A Piece of Piano History

It could be true.......

We give credit for this one to Tim R. Love it!

Having wisely turned down a movie date with The Woman In Red, 1930s gangster John Dillinger slipped over the horizon and, like many before him, quietly settled in a locale popular with people having turbulent pasts: Englewood, Colorado.

Here Mr. Dillinger raised a family: from left, Mary Lou, Peggy Sue, Dillinger (holding Baby Face Nelson), and Pretty Boy Floyd. Photo taken by Ma Barker.

When asked for a word of advice to modern-day gangsters, Dillinger retorted, "For gangsters, it's over. Get a job. And pull up yer damn pants!"

This charming piece of nostalgia comes from Warren's cousin Rita as she "remembers" the family.

This appears to be a mixed bag of the Whitney cousins and a family that I don’t recognize at all.  I don’t remember any of the Whitneys wearing glasses at such a young age.  The adult male and the little boy with glasses are probably related along with the girl in the glasses.  The rest are Alicia Marie (far left), Newele, and either Cina or Jeanne.  I don’t recognize the house but it may be an entrance to the newer part built by Uncle Bill.

A huge thank you to Tobi for this new addition to the fun...

This is my uncle Henry Schneider and six of his children.  They are right to left, Melodee, Ronnie, Sandy, Patricia, Carolyn, Henry Sr., and Henry Jr.  This picture was taken on Easter morning 1952, just before church in Wilson, KS.  

Henry’s grandparents had emigrated from Russia in 1903, landing at Galveston, TX.  They then made their way to Wilson, KS, where they had family and settled there as farmers. Henry really hated farming and wanted to do anything else.  He was able to work his way through college and became the town mortician.

I was never sure why they named their oldest daughter Melodee, since she could not carry a tune.  Maybe it was just wishful thinking.  You may notice Henry Jr.  He wanted to do everything like his daddy, including the white shirt and bow tie.  Little Ronnie was an absolute terror on the tricycle in the picture.  He would pedal for miles until Patricia would drag him back home.

You might be interested to know that his wife Martha took this picture and then claimed to be ill.  She stayed home from church that day.   When the family returned, Easter dinner was on the table, but Martha had flown the coop.  Being the wife of a mortician and the mother of six must have been too much for her.  The widow Eames, who lived next door, quickly stepped in and helped Henry with the children.  They were soon married and added four more children to the family.  With the three children that she had from her first marriage, that made a baker’s dozen, too many for Henry’s small home.  They were very creative and added on to both houses and connected them together.  I have lost touch with them, but imagine that Henry Jr. is still in Kansas running the family business.