St. Petersburg Florida

In 1972 Grandma and Grandpa moved to St. Petersburgh Florida.  Amost everyone through the years got to go on a trip with them to Florida for vacation.  But when they moved there it was pretty tramatic thinking they would be so far away; but it ended up providing so many people with a vacation destination and alot of good memories.  Grandma's house was always open to visitors.

Back in the day a visit to St. Pete was not complete without a visit to Webb's City.  The store had everything.  The favorite was the top floor which had vending machines with chickens and rabbits that would do tricks when you put in money.  (The humane society would have a fit today!).  Then there were the magical mermaids that would mysteriously know your name when you peered at them through the port holes.  (your parents would give the lady at the entrance your name before you entered.).

One of Grandma's favorite spots was Sunken Gardens.  It had beautiful tropical flowers, foilage, and colorful parrots.

At St Pete Beach the Don Cesar stood as a beautiful tropical pink landmark against the blue sky.  In the forties this was the playground of the rich and famous.

The Pier.  The upside down triangle.

The Kapoke Tree.  A special dinning treat.  Dont forget the punch with the souvenir glass.

Treasure Island Beach

There was always something to do and see when visiting Bertha & Earl in Sunny St. Petersburg Florida.

Backyard 687 W. Main

Great-grandson Robby Ramser with Grandma

This is from the summer of 1988.  Grandma was walking Robby in the backyard where the garden used to be.  You can see by the picture how large the garden was and when you were a kid and worked in it with Grandpa it seemed to never end.

Fishing

Bertha & Earl baiting a fishing hook

Earl & Carl with Fish

One of Bertha's pleasures was fishing.  From her childhood she enjoyed fishing and looking for crayfish in the creek in New Waterford.  This is also a common interest that her and Earl shared. They took many vacations where fishing was on the agenda.  Jeff and I accompanied Earl & Bertha to that hotspot Carrabelle Florida where you went deep sea fishing all day. Grandma caught a 40lb Grouper.  The last time Grandma & I went deep sea fishing was in St. Petersburg on a 1/2 day trip, where Grandma caught several fish.  She told me she found fishing very peaceful.

Earl & fish

  

Buttons

Old Buttons

When we were kids Grandma had an old can that was filled with what seemed like a thousand buttons. There were buttons of every size, color, metal ones and plastic, and some even had crystals.  These buttons were collected for years and a lot of them were her mothers.  We would dump them on the table and look at them and ask her questions about them and tried to see who could find the fanciest button.  We would string some of them or gather them into colors and sizes.  Today it seems hard to believe something so simple was so fun. 

Earl & Ginger



Earl & Ginger at the Bar

Grandma & Grandpa always had a dog.  There was FeFe the chihuahua the mother of my first dog Tootie who grandma gave me when I was 6 months old, Chita the mean chihuahua, and the one that was Grandma's favorite Ginger.  Ginger was just as her name suggests a  ginger brown little chihuahua with a big personality.  Everyone loved her.  Grandpa would take her everywhere; on his bicycle in a basket; he loved when people would stop and talk to him about this little dog.  He was like a celebrity when he had the little dog with him, especially when he went into the bar.  The bartender sometimes would even poor Ginger a small glass of her own.  I witnessed this myself going to the bar with him when I was about 20 years old. But in the evening she was always sitting by Grandma watching TV.  All this came to a disrupt end when she got away from Grandpa and got hit by a car.  Losing her was very devastating to Grandpa, Grandma, and Kim.  How did Grandpa replace Ginger?  With Becky the crippled chihuahua.  He still got a lot attention from people but usually more like sympathy; they would say ohh that poor little dog.

Color TV - 1960s

TV Odd Shaped Screen

In the 1960s Grandma and Grandpa were the first people I knew who had color TV.  At that time there were not many programs were telecast in color and NBC was the only network, everything else on TV was in black and white.

NBC Famous Peacock

So it was major event when a color program was going to be on TV.  On Sunday Night everyone would gather around the TV to watch Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom and right after the main event of the evening; Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color.

 

Us kids always looked forward to any cartoons but Grandpa loved the shows about animals or Daniel Boone, whereas Grandma liked the shows such as Pollyanna (she really enjoyed the family being together more than anything).  Grandpa would sit in his chair and did not like if people would talk during the programs.  It seems odd today that something like color would be so exciting when now there is High Definition TV with hundreds of channels to choose from.  Now it is an oddity to watch a show in Black & White.  This simplicity is what makes memories so special.

Bertha's Cool Side

 

Grandma took Jeff, Cindy, Kim and I to see the movie "Tickle Me" with Elvis Presley in 1965, I would have been 10 years old.  Grandma always said she enjoyed Elvis singing but did not approve of some of the things that he was associated with.  I do not really remember the movie itself, just Grandma saying when it was done; "If I would of known that it was going to be like that I would have never brought you kids"  Meaning the sexual references but compared to today's movies that was nothing.

 

Bertha's Grandchildren

KIMBERLY - CINDY - BOB - JEFF

                                    RICK

                                                                                                    

BARBARA

                       LARRY

                                                                                                                                JOSHUA

If one was to ask Grandma what is her greatest pride and joy she would say it was her grandchildren;  she always had time for each one and said that she loved them equally.

The Marshalls

Peggy, Jeff, Cindy, & Kim

 Aunt Peg and her kids lived with Grandma and Grandpa so there was always someone to do things with.  The only trouble we would get into sometimes is laughing at the dinner table when Grandpa and Peg would be tired from working all day.  I think Grandma would chuckle along with us unless it was a little off color such as the "Hairy Eye Ball" or "Blue Berry Hill" Joke.  Who could ever forget; Why can't an elephant ride a bicycle?  Because they do not have a thumb to ring the bell...

Bertha's Favorite Bird

One day Grandma said to me "I do not know why everyone things the Cardinal is my favorite bird, I love all birds they are each beautiful in their own way."  It was like she did not even want to offend the other birds by saying the Cardinal was her favorite.

Bertha & Earl Travels

Jeff, Unknown Indian, Bertha, & Cindy

One thing when Grandma and Grandpa traveled on vacation they always would have room for one more. All of us shared in vacations with Bertha and Earl.  It is amazing when you think about the amount of people that could fit in their car and that is with luggage.   I know with us 4 kids Mom, Dad, Grandpa, and Grandma would all be in their Cadillac.  This goes for John, Bobbie, Karl, Pauline, Peg, Jeff, Cindy, Kim and others who traveled with them.

Sisters - Important Part of Her Life

Bobbie (Clara), Bertha, & Pauline

To Bertha one of the greatest treasures in life was family and she was blessed with plenty; 6 brothers and 4 sisters they all were important to her but her sisters were her true friends throughout her life.  She talked and visited with them regularly.  Even though she was second in the birthing order it was as if she was the matriarch of the family.  They all valued her friendship as she did theirs.

Earl, Bertha, Peggy, Joshua, & Sister Mary

Grandma would say that when they were growing up that her sister Mary was referred to as the pretty one.

Pauline & Bertha

I remember when you would go out to eat with Grandma and Pauline you better be prepared when the check came for the ritual of the grabbing of the bill and it going back and forth "I am paying for this", Bertha would say. "No, No, Berth you always pay I am taking care of this one", Pauline stated firmly.  But in the end  Bertha would win and take care of the bill.

Missing Grandma

Robby & Becky 1994


I sent this as a card to Grandma.

Earl & Bertha's Wedding Anniversaries

 

I took grandma and grandpa to get this picture taken.  It was raining that day and grandpa and I went to pick grandma up at the hairdresser.  She came out with her raincoat over her head and got into the car.  Grandpa was in a really goofy mood and was being silly but grandma was not to appreciative of his humor.  We got to the photographers on the corner of Cambridge Street and Lincoln in Alliance.  He got out of the car in his trench coat and she had him open the umbrella she got out of the car and she was yelling at him because he kept moving the umbrella and she was getting wet.  I watched the photographer take these pictures; he was very funny and made them laugh as you can see in the pictures.  I am glad I was there.

From the Alliance Review

55 Year Wedding Anniversary

Bertha's Humor

This is a comic strip that Grandma sent me when they lived in St. Petersburg Florida dated 1982.

This picture of Earl and Bertha is from around the same time.

A Poem For Grandma

A Poem for Grandma

There are moments in life when you miss someone
So much, you just want to pluck them from
Your dreams and hug them for real.

When the door of happiness has closed, another will open.
Let us not spend too long staring at that closed door,
that we don't see the one which has opened for us.

We are all together, celebrating someone who made us smile,
Someone who made our dark days seem bright,
Someone who made our hearts sing.

Grandma would tell us to dream what we want to dream,
Go where we want to go,
be who we want to be,
Because we only have one short lifend one chance to do all the things we want to do.

Grandma had enough happiness to make her sweet,
enough tries to make her strong,
enough sorrow to keep her human
and enough hope to keep her happy.

The happiest of people don't always have;
the best of everything,
They just make the most of everything and everyone who come their way.

You have touched so many lives,
in your own special way.
Your spirit lives on in all of our memories,
And within all of our hearts.

We won't be counting the years which pass,
But counting all of the wonderful memories
you have left us to enjoy.

Grandma, thank you for all those memories!

Anonymous

Grandpa Earl's Shop Picnics - IDORA PARK

I remember how we looked forward to Grandpa Earls shop picnic at Idora Park every summer.  It was a big ordeal and all day outing.  Grandma would get the picnic food together and the large thermoses for the famous orange aid which was free..  It was a family affair with all the relatives from Youngstown meeting at the picnic pavilion. We were not really interested in eating we could not wait to go on the rides and what we would ride first.  Grandpa would see his buddies from work and was proud to introduce his family to them.  The men would later disappear into the beer garden.  I remember the adults later would be in the ballroom where there was a band and us kids would slide on the wood floor.  Later as pre-teens Bev Kelner took Cindy, Kim and I to see Bobby Sherman at the same Ballroom

1912 - The Year Bertha was Born

Facts of 1912

1. Life Savers Candy was created in 1912 by Clarence Crane.
2. The "Unsinkable Ship," also known as "The Titanic" sank at 2:27 AM off the coast of Newfoundland on April 15th.
3. Motorized movie cameras were invented, replacing its hand-cranked predecessor.
4. New Mexico became the 47th state in 1912.
5. Pitcher Cy Young, for whom the major baseball award in now named, retired with 511 wins.
6. In 1912 Nabisco had a new idea for a cookie, and named it the Oreo.
7. Republic of China formed
8. Woodrow Wilson became the 28th President beatingout Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft.
9. Crisco oil was introduced.

Other Notable 1912 Births

1. Eva Braun - Hitler's Mistress
2. Les Brown - Band Leader
3. Patricia Nixon - 1st Lady
4. John Payne - Actor
5. Phil Silvers - Comedian
6. Studs Turkel - Author
7. Perry Como - Singer
8. Sam Snead - Golfer
9. Art Linkletter - TV Host
10. Woodie Gutherie - Folk Singer
11. Gene Kelly - Actor / Dancer
12. Ben Hogan - Golfer
13. Julia Child - French Chef
14. Chuck Jones - Animator
15. Minnie Pearl - Country Entertainer
16. Dale Evans - TV Star
17. Barbara Hutton - Woolworths Heiress
18. Eleanor Powell - Actress
19. Morey Amsterdam - Comedian
20. Lady Bird Johnson - First Lady
21. Tony Martin - Singer
22. Tip O'Neill - Speaker of the House