Timelines and Stories: Single Life to Benedict - Part 10

It has been a while since I posted anything on Alfred's story. There was a two week vacation, including a trip to Indiana, and then a return trip a couple of weeks later to attend a funeral. Have just had a hard time getting back into a rhythm. The story is up to 1941 as Alfred continues:

"My father died on Easter Sunday 1941. Seemed like 1941 a lot of things happened. Harold was called to Allison's for a job. Later that year Avery also got a job there – the boys were making a bigger salary than I was. Late that summer Mom had surgery and Aunt Ruth again came to our assistance and took care of household duties. It was a miserable hot summer that year.

Jane graduated in 1942 and that fall went to Central Business College. We took her up there on Labor Day. It is to be remembered that World War II started for the U.S.A. with the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941 and of course our anxieties grew from day to day as we knew our boys would soon have to serve with the millions of young men being called. I think it was in 1942 that Harold enlisted in the Navy. I took him to Bedford to enlist and was thinking seriously of enlisting myself for I had information that mail clerks were needed and had a chance of getting an Ensign commission, however I found out for the first time I was “color blind.”

Jane finished school and got a fair job with the Capitol Paper Co. Shortly after that Avery was drafted into the Army. Mom recovered from surgery quickly and was doing a good job on our Farm Program. She bought another cow and was raising veal calves, buying baby calves and letting them have practically all the milk – She raised as 3 calves with our cow and the calves brot from 30⁰⁰ to 40⁰⁰ each. She also had a big flock of chickens that did real well in egg production. Tunney was doing real well playing basketball and was one of the main stays on a better than average team for 3 years. The war years were critical; we were allotted stamps for certain foods, gas, tires, etc. but we did not suffer. In the mean time Jane got a better job with American Railway Express and was making a good salary."

Alfred just briefly mentioned the death of his father, Frederick August Henry Moehlmann, on 13 April 1941. There had not been much contact over the years. But I do know that Alfred and his family they made the trip up to Indianapolis for the funeral, because my aunt who was fairly young at the time remembers the train ride to Indianapolis. I did find an obituary that someone had saved but I don't know what paper it was from:

Alfred's father, at the time of his death, was living in the same Indianapolis neighborhood where Alfred had grown up. He never remarried and had lived with his widowed brother Lewis, a widowed sister-in-law, Minnie and spinster sister Matilda. The obituary says he had retired from the railroad 15 years previously. The 1930 census listed his occupation as caretaker in a private residence. In the 1940 census it was recorded that Fred was unable to work. The only picture I have of him is his wedding photo which you can see here. Alfred doesn't say much about his father, but one of his children relayed to me that they had gone to Indianapolis by train to see their grandfather who was very ill. He died before they had gotten back to Linton. So they left the next day and went back to his funeral.

Headstone at Concordia Cemetery
Indianapolis, Indiana

Alfred's son Avery graduates from Linton Stockton High School on 3 June 1941 and then goes to work at Allison's in Indianapolis, joining his older brother Harold.