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...From Don Hershberger

Let's start with a little history. This is me with my parents: Nettie (Jeanette Viola) and Lem (Lemon Willis) Hershberger. They were older parents.
Mom, my dad's second wife, was 45 when I was born. They gave me a lot of freedom to grow up on my own with a modest but good home environment.

Dad was a molder at Elkhart Foundry until about
normal retirement age, then he started building houses after WW2. I helped him some, carrying cement blocks and mixing mortar when he worked making basements. My older brothers, Kenton and Willis worked with him off and on.

My home was peaceful. Don't remember Mom and Dad ever fighting or swearing. They didn't physically express their affection much, but you could hear it in their language.

Here below is a note that Mom left for Dad when she was away for the day.
She refers to herself as Mother and her husband as Dad.
It is written on a school notebook page with some of my 4th
grade writing crossed off at the top. Frugal. She explains what is available
for him to eat in her absence. Actually sounds kind of good.

I was probably the consumer of a lot of the cookies and Wheaties she wanted Dad to pick up at the store.

Also, on the back is a list of orders for greeting cards which she sold door to door in the area. She became acquainted with many ladies of the South side of town.

Above you see what I looked like in my senior year at Elkhart High School, and what I was looking for and found, in Goshen Indiana about 10 miles away. Marjory Mary McCabe also had just graduated and I thought she was just as cute as a bug with her short auburn hair. I was going to Wabash College but was getting behind and losing interest. It was also quite a drain on my folks finances so I quit and came home and concentrated on starting a life with a new soul mate. And she has definitely turned out to be just that. After going through 50 years of marriage, we have come to agree and support each other in nearly all our pursuits and philosophies. We've had ups and downs like most couples do, but we always seem to come through them somehow.

This is us after 50 years together. I guess we show a little wear and tear. We're still looking forward to some good times together.

More to come ...