Memoirs of Norbert E. Gnadinger, Sr. Volume 1

1941

A new year has arrived. Helen and I spent New Years Eve playing poker with all the Buchters’ while Grandma took care of Nibby. We enjoyed bottled Falls City Beer with soft drinks, sandwiches, and pretzels. I had never done anything like this in a family environment before and it was certainly enjoyable. From this point forward, there were always poker games being played at the Buchter’s home mostly on special occasions. The pennies would flow. Our rules were that it took a penny to enter the game, you also opened the bet with a penny and you couldn’t raise more than a penny. So you see that this was reasonable entertainment. Grampa always furnished the beer. Many years later when we were more prosperous and had nickel limit games, We would draw money from each pot until we had enough for a case of beer and I would drive in to Sam Lauyans Beer Depot on Goss Ave. to get a cold case. The Gnadingers’ were not “Simon Pure” when it came to gambling. They enjoyed their games of chance too. I’ll get into that more as we continue these memories.(Mary Catherine’s son, James A. Wantland was born, Aug. 5, 1941)

I had always heard that you pinch a baby to make them cry and that would help develop their lungs. Perhaps a famous singer would be developed at an early age. Nibby had powerful lungs when he was a baby and if he was hungry or had a dirty diaper, he would definitely let you know about it. Fortunately for us, he would usually sleep through the night without waking but you didn’t need an alarm in the morning at feeding time. Nibby had most of the baby type ailments during this short period but I can’t remember that we took him back to Dr. Beresheim for check-ups. The Buchters had a family doctor, Dr. Abraham on Eastern Parkway and he became our family doctor also.

My job with the American-Standard changed after the first of the year. I guess I broke too many hammer handles as a blacksmith helper because they transferred me to the Electric Maintenance Shop. Again, I was a helper. I also had to go on the eleven PM to seven AM shift and this meant that I would get a two cent an hour shift bonus. I didn’t like the “third shift” at all. I never did like it and never would. Sleep was the big problem with a large family in a small house even though everyone cooperated. I was lucky it was winter time and cool in the upstairs bedroom. In the summer it would have been miserable. I’m really not complaining. My body would just not adjust to those odd hours. As an Electrician Helper, I was a “go-fer”. I followed the Journeyman Electrician around all night doing whatever he told me to do. I wasn’t allowed to do any electrical work except to throw an electric circuit sometimes. The Company was upgrading it’s lighting system all through the plant and our job was to tear down the old system at night while the other two shifts put in the new lights. Evidently, my boss was given a certain amount of work to finish each night. When we had finished it and cleaned up everything, my boss would disappear. It didn’t take me long to discover that he had a secret hiding place where he would take a nap. Sooooo, I did the same thing. My secret place was a freight elevator which I would stop between floors, stretch out and take my nap. When the first shift would start to arrive at work, someone would hit the call button on the elevator, it would start to move, wake me up, and I would head back to the shop ready to go home. I didn’t learn much about electricity but I did learn how to get a quick nap. Since no production took place on the third shift, it was our responsibility to re-charge all of the electric Fork Trucks and Mules. The boss turned this job over to me for it was very simple. I got a kick out of driving each one to its’ charging station, turning them off and then plugging each unit into a charger. In eight hours, they were ready to work again. After months of this type work I could really see no advancement in it for me. It looked like a dead-end job.

Great-grandma Buchter, Grampa’s mother pretty much stayed in her own room. I believe the only time she came directly out into the house was when Grampa came home from work and shared supper with us. She did have her own private entrance and would go back and forth visiting with Unkie and Aunt Terese. The Buchter’s, also, always had a dog. This particular day in early January, the dog began barking furiously. I finally had to get up to investigate and found Great-grandma lying on the ground at the foot of the stairs with the dog standing by her, barking. I’m not sure if she had a stroke or heart attack but it was obvious she needed help. The boys ran over to get Unkie and he arranged to get her to St. Joseph’s Hospital. Grandpa was called home from work. Great-grandma did not respond to any treatment and finally died on Jan. 12th of pneumonia. She is buried in Cave Hill Cemetery in the Wiedeman Plot. Grampa took his mother’s death very hard. The dog was given special treatment for the rest of his life for he had warned us that Great-grandma had fallen. Since his mother had died in the hospital, Grampa made Grandma promise she would take care of him at home if he were sick and never, ever, place him in a hospital. And, that is exactly the way his life eventually ended-at home in his own bed. (Helen’s Grandmother, Anna[Wiedeman]Buchter died, Jan. 12, 1941)

Not long after the death of Great-grandma Buchter, it was decided that Helen, Nibby and I would take over Grandma and Grampa’s bedroom, which was next to the attached room and they would set up their bedroom in the dining room which was never used anyway. This way we would have a two room apartment. Besides, Helen was pregnant and there would soon be four of us. We bought a kerosene cook-stove and with the rest of our furniture from Kentucky St., we could assume a family type independent life style. Grandma and Grampa thought we were crazy that we cooked our own meals but we felt better. The three boys were happy to get back their entire upstairs bedroom with less crowding. Again, the window came out so that we could move our springs and mattress. Yes, those were the days when the “box” springs were not beautifully covered over but were plain, exposed, springs which supported the mattress. We were a lot more comfortable but not completely satisfied. Our one desire was to again live by ourselves in our own home. At this time, we could not afford to do that.

In this year there were so many good and bad things that occurred. The following is more tragic than just bad. Brother Bernie, while performing his tasks at the American Radiator and Std. Sanitary Co. traveled all through the plant. On this particular day in late spring he was in the plant yard where they dumped molding sand. He must have been stooped over looking through the sand for scrap metal when a truck backing up to dump another load of used sand, knocked Bernie to the ground and continued on until the back wheels ran over his upper body completely. The only thing that saved his life was being pushed down into the sand by the wheels and that the sand itself helped support the weight of the truck. In spite of this, Bernie was very seriously injured and for a long time it was touch and go on whether he would survive this. He was taken to St. Anthony’s Hospital for treatment and some of us with his same blood type donated blood for use during the operation. Nothing as serious as this accident had ever occurred before in our family. Only the usual cuts, bruises and an occasional broken bone. The whole family was in a turmoil. It was long into the night before the doctors could report that Bernie would live but would have a very slow recovery and there would be many more operations. He was very fortunate that his spinal cord was not injured because he could have been paralyzed. I believe that he didn’t return to work for about three years. He continued to have trouble with his diaphragm and sometime in the 1950s, he made a special trip to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for further reconstructive surgery. I believe they installed a small sheet of nylon fabric according to Bernie’s description. Bernie never said, but I believe(?) he knew he could never have children after this accident and for that reason he never married. He dated many nice girls but never proposed to any of them. At that time, the girls would still have gotten a good and loving man.(Eileen’s husband, Lawrence H. Nold was born, April, 27, 1941)

Bernie was in much pain all of the time and he eventually began drinking a great deal to deaden the pain. He became an alcoholic after a while. You have to give him a lot of credit, for in later years when a doctor told him to quit drinking or die in a short while, he stopped drinking immediately. I was there to witness this. Bernie lived another twenty years after that so the change in his life style paid off very well for him.

As all of this was developing, I received a telephone call from cousin George Cooper(another friend boosting me along through life). He worked for the Postal Service and he told me they were posting Civil Service openings and if I was interested in getting a job which would pay me more than I was then making, he would turn in my name. I told him I was definitely interested for I knew this may be a way for Helen and I to get back out on our own. He turned in my name and I didn’t know until later that he also turned in Stanley’s and Harry Cooper’s names at the same time. I soon received word from the Civil Service Bureau to report to the Federal Building on March 28, 1941 for testing. There were written tests and I also had to lift a heavy weight which was easy after having been a blacksmith’s helper. George told me that veterans had first choice for these jobs but he felt there were enough openings so that I had a good chance to secure one. Sure enough, about six weeks later I got a letter stating that I had one of the openings and that I was to report to the Jeffersonville Quartermaster Depot on May 29th to begin work. I would begin as a Classified Laborer and my salary would be $1200.00 a year. That was almost double what I was then making at the American Radiator and Helen and I were very pleased about this.

I wasn’t too smart in my early working years and as I began making arrangements to begin my new job, I did one of the more senseless things of the many I was guilty of. I had a full time job with American Radiator and Standard Sanitary Co. I worked there up to the day I was to report to the Q.M. Depot. On May 29th, I went to my new job and not one time did I think to let my old boss know I was quitting. Some how they discovered this and when they sent me my last pay check there was included a very nasty letter explaining my lack of common sense. This woke me up to the fact that I had to assume more responsibility for my own actions. The rest of my life I have continued to make silly mistakes but I learned from them and did not repeat any(?).(6-16-2001)

At the time of Bernie’s accident, he owned a 1937 six cylinder, Chevrolet Sedan. I was having trouble finding dependable transportation to the Q.M. Depot in Jeffersonville, Ind. Finally Mom had the idea that since Bernie’s car was just sitting in the garage rusting because Bernie was unable to drive it and it seemed like it would be a long time before he would be able to, she gave me permission to drive it to my new job. This solved my problem and I also accumulated others workers who paid me to take them back and forth to the Depot. I was learning fast. I’m sure Mom talked to Bernie about this arrangement but I never talked to him about it. I just assumed all the expenses of upkeep and paid the taxes and was happy that I had “wheels”.

After Helen returned home from the hospital after Nibby’s birth, she told me that she wanted any future babies to be born in the friendly privacy of her own home. This was long before her Grandmother died in the hospital. Her reasons were much different from her father’s decision to avoid hospitals. She was old fashioned enough to appreciate the extra security she felt present at home. This decision complicated things for us somewhat, because, even at that time there were few doctors willing to take the risk of a home birth. we called many doctors and were finally lucky enough to find one on Goss Ave. Dr. C.V. Atherton, Physician, agreed to take on this task after Helen discovered she was pregnant again. She did visit his office several times for check-ups. His office was in a private home at 980 Goss Ave. near Kreiger St.

The big day finally arrived. Once again the pains began for Helen in the middle of the night. Since everything would be controlled from Phillips Ave., there was no need for the worry of getting her moved from one place to another. I called the doctor and discovered he was out on the town at a party. He finally called and told me his nurse would precede him there and not to worry. I tried to do what he said by trying to keep Helen comfortable and to squeeze my hands while having her pains. Neither the nurse nor the doctor had shown up and I was really sweating because I thought I could see the baby’s head beginning to show and the birth had begun. It turned out that I was seeing only the water bag and it soon burst which wasn’t good for my nerves. About this time the nurse showed up, I thought she couldn’t find this house out in the country, and shortly after, the doctor made his appearance. Grandma Buchter and I collapsed in the living room and soon heard the cries of new-born Rosie. She was healthy and really howled to let us know that was so. It was my turn to name a baby. Naturally, I chose the name of my favorite three Aunts, Rose Gnadinger, Schuster and Von Bossum and I chose Marie(Mary) to honor my Mom and Helen’s Mother. So, we agreed on the name, Rose Marie who was ever after called, Rosie. By this time, everyone in the house was awake. After the doctor and nurse left us, and we had made Helen comfortable with the baby, we all sat around the kitchen table drinking coffee and toasting each other with beer. Grampa admitted that this was the best night of his life. Now that Helen was “safe”, I had to agree with him whole-heartedly. Nibby was now just a little over thirteen months old. He slept through the whole thing. On July 1st, I received the bill for Rosie’s birth. $25.00 for the services of the doctor and nurse.(Helen’s daughter, Rose Marie[Gnadinger]Hillis was born, June 1, 1941)

It was the custom in the Buchter and Gnadinger family to take out a small insurance policy on the life of the children when they were born. The policy generally had a death value of five hundred dollars and a cash surrender value of about two hundred dollars after a reasonable number of premium payments. The cost of each policy was twenty five cents a week. The only insurance company I can remember was the Western and Southern Life Insurance Co. The agent would stop by every week to collect the premium at your home. It was a running joke with the Buchter’s that after the Agent collected at their house, he would leave and head for Biffi’s(later, Post and Paddock)Bar down on the corner and place a bet on the horses. There was always a bookie on duty there. The reason I have brought up the insurance feature is this. After each child was grown and for some reason such as marriage or an automobile, they needed the cash money, they were allowed to cash in the insurance policy and use the money for their emergency. It worked for our kids.(6-18-2001)

When I began my duties at the Q.M. Depot, I was first assigned to a roving labor gang. Whenever there was something to be unloaded, stacked or moved, we were sent to do the job. I appreciated one phase of the new job. I was back on day work which made me very happy. I was really in awe of the Quartermaster Depot. It was so hugh and since Hitler’s actions in Europe was forcing President Roosevelt to begin mobilizing the whole country, the Depot was in the process of further expansion. There was at least ten very large warehouses being built at the time of my starting to work. Previous to World War II, in the Quadrangle area, some manufacturing of harness and other items for the horse soldier was done. This soon stopped upon the switchover to the mechanized soldier. A lot of harness items were stored in a warehouse but very little of it was shipped out. The rest of the warehouses were stuffed with everything a modern soldier needed to maintain himself. Manufacturers all over the country would ship to us in carload lots and we would pack and ship out orders to all the army bases in the country and also export to overseas bases. The items using up the most warehouse space was clothing, mess kits, cots, blankets, pillows, shoes and boots, and more especially, tents and tent poles, large and small. I must have helped move and stack a million tent poles in the first few months of my employment.

As I rotated around the area doing various jobs, I was amazed to discover that the Depot was actually a glorified antique mall. I believe that if they had let me research some items I would have found there were some left over from the Civil War. Eventually, most of this old time stuff was moved out because they needed the room. I know I saw one battle tank from the first World War because I saw a similar one in the Patton Museum at Fort Knox after the war. Perhaps it was the same one. There must have been twenty heavy “Mack” trucks, with the solid rubber tires and the heavy chain drive running to the drive wheels, located in a storage yard.

The Depot was pretty much self-sufficient. Railroad tracks ran alongside each warehouse so part of the necessary equipment was a small switch-engine used to move out empty boxcars and move full ones into place. There was what they called a box factory(carpenter shop) where shipping containers were made to order. I worked there for a short while. Inside the quadrangle buildings was a training school for new supervisors. I was assigned there shortly before I became a shipping supervisor. In the area where they stored the switch-engine was the maintenance shop which contained both mechanical and electrical sections. Each warehouse contained a small office where the warehouse foreman and his work crew were stationed and they were assigned several electric mules and also wagons for moving material about. The main warehouse office was located in Whse. #25. This is where I had to report each morning for assignments. The office took up about half the building space and the rest was still used for storage. Occasionally, I was sent to the main office to perform some task and it was on one of these details that I ran into Harry Cooper and found out he was also an employee of the Q.M. Depot. With his background and business training, he had been assigned to the office force. We managed to see each other quite often after this meeting. It was some time later before I finally learned where brother Stanley was assigned. He was also doing clerical work and rotated between the main office and various warehouse offices.(6-19-2001)

I was paid twice a month, on the fifteenth and the last day. Everyone(?) was paid in cash. It was quite a sight to see the Disbursing Officer approach his next payoff station with armed guards on each side of him. He had to be caring quite a bit of money in his satchels and there must have been a lot more in his small truck because one of the guards remained with it. If the weather was right, he brought out a small table and a chair and our unit lined up before him. In bad weather, we went into an office. I know it took him all of the day to finish making everyone happy. We were encouraged to save by buying Government Bonds and I did so. The Officer would read off your name and you would identify yourself. He then listed all of your deductions, named the net amount and then counted the balance out into your hand. The cash money felt real good in my hands.

Here is a little story that even Helen likes to quote, occasionally. I believe this happened a short while before Rosie was born. I know that I already had Bernie’s car. I cannot remember why I was going out that night or with whom, but Helen thought I should stay home in case the baby would “come”. I went out anyway and Helen was very upset with me. After an enjoyable evening, I returned home to discover I had been locked out of the house by Helen. I appealed to her through the screened window but she just told me to go away. All of this commotion must have woke up the family. I settled down in the back seat of the car prepared to spend the night there when, suddenly, there was a knock on the car window and there stood Grandma Buchter with a pillow and a blanket for me. Grandma was a soft-hearted person and this confirmed that she liked me as I liked her. Helen relented then and she let me into the house. It was a couple days before she became her usual smiling self.

Just across Poplar Level Road from Unkie’s house lived the Hemmer family. They had a farm and ran a small scale dairy business. On the side, they sold raw milk to anyone who would buy from them. Before Carl went into the Army, he would ride out there about every other evening and pick up milk for Mom to use. Naturally, he would stop off to visit with us. The first thing he did was to grab Rosie and carry her all over the house. Carl loved children. More than one time he would kid Helen by asking if she ever changed Rosie’s diaper. He said that every time he picked up Rosie her diaper was wet and he would change it. I guess this is where he got the experience he would need for his own large family.

You know the saying that you always remember where you were, what you were doing and the time of day when something momentous occurs. “Pearl Harbor” was one of many events that I remember. My cousin, Bernadine(Bernie)Steinmetz and Bill Purcell were now married. We were visiting with them and had just come back to their home on Kentucky St. after eating a Sunday dinner on Dec. 7, 1941. The first thing that Bill did when he entered the house was turn on the radio. The music was immediately interrupted with a bulletin stating that Japanese aircraft had bombed Pearl Harbor and it was feared they had sunk all of our Battleships and other war ships. We were quite shocked and didn’t know how to react. Up to this point, we had not paid much attention to the war in Europe and had hardly thought of Japan as a menace to our security. Now we would all have to become personally involved in the world events and play close attention to the daily changes which would affect our lives well into the future. We continued listening to the radio and learned that President Roosevelt would address a joint session of Congress on Monday and that we should tune in to this. The suspense was awful.

I can only imagine what the television “talking heads” would have made of this tragic happening, today. As it was, the only thing you could pick up on the radio was the latest news about the bombing, the number of ships damaged and sunk, the destruction of the air fields in Honolulu and the suspected number of dead and wounded service men. The newspapers had “extras” out on the street in a very short time. Everyone had their ears close to the radio as President Roosevelt, the next day, talking to the joint session of congress and the American people, asked Congress to declare that we were in a state of war with Germany and Japan. He made the famous statement that Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941 would be remembered as “a day of infamy.”

The United States was now allied with England, France, Poland and other European Countries in a World War to be fought on two sides of the world, against Germany and Italy in Europe and against Japan in the Pacific regions. The Soviet Union was already fighting against Germany but did not declare war against Japan until a few weeks before we had already defeated Japan. Our country was fortunate that Roosevelt had already begun mobilization of our armed forces when he did(with the consent of Congress). A draft lottery was also set up and all young men within a certain age category had to register. Everyone of my brothers had to register but Helen’s brothers were still too young. Jiggs was seventeen and could hardly wait until he added another year and he could become part of this draft. Later, even seventeen year olds were drafted. Patriotism was running high at this point and continued high all through the war. Each male, when he registered, was issued a draft number. Brother Carl drew a low number and it was but a short while before he was drafted into the army. Brother Frank had taken flying lessons and was a registered pilot who, at that time, was in partnership with a friend in owning a small, Piper Cub, airplane. The air-force was especially anxious to acquire experienced pilots and Frank was installed as a Second Lieutenant in the air-force as an instructor at a Texas airfield. He took his life into his own hands everyday that he was training these raw recruits they sent to him.

The United States had been a non-belligerent in the war going on in Europe but Congress had issued Roosevelt authority to provide various goods and services and even loans to England and the other allies. After Dec. 7th, this all changed when the United States went on a “war footing” and we eventually began supplying England and Russia war materials that probably equaled half of their needs. The drafting of young men into the various services was increased tremendously as more and more training facilities were added all over the country. Automobile manufacturing was suspended for the duration of the war as the facilities were used to build everything from “Jeeps” to tanks. Airplane factories were being built very quickly and Louisville even had one located by Standiford Field run by the Curtiss-Wright Corp. Along the Ohio River and roughly between Jeffersonville and Charlestown, Indiana, hundreds of acres of farm land were bought and converted into a facility where smokeless powder was manufactured for the guns of the Navy and Army. Also in Indiana, at the Jeff-Boat Works, small ships were assembled which were necessary for landing men and tanks on the islands of the Pacific in our war with Japan. In the west end, chemical plants were built which began making synthetic rubber needed for auto and truck tires and other uses now that Japan had cut off most of our supply of natural rubber from Asia and the German Submarines had virtually stopped our imports from South America. Shipyards were expanded all along the eastern and western coasts of our country in order to build more cargo ships than our enemies were able to sink with torpedoes from submarines or from guns on warships. What I have listed is only a “drop in the bucket” of what was needed to wage an “all out” war. There was not a person in the country who was not affected by these changes in our lives.

The most important changes that affected the civilian population was the rationing of all goods which were necessary for everyday living. Public transportation was available to everyone. A good thing because, if you didn’t have a “defense” job, you would have a hard time driving your automobile. Gasoline, oil, and tires were rationed and very hard to acquire. You learned to a accept a different diet because the best of all foods were reserved for the armed forces. All tobacco products were in short supply and a lot of civilians found it easy to give up smoking. In other words, the people in the armed forces were given first choice and the best of everything. No one really complained because we were involved in a very serious war and our young men were out there protecting our very lives. I still had Bernie’s car and, since I worked for the government, I was issued gasoline stamps sufficient to get me and my riders back and forth to work and very little extra. I couldn’t buy a set of tires at one time. If I was running on a “bald” tire, I put in for a replacement at the rationing board and if they approved the request, I was sent to a definite location to secure a “new” tire. It could very well be a recap, a used tire, or if you were exceptionally lucky, a new one. Since no new automobiles were being manufactured except for the armed forces, a very large market was opened for second hand cars. Price controls were in force so they weren’t very much overpriced. Once we accepted the fact that war was to be the norm, we learned to live with these major changes in our life-style.

The remainder of this unusual year passed with a feeling of fear and suspense as we learned of the great strides both the Germans and the Japanese made in their attempt to take over the entire world. The Japanese evidently had been planning their war for a long time because their troops were reported attacking several main targets at once. In particular, the greatest shock to our country was when they landed in the Philippines Islands. There seemed, in the short run, no way to stop them. All of the news was not bad for the damage their bombing did at Pearl Harbor was not as extensive as at first thought. Many of the damaged ships could be and were repaired. None of our aircraft carriers were in port at the time so that they were immediately available for defense. That was one of two major mistakes the Japanese made at the time because the war developed into, primarily, who controlled the skys over the battle areas. The second mistake they made at Pearl Harbor was their failure to bomb and destroy the millions of gallons of fuel that were an easy target nearby. If we had lost this fuel it would have been months before we could have launched a counter-attack.

I have another very pleasant story with a human touch. Brother Robert had been born as a premature baby and was very small as I mentioned before. Pauline and Robert’s last child was also born, small and premature. I don’t remember all of the details but Mary Catherine and Bill Wantland volunteered to help out with the baby. Bill, with some skill in carpentry, proceeded to build a “homemade” incubator for Richard. I can visualize it as an unpainted box about twelve by twenty inches and twelve inches high. It was fitted with a small blanket as a mattress, a very small screened opening on each side for air and a light socket fitted into the removable top which held a light bulb to supply warmth for the baby. Very ingenious but it worked because Richard is still with us. I believe that Mary Catherine was Richard’s nurse until the doctor stated he was out of danger and could go home.(Robert’s son, Richard Frederick Gnadinger, born, Nov. 28, 1941)

On Phillips Ave., life continued as before. Naturally, most all of the talk was of the war. I wasn’t fearful that I would be drafted right away because I was married and had children(Isn’t it tragic that wars kill off mostly our young, single men). Jiggs would be eighteen the following May and he couldn’t wait to join some branch of the service. Nibby was walking and jabbering now and he was a handful to control. Rosie was chubby and cute enough so that we entered her in a local milk company baby contest. She came in fourth. Helen was worried that we would not have sufficient funds to enjoy a fine Christmas so she went out and secured a part time job. It was nice to have Grandma as a live-in baby sitter. Helen was hired by the Sutcliffe Sporting Goods Store on Fourth St. near Market as a sales clerk. She earned enough money in those few weeks so that all in this family received a gift. This was a very good Christmas for everyone because the stores were fully stocked with goods even before the war began and we all took advantage of that fact. Helen was content to be a stay-at-home mother(housewife) but all through our married life she broke loose from this stereotype to hold down part time jobs.