and then I would hitch hike for a ride. Soon I got to know the people that took that route to work in the morning and they got to know me. I usually got a ride to the downtown area and only had to walk about 4 or 5 blocks. My years in junior high and high school were uneventful as I look back on them. I took courses in mechanical drafting and metal shop. I assumed that I was going to be a tool and die maker. My grandfather and 3 uncles had all followed that trade, and all had done well.

I always had some sort of job. In the summer I sold ice cream and I delivered newspapers year-round for 4 years. While I was in high school, I got a job in a local factory as an apprentice tool and die maker. I felt that it was a good start, but it was not to be.

Just before I was 16, I could drive, but I did not have a license. I had friends that could drive and some of them had cars. One of my friends was Jim Bergstrom. He and I went fishing, hunting, and camping together. Jim got a car before I did, and we spent a lot of time in that 1934 Plymouth. One summer day he said let’s take a trip, I said OK. I called my mother and told her I was with Jim and would probably spend the night with him. Since we frequently went camping together, she said all right. We filled the car with gas at 15 cents a gallon and departed. We headed west and went right through South Bend and on to Chicago. We reached Chicago about 2 o’clock in the afternoon. We had some money, but not much. We marveled at all the tall buildings. We went to the Field Museum. We ate some hot dogs and coke and then went to Grant Park. We walked along the waterfront of Lake Michigan. As it got later and we were tired, we decided to spend the night in the park. We picked out a nice park bench and slept soundly until the sun came up the next morning. I did not tell my mother about that trip until I was about 21.

I got my driver’s license when I was 16 and got my first car soon thereafter. It was a 1934 Pontiac. It was a straight 8-cylinder engine. It was very powerful and would have probably gone 120 mph, but I never drove it that fast. I do not believe I ever went over 65 mph. I loved that car. It was a sleek looking coupe with front opening “suicide doors." I paid $75 for that car and I kept it until 1943. When I went into the Merchant Marine, I was able to sell that car for a nice profit.

When World War II started, on December 7, 1941, I was 15 years old, almost 16. The newspaper came out with a special edition. That was a big thing when the newspaper would put out an extra edition. I stood on a busy corner and yelled “Extra, Extra, read all about it, Japs attack Pearl Harbor.” I sold lots of papers on that Sunday. Even though I was almost 16 years old at the time I thought I would never get in the war. I thought it would be over before I was old enough to go. Little did I know how long it would last. I enlisted in the Merchant Marine just before I became 18 in December 1943. I could not enlist in the Navy, because I was too close to being 18 and subject to the draft. If I had been drafted, I would have been in the Army. I had to have my parents’ permission to enlist at 17. I was due to graduate from high school in June and since I had enough credits to graduate my father received my diploma for me. He thought that was fine, because he had not graduated from high school.

I left soon after I had enlisted, and I was sent to boot camp in Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, New York. I got scarlet fever soon after I arrived. There was a minor epidemic at the camp. I was in the hospital for 4 weeks. I was really sick for a while, but the last 10 days I felt good enough to play poker with the other patients. I won about $150 before I was released from the hospital. That was great, because our pay was only $50 a month. I enjoyed the training. While I was there, I was on our barracks rowing team. It was great fun and we won several races. We raced every Friday night. Our skipper was proud of us and I think he won a lot of money. He made sure we got the best food available. After every race we had a big steak dinner with all the trimmings.

After boot camp I was sent to radio school in Boston, MA. The school was difficult. We learned radio theory and had to be able to repair the equipment. We also had to learn to type. Typing has been helpful to me all my life. We learned to take the Morse code, and had to learn to encode and decode messages. We had to go into Boston to the FCC and take 4 exams and pass all of them and take at least 16 words per minute in code. I was in radio school on D-Day, June 6, 1944. I was not quite ready for prime time yet.

After radio school, I shipped out of New York. My first ship was the S.S. Thomas W. Owen. It was a liberty ship. There were many ships in the convoy. When we were about halfway across the Atlantic Ocean, our ship left the convoy and went through the Strait of Gibraltar. I was in awe, seeing that huge stone fortress. I remembered seeing a picture of that rock on one of our insurance policies at home. While in the Mediterranean Sea our ship shot down a German plane. The plane was strafing our deck. I was the second radio operator, so my battle station was a loader on a 20 MM anti-aircraft gun. We did not know which gun shot down the plane, but we got to paint a plane on the stack of our ship.

We were at sea on Christmas 1944. Soon after we landed at Alexandria, Egypt. I spent my birthday there. We were in Egypt quite a while to get the ship unloaded. While there, I visited Cairo and we saw the pyramids and the Sphinx. We stayed in the famous Shepherd’s Hotel. That hotel was later destroyed by fire during an overthrow of the government. We then proceeded to Suez, where more cargo was unloaded. While we were in Suez, two other ship’s officers and I went to a local nightclub. There were several beautiful Egyptian girls doing their famous belly dance. Wow, what a sight for a small-town boy from Indiana. On the way back to New York we made several stops along the North African coast. We stopped in Tangier and Casablanca in Morocco. Tangier is opposite Gibraltar, and you can see that gigantic rock from the African coast. While in Casablanca we went to the famous Casbah, but we did not get to Rick’s Bar.

We arrived back in New York on March 2, 1945. After a trip home to Elkhart, I sailed again on April 28, 1945. This time I was on a Liberty ship that had been converted to a tanker. It was the S.S. Carleton Ellis. We carried 68,000 barrels of aviation gasoline. There were three ships sunk in that convoy, all tankers. They went up in flames and sunk with all hands aboard killed. When the war in Europe ended on, May 5, 1945, we were still at sea. I received a radio broadcast in plain language on the international calling frequency, 500 kilocycles. It was broadcast over and over and announced that Germany had surrendered. It went on to say that all Axis ships and submarines were to surrender to the nearest Allied ship or convoy. Shortly after that broadcast a German submarine surfaced in the middle of our convoy. It was immediately taken over by a British DE and was taken with us to England.

I met a nice girl in England. Her name was Ruth B. Her father was in the RAF, and he was stationed at the airfield where we were delivering the gasoline. Their home was near the airfield in the North of England. It was near the towns of Morcambe and Heysham. I was there for 5 days and Ruth and I danced the nights away in a dance hall in Morcambe. I brought some food from the ship and they were very pleased. I never saw Ruth again, but my mother wrote to her mother and told her she appreciated her being so nice to me while I was in England.

I got back to New York on May 28, 1945. I sailed again on another Liberty ship, the S.S. Leopold Damrosch from Newport News, Virginia on June 22. We were to go to France and load war material. Then go back through the Panama Canal to the far east to assist in the war in the Pacific. We docked in France at the end of a dock. It was a very large dock. There was a fenced-in area that covered nearly the whole dock. The fenced-in area was being used as a prison camp to hold German prisoners of war. In order to get into the city of Marseilles, France we had to pass all the way through the prison camp. We always had to pass through accompanied by an armed guard. We were a bit apprehensive at first, but I do not think we were in much danger. The war was over for them and they were just waiting to be repatriated back to Germany. They did all their own cooking and baking. They had a tailor shop and a laundry. We got all of our laundry and mending done while we were there and all they wanted for pay was cigarettes.

While we were docked in the prison camp the U.S. Bomber dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. That was on August 6,1945. Then on, August 9, 1945, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. Japan surrendered on Aug. 14,1945. A war that had claimed some 45 Million lives all over the world had come to an end. We walked through the prison camp and told the German prisoners that Japan was “Kaput." They all cheered along with us. While we were in the harbor of Marseilles, we were to move to another dock to load. We had a collision with a sunken wreck. We were towed to a dry dock to repair the propeller. We were in dry-dock for 30 days. Let me tell you 30 days in France with no schedule to keep is a great way to spend a month. We made many friends at the local officer's club. After a while we were allowed a liquor ration. We had parties aboard our ship. There was an encampment of army officers and nurses nearby and they came aboard for the parties. Then one of the Army officers had access to motor vehicles. He got a truck and some tents and C-rations, and we went camping on the French Riviera. We went to Nice and Cannes. We camped out on the beach of the Mediterranean Sea. The French girls went topless, but the nurses did not. We were there for 4 days.

When we headed back to the states the ship could go no faster than 6 knots. It took us 25 days to get back to Newport News, Virginia. I decided to keep sailing even though the war was over, and I could have gone home. I enjoyed sailing and it was more enjoyable when you did not have to worry about being torpedoed. I made a 61-day trip to Livorno, Italy on a ship named the S.S. Robin Sherwood. She was a fine fast ship. While in Italy I was able to make side trips to Florence and Pisa. We visited the museums and the Leaning Tower. On the day I went to the Leaning Tower I took a carton of cigarettes with me. I sold them for $50 at the base of the tower. Of course, it was Italian money, but it financed the trip.

Back in Livorno we loaded 500 prisoners aboard our ship. These were American Soldiers who had committed crimes overseas. They were being brought back to the states and were to go to a federal prison here.

We arrived back in New York on, December 31, 1945, my birthday. I was 20 years old and just in time to spend New Year’s Eve in Times Square. It was a memorable New Year’s Eve party. While on my last ship I met a man who would be a friend until he died. His name was Sid Ferris. Sid was from Detroit and had been sailing both fresh water and salt water all his life. We decided to continue sailing.

After a short stay at home, we returned to New York and got aboard a ship called the S.S. Alcoa Pennant. She was 365 feet in length and had a cruising speed of 16 knots. We carried 8500 tons of cargo down to the West Indies and to South America. We sailed out of New York, Mobile, New Orleans and once out of Halifax. On the return trip from the West Indies, we carried bauxite Ore to be made into aluminum. We also carried 12 passengers both ways. That ship was to be our home for the next year. We made five round trips in that year.

On one of our stops in Venezuela I contracted malaria. I got very sick after we had left Venezuela. I could not get to a doctor until we got to Port of Spain, Trinidad. The doctor came out to the ship while we were anchored in the harbor. Of course, he knew immediately what I had, and gave me some medicine to take. I felt better after a few days, but you never get rid of malaria. I had problems for quite a while, but I have not had any for years now.

Finally, in January of 1947, I decided to quit sailing. Sid and I came back to the Midwest. He continued to sail on the Great Lakes. I “goofed” around for a while doing different jobs, none satisfactory to me, and finally started working for Sears in March 1948.

The only advice anyone ever gave me regarding what I should do for my livelihood was from my grandfather Ludlow. He said to me many times, be a salesman you will always have a job and you will always do well. I guess that advice stuck with me; because when I started for Sears, I was a salesman. I stayed with Sears for nearly 38 years and always did well.

That summer I decided that I would have to go to college if I was to accomplish my goals in life. The school was in South Bend. Bob Lerner was going to South Bend also, but he was going to see a girlfriend who was a nurse. She introduced me to her roommate, also a nurse, named Pat. I went with Pat for a while, and then in September a new girl named Jane showed up in South Bend. She was to be Pat’s roommate and was to teach school. It was not long until I decided that I would rather go with Jane than with Pat. Fortunately that was agreeable to Jane. As things turned out, Pat met Joe and they were married soon after. We are all still good friends.

One time our gang of guys and girls went on a picnic cook-out on the shore of Lake Michigan. Jane and I had just started going together. We had a bonfire after it got dark and during the evening I came up behind Jane and grabbed her. She made a quick maneuver, and I went flying over her head and landed on my back on the beach. I learned right then and there not to mess with this girl.

At the same time, I started going to the Indiana University Extension school in South Bend. We had many enjoyable evenings in the home of Mom and Pop Ranger. They were two fine people who opened their home to young people every evening. There was no alcohol drinking just card games and coffee and doughnuts. It was probably the nicest thing anyone could do for young people at that time. Four couples who went there were married later. Jane and I became engaged on, November 11, 1948. Then we were married on June 25, 1949. We had a beautiful wedding in Lombard, Illinois. We were married in the Congregational Church and had a wonderful reception at the Brookwood Country Club. The country club later burned. We took a honeymoon trip all around the Michigan Lower Peninsula. We stayed in the Nicolet Hotel in St. Ignace. The hotel later burned. We often wondered if there was a message there, I hoped not.

We stopped in Detroit on the way back to South Bend. We visited with Sid. He was going with a girl named Nancy. They were later married. Jane and I lived in three different places in Elkhart and in an apartment in the upstairs of Pat and Joe’s house in South Bend. We had lots of fun with our friends in Elkhart and South Bend. Money was not a problem we were both working and living modestly.

In the fall of 1949 we moved to Urbana, Illinois where I started college full time at the University of Illinois. Jane got as job teaching in Urbana High School. I was working part-time hours in the Sears Store in Champaign. We enjoyed our stay in Champaign and Urbana. We have friends there that we cherish to this day. I graduated from the University of Illinois in February 1953. My parents attended my graduation. They were very proud. I was the first one in our family to accomplish that.

After I graduated, I was promoted and put on the Sears executive training program. I figured I was finally on track in my career. I really enjoyed working at Sears. We had many friends who were Sears employees. We lived in a dumpy apartment complex that we called ‘Trashcan Court’. (The real name was Tuscan Court.) It was just torn down in 1998. Our son, Tom was born in 1954. Tom was born at the University Hospital in Champaign, Illinois. Things were rather casual at the hospital and we waited a long time for the doctor to come to the hospital. I was nervous and smoked at the time. While pacing the floor and trying to keep out of the way, I happened to flip some ashes in the trash can. Well, the can had ether-soaked cotton in it and immediately caught fire. The nurse was very calm and immediately put a lid on the can and put out the fire. The nurse said no problem, it happens all the time. The doctor soon appeared, and Tom was born immediately thereafter. We took Tom home to Trashcan Court, his first home. We were having a new house built at the time. During the building process one of the workmen set it on fire. It was a small fire and did little damage, but we were very concerned.

We enjoyed our little 2-bedroom home. It was very cozy. Tom also enjoyed his first real home. We went through a very hot summer. Our air conditioner was a dish of ice cubes and a fan. Once, while we lived in that house, we had small party with some friends in the evening. Tom woke up and he enjoyed the party too. The next night he woke up about the same time and was ready to party. We had to let him cry himself back to sleep. That was as hard on us as it was on him. Later in that summer I received a draft notice.

The government in their infinite wisdom decided that I should further serve my country in the Army. I appealed, but to no avail. There were many conscious objectors in Elkhart County, the Amish and Mennonite young men. Consequently, they were taking everyone else. We sold the house, Sears took back the appliances and gave me a refund and I went into the Army on January 12, 1955.

I arrived at Camp Chaffee, Arkansas on January 14,1955. Jane’s brother, Tom was just getting out of the Army. He had been in Korea. The Korean war was just winding down. I never was quite sure why they needed me, but I went just the same. I really did not mind being in the Army, it was just that fact that it interrupted my career with Sears. I really missed Jane and Tom. Tom had just started to walk before I left. We were at my folk's house. Sid and Nancy were there visiting. Tom walked across the living room, walking alone for the first time. I was so thrilled. I left the next morning. After I left, Jane and Tom went to live with Grandma and Grandpa Harders in Lombard, Illinois. I believe that the three months or so that they lived in Lombard with grandma and grandpa was a very enjoyable time for the grandparents as well as for Jane and Tom.

I enjoyed the basic training. It was tough, but I was able to handle anything they gave us. Some of the men younger than I, were always griping about how tough it was. Many of the kids right out of high school were so out of shape, it was a pity. I enjoyed the long marches and the rifle and machine gun training. I had some buddies going through basic, but when it was over, we did not stay in touch. The only one I ever saw after basic was Bill Di Bella. He is an attorney in Chicago, and I am sure he is doing very well.

During basic training we were tested to place us in the military job for which we were best suited. I was selected to go to the Army Intelligence School in Fort Holabird in Baltimore, MD. Now Jane and Tom could go to Baltimore with me. We all moved there and got an upper apartment with Connie and Dominic Cimaglia. They had two children, Donnie and Barbara. Donnie was thrilled to have a little boy, Tommy come to live in their apartment. I enjoyed the school and learned a lot about the intelligence establishment of the United States and the military. I made no lasting friends at the school. I was too busy studying all the time. If we flunked out of the school in meant immediate redeployment to the infantry.

Living off-post was better than living on-post. But there was always extra duty, even if you lived off-post. One day, one of my friends said, why don’t we get in the Drum & Bugle Corps, then we will not have any extra duty. We had to practice one hour each week and to play for the parade every Saturday morning. We went over to see the Sergeant in charge of the ‘D & B’. I said, I can play the drum. He tossed me a set of drum sticks and said let me hear you do a roll. I had not played the drum for 16 years, but I did a drum roll that satisfied him. He was looking for drummers, so he said ‘you're in.’ Well, I got a bit better with practice and a parade every week. I was last man in, so I was at the end of the line of drummers. I always watched the guy at my left. He was very good. However, each week some guys would graduate and leave the corps. After about 5 Weeks I was the lead drummer. My previous training as a drummer finally paid off.

Baltimore was a nice place to live. Jane liked having the vegetable and fish peddler come right to the back door by way of a very clean and paved alley behind all the houses. We lived in a row house, one of many in Baltimore. A man even came by with a small merry-go-round for the kids to ride. Another one came by with a pony and camera. We still have that picture of Tom on the pony, age 1½. One day we went to Washington D.C. Tom enjoyed the Library of Congress. He went “who, who” just to hear the echo. Finally, the guard said we would have to make him stop doing that. We saw all of the sights in Washington. Jane and Connie took the kids to the shore on Chesapeake Bay. We went back to visit Baltimore in 1977. Fort Holabird was torn down. We went to see Dominic and Connie and we still stay in touch.

When we left Baltimore, it was back to Lombard with grandma and grandpa for Jane and Tom. They had a flight back to Chicago from Washington National airport. I took off driving our nearly new Plymouth to my new duty station in Columbus OH.

When I got to Columbus, I got a room in a rooming house and went to work in the Army-Intelligence Office. It was on the 4th floor of the main post office building on Marconi Blvd. in downtown Columbus. I was given a top-secret clearance and carried a Colt 38-caliber Detective Special. The people I met on that assignment were all super. They were a select group of men that had been picked because of their intelligence and training. In civilian life some had been schoolteachers, some were attorneys, some had been in business. The career Army men were all well above average in every respect.

I soon located an apartment and Jane and Tom were able to join me. We lived near Port Columbus Airport and the Columbus Naval Air Station and could watch the navy fighter jets take off and land. Tom enjoyed the airplanes.

My Army Intelligence work consisted primarily of background investigations on both military and civilian individuals that were going to be given access to secret and top-secret information. For all of my Army time in Columbus I wore civilian clothes and drove a civilian Army car. I was issued a brand-new Chevrolet. None of our neighbors knew I was in the Army. We just said I worked for the government. My military rank was confidential, and when Jane went to the PX or any Army or Air Force installation she always said my husband's rank is confidential. Then everyone thought she was an officer's wife, and she was treated accordingly.

We spent 18 months in Columbus and in late 1956, Joann Elizabeth was born while I was in the Army. Jane would have gone to the Air Base hospital at Lockbourne AFB, but I had kept my Sears insurance so we could go to a civilian hospital in Columbus. The day she was born Jane called me and said it was time to go to the hospital. I rushed home from downtown Columbus to take her. Unfortunately, I had not kept the gas tank full and we ran out of gas on the way to the hospital. Thankfully we found some gas quickly and made it in time. In the hospital, they would not let me anywhere near the delivery room. Evidently, they had heard about me setting fire to the one in Champaign, Illinois when Tom was born. We were as happy as can be, to have a fine boy almost 3 and a new baby girl.

Jane had a much tougher time in Columbus than I did. She was home all-day taking care of two little ones. Our income was much lower at that time. However, Sears did supplement my pay while I was in the Army. It was called a Father’s Allowance. That benefit was really a big help to us. Our stay in Columbus went by rather fast.

Soon it was time to get out of the Army and on with our civilian life. On Thanksgiving week 1956, I was able to get a three-day pass plus the weekend and we went back to Chicago. I had made arrangements to go to the Sears personnel department in Chicago. I wanted to be transferred to another store when I got out of the Army. I did not want to go back to Champaign. We had many friends in Champaign, but it was time to move on. I had been there more than 5 years and had graduated from college. I felt that I had gone as far as I could go in that store. We loaded the car with two children, and all the stuff needed for five days with two little ones and took off. Thankfully, I got my new assignment effective when I was to be discharged from the Army.

On January 13, 1957, I got out the Army. It was back to Lombard for Jane and the two children again. I was going to be the manager of all the appliance lines in the Sears store in Bloomington, Illinois. The store was just newly remodeled, and it was a nice promotion for me. I worked for a fine store manager named Harold Seiler. Jane came down to Bloomington from Chicago and we went house hunting. In a few weeks we bought a very nice brick home in Normal, Illinois. There was lots of room and a large living room with a fireplace. We loved that house.

We liked living in Bloomington-Normal. We were close to Chicago and grandma and grandpa Harders could come down for a daytime visit. My folks could come too. It was an easy drive for either of them. We made some fine friends in Normal and enjoyed our stay there. Bloomington-Normal was home to the Galey Eye Clinic a world renown eye clinic started by Drs. Galey many years before. It was said that King George of Great Britain came to Bloomington to have an eye operation. For us it was a real bonus to be living there since our little girl needed to have an eye operation. Dr. Crowley operated on Joann’s eyes, and the results were perfect. We could not have been more pleased. Two years went by rather fast, and I was promoted to a similar job in a new store in Aurora, Illinois.

I went to Aurora and got a room at the YMCA and lived there while Jane stayed in Normal with the kids and tried to sell the house. That was very traumatic for her. She did not have a car and had two kids to take to the grocery store in the wagon and then haul kids and groceries back home. We had a lovely home there but had a very difficult time selling it. There was a minor recession in Bloomington at the time because a large manufacturing plant had left and moved many employees and there were many houses for sale. It was a buyer's market. We finally sold the house. Then I went house hunting in Aurora. I found one rather quickly that I liked. It had just come on the market. It was a beautiful house in a fine neighborhood. It was a very desirable house and many realtors wanted to show it. They were knocking on the door while we were looking at it. My realtor had the only key, and we kept the door locked, so no one else could show it. He said the only way I can hold it is with an offer. Jane had not even seen it. I gave him an offer and said give me until 9 PM. I drove down to Bloomington and got Jane and brought her back to look at the house. After some discussion we made a final offer and bought the house.

There were some problems. When Jane’s folks came to see the house, grandma Harders said I smell gas. They called the gas company. They arrived promptly and to our dismay immediately condemned the water heater and shut the gas off. Then we had no hot water. I turned it back on, but had to replace the water heater immediately and redo the vent pipe.

I asked my folks to come and visit. I really needed my father to look at the upstairs and see if he could figure a way to remodel it to make it into a three bedroom. He figured it out and did the carpentry work with Jane as his helper. Between the two of them, they made it into a three bedroom. Then we tore out the old furnace. It was still warm enough with the fireplace for some of the cold October nights.

While we had the furnace and all of the pipes all taken out of the basement, the assessor came to assess the house. I was working. He went to the basement, he looked around and said to Jane, “Where is the furnace?” She said, “I thought there was something missing down there." With no further explanation, he went away shaking his head.

My father and I put in a new forced air gas furnace. With these improvements the house was just great. Our neighbors were George and Dorothy Petrie. They were fine neighbors, and we became great friends. The children had made good friends also. Dan Petrie was Tom’s age. Behind us were two girls, Barbara and Claire Landis about Joann’s age. The Landis’s had two boys who were younger. Petries had two older children. Petries had a large dog. It was a Golden Retriever named Teddy. Even our dog Charlie had a friend. We enjoyed living in Aurora. The Sears store was a real winner. I enjoyed working there and we made many fine friends in Aurora.

In June of 1962, I was transferred to Toledo. After house-hunting for a while we bought on Thoman Place. Jane always says she never liked that house, but we lived there until 1968. There were two families with 2 and 3 girls. So, Joann had little friends. At first it seemed that there were no boys Tom’s age. Then he met Paul Hamel and then Paul and Paul’s friends became Tom’s friends. Tom and Paul are friends to this day.

One day in the summer of 1968 I came home and told Jane there was a house for sale on Vogel Drive. It was across the street from my friend Harold Alexander. I said if you want to see it go ahead. I was going to the racetrack with John Trevison. When I came home, she said I think we should buy that house on Vogel Drive. I said maybe I better look at it. The next day I went to look at the house before I went to work. It was just as nice as she said it was, so we made an offer. It was the easiest home purchase we ever made.

In 1985 after a long career with Sears I decided to retire. My career with Sears included many different assignments, several moves, and several promotions. It was a difficult decision for me to leave the company, but the time was right. My official date of retirement was December 31, 1985, my birthday. I was 60 years old. The age of 60 years seemed old when I was 30 or 40. When I reached that age, it did not seem old at all.

I felt that I had something to give to small business owners, so I began to do consulting work. It was fun, but it was exasperating. It was hard for me to believe that some of the owners of small businesses did such dumb things. Of course, I had been used to doing it according to Sears company policy. A policy which had been well thought out and successful for 100 years. I worked with several small business people, some on a regular basis and some when they would call for help. It was frustrating to deal with business people who ask for help and then do not follow through to correct the problems. I would point out what they were doing wrong. I would then give them a plan to correct the problem. Generally, they would agree, and then continue to do it their own way. I learned the meaning of the old saying, you cannot teach an old dog new tricks.

In 1986 a year to the day after I had retired, Jane retired also. It took me well over a year to become used to the fact that I was retired. To this day when I walk into a beautiful retail store in Toledo or any other city, I get homesick for the retail business. I suppose my nostalgia would not last long in today’s business climate. Jane said it took her about 20 minutes to get used to retirement, just long enough to drive home. I know that is not completely true. Whenever she gets together with another teacher either retired or still working, they start talking teaching.

After being retired for two or three years, we were looking for a different house. By this time, we had been married 39 plus years and had lived in 6 different apartments, and 5 different houses. We decided to get what we wanted we would have to build a new house of our own design. Jane drew up some plans with things just as she wanted them. The first set of plans had no kitchen. It was amazing how many people did not notice that.

Thanks to the help of a home designer we finally drew up building plans to give to the contractor. In the meantime, I found a lot that was just where we wanted to build. We bought the lot and put the plans out for bid. We settled on a contractor who was also a friend. Some people said we would go crazy building a house. They said it would probably lead to divorce before we got it built. In fact, we enjoyed the building process. The house was started in July 1988 and we moved in, in February 1989. We had an open house and a 40th wedding anniversary celebration in June of 1989.

Now in 2001 as I look back over my 75 years, I wonder what I would have done differently if I’d had the chance. Probably a few things, but not many. I was fortunate to have loving and caring parents. Marrying Jane was one of the best things I did. Of course, that enabled us to have two exceptional children, Tom and Joann. I guess having Jane for a spouse and our two children and 3 grandchildren are the things I treasure most.

What do I believe in? I believe in God. I believe that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. I trust in him to help me do the right things. I think each of us needs that kind of strength to get through life. I believe in working hard at whatever you chose to do. I think you can be successful at whatever you do without cheating or taking shortcuts to get ahead. You should be a moral person. You should tell the truth at all times regardless of the consequences. I have tried to live within these simple rules.

I enjoyed the opportunity to work with many great people throughout my time with Sears and I still appreciate all of them. I once had an employee say to me “I didn’t always like what you told me. I did not always like what you had me do, but I will say you have always treated me fairly. You told it just as it was. I will always have a great respect for you.” The strange part about that comment was that he said it when I was discharging him for not following our company policy.

What happens now? I would like to live many more years. I enjoy the life Jane and I have together. We worked hard for many years and we saved and invested wisely so that we could do just what we are doing. We enjoy our children and their spouses. We love and cherish our grandchildren. I believe the happiest days of our lives were the days our children were born, and then when Andy and Allison and Alexandria were born. I hope to have many more years to live so that I can see our grandchildren graduate from college, be married and have children of their own, our great grandchildren.

“Fond Memories” by Philip Eugene Cox (Copyright 2001)

Addendum: Our Dad and Mom lived happily together for another seventeen years after this was written, before they began to suffer with the difficulties of dementia. They remain in our hearts, and we appreciate the many friends they have had throughout their lives.

Philip E. Cox was preceded in death by his parents, two siblings and by his wife, Jane. He is survived by his son, Thomas (Sharon) Cox, MD; daughter, Joann Baidel; grandchildren, Andrew (Cara) Cox, Allison (Tony) Gardull, and Alexandria (Fred) Worrell; great-grandchildren, Rigby and Soren Cox, and Sofie Gardull; and by many dear friends.

Due to the current health concerns associated with COVID-19 transmission there will be no memorial services at this time for Phil.

Those wishing to make memorial contributions are asked to consider the Alzheimer’s Association, Sylvania United Church of Christ, or any charity of your choice.

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