Veterans Day Tribute to World War I Dead
In honor of Veterans Day I posted yesterday an essay about my uncle Frank Ebner Gartz, a World War II navigator. Today I'd like to post about a tribute to a family member who lost his life in World War I.
Rural Health Care-W. Eugene Smith “Country Doctor” Life Magazine
Rural health care, far away from cities is hard to come by. But the dedication of a country doctor may have saved my grandmother's life.
Texas, disaster, and my family
The unprecedented rain, flooding, displaced families, and ensuing misery in Texas this past week takes me back to memories of my dad's stories and my good times in Texas. Dad was an engineer for the National Board of Fire Underwriters (NBFU). His job was to inspect cities to check on their preparedness for disasters.
Memoir and Chicago History: Interwoven
WHAT THE HECK IS THIS STORY ABOUT? That’s the critical question every author, fiction or nonfiction, has to answer. In my case, I had so much material–the thousands of pages of letters, diaries, documents, etc. I found in my parents’ [...]
A World War II Draftee—70 Years Ago
Seventy years ago today, my grandparents and newly married parents faced a foreboding task, one that was shared by just about everyone in America with a young man of draft age in the family.