Uncle Dean Hislop’s Mission Countdown

Another diary I received as a Xerox copy is (I think) from my uncle, Dean Hislop.  The first date of the diary is dated Monday, December 13, 1943.  I don’t know if this is the actual date or if this is simply a handy diary for Dean Hislop to use.  This appears to be a countdown of the missions flown by Dean Hislop in the European Theater during World War Two.  I hope you find this to be an interesting document as I provide transcripts from time to time.

“First Raid” Target—Bremen  Got up this morning at 2:30 had breakfast & went to briefing (.)  Got target, ship no., and position, which was 2^nd in 1^st element which was good (.)  Went out to ship & radio was out.  They put in new trans. but it didn’t work so took off without one (.)  Just at take off I noticed my gun was busted and it took me until we were almost to Germany to fix it, we went into the target over the north sea which made the Raid a 6 & ½ hour run (.)  We test fired our guns & all were working which made us feel good (.)  We encountered flack when we were over the target which was only about 5 min & not to(o) heavy (.)  Only half our bombs would release and we had to take them back to the north sea & drop them (.)  Going out P47 were with us all the way which was good (.)  Saw no enemy fighters(.)  …I had my face frost bitten, Reposh (?) got the back of his hands burnt (.)  Other than that all went well (.)

Grandma’s Trip to New York

Some time ago I received a Xerox copy of a diary, the memoirs of “Mom’s Trip to New York.”  I don’t have any details about the trip.  Based on the content of the diary this was post World War Two.  It contains some interesting information.  I will let you draw your own conclusions, but the personality of Ruth Harmon Brubaker comes through in this diary.  Over time, I hope to provide more and more of the transcripts of  this trip.  And I hope you find it as interesting as I do.

Left home wed. nite at 9:30—Some send off too—it was swell.  Went right to sleep and had a nice restful day.  Will get into Laramie at 4:30—We have swell friends, haven’t we?  & swell family.  Thurs. –8 o’clock: Dad got on the train and its sort of nice to have him—he’s going clear to Omaha.  He managed to get a double berth and we had a nice supper in the diner—we are sure traveling fast—will cross the whole state of Nebr. in the nite.  Get into Omaha at 6 o’clock tomorrow morning. 

Well, here I am on the train for Chicago—this is a swell coach—You can ride anything here abouts on a pass—never had a bit of trouble—I’ll get into Chicago at 11:30 8.  This train really travels--& pretty smooth too.  I’ll eat my lunch and eat a meal in the diner tonight.  I sort of crave coffee—our breakfast cost $1.25 per—our dinner last nite $1.65 per.

We are going thru a town named Missouri Valley that just had a real flood—I see chicken houses & sheds flipped over & great fields of corn about 8 inches high—just drowned—I hope the road bed is o.k.

A Few Quick Words on Name Changes

                       Recently I have had several discussions about name changes taking place as immigrants enter the United States through Ellis Island.  Let’s bottom line this: it didn’t happen.  The Immigration Service maintained a staff of bilingual clerks at Ellis Island in order to accurately record the names of immigrants as they passed through the various check points.  In addition, ship Captains kept a very accurate passenger list or manifest with the names of passengers.

After immigrants entered the country, it is very likely they may have anglicized or simply changed their names.  A case in point here is Sherburne County is the man who decided there were too many Andersons in the area.  He went through the county court and legally changed his name.  Later his son went through the same process because the son was born before the name change and so also had to legally change his last name to fit the new name of his father.

Furthermore, don’t let a different spelling of a last name discourage your family history research.  I don’t know who said it first, the quote has been credited to Mark Twain, or Benjamin Franklin and a host of other men, but it is worth remembering (and forgive the paraphrase):  A man who spells his name only one way is obviously not a gentleman.

In the case of Brubaker, I was recently introduced to an alternate spelling of “Brubacher” in the 1850s.  I guess the family is slowly working itself towards the title of Gentleman.

Dad’s Lunch Box

Dad worked for 40 years for the Union Pacific Railroad.  Each day he would line this lunch box with wax paper, make a sandwich, bag up some potato chips, and a twinkie or a Ding Dong.  On a good day he would make the sandwich of egg salad, or possibly tuna.  On a busy day, when he didn’t have the time to make a sandwich, it was bologna with mustard on white bread.

He would always go to work with his lunch bucket in his hand, wearing blue coveralls, and carry a coat, mittens, and lantern.  The mittens were heavy duty things.  I think one pair probably lasted several years.  He always maintained that with mittens you could move your fingers around and keep them warm.  So he always wore mittens.

That will always be Dad.

This lunch box is the ultimate image of Dad working on the railroad.  When he retired he wanted to drive over it with his truck and flatten it.  I begged him not to do it.  I’m glad he didn’t. 

The Value of Maps

Just recently I was evaluating the value of maps in family history research.  As part of a program, I reflected on a story Dad used to tell:

His grandparents, John H. Brubaker and Ellen Tiernan owned land in western Nebraska.  The farmers and ranchers in the area had decided that they would collectively pay for a school teacher.  A school house was built nearby and all of the children were sent.  The Brubakers had three sons, all very handsome and charismatic.  According to Dad, for three years in a row, the school had to hire a new teacher because each woman that came out to teach would inevitably marry a Brubaker boy.

Until recently, I had never given much credibility to this story.  But, I was able to visit Alliance, Nebraska.  The museum there is really quite nice.  Inside the museum/archives in Alliance I encountered a plat map of the area.  There on the map was my grandfather’s land.  And just south and west of his land was a school house!  Maybe Dad’s story is not such a stretch after all.

Here is a copy of the map.  You can make up your own mind.  Regardless of the veracity of the story, the discovery on this map was exciting.

Jane Hislop Brubaker--Growing Up in Huntsville

Another bit of oral history from Jane Hislop Brubaker.  “Daddy” is Charles Henry Hislop and “Mama” is Mabel Hislop.  These are some of Jane’s earliest memories of growing up during the Depression in the 1930s

Daddy was a sheep-herder until ’35. I was about three years old when he came home. He was sick. And the doctors didn’t know what was wrong with him. Anyway, he came home, and he was home for a couple of years.  We didn’t have anything, because Daddy was sick and Mama bought some chickens. She rented a chicken coop when we were there, in back of the house. We raised chickens, but then one day the chicken coop caught on fire and all the chickens burned up.

We didn’t have anything when Daddy was sick. We were really poor. But he had, Daddy had, he was so tired all the time, and he just didn’t have any energy. We went to the doctor, and the doctor said it was his teeth. His teeth were rotten. They might have been. But anyway, they pulled all his teeth. He was still sick. So one of his friends came over and made him go to a different doctor. And he went to that doctor and he had Anemia.  So they put him on iron pills and he got better. But he was really, really sick for four or five years there.

Mom and Dad's First Date

This was edited from an oral history I collected from Mom (Jane Hislop Brubaker) in 2008.  Mom’s birthday is coming up, she would have been 82 years old.  I’m posting this because I am thinking of both her and Dad.  Happy Birthday Mom.

We had a party one night. We decided to have a party at one of the girls’ homes, but we didn’t have any men to invite, because we didn’t know any. So Mary Marvella brought over all these boys from Nampa. Which, Eddie was one of them. We went to a bar. I remember we were dancing. I mean, we were there, and everybody started dancing except I wasn’t dancing. And here comes Eddie and says, “Dance with me.” So I said OK, and I danced with him. And then he spun me around, and when I got back around I couldn’t find him. I’ll never forget that. He had a coat rack in his arms. And he was dancing with that and he said, “Oh, Janie.  Janie, you’ve lost so much weight.” And I thought, “Oh, God, how funny a guy he is!” That’s how I met him.

After that, well, I didn’t see him again for a long time. And then instead of Eddie calling me, Willy Marvella called me and asked me to go out.

Finally Eddie called me one night and asked me to go out with him. And I said, yeah, I would. But guess what? He never showed. He stood me up!  He didn’t show that first time. And the second time he called me, he asked me to go out with him, and I went. He told me that he had to be home because his brother Pat came to town. And he was in service, I think, or something.  I didn’t put up a fight with him or nothing. I just said yes. And he showed. I don’t remember where we went. 

Mom, I think all five of your children are glad you gave Dad a second chance at a date!