Unshoveling the Past

Friday, November 4, 2011

List #1: Ed's Movies

Consider this post a public service, courtesy of my father, Edwin R. Ambrose. My parents loved checklists. This is the first of my father's lists that I will share with you. This is by far my father's longest list, which also took him the longest to create, maybe ten or fifteen years. My parents loved movies and they loved The New York Times. For the four years my parents lived in Botswana, they missed both. When they came back to the States in 1992, they had a lot of catching up to do, so my dad started his "want to see" movie list.

This record contains more than 300 movies that I expect were mainly recommended by The New York Times. My dad added movies by his favorite directors (Malle, Rudolph, Kurosawa), and actors (Lombard, Dietrich), and authors (Sturges). He would update this list often, with his little Macintosh computer, adding new movies and deleting ones they'd seen and wouldn't want to see again. This was long before Netflix, back in the olden days of video stores. If they wanted to watch a movie they'd drive over to the only video store in Edgartown and look through the VHS or DVD choices.

If you love foreign films you've hit the jackpot here. My only complaint is that there are very few chick flicks on this lineup. When my mother would go to the store to pick up a movie, or if she were browsing her local library shelves, she would feel obligated to bring "the list" with her. You see, my father would only watch movies on "the list". He would sometimes try and sit through a movie that wasn't on "the list", but he usually wouldn't last that long – unless he was watching a movie with the grandchildren – and he'd eventually retreat to the living room alone to read a book. Or was it The New York Times?

Ed's Movie List

29th Street - 1991
35 Up - 1991
Afterglow - 1997
Amarcord - 1973 Fellini
An Angel at my Table - 1990
Andrei Rublev - 1966
Angel Dust (Jpn) - 1994
Animals Are Beautiful People - 1974
Antonia’s Line - 1995
Ascension pour L'Echafaud (Elevator to the Gallows) - 1958 Malle
Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman - 1974
Autumn Tale (Fr) - 1998 Eric Rohmer
Babe - 1995
Backtrack (Catchfire) - 1990
Ballad of Narayama, The - 1983
Il quartetto Basileus - 1983
Battle of Little Jo, The - 1993
Before Sunrise - 1995
Before The Rain - 1994 Manchevski
Berlin Alexanderplatz - 1980
Beyond Rangoon - 1995
Beyond the Clouds - 1995
Birgit Haas Must Be Killed - 1981
Black Orpheus - 1959
Black Robe - 1991
Blood and Wine - 1996
Blood Simple - 1984
Bob le Flambeur - 1956
Bopha! - 1993
Boudu Saved From Drowning - 1932
Breathless - 1960
Brother From Another Planet - 1984 Sayles
Brother's Keeper - 1992
Burnt By The Sun - 1994
Calcutta - 1969 Malle
Camouflage - 1977 Zanussi
Carmen - 1984
Casino - 1995
Cat and Mouse - 1975
Caught - 1996 Robert M. Young
Celebration, The - 1998 Thomas Vinterberg
Character - 1997 Van Diem
Chikamatsu Monagatari (The Crucified Lovers) - 1954
Children of Paradise, The - 1944
Chloe In The Afternoon - 1972 Rohmer
Choose Me - 1984 Alan Rudolph
City of Hope - 1991 John Sayles
Claire's Knee - 1970 Rohmer
Close to Eden - 1991 Nikita Mikhalkov
Contempt - 1963 Godard
Couch in New York, A - 1996
Vacas (Cows) - 1992
Cross My Heart (Fr) - 1990
Crossing Fields - 1997 James Rosenow
Crossing Guard, The - 1995
Daughters of the Dust - 1991 Julie Dash
Dazed and Confused - 1993
Dead Calm - 1989
Death and the Maiden - 1994 Polanski
Deconstructing Harry - 1997
Dersu Uzala - 1975 Kurosawa
Designated Mourner, The - 1997
Devil in a Blue Dress - 1995
Diary of a Lost Girl - 1929 Pabst
Dick - 1999
Dieu Seul Me Voit (Only God Sees Me) - 1998
Dr. Bethune - 1990
Dreamlife of Angels, The - 1998 Erich Zonca
Floating Weeds (Jpn) - 1959
Eat Drink Man Woman - 1994
Eel, The - 1997 Imamura
El Mariachi - 1992
El Norte - 1983
End of Violence, The - 1997
Eternity and a Day - 1998 Angelopoulos
Europa, Europa - 1990
Eve’s Bayou - 1997
Exterminating Angel, The - 1962 Buñuel
Eye of God - 1997
Fairy Tale: A True Story - 1997
Farewell My Concubine - 1993
Fearless - 1993
Fierce Creatures - 1997
Fire Within, The - 1963 Malle
Flirting With Disaster - 1996
Following - 1998 Nolan
Gambler, The - 1997 M. Gambon
Gas Food Lodging - 1992 Allison Anders
General, The - 1998 John Boorman
Ghost and the Darkness,The - 1996 Stephen Hopkins
Godfather I & II & III
Grand Illusion - 1937 Renoir
Hairdresser's Husband, The - 1990
Hanging Garden, The - 1997
Happiness - 1998
Hasards du coincidence (Fr) - 1998
Hav Plenty - C.S. Cherot - 1997
Hearts of Darkness - 1991
Henry Fool - 1997
High and Low - 1963
Home and the World - 1984
Hotel de Love - 1996 Craig Rosenberg
How To Make an American Quilt - 1996
Ice Storm, The - 1997
Idiot, The - 1951 Kurosawa
Ikiru - 1951 Kurosawa
Illuminata - 1998 John Turturro
In the Company of Men - 1997
In The Name of the Father - 1993
In The Soup - 1992 Alexandre Rockwell
Insomnia (Norw.) - 1997
Intervista - 1987 Fellini
Into The West - 1992
Inventing the Abbotts - 1997 Pat O’Connor
Irma Vep (Fr) - 1996 Olivier Assayas
It's All True - 1993 Orson Welles
Jeanne and the Perfect Guy (Fr) - 1998
Jefferson in Paris - 1995
Jesus of Montreal - 1989
King of Masks, The - 1997 Chinese
King of the Hill - 1993 Soderbergh
L.A. Confidential - 1997
La Vie de Boheme - 1992 Kaurismaki
Lacombe, Lucien - 1974 Malle
Last Days of Disco - 1998
Last Seduction, The - 1994
Liebestraum - 1991
Life and Nothing But - 1989
Life Is Sweet - 1990 Mike Leigh
Lion In Winter, The - 1968
Little Mermaid - 1989 Disney
Little Women - 1933
Live Flesh - 1997 Pedro Almodovar
Living End, The - 1992 Gregg Araki
Living in Oblivion - 1995
Lola Montes - 1955
Los Olvidados - 1950
Love and Anarchy - 1973 Wertmuller
Lovers of the Arctic Circle - 1998 Medem
Lumiere and Company - 1995
M - 1931 Lang
Madame Rosa - 1977
Magnificent Seven,The - 1960
Man For All Seasons - 1966
Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The - 1962 Ford
Manon of the Spring - 1986
Map of the Human Heart - 1993
Masculine Feminine - 1966 Godard
Match Factory Girl, The - 1990
Matewan - 1987 John Sayles
Meantime - 1984 Mike Leigh
Menace II Society - 1993
Mephisto - 1981
Metropolis - 1927 Lang
Metropolitan - 1990
Midnight Clear, A - 1992
Midwife’s Tale, A - 1995
Million Dollar Hotel - 2000 Wenders
Miracle of Morgan's Creek - 1944 Sturges
Misery - 1990
Mission Impossible - 1990
Mississippi Mermaid (restored) - 1969 Truffaut
Moderns, The - 1988 Alan Rudolph
Moebius (Argentina) - 1996
Mondo (Fr) - 1995
Mongolian Tale (China) - 1997
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle - 1994 Alan Rudolph
Music of Chance, The - 1993
Music Teacher, The - 1988
My Father's Glory - 1990
My Mother's Castle - 1990
My Mother’s Courage - 1995
Nenette and Boni - 1996
Napoleon - 1927
Nasty Girl - 1990
Nazarin - 1959 Bunuel
Newton Boys, The - 1998
Next Stop Wonderland - 1998
Night On Earth - 1991
Nightmare Before Christmas, The - 1993
Nixon - 1995
Now Voyager - 1942
Ossessione - 1943
Official Story - 1985
Once Were Warriors - 1994
One False Move - 1992 Carl Franklin
Opposite of Sex - 1998 Don Roos
Orlando - 1992 Sally Potter
Oscar and Lucinda - 1997
Overland Stage Raiders - 1938
Oyster and the Wind, The - 1997 Walter Lima
Paris is Burning - 1990
Party, The - 1968 Blake Edwards
Pascali's Island - 1988
Passion in the Desert - 1997
Passion of Joan of Arc, The - 1928
Pelle the Conqueror - 1987
According to Pereira - 1995 Marcello Mastroianni
Persuasion - 1995
Phantom India - 1969 Malle
Pierrot Le Fou - 1965 Godard
Playing by Heart - 1998 Carroll
Pope of Greenwich Village - 1984
Pretty Baby - 1978 Malle
Prisoner of the Mountains - 1996 Sergei Bodrov
Prix de Beaute (Beauty Prize) - 1930
Queen of Hearts - 1989
Red Corner - 1997
Red River - 1948
Red Sorghum - 1987
Regret to Inform - 1998 Sonneborn
Reincarnation of Golden Lotus,The - 1989
Return of Martin Guerre, The - 1982
Restoration - 1995
Rio Bravo - - 1959 Hawks
Rough Magic - 1995 Clara Peploe
Rules of the Game, The - 1939
Search For One-Eye Jimmy - 1994 Kass
Secret Garden, The - 1993
Secrets and Lies - 1996 Mike Leigh
Self-Made Hero, A - 1996
Sergeant Bilko - 1996
Seven Beauties - 1975 Wertmuller
Seven Samurai - 1954 Kurosawa
Seventh Seal, The - 1957 Bergman
Shadow, The - 1994
Sharaku - 1995
Shoot The Piano Player - 1960 Truffaut
Short Cuts - 1993 Altman
Simple Plan, A - 1998
Single Girl, A - 1995 Benoit Jacquoit
Six Degrees of Separation - 1993
Small Change - 1976 Truffaut
Smiles of a Summer Night - 1955 Bergman
Soldier of Orange - 1977 Verhoeven
Somewhere in Time (Mackinac Island) - 1980
Sophie - 1992
South Central - 1992
Stangers On A Train - 1951 Hitchcock
Stolen Kisses - 1968
Story of Qui Ju, The - 1992
Strictly Ballroom - 1992 Baz Luhrmann
Striking Distance - 1993 Willis
Sunday - 1997 D. Suchet
Sweet Hereafter - 1997
Swindle, The (Fr) - 1997
Swing Time - 1936 Stevens
Swoon - 1992
Taste of Cherry, A - 1997 Kiarostami
Tender Mercies - 1983
Testament (Fr) - 2004
Testamento (Napomuceno's Will) - 1997
That Old Feeling - 1997 Carl Reiner
Thief (Princess) and the Cobbler, The - 1993
Thief of Paris, The - 1967 Malle
Three Seasons (Vietnamese) - 1999
Tree of the Wooden Clogs - 1978
To Kill A Mockingbird - 1962
Tombstone - 1993
Touch of Evil, A - 1995
Tous Les Matins du Monde - 1991
Traveler, The - 1974
Trouble in Mind - 1985 Alan Rudolph
True Romance - 1993
Twilight - 1998 Paul Newman
Ulysses’ Gaze - 1995 Angelopolous
Umberto D. - 1952
Un Coeur En Hiver - 1992
Unstrung Heroes - 1995
Untouchables- 1987
Vanishing, The - 1988
Vanya on 42nd Street - 1994
Variete (Jealousy) - 1925
Venus Beaute (Institut) (Fr) - 1999
Very Private Affair, A - 1962 Malle
Vincent, Francois, Paul & the Others - 1974 Sautet
Virgin Spring, The - 1960 Bergman
Viridiana - 1961 Bunuel
Visions of Light - 1992
Viva Maria! - 1965 Malle
Wages of Fear, The - 1953
Walk on the Moon, A- 1999
Waterdance, The - 1992
Wedding Banquet, The - 1993
Western- 1997
Westfront 1918 - 1930 Pabst
What's Love Got To Do With It - 1993
Wild Bunch,The - 1969 Peckinpah
Wilde - 1997
Wind - 1992
Wind in the Willows (Mr. Toad's Wild Ride) - 1996
Windhorse (Tibetan) - 1998
Winds of Courage - 1995
Wings of the Dove, The - 1997
Witness - 1985
Woman in the Dunes (Jpn) - 1964 Tashgahara
Wyatt Earp - 1994
Zazie Dans le Metro - 1960 Malle

Classic Movies

Carole Lombard

Mr. & Mrs. Smith - 1941
Bolero - 1934
Hands Across the Table - 1935
In Name Only - 1939
Made For Each Other - 1939
My Man Godfrey - 1936
Nothing Sacred - 1937
The Princess Comes Across -1936
Vigil in the Night - 1940

Marlene Dietrich

Destry Rides Again - 1939
Foreign Affair, A - 1948
Morocco - 1930
Shaghai Express - 1932

Preston Sturges

Easy Living - 1937
Great McGinty - 1940
Hail the Conquering Hero - 1944
If I Were a King - 1938
Imitation of Life - 1934
Never Say Die - 1939

Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween, 1960

If you're offended by this photo, please read my last post, A Case of Race. I wanted to put this photo in context so I posted a story about my parents and the lengths to which they went to fight racism. Though black face was losing it's popularity mid-century due to the civil rights movement, it was still showing up in mainstream America in 1960. I searched online for photos of black face during that time and found several, including a Cub Scout group in black face.

I remember finding these photos many years ago and asking my parents what they were thinking. My father was upset that I insinuated it had anything to do with race. My mother said it was a different time then, it was just a costume, and it was no big deal. Granted, growing up in the 60's was totally different than it is now – it was not uncommon to see black jockeys on neighborhood lawns. I can also be certain that my parents would not have thought this was a good costume choice for Halloween, 2011. Knowing them as I did, and knowing where their hearts were then, and where their hearts continued to be until their death, I can't condemn their choice of costume here, nor can I pretend the photo doesn't exist.

If there's one thing I've learned by writing this blog: you can't rewrite history.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

A Case of Race

The house that made history.

My parents were not racists, bigots, or anti-Semites. In fact, Nancy and Ed Ambrose were quite liberal in their politics and eagerly embraced diversity and different cultures. Though occasionally I would have to remind my father that it was no longer politically correct to refer to the waiter at the local Chinese restaurant as a Chinaman (and he would never call him that to his face, thank goodness), it may have had more to do with his old age and dementia than anything else. That said, they both grew up in a dramatically different time than we do now – where Tom Sawyer and Al Jolson were embraced as sources of entertainment. I remember when I was eleven years old my mother told me it was fine with her if I wanted to marry a black man. It hadn’t crossed my mind, at eleven, to marry anyone, but I never forgot that comment. It made an imprint on me for life.

My father was working for Abex Company when he was transferred to Ohio in 1968; we lived there for four years in the desirable city of Upper Arlington (UA). We lived in the area north of West Lane Avenue, where the developments resembled a checkerboard of ranch houses built on flat, generous lots on street grids that accommodated adjoining recreational areas. Jack Nicklaus lived on my street, one block down – not that we ever saw him out mowing his lawn or handing out Halloween candy.

My mother would probably say those four years were the worst of her life. She had left her friends and volunteer work behind in Connecticut, moving to within five miles of Michigan’s rival football team, Ohio State. That would have been enough for me. Add to that, though, my mother was now living in a red city in a red state – near Woody Hayes of all people – and just 140 miles away from Kent State when the political protestors were massacred in 1970. However, I think her dislike of Ohio was more personal than that.

In 1970, my parents were two of the four white plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Northwest Arlington Association (NWAA) and it’s trustees. An African-American family wanted to buy the house next to us and they were blocked by the NWAA. This lawsuit was an attempt to unravel the association and the racist deed covenants that had been in place since these houses were built. It’s an interesting story about my parent’s views on race that I wanted to share with you.

A little history: Ben and King Thompson were major real estate developers of Upper Arlington and the surrounding neighborhoods. According to Patricia Burgess in her book Planning for the Private Interest, “Written into the deeds were restrictions, made to be in effect until 1999, stating that no home could be sold or occupied by ‘any person or persons in whole or part of the Negro race or blood’ but people not of the white race could be employed as servants.”

Upper Arlington has an online archives, UA-Archives, which I found mildly amusing when I searched for "African American" and came up with one article and one image. It referenced several African Americans in UA history, most notably the mailman, Alfred Holt. It then goes on to list gardeners, hired hands, farmers, and chauffers, and identified the white families for whom they worked. This blog post wasn't meant to be about the UA necessarily, but I did research the most recent census taken in 2010 and was struck by how much hasn't changed in the city in the last 40 years: 92.1% White, 5% Asian, 1.6% Hispanic or Latino, 0.8% African American, 0.1% American Indian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races.

Back to the history part. After 1948, when such deed restrictions were no longer legally enforceable, the Thompsons went about circumventing that law by mandating membership in a community or association as a condition of purchase of sale. Potential house buyers had to gain approval of membership by the association in order to purchase the property. In addition, the association retained first right of purchase on all lots or homes offered for sale.

Pace, one of the defendants in the suit, suggested Ashley didn't buy the house because he couldn't get the financing. Pace was currently serving a term on the Ohio Real Estate Commission, a group that was/is responsible for monitoring unlawful practices by realtors.

Sample of a deed in 1966, with Association language.

Close up of NWAA language in the deed.

In 1970, our next-door neighbors were selling their home. The Ashleys were an African-American family from New Jersey who wanted to buy the house. The NWAA, referencing the restrictive deed covenant, bought the house instead, nullifying the sale with the Ashleys. Soon afterward, my parents, our neighbors down the street, the Andersons, and the Ashleys filed a lawsuit hoping to end this xenophobic practice in UA. It was not a popular act, and I remember the harassing phone calls and my mother being worried that a cross would be burned on our lawn. She was always a worrier, but since the newspapers printed our address in the paper, she had good reason to worry.

Well, they won! My mother might say it was a fitting end to her four years in Ohio. I would have to agree.

Sample of a deed in 1976 with no Association language!

Arlington Home Owners Group Dissolved

(clipping from family archives,newspaper unknown)

An association of Upper Arlington home owners has been ordered dissolved, and a Negro from Camden, N.J., has been paid $1,500 from the association's treasury in settlement of a housing discrimination suit filed last March.

The suit in Franklin County Common Please Court charged the Northwest Arlington Association and its trustees – including John H. Pace, chairman of the Ohio Real Estate Commission – prevented Alfred C. Ashley, the New Jersey man, from buying a house.

Because Ashley is black, the suit said, the association exercised its option under a restrictive deed and purchased a house at 2760 Leeds Rd. in the Canterbury Place Addition for $63,500 in June, 1970, after Ashley had offered the same amount for the house.

The suit, filed by Ashley and four white residents of the subdivision requested the dissolution of the association, the award of $15,000 in damages to Ashley, and the removal of the restrictive covenants from all deeds.

Judge Clifford Rader approved the dissolution of the association Monday and declared all of the restrictive covenants null and void.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Life in Botswana: African Skies

Red skies at night, sailor's delight. Red skies in morning, sailors take warning. These are words I have lived by all my life, thanks to my father's interest in sailing. I would like to share some of the amazing sunrises and sunsets my parents took during their four years in Botswana. The first was taken from their front yard in Gaborone. Other shots were taken in other parts of Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Malawi, and South Africa.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

My Uncle Marty

Martin Peter Ambrose was the youngest of Edwin and Frida's three children, and named after his grandfather, my great-grandfather, Martinius Ambrosiussen. He was born 11 years after my father Ed, and nine years after my aunt Marion. Marty was a Halloween baby, born on October 31, 1940. Sadly, I never knew that until after his death (Halloween is my favorite holiday). Even though he was the youngest sibling, he was not the last one to leave us. He died five days before my mother. His life ended much too early, in June 2010, at age 69, of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS.

Edwin, Frida, Marion, and little Marty Ambrose.

Mother Frida and baby Marty.

Eddie, Martinius, Frida, and big boy Marty.

Marty was a local celebrity in Houston, Texas, also known as the "Dean of Houston Traffic Reporters," where his soothing, warm, and deep voice entertained thousands of people for over three decades. As an adult, wherever I lived, if I met someone from Houston, they were sure to know Marty. It was fun to have a celebrity uncle!

My uncle also liked the theater arts, first performing in high school and in local theaters throughout his adult life. He also was an accomplished bass singer, lending his voice voice to such groups as the Houston Symphony Chorus and the Sons of Orpheus.

Marty visited us a few times in Darien, one of the highlights being when he wrote a short play for us to perform together as a family. The Lone Ranger was a popular television show at the time, so this skit he called The Lone Stranger. I remember playing Griselda, a young girl with a toothy New England accent (not intentional by the way). It was a fun experience, which we relived more than 20 years later when we went to a family reunion at a dude ranch in Michigan. Again, Marty wrote another play for us, the sequel, Son of Lone Stranger. Thanks to Marty, my family has these moments on tape so we can listen to them whenever we want and play them for our families.

Marty began working on the radio in the mid-1970s, when, as a salesman for AAA, he volunteered to sit in for the resident traffic reporter on occasion. His emergency broadcasts after the 1977 crash of an ammonia tanker – where six people were killed and 78 seriously injured – launched his career. He co-founded the area's first network traffic reporting service using spotters, CB radios, and binoculars. He provided timely traffic reporting for up to 21 stations at one point. Marty was inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame shortly after his death.

After Marty died, much was written and said about him in the news. My aunt, Mary Kramer Ambrose, was kind enough to send me a plethora of DVDs to watch and share with my brothers. All of them, touching tributes to a wonderful man.

John G. Winder of The Cypress Times wrote: You knew his name, and his smooth soothing voice. Marty Ambrose was the dean of Houston traffic reporters. Over the years his calm voice shepherded millions of Houston drivers safely through the calamity of congestion that is Houston’s rush hour traffic. What you may not know about Marty is that his voice and his demeanor matched in real life, too. He was a gentleman and a gentle man who dedicated his time, talent and gifts to numerous Houston charities and causes both on and off-the-air.

As you can tell by these photos, it's true, Marty was always a gentleman. After all, who looks sweeter in this photo, Marty in the sailor suit or the tough looking girl next to him? Is that a black eye she's sporting?

Another article by Fayza A. Elmostehi of Culturemap Houston, was especially touching: We certainly hope that wherever Ambrose is now, the highways are conveniently congested and the drivers are beyond irate. After all, traffic was what he loved, and for his sake, we hope there's a whole lot of it.

By the time my father died from frontal-temporal lobe dementia, FTLD, Marty had already been suffering from symptoms from ALS, but didn't know what was wrong with him. Some of the symptoms are actually the same. He was understandably worried that he too had FTLD. Marty sent a recording to my dad a few weeks before his death, which I played for him in the nursing home. Marty's soothing, familiar voice spoke to my dad, reminiscing about personal memories he had of his older brother, clips of the Marine Corps hymn, the fight song for the Univ. of Michigan, and Norwegian classical music.

Here's an excerpt of Marty's recording to my father Ed:

Reflections On My Older Brother

When I was born you were already 12 years old. And by the time I was four you were in high school. My brother Ed – handsome and smart – 135 IQ somebody wrote. By the time I was eight, you were already out of high school and in the Marines, stationed at Cherry Point, NC, and every time you came home, how smart you looked in your dress blues.

You were always a role model for me. You used to send things to me from all over the world. You brought me bongo drums, rattan stools from India, and a live alligator from Florida. You even brought me back a piece of the goal post from the Rose Bowl when Michigan won. And, on my 16th birthday, I stood outside and watched you drive up the street in a 1948 Nash, which you presented to me, warts and all.

After I graduated from Luther in 1962 you invited me to come and stay with you in Darien for the summer. And what a summer it was! I went into the city with you every morning on the 7:25 and you introduced me to your friends at advertising agencies and other companies. I had a good time sailing, clam digging, and exploring the canyons of the city. A few years later, in 1967, I stopped in and we wrote and produced “The Lone Stranger”.

The next time we saw each other was in 1979 at our one and only family reunion in Brevort, Michigan, at the Double H Ranch. We all cavorted for a whole week with campfires on the beach and saluting Pop on his 80th. How fortunate that we were all able to congregate for this wonderful week – when just a few years later we lost Pop and then Mom, and then Stacy. Who knew that this would be our last and only chance to be together? And do you remember when we decided to do a rewrite of “The Lone Stranger”? I went up to my room to write it, and an hour or so later I gave everybody their scripts and then we presented it at the talent show. Well, needless to say, we won first prize in the Family Talent Contest.

Thank you for being such a great big brother. You were always there for me. I knew I could always call you if I needed a helping hand or a word of support. You never tried to run my life but you were always there if I ever needed you. Fortunately we all had those Norse genes in our bodies that gave us whatever it took to get by in the world and I’m still proud of you big brother, and I appreciate you, and for the family you made, the kids you raised, and the life you led. And I love you as only a little brother can. And thanks for a lifetime of sweet memories.

Your little brother Martin

Happy birthday Uncle Marty.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

An Artistic Man

My grandfather Eddie Ambrose, my dad Ed,
and my aunt, Marion Ambrose Benedict, in the baby stroller.

My grandfather, Edwin Ambrose, was a draftsman for many years so I knew he was a creative person; I just never knew he had an interest and talent for advertising. It appears he entered a Whirlpool washer slogan contest when he was living in Syracuse... and won! I found this clipping in their family scrapbook. Do you think the $20.00 scrawled on the ad was his reward for winning? Or maybe it was the cost of the washer?

The 1900 Washer Company opened in 1899, and in 1920 it merged forces with another washing machine company to become the Nineteen Hundred Corporation. In the late 1920’s the company introduced its new line of washers called the Whirlpool. The 1900 Washer Company at 389 West Onondaga Street in Syracuse was the exclusive sales and service headquarters for this "new-day" washer.

Other ads in newspapers at the time read like news articles, claiming the washer was "preferred by housewives" or "approved by Good Housekeeping Institute." Want to know another special feature with this "new" washing machine? It was equipped with a gasoline powered engine "which brings to the housewife in the country and the suburban districts the same relief from drudgery of wash day as comes to the housewife who has electric power to assist her in eliminating much of the unnecessary drudgery of the laundry work." The gas engine was 1/2 horse power and 4 cycle and the company promoted the fact that it could also be utilized for other purposes on the farm. Imagine that. A gift for the woman and the man in the family!

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Fingerprints and Family

This is a great gift idea. I found a store on Etsy called Lovli Day, where artist Jessie Steury creates posters with a bare tree trunk and branches and then customizes it with your name. She then sends it to you with a couple of ink pads for stamping family fingerprints. She even makes a version for celebrating events such as weddings, reunions, or birthdays, so you can capture the fingerprints of those who attend your special event. So, unless you're friends and family are in the mob or witness protection, this is a pretty cool idea. At your next holiday gathering, think about passing the stuffing and the ink pads and create your own handmade family tree.

This fingerprint tree made me think about the history of fingerprinting. Presently, most children are fingerprinted for security reasons, with their prints held at their local police station. But do you think it was common practice that a family in the 1930's would be fingerprinted? I haven't been able to find references to that fact in my research, for it was mostly being used for criminals or the military back then. I don't think I've ever been fingerprinted. Footprints at birth, but not fingers, right?

In March, 1932, the Lindbergh baby was kidnapped from his home in New Jersey. In 1935, nine-year old George Weyerhaeuser (of paper company fame) was kidnapped in Washington state. Was America becoming obsessed with the possibility of kidnapping that people rushed out to fingerprint their families and children? In 1936, my grandfather had his whole family fingerprinted, as you can see below. Finding these prints made me wonder...why?

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Photo of the Day: Mid-Century Weaning Practices

My oldest brother Bob has always been my role model.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

A Vintage Summer Recipe

Here’s another interesting scrap of paper I found in the Voegtly family scrapbook. I’m not sure I understand the reason for keeping it, now that I've learned what it really is. Can you guess?

Let milk stand 12 hours after milking. Rerun (or remove) all the cream.

Cream, 2 parts, 14 oz.

Udder(?) Milk, 1 part, 7 oz.

Water, 2-1/2 parts, 17-1/2 oz.

Lime Water, 1/2 part, 3-1/2 oz.

Divide among 6 bottles. To each add 2 heaping teaspoons sugar of milk.

My research began with only a few clues:

Clue: it is written on apothecary paper

Fact: it’s medicine

Clue: the ingredients are to be split into six bottles

Fact: it’s for babies

Clue: it was with my great-grandmother’s papers

Fact: it’s from the early 1900’s

I can’t quite read all the ingredients, but the one that solved the mystery for me was lime water. Lime water is the common name for saturated calcium hydroxide solution (didn't know I was a chemist did you?). The term lime refers to the mineral, not the sour fruit. And, when exposed with carbon dioxide, lime water turns into a milky solution.

Have you figured it out yet?

This is a recipe to treat infants affected by Summer Diarrhea, as it was commonly known, around the turn of the 20th century. I read from the source below that in the summer of 1904 in New York City, there were 3,800 deaths from diarrhea. I presume that this statistic wasn’t isolated to NYC and that other towns and cities were also stricken with this “preventable” food disorder. According to MSCNY Medical News, NYC registered more deaths in 1904 from diarrhea than from any other infection.

Children were most susceptible to getting sick. “The anomalous death-rate of infants from diarrhea last summer was due to the unjustifiable use of cereals at a time when nature had not supplied the digestive juices necessary for the proper preparation of such material.”

One ounce of this mixture was to be given every four hours to children under three months of age. Filtered, un-boiled water was used, and if at the end of twenty-four hours the child continued to improve, then an ounce of this liquid would have been given every two hours.

So if you've run out of Imodium, now you can mix up your very own homemade remedy using this century-old recipe. Maybe this is the only remaining copy of this recipe and now I've just shared it with all of you. Consider this post a public service.

Okay, seriously, it's time for me to go home. I'm pooped.

Information (not photos) obtained from Medical News, Medical Society of the County of New York, Sept. 9, 1905

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Life in Botswana: Safari, August 1991

More excerpts from my parent's journal: Life in Botswana. I just want to add that the little towhead (or maybe bald head would be a better description) pictured in this post is my niece Emily, who's currently spending a semester in Ghana – without her parents! How time flies.

Bill, Amy and Emily (then 10 months) arrived in August. We all drove to Zimbabwe, to Bulawayo and the Matopos National Park. We stayed and cooked in a Park chalet and were pestered by vervet monkeys. We saw many animals while driving, including zebra, impala, warthog, secretary birds, giraffes, rock dassie (hyrax), duiker, klipspringer, ostrich and wildebeest. Amy encountered baboon and sable and roan antelope while jogging in the morning. We had our first sighting of beautiful and rare black eagles, common only to this area.

We drove to Gwai River Lodge, close to Hwange, which is an old and quaint lodge. From there we drove the short distance to Hwange where we saw large numbers of giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, some elephant, sable antelope, big crocodiles, and a trace of a lion.

Victoria Falls had less water than we had ever seen, which allowed us to see the bottom of the gorge for the first time. Bill and Amy were able to walk to the end of the point without getting wet – another first!

At Chobe we saw hundreds of elephant, close up, and many other animals. We also loved the birds, including fish eagles, groups of storks, and hundreds of guinea fowl. Bill and Amy went on a small boat on the Chobe River and got very close to hippo. They saw more elephant and many birds. As we left the park to return home we saw 600 to 800 buffalo on the flood plain.