There were 11 children in our family, plus Mom and Dad. I am the third oldest, Howard. I was born in Buffalo, NY in the very good year of 1932, on October 5th.  I have an older brother, Don, who is one year older (Sept 8,1931). Our oldest sister, Jean died of cancer several years ago. Their names in order of birth are; Jean Marie, Donald F, Howard L , William F, Marion N, Tyrone D, Patricia A, Sandra L, Barbara, John E, and Thomas G.

My earliest recollections are of city life in Buffalo. Things were very tough then and my family lived together ... that is, two or three families lived together in the same house. Mom and Dad lived with Grandpa and Grandma Parker, and Uncle Cecil Pettit and Aunt Beulah ( Dad's sister). In all there must have been 15 or more living in that big house. I don;t really remember very much, except that it was a big house with a "dumb waiter".

WORLD WAR II - Part 1

It is something I will never forget. My Dad turned on the radio on that Sunday afternoon, December 7, 1941, and the news, the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Islands. I can still see him sitting there stunned. He well remembered the First World War, even though he did not serve as he was raising his family consisting of Carl, Thora, and Lucille. We knew it was serious but we had no idea what implications and effects it would have on our country nor on us as a family or how long it would last. I was a freshman in high school. Many young fellows joined the services. Then the draft began. Carl, Charles, and Bob were exempt as they were raising their families.

Lake Powell Trip 2006

There are only four of us on this, my third houseboat trip. The Captain is Peej, and then there is Matt the Loadmaster, Cindy the First Mate, and me.  I guess I am the miscellaneous crew member. We left from Flagstaff on September 30, 2006, cramming all our stuff successfully into one vehicle, except for food, which we will purchase in Page, Arizona. Our boat this time is to be the 46 foot Voyager. Quite a bit smaller than our previous boats, it nonetheless should be adequate for the four of us. Hover your cursor over each image to see a short description of the picture. 9/30 - Saturday   We arrive in Page, AZ, stop for lunch at a pizza place and are still too early to get on the boat. Cindy and Dana beat Matt at cribbage several times at a picnic table in the shade of a small tree, while jack rabbits, cottontails, roadrunners, ravens, and numerous bitty birds run around in the scrub next to us. Peej goes off to check on things during most of this time. About 4pm the boat is ready and we load our stuff in carts and drag them down the hill to the boat.