**UPDATE #2** Little Brown Box

UPDATE #2:  If you would recall back in December, 2009 I told you about a little brown box I had discovered that contained the wedding pictures of George Rudes & Marian Bringe.  Let me refresh your memory on the mystery photograph in the box.  Below is a small section of the original post:

There were two pictures in the box that I couldn't identify. One was another wedding photograph. On the back I can't make out the first word but the rest is:

Jean
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Bristol England
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15/6/45

Now, since I was working on the confirmation picture tonight (yes, tonight.  You are getting updated as it happens so no lag time this time.)  I picked Merle Porter.  The name sounded familiar and I wasn't sure why.  It turns out that is the name of a famous photographer but as far as I can tell they aren't one in the same.  In that search I found his obituary, if you aren't interested in the whole thing you can read the highlighted part:

PORTER Merle Harrie 1919 - 2012 This man was not a physician or a millionaire or famous in any way...except to his family. This is a bit of his story. Merle Harrie Porter came into the world on January 26, 1919, and left it 93 years later on April 10, 2012. Born in Oberlin, OH, to Burton and Mabel (Kelly) Porter five years after his brother, Burton Durand, he lived most of his life in Genoa, OH excepting the last five years in Ludington, MI. As a boy visiting family back in Oberlin, he became a fan of the Cleveland Indians. He attended games at three different stadiums in Cleveland and after faithfully watching them on TV, saw his last game the evening before he died. After graduating from Genoa High School, he studied pharmacy at Toledo University, but left in 1942 to enter the Army of the United States and serve his country as a medic in Africa and Europe during WWII. It was in Bristol, England, that a local chap befriended him at a barber shop and, while stopping briefly at his new friend's home before going on to the pub, Merle spied his future bride. Twelve days after their meeting, Merle and Jean Boyce were engaged. After several failed leave attempts, they were finally wed in Bristol 3 years later on June 15, 1945, in a wedding that was planned in just two days. Upon return to civilian life, Merle went to work for Walding, Kinnan, and Marvin Co. becoming a pharmaceutical salesman. After retiring in 1981, he remained friends with many of the sales team, office staff, and pharmacists on whom he had called over the years. As a long time member of St. John's United Church of Christ, he served at various times on many committees, taught Sunday school, served as president of the congregation, His greatest joy was to sing in the choir that his father had directed at one time. He had a resonant, deep bass voice and sang for more than seventy-five years, becoming the longest serving choir member in church history. Merle also served on the Genoa village council and school board. Together the Porters raised six daughters, Donna (Jon) Fish, Barbara (Calvin) Wolcott, Gail (Larry) Moss, Sharon (Carl) Dietrich, Marilyn (Bob) London, and Kelly (Roger) Anderson. Through them, Merle and Jean were blessed with sixteen grandchildren, Cris, Jennifer, Ryan, Marty, Josh, Andy, Rachel, Matt, Kerrie, Mark, Chris, Casie, Julia, Megan, Jim, and Joe, and 22 1/2 great-grandchildren. Merle is survived by all of them, along with his sister-in-law Sara Porter and nieces and nephews in the US, Canada, England, and Australia. He was preceded in death by his parents; his brother; his wife of 52 years, and an infant grandson. Merle was well loved and well respected in his community. He had an infectious laugh that was loud enough to serve as a beacon for his children. He and Jean set an incredible example of marital love, which all of his family hold up as THE example of what marriage should be. He had a wonderful way with words. Letters written even as a teen show his wit and command of language. His letters to his Jean during the war are voluminous. At home in his later years, he stayed in contact via emails with many of his extended family members and friends. If you were the recipient of any of those mailings, it wasn't long before you realized that he retained his wonderful sense of humor, even after his physical abilities were greatly reduced. As Merle aged and became less able to care for himself, he was able to stay in his home with daughters close by, for which he and his family are very grateful. We wish to especially thank family members Barb and Cal Wolcott and Kelly and Roger Anderson for their loving and tireless attendance to him and Mom over the past 20 plus years. Merle's love of singing was passed on to his family, and those family voices, along with those of friends, will be lifted in celebration of his life at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 22, 2012, with a dessert reception immediately following in the fellowship hall of St. John's United Church of Christ, 1213 Washington St. Genoa. If you wish to honor Merle's memory with a memorial donation, it would please the family if you would consider writing checks out to "Rachel Volschow" and send it c/o Robinson Walker Funeral Home 501 West St. Genoa, OH 43430. These will be used for Merle's beloved granddaughter's expenses in her ongoing battle with breast cancer. Thank You. Online condolences may be shared with the family at walkerfuneralhomes.com

Published in The Blade on Apr. 20, 2012  

June 15, 1945.  Jean.  I wonder what the chances are that the young man in the confirmation picture, the groom in this wedding picture and the older man below are all one and the same....

Penny for your thoughts on this one all y'all!  

Original post can be found in its entirety here: https://photographsandmysteries.blogspot.com/2009/12/update-little-brown-box.html

UPDATE: Confirmation?

UPDATE:  As you might recall I have been rebuilding my/our tree from the roots up.  This has lead to a number of new discoveries that I might have missed the first time around, weren't important, etc.  One of which was a document listing the home congregation of Della Meyer Rudes.  On a whim I emailed the church and a lovely lady by the name of Mary replied and offered to do some look ups and see if we can get some ducks in a row, especially in regards to this picture.  Ladies and gentleman, I give you the confirmation class of 1933 for St. John's Church in Genoa.  Below you will see Rev. Paul O. David with Donnabel M. Coleman (Ardner), Ruth E. David (Norwine), Alice L. Fondessy (Gleckler), Paul Gaul, William Hahn, Donald D. Lenz, Herbert E. Lorenzen, Leota M. Moritz (Dipman), Margaret C. Moritz (Holbrook), Merle H. Porter, and Merrill B. Rudes Jr.  Laurie had been right in calling out Merrill but the fourth from the left also looks familiar so now with the list of names maybe I can narrow down who he is and why he looks familiar.  

A nice Sunday mystery. This was taken at Northland Studio in Toledo, Ohio. There is no label saying who, what, when, or why. I am assuming it is a confirmation but I'm not sure.

Timeframe: The skirts are short enough that it is fairly safe to assume this was taken after 1908. Since all the girls have a bob cut, which didn't become popular until the 20's, this was taken after 1920. They started to get longer then the jaw length in the 30's and all these girls have the shorter bobs so I am guessing this was taken between 1920 & 1930.

Where It Fits: I don't know. Can you tell me?

Hilda Michel

Hilda M. Michel, 85, of Oak Harbor, Ohio, passed away Tuesday, April 9, 2019 at Riverview Health Care Campus, Oak Harbor. She was born in Toledo, Ohio on July 14, 1933, a daughter of the late Frank & Catherine (Schmitz) Keil. Formerly Sr. Merici of the Sisters of St. Francis, Tiffin, Hilda later worked in the library of the former Mary Manse College, Toledo.

On April 15, 1967, she married Kenneth J. Michel, and he preceded her in death on June 26, 2011. Together they worked on the family farm and vegetable stand near Oak Harbor. Hilda was the secretary at R.C. Waters Elementary School, Oak Harbor, for many years and was a substitute aid. An active member of St. Boniface Catholic Church, Oak Harbor, she was a former organist and was a member of the Altar Rosary Society and the Corda Club. Hilda and Ken enjoyed traveling after their retirement and visited many places in the U.S. and Europe. She was “always busy” and volunteered her time with the Holiday Bureau and Meals on Wheels. Hilda enjoyed reading, playing the piano at Riverview, and going out to eat with her friends.

She is survived by her sons, Ed (Katie) Michel, Joliet, IL and Frank Michel, Oak Harbor; sisters, Sr. Angie Keil, OSF/T, Boonville, KY and Dorothy Murawa, Toledo; and grandchildren, Kyle, Paige, & Daniel Michel. She was preceded in death by her son, Greg Michel, and a sister, Mary Lou Westhoven. 

The family will receive friends from 2-8 PM Sunday at Crosser Funeral Home & Cremation Service, 301 N. Locust St., Oak Harbor, where a Christian Wake service will be held at 7:30 PM Sunday. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:00 AM Monday, April 15, 2019 at St. Boniface Catholic Church, 215 Church St., Oak Harbor, where friends may call after 9:00 AM Monday. Rev. Timothy F. Ferris will officiate, and interment will follow at Salem Township Union Cemetery, Oak Harbor. Following the services, a luncheon will be served in the undercroft of St. Boniface Church. Those planning on making a memorial contribution are asked to please consider St. Boniface Church or School, the Sisters of St. Francis, Tiffin, or Heartland Hospice. Crosser Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Oak Harbor, is assisting the family with arrangements and encourages those wishing to send a condolence or share a fond memory to visit www.crosserfuneralhome.com.

Where she fits: Kenneth Michel, husband of Hilda, was the son of Edward Michel and Helen Foos.  Edward Carl Joseph Michel is the son of Frank Michel and "C. Millie Fritsche" (according to Edward's birth certificate).  That being Amelia/Emilie Fritsche, sister of Robert Fritsche making her the aunt of Merle Fritsche.  

Monuments Men in the news

Merrill Rudes, Jr. made the news in March.  (Video at the link at the bottom).  




March 21, 2019 at 12:35 PM EDT - Updated March 21 at 12:37 PM

TOLEDO (WTOL) - In 1949, the world was changing. Quickly.

A television set was becoming a permanent piece of furniture in the living room. Europe was still deep in the recovery from the ravages of World Two. China was declaring itself a future super power, while Russia and the U.S. began to chill in the run up to the cold war.

Here at home in Toledo, family life was starting to return to normal in Post War America as the economy was starting to shift into a new civilian posture.

Men were home from the war and new houses were sprouting up throughout the city. In short, America and Toledo were trying to heal from the wounds of a long war.

In March of 1949 - 70 years ago this week - a remnant of that war came to Toledo and put the Glass City in America’s spotlight as the Toledo Art Museum hosted one of the most important art exhibits in its history.

For ten days, more than 10,000 people a day came to the museum to witness and view the greatest masterpieces of European art. The paintings of the iconic artists that had been stolen by Adolph Hitler and the Nazis during the scourge of the Third Reich.

The Toledo Museum of Art Archivist Julie McMaster says thousands descended on the museum for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the masterpieces that had been rescued by a special detachment of art experts and curators.

They were known as the Monuments Men, made famous in the 2014 movie of the same name. This group of several hundred were able to find many of these treasures in various hiding places, including some deep in a salt mine in Merkers, Germany.

These included priceless works that had been stolen from the Berlin Museum

“There were 202 of them that came over for for safe keeping, and we showed 96 of those paintings.” said McMaster.

Toledo was the last stop on an American tour of 14 large city museums that got to display the masterpieces.

Toledo’s opportunity to have an exhibit was made possible partly because TMA’s curator at the time was Otto Wittman, one of the Monument’s Men.

McMaster said Wittman spent about a year working to research and document the many works of art that were being uncovered by the special team. By late 1946, Wittman accepted a job in Toledo and stayed for 30 years.

Toledo was fortunate to have a man of Wittman’s expertise and stature, and also fortunate to have been a part of this cultural event in 1949.

Area citizens and businesses embraced the show and raised money for charter buses to transport 42,000 schoolchildren to see the paintings that few Americans would ever see.

"It was an opportunity to see things that we would not necessarily be able to see without traveling to Europe,” McMaster said.

In a local grace note to this story, these paintings hidden deep in the Merkers Salt Mines were in part found because of a local solider fron Genoa. Captain Merril Rudes.

It is written that while on patrol with his company at Merkers, two women came up to him and said something about the “treasure in the Salt Mines."

Rudes, a Genoa High School graduate, who later became an Ottawa County Judge, said he didn’t know what they were talking about, but just put the information in his notes and sent it up to headquarters.

The rest is history.

And so, too, is the story of this exhibit that came to Toledo for 10 days, drew 100,000 visitors and raised $190,000 to be given to the children and orphans of Germany.

After the paintings left Toledo, they were sent back to Washington D.C. and eventually returned to Europe and their rightful owners and museums.

Toledo residents were the last Americans ever to see them in person all in one place on U.S. soil.

Copyright 2019 WTOL. All rights reserved.

http://www.wtol.com/2019/03/21/greatest-art-exhibit-ever-seen-toledo-was-made-up-paintings-saved-by-monuments-men-wwii/?fbclid=IwAR3Msq0oXqznEISOy2dVCBtkjcKmsoryNA0dopUnn5vyTjcyC6YAZYu2m-c

Les Meyer Turns 100

On March 7th, there was a very special birthday.  Les Meyer would have turned 100 so the children at the Meyer Center celebrated. 

https://www.foxcarolina.com/slideshows/photos-the-meyer-center-celebrates-founder-s-th-birthday/collection_e8e2183e-4139-11e9-9d80-370107f70c55.html

https://www.wyff4.com/article/project-community-meyer-center-helps-children-with-disabilities-reach-their-full-potential/26757401