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EMIL
AND
ARLENE (CRAWFORD)




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My Mom and Dad met in Ravenna, Ohio, in 1928, at a dance. Mom was a very popular dance partner, which caught my father's eye. Mother noticed him also, and being very intelligent, she ignored him, ( all the other girls flocked around him ) and it worked. She allowed him to walk her, and her sister Blanch home one evening, and that, was the beginning of their courtship.



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Mom and Dad were married on December 1, 1928, the year before the Stock Market crash. Life didn't change much for my family. Times were hard for them before the crash, they just tightened their belts, and went on. Although Mom did say they ate a lot of "Onion Soup".

They moved to Benton,Pa, there, their first son Duane was born on, Aug.30,1929. Another son Bob was born on Nov.2, 1930 in Millertown, Pa. Once again they moved to Ravenna to help Granddad with the farming.



Click on the thumb nail for an enlarged photo of Dad, Duane and Bob standing in the field.



Picture of Dad and the boys



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My Granddad, was the reigning head of his household. All money earned by the members of the household, was given to him. He then had the say of what it was spent for. It was approaching winter and Mother told him the two boys needed shoes. Granddad said no, saying Grandma needed shoes. Mom stood up to him and demanded shoes for the boys, (no one had ever spoken like that to him before) because the weather was turning cold, and that Grandma had shoes to wear. The boys got their shoes!


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Another story Mom told was, one evening at dinner, Mother put large pieces of chicken on the boys plates, Granddad said not to put so much, Mother said the adults were finished growing, that the boys needed the food because they were still growing. Always when Mother got into a confrontation with Granddad, Grandmother would try to shush her, but Mom would not back down, she was raised in a much more democratic household. In the end Karl had a lot of respect for her.



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They moved to N. Canton, Ohio where I was born on September 24,1934. When I was about 4 years old, we all went to see a movie, a double feature. When we returned home, we discovered our house had caught fire, everything was lost. That was the first time I ever saw my mother cry.

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Page updated; July 22, 2001