269 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/89178933013f4019c6fdb8ff257d0b69.pdf cb5031c1aa558df4d19712edcad28135 PDF Text Text Growing Community: Oceana’s Agricultural History Project A project supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant Project Director: Melanie Shell-Weiss, GVSU Liberal Studies Department Larry Byl Interview Interviewed by Walter Urick June 18, 2016 Transcript WU: My name is Walter Urick, and I'm here today with Larry Byl. We're at the Hart Area Library in Hart, Michigan. The date is Saturday, June 18th, 2016. And the purpose for this meeting is to obtain the oral history of the Byl family. The oral history’s being collected as part of the Growing Community Project, which is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Program. Larry, I just want to thank you for taking this time to talk to me today. I'm interested to learn more about your family history and your experiences living and working in Oceana County. Now, your full legal name is what, Larry? LB: Walter Lawrence Wesley Byl. WU: And your date of birth and place of birth? LB: Date of birth is March 7th, 1957. And the location was Grand Rapids, Michigan. WU: Now, do you have any siblings? 1 �Growing Community: Oceana’s Agricultural History Project A project supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant Project Director: Melanie Shell-Weiss, GVSU Liberal Studies Department LB: I have three brothers and one sister. WU: Would you name each one for me? LB: Sure. The oldest was Margaret, followed by Paul, me, brother John, and then Tom. WU: And let's talk about your parents for a few minutes. Your father's name? LB: My father's name is Peter Byl. No middle initial or no middle name. And my mom was [?] Byl WU: And her maiden name? LB: Her name. Her maiden name was Westers. WU: Tracing the background of your parents and may get you to your grandparents… LB: Yep. WU: Sort of describe, as best you can, how your family eventually ended up in Oceana County and where did we start? LB: Sure. WU: In the Netherlands or some other part of the world? LB: Sure. I'm going to go way back because I think you might find it interesting on my mother's side, if you go back far enough, back when Napoleon was the ruler in France, they conscripted soldiers, including a fellow from Algeria, which would have been a great-great-grandfather of mine. And he, I'm going to say, abandoned… he didn't see eye to eye with Napoleon, so he deserted them, Poland's army, before Waterloo and went to Holland because the Netherlands was one location that accepted people regardless of race and religion. While his name, they couldn't pronounce it, so they called him France, which is French [?], which means outcast. So, my grandmother's maiden name was [?]. And so I come from a varied background. He obviously fell in love with a Dutch woman and they got married. And my dad's family came from the northern part of the Netherlands called Friesland. And in Friesland, they're known as either farmers, predominantly dairy farmers, because there's a lot of grass there or they were known as a fisherman. So, my dad's family came and they're also known as being hardheaded. So, my mom and dad actually didn't meet until 1948 in a boat coming from the Netherlands to the United States. And I'm going to give you a tiny bit of background to that. My dad's family was farmers and my mom's family... my grandfather was a Christian school principal and he moved around to several different schools. Well, you have to understand, during World War II, Germany occupied the Netherlands for about five years. So, my parents were both in their early teens during the war, which would have been a horrible time. And so, they both knew what it was like to live under martial law. And also, they knew what it was like to not have food all of the time. My parents, my grandparents, this would be my dad's mom and dad, their farmhouse on January 1, 1945 was accidentally bombed by the allies. What would happen is the Canadians and the Americans and the British would fly into Germany and if they had any bombs left over, they would look for opportunities to let those bombs go. And it just so happened, my grandparents lived fairly close to a railroad track. So, they let the bombs go and they missed the railroad tracks and accidentally hit my dad's house. So, for six months to a year, they had to live with another family. They were able to salvage the bricks and rebuild a smaller house like the typical Dutch. But you have to understand, they had nothing. I mean, they had two cows, I think, at the time of 2 �Growing Community: Oceana’s Agricultural History Project A project supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant Project Director: Melanie Shell-Weiss, GVSU Liberal Studies Department the war. And the night that their house was bombed, one of the cows was killed and taken away. So, but, I never heard my grandparents complain. But in 1948, they had an opportunity. A man by the name of George Welch, who was the mayor of Grand Rapids, was visiting the Netherlands. And he was doing that because he was, I believe, the president of the United States Mayors Association. And he was looking at the rebuilding of Europe at that time. And one of his business partners was a lady by the name of Margaret de Groot. George Welch and Margaret de Groot owned a newspaper in Grand Rapids and she owned a farm just east of Grand Rapids in the Rockford/ Lowell area, and she was in need of some crop farmers to share... to work that farm and share the crops with her. So, my dad's family, when they met George Welch, they set up an interview and within three or four weeks, they went through all of the process. And because their house had been bombed by the Americans, they were put on a fast track to come to America. Well, my mom had just finished college in the Netherlands and she came to the United States to spend six months with some of her [?] family members who were... WU: Can you spell that name? LB: No, I cannot. WU: All right. I know the recorder/ transcriber is going to have difficulty with that, but continue on. LB: It starts with [?]. WU: [Laughter] LB: And they... she went to Chicago to stay with some cousins for six months because she really had a traveling bug. So, she had finished her college and she met my dad's family on the boat. So that's how my mom and dad met. WU: Was your dad on that boat, too? LB: My dad actually had flown to America just before the rest of the family because my dad had an invitation to join the Dutch army and fight in Indonesia, which was seeking independence. And they said if you leave now, you do not have to join the Dutch army and fight in the jungles of Indonesia. So, my dad was already over at the... what we call the Marcadia Farm, and that would be the farm located at 992 6 Mile Road, Rockford, Michigan. And that's where my mom met my dad because my mom enjoyed my dad's family. And when she went to Chicago, they said, well, gosh, you're close enough. Why don't you spend a month over there? Because she always enjoyed rural living. And this got her out of Chicago for a month. Well, she fell in love with my dad, but what happened then was she had to go back to the Netherlands because she applied for a permanent visa and they said that there's a quota. We only allow so many Dutchmen in the United States at any one time. So, she had to go back to the Netherlands for two years. She did and just about the time her two years was over, my dad, this would be 1950, had an invitation to join the U.S. Army and fight in Korea. So, my dad was in the U.S. Army, but instead of being stationed in Korea, he was stationed in Germany because he knew German, Dutch, English, and he was a medic there in Germany with the U.S. Army. So needless to say, my mom then came to America and she actually worked with my grandparents on the farm at Rockford for two years until my dad got out of the army. So, they got married and within the next seven years had five children. WU: Now, the farm in Rockford, as best you know, what type of crops or what kind of farming activities were involved that your dad apparently had to participate in or... 3 �Growing Community: Oceana’s Agricultural History Project A project supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant Project Director: Melanie Shell-Weiss, GVSU Liberal Studies Department LB: My grandfather and father were both dairy farmers from the time they were little. This was... we considered it a huge dairy farm. There were between 30 and 32 cows that they milked. And it was a pretty modern farm with all of the tractors and they raised most of their own crops. And it was a wonderful place to live. My mom, on the other hand, hated the idea of being tied down twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. My mom loved to travel and explore, so she convinced my dad because my dad took over that farm when my grandparents, after working the farm for five years, had saved enough money to buy their own farm. She convinced my dad to let her go back to college with five little kids at home and she went to Calvin College because that was very close and also because they could read the Dutch transcripts from her college days in the Netherlands. So, they gave her about two years credit and over the course of the next five or six years, she got her teaching degree from Calvin College. And in about 1966, they purchased an eighty-acre fruit farm in the western end of Oceana County. WU: How did it happen that they got to Oceana? Was there a story behind that or is it just they found it somehow? LB: Now, how did they find… did they run out of gas as they were heading up north? I think it came down to they asked friends from their church. Many of the Dutch, especially the Dutch, they came to America, go to either... either went or currently attend Reformed and Christian Reformed churches. And that's been the case from about 1860 on. And so, I'm sure my parents were talking with other friends in church and they were put in touch with some friends in New Era Reformed Church. And one of the first area farmers that they met was Gord Vanderslice’s parents. And there was a farm for sale. There were several. One was in Ferry Township and one was in Benona Township. The one in Benona was owned by an estate of Pete Burmeister and they looked that over. They asked Mr. Vanderslice to look it over and he said, wow, a lot of blow sand and it's not the most productive, but it was pretty. There were a lot of old apple trees. My parents didn't realize the old apple trees weren't necessarily an asset, but it had peaches and sweet cherries and they could see a future. And more importantly, my mom could see that she wouldn't be tied down to the farm seven days a week. WU: Did away from the cow situation. LB: The cows, where you had to milk twice a day every day. And so, my parents, I told Mrs. de Groot they had purchased their own farm. So, there actually was an auction sale and the equipment on the other farm was sold and the cattle were sold. Other than my dad could not get away from cattle altogether. So, when they moved to Oceana County, my dad brought one cow with him. Now you'd have to realize how much milk one cow produces. Even with five kids and with cousins staying with us most of the summer, that cow was producing so much milk that my dad would make buttermilk. Well, you make buttermilk by taking sour milk and churning it. That was a lot of work. My dad, actually, and mom had an extra washing machine, so they used that extra washing machine to churn the sour milk and turn it into buttermilk. And then there's a dish. It's called [?]. And I'm sorry, Walter, I can't spell that either. But [?] is a Dutch buttermilk pudding. And I just remember when I was ten years old having [?] for breakfast, lunch and supper. And to this day, I can't stand it. And so, that's how my parents got started here. And within the following two years, between 1966 and ‘68, they purchased another hundred acres of agricultural land from a neighbor by the name of Leo Dzur, D-Z-U-R, and Leo was an immigrant from Germany, and he had two daughters who had both moved out of the area and it was time for him to 4 �Growing Community: Oceana’s Agricultural History Project A project supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant Project Director: Melanie Shell-Weiss, GVSU Liberal Studies Department give up farming. So, that's how my parents got really started. And my mom, true to her word, started teaching that fall the year that we moved here. WU: Where did your mom teach? LB: My mom taught in Ferry’s school for the first two years and then moved to Shelby’s school, where she taught for seventeen more years. WU: Did she teach actually at Shelby or out at Benona or? LB: She taught right at Shelby itself. WU: And what... LB: Fourth and fifth grade. WU: So, she was the fourth and fifth grade teacher. LB: Yes. WU: That's quite a story. So now, let's see, you had an eighty-acre farm and a one-hundred-acre farm. LB: Yes. WU: So now your dad is in charge of one hundred and eighty acres, correct? Did that... all I want to do is briefly trace the farming experience of your father before we go further. Did he acquire more land or was one hundred and eighty acres basically his farm? LB: My dad was able to, over the next ten years, acquire another forty acres at the end of Shelby Road and Scenic Drive and another 40 on Woodrow Road next to the Dzur farm. And that was pretty much it until my oldest brother, like a lot of farms, the oldest son stayed on the farm and farmed with their father. My brother Paul went to Michigan State University for a two-year Ag. degree, and when he took over then fifty percent ownership, they acquired some additional land after that because obviously farming became even more mechanized as more modern sprayers, faster tractors and things like that. WU: OK, so basically, he had probably over three hundred acres that they actually owned. LB: Yes, by 1975 he had three hundred acres that they owned. WU: So, he had about three hundred acres they actually owned. I don't know if he went out and leased property? LB: He did not. WU: Okay, so what I'd like you to describe is the type of farming activities that were involved in this three-hundred-acres. I'm not sure if it was asparagus, cherries or the whole nine yards. You sort of describe it. LB: Yep. And, Walter, if it's okay, I might describe a little bit, too, us boys, the Byl boys, because there were four of us, from time to time, we could work for a neighbor by the name of Vernon Bull, who was one of the pioneer food processing and growers from Casnovia, who bought a second operation in Oceana County next door to my dad. And over the course of thirty years, when my dad would try and buy a farm, invariably Vernon would be there and once in a while they'd have to flip a coin to see who 5 �Growing Community: Oceana’s Agricultural History Project A project supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant Project Director: Melanie Shell-Weiss, GVSU Liberal Studies Department could buy it or try to outbid each other. It was a relationship that was OK, but I'm sure there were times when it wasn't the best. But Vernon was able to hire us, along with a number of other young men in Oceana County for both horticulture purposes and for cherry processing. He had one of the first cherry processing plants along the lakeshore. And I remember asking Vernon why he wanted to get into the food processing business when just raising crops was a full-time job. Vernon explained to me in his particular case, he was largely along Lake Michigan, which meant that he was about a week later than the cherry crops closer to Hart and Shelby. Typically, along the lake, it's a little bit cooler and that holds back the fruit in the springtime and then the summer. It might be eighty degrees in town, but it'll be seventy degrees close to Lake Michigan. What Vernon had a problem with since he was on the tail-end of the production, if he brought his cherries in at that time to either Hart or Shelby, but if the processing plant had fulfilled their contract, they were no longer interested in processing more fruit. So, by Vernon having his own food processing/ cherry processing plant, he felt he could then market the processed fruit. He ended up building freezer plants to go along with the food processing plant so that he could store it. So, my dad was able to take advantage of that from time to time, as well, because that's the one thing we found out. You really want to have multiple food processors as opposed to being so reliant on only a single food processor. And basically, you're at their mercy. WU: Well, I'm going to want to talk to you more in detail about your youth and working for Vernon Bull. But before we get there, I want you to describe as best you can your father and maybe your brother’s farming operation at its peak. What are you producing or growing? And approximately how many acres, if you know. LB: Yeah, my father, when he first started in Oceana County, he had to learn everything. I mean, everything from the standpoint of what we call stone fruit here, peaches and cherries. He was used to corn and hay and cattle. There's a difference, but it's not all that great. And, you know, we had a wonderful neighbor with Vernon Ball. One of his employees helped us if my dad had questions. And of course, the chemical dealers were always happy to help you and sell product. My dad's main crops the first few years, when we bought the farm, there were probably twenty acres of apple trees with probably twenty-five different varieties. You had varieties called “Snows.” You had “Kings,” you had apples that we would call them today, vintage varieties. And like the snow apple, for instance, would be a lot like a Macintosh. But when you bite into it, it's really white on the inside. And that apple’s specialty was as a caramel apple because once you had caramel and you bite into it, it was really wonderful to see that white. Now, Pete Burmeister, when he had all of these trees planted, had his own little packing plant and would bring apples to various vendors. Well, my dad didn't have the patience to learn about all of the varieties. And at that time, cherries were becoming a bigger and bigger thing because cherries in about 1966, when we moved here to Oceana County, you really started seeing more Shaker's. Now, what the shaker did was it took away your need to have hundreds of pickers to harvest the cherries. So, my dad planted a lot of cherries. We had probably fifteen acres of peaches, largely Clingstone. A Freestone peach would be the type of peach that you would sell in the store. A Kingstone peach, we used to sell to Gerber's and that was used for food processing. My dad also, on the whole, Leo Desoer farm, the one hundred acres, he ended up planting asparagus when he bought that, it was open and old cherries. Over the course of about six or seven years, he removed the old cherries and we planted all of that into asparagus. My dad was probably one of the larger asparagus growers in the early ‘70s. 6 �Growing Community: Oceana’s Agricultural History Project A project supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant Project Director: Melanie Shell-Weiss, GVSU Liberal Studies Department WU: So, cherries... peaches, and asparagus… LB: …peaches and asparagus. And really moved away from apples completely until maybe ten years ago. WU: Well, now I want to take you back to your boyhood days and give an idea, first, what it was like growing up and what kind of farm chores, if any, you had to participate in. First, maybe at home and then maybe Bull Orchard? LB: At home, when we moved to Oceana County, the biggest job was, of course, harvesting of the fruit. And we were not large enough to own a cherry shaker. So, all of our cherries were harvested by hand, starting with about three to four acres of sweet cherries, which doesn't sound like very much today. But that job kept us busy for probably two weeks and then we moved to the sour cherries. Then, of course, just before that was thinning the peaches and then the harvesting of the peaches. And by that time, we were just so happy to have school started. We were... most of us were happy to get off the farm and back to the school. WU: So, basically what you're saying is you're one of the harvesters. LB: Yeah. WU: And this is at an age of ten or eight? LB: Yep. WU: As you get into your early teens, did your father have to hire harvesters outside of family and neighbors and so forth? LB: Because my mother's family, she has four siblings and they all moved to the Grand Rapids area. And I have probably twenty-five cousins, about the same age as our family, little younger. And most of those cousins in the summertime spent two or three weeks helping harvest. WU: So, this was a family - extended family - effort. LB: It was very much an extended family effort. We, at that time, we saw quite a few migrants, including some blacks that maybe came up from Chicago, but our farm did not employ it. It's not that we wouldn't have, but we had enough family members where we were able to harvest with our family. WU: Do you have any vivid memories, good or bad, of when you were a kid working on the farm, that you would care to make part of our interview here? LB: Sure. One of our cousins would not like me sharing this, but I had a cousin by the name of Peter Westers and he was one of the youngest cousins. He was two. Now, these were the days when you had the whole family out in the orchard. My aunt, typically my aunt and all of the kids, several aunts. And Peter was two and he was very fond of eating cherries. The problem was he would eat cherries, pits and all and he was still in a diaper. And about ten or eleven o'clock in the day, he would start crying because as he was sitting, those cherry pits would become very uncomfortable. So, we always used to tease Peter about that. Another memory that I have was our first year here in 1966, Vernon Ball had purchased some existing orchards in close proximity and those orchards were being transitioned - this was a cherry orchard - to 7 �Growing Community: Oceana’s Agricultural History Project A project supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant Project Director: Melanie Shell-Weiss, GVSU Liberal Studies Department mechanically harvesting. So, what you had was, we call it a double incline shaker, with a little limb shaker - didn't shake the whole tree, just the little limb. But in order to get the tarps underneath the trees, you had to cut the lower branches. Well, before they cut the lower branches, they asked all of the neighbors if we would go and, for fifty cents a bucket, pick the lowest limbs. Well at fifty cents a bucket, I remember one day as a ten-year-old picking like twenty-five buckets and earning an ungodly amount of money, at least from my perspective, and my mom keeping all of us in toll and which was a whole lot nicer than picking my dad's orchards, which required a ladder and to reach all the way to the top. WU: Well, I'm going to switch subjects and go on to your educational background. Starting in elementary, I’m not sure if you ended up in the village of Shelby or if you were out in the Benona schools. I assume it was the latter, but… LB: Yep, I am fortunate. I say fortunate in that for my first three years of school, I actually went to a tiny one room schoolhouse. This was back near Lowell... Talbot. And we had around eighteen students and four of those eighteen were Byl kids. And I tell my children and now grandchildren that I can still name all of my classmates in first, second and third grade, both of them. So, when we moved in 1966, we went to Benona school, which had around twenty kids per class and some classes had two grades, most had one grade, and that went through eighth grade. And some of my fondest memories there were you didn't have to try out for the basketball team, you automatically made it. And we had the most fun on Wednesday nights playing against New Era, New Era Christian, Weare, Golden. We didn't play against the big schools of Shelby and Hart, but we played at the State Street gym here in Hart and gosh, I was just very... those are fond memories for me. WU: Any teachers in your elementary years that stand out in your mind that maybe helped mold you or mentor you in any way? LB: I had very decent teachers in Benona. Probably the best English teacher I had was a lady who... Mrs. Hammond. And she was one of those individuals who was very frank with you. And this is in seventh and eighth grade. She taught English and spelling and some of the others, but she hated math. So, she and Dennis Tucker traded places for those classes. And I remember her giving me a dictionary, which I still have. And she said, “Larry, you're smart, but you can't spell worth a damn. I want you to look up your words whenever you have a question so that you don't get it wrong.” And that was probably a very good thing in the seventh or eighth grader to have a teacher be that honest. And I still have that little dictionary. WU: So Benona schools took you through the eighth grade. Is that what you're telling me? LB: Yes. WU: Okay, so you finished the eighth grade and where did you go from there for high school? LB: From there I went to Shelby High School with a class of about one hundred and ten kids and I took your normal classes, except I did take various what I call FFA - Future Farmers of America - classes. Shelby had... Hart had a very good auto mechanic class where some of my friends went to Hart for two hours a day for that with Larry Wagner. Shelby had a very good Ag. program and a shop program with Tom Carey, a woodshop and a metal shop. So, they really had some very good vocational training back then between the two schools. WU: Between the two schools… 8 �Growing Community: Oceana’s Agricultural History Project A project supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant Project Director: Melanie Shell-Weiss, GVSU Liberal Studies Department LB: Yeah, between the two schools. So, I took agriculture classes my last three years and FFA became a bigger part of my life along with my brother. And I learned parliamentary procedure and I took a forestry class which I didn't do real well in. But, in general, it was... I enjoyed it immensely and it served me well. WU: In terms of your high school experience, again, is there a high school teacher that stands out in your memory or is special? LB: In high school, I would say I had a… it's amazing how you connect with people that are close to your age. And we did have a single female teacher who by the name of Becky Gill, and she taught English and it seemed like most of us really could relate to her. And then also another English teacher by the name of Shirley Haeg. And one reason why I could connect with Shirley, her maiden name when she was first at Shelby High School was Bylsma. So, there was a little bit of kindred spirit there and she taught drama. And so, for plays, I had her and again, just a very good teacher. And she ended up becoming a minister. She was a minister at the church here in Hart Congregational for several years. WU: Her last name is… LB: Haeg, Shirley Haeg. WU: Yes, that’s interesting. Before I get you into college, I want to go back and visit the Bull situation and your work experience there. Just briefly, what you and your brothers were doing for... LB: Sure. The first time we worked for the Bulls was, of course, when Vernon Bull purchased this orchard close to our farm. And we got it as ten, eleven, twelve-year-old kids picking all the low branches. So, we thought Vernon was the best because we always didn't get paid when we worked for our parents. So, we really wanted to work for Vernon. Vernon, in 1971, there was a pretty big cherry crop and he needed more people to work in the cherry processing plant. And that was about three weeks, three and a half weeks, worth of work. And at age fourteen, he first of all, grabbed my brother Paul, who was sixteen. I was fourteen. So, I went there the next day asking him if I could work. And then he ended up hiring my brother John, who was thirteen at the time. I was... the only criteria, Vernon said, was if anyone asks, tell them you're 16. So, I got to work, what they called an IQF, which is an individual quick freeze. And what that would do was take the sour cherries after they're pitted and a certain amount of those cherries went through the IQF machine and I was to box them up and to keep it running. And so, I filled boxes and stacked it for about three and a half weeks. And then my brother, John, was able to run the cooling pad with the forklift outside and Paul was running one of the three shakers. WU: So, the Byl boys were running this plant that... teenage years, basically, with some adult supervision. LB: Some adult supervision. And of course, we felt very special because I was working with folks like Kim Griffin from Shelby and another fellow who I think is an attorney or a judge in Kalamazoo, Doug Burmeister. And so, they were all older than us, but they treated us... as long as we did our job, they treated us as an equal. WU: Well, briefly, describe your years, your educational years after Shelby High. From there you went where? LB: OK. From Shelby High School, I went to Hope College. And, actually, by the time I was sixteen, I worked on Dad's Farm and Vernon Bull and I have a little bit of my mom's blood; I wanted to do some 9 �Growing Community: Oceana’s Agricultural History Project A project supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant Project Director: Melanie Shell-Weiss, GVSU Liberal Studies Department exploring. So, I asked my parents if I could go out west and work for an uncle who was the head gardener for Henry Kaiser from Kaiser Steel and Aluminum, who had a summer estate in the Puget Sound off Seattle. And it was probably a three-hundred-acre estate with seven homes and greenhouse. And I was one of seven gardeners. And I got to use my farming skills, which was spraying, weeding, mowing, and I really enjoyed that. WU: This was the summer of your junior year or going into your senior year? LB: I actually worked out there for three different summers. WU: OK. LB: So that gave me just a little different perspective because like a lot of kids, when you’re sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, you know, mom and dad isn't the brightest. At least they didn't seem that way at the time. And you want to spread your own wings. And I just really credit my parents for saying, OK, as long as Paul stays because he's the most gifted in terms of driving a tractor and helping out with the farm. But I know my interest was not going to be the farm. At least I thought that was the case. And so, then I went to Hope College for four years and got into real estate my sophomore year of Hope College. WU: What type of program were you on at Hope from an educational standpoint. LB: Econ and Poli Sci. WU: Okay, and then you started to tell me about getting interested in real estate. So, let's pick it up from there. LB: Sure. My sophomore year at Hope College, I talked to Pete Wickstra, who I knew from church, and he had a son a few years older than me who had dropped out of law school and had gone back into their family real estate business and was obviously doing very well financially. And that looked like something of some interest to me. And Pete Wickstra was interested in mentoring someone who could work with Jim Wickstra and so that was the start of what would eventually become a partnership. And then eventually I bought out Jim Wickstra as he retired early. WU: So that's what you ended up as your life's work, basically? LB: My life's work was real estate. But an interesting aspect if we get back to the agriculture... WU: Yes, that's where I was hoping... LB: In ‘91, ‘92, I was involved in my largest development project. I, and two other partners, purchased a Girl Scout camp at School Section Lake, and we subdivided that into forty waterfront lots and cleaned that up and sold that. And I did very, very well in that project. Now, what I did with the profits from that project, I turned around and purchased a one hundred sixty-acre asparagus farm in Walkerville. So here I went from couldn't wait to get away from the farm to wanting to purchase a farm and recognizing how capital intensive a farm is because in addition to the land, you either have to have trees or in my case, asparagus roots, which is going to cost you another ton of money and then the equipment and then making sure you have labor to harvest, which might mean housing. So, I got into a pretty good-sized asparagus operation and one of the reasons was I had three young children and I realized my children did not have to work. I had to work growing up. There was no... never any question. If we wanted to eat, if we wanted a bicycle, if we wanted anything, we had to work for it. My children did not have that 10 �Growing Community: Oceana’s Agricultural History Project A project supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant Project Director: Melanie Shell-Weiss, GVSU Liberal Studies Department luxury. I mean, they were… I'm not going to say they were born with a silver spoon, but how could I say we can't afford to buy you a new bike? So, by purchasing this asparagus farm and intentionally I stuck with asparagus because pretty much by the Fourth of July, you're done with the crop. You're done harvesting. You've closed it and there's still some minimal upkeep, but it's not like cherries and peaches where you're slaving and working hard all summer. This still gave... I expected my kids to work hard and I paid them well. And being the Dutchmen that I am, by paying them well, they could then pay for part of their college. I could deduct the amount that I paid them and write it off as an expense. WU: And they reported income at a lower bracket. LB: ...at a lower bracket. So, it worked out well. Plus, if I would have simply paid for their education, which I could have done, it… I don't think they would have appreciated it as much. Now, they had their own money to decide, “Hey, do I really want Hope College.” And my three kids went to Hope college, and one went to Northwestern in Chicago, and my daughter went to Syracuse. Now the one that went to Northwestern was about double what Hope College was and Hope College was fifty percent more than U of M, where he had been accepted. But Northwestern just had the feel for him and for him that was the right choice. But he knew he would never have a car while at college like my son, oldest son, did at Hope. You make sacrifices and that's okay. WU: Probably to fill out your family tree, so to speak, you were married when? LB: I graduated from Hope College and got married in 1979. WU: And your wife's full name? LB: My wife's full name is Ann Chase Davenport. And now, of course, Ann Chase Byl. WU: Right. LB: And she is from New Jersey. Her father... she's the youngest of four children and her father was a CPA at Rutgers University. And Mom was a stay at home mom who ended up doing some tax work later in life. WU: And you met Ann where? LB: At Hope College. WU: And was she in your class or? LB: She was in my class. WU: So, both of you graduated about the same time from Hope. LB: Yes. WU: And right from college, did you come back to Oceana immediately or was there an interlude there? LB: No, because I was working in the real estate business in the summers. By the time I was a senior at Hope College, I had a Monday night class, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday; Thursday night I was back here in Shelby working real estate Friday, Saturday... WU: With Wickstra? 11 �Growing Community: Oceana’s Agricultural History Project A project supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant Project Director: Melanie Shell-Weiss, GVSU Liberal Studies Department LB: With Wickstra. WU: Okay. LB: So, I was working three days a week at Wickstra and my wife was a business major and right out of college she got a job at Silver Mills Food Processing in Accounts Payable. WU: Henry Perlowitz [?] and his gang came to town. LB: Yes. WU: Gosh, Dan Bernson [?] was a great friend of mine and I really miss Stan. [?] He's still alive, but I just don't get a chance to socialize with him like I did once upon a time in my life, but that's an aside. Why don't you name your children and best you can, at least, the years they were born. LB: Sure. I have three children. My oldest is Ben. He was born in or around 1981. Then I have Jacob. Jacob was born around 1983. And then I have Christa, who was born around 1986. WU: And all these children, I'm sure, are out of the nest now. LB: They are all out of the nest. They are all married. My oldest, Ben, went to Hope College and this is going to tie in with the farming. WU: Okay. LB: Ben graduated with a history degree. Now, why my kids were liberal arts instead of having something practical, I don't know. But he was a history major and out of college, he really didn't know what to do. So, he actually went into the Peace Corps and was in Madagascar for two and a half years where he worked in ecology, they called it, and in agriculture. And that really stirred his interest in that area. So, when he got back, he asked me to continue with the farming operation. In fact, we bought another 40 or 80 acres in just east of Shelby for fruit production and Ben then went and enrolled in a two-year master's program at Michigan State in Ag. Research, Fruit Tree Research, and started farming full- time and met an absolutely wonderful gal from Kent City, Amber [?], whose parents are big apple growers and neighbors of Vernon Bull. And so, Ben, today... she, Amber, was also in the Peace Corps and they had met at a Peace Corps event. And so, Ben is farming with his father-in-law, which allowed me to, as I semi-retire, I ended up selling my asparagus farm two years ago to Ryan and Chris Mahlberg. [?] I was holding the farm back in case Ben wanted to farm full-time, recognizing it’s so capital intensive. If there isn't some help from the parents, it's never going to happen right away. WU: Right. But at this point, it's more or less working. Did he marry this gal? LB: Yes, he married this gal; that is his wife. WU: And so, he's working with his in-laws? LB: And he's working with his in-laws. He puts on a lot of miles with his little S-10 pickup. He still has the eighty-acre farm here in Shelby, and that's largely cherries and apples, some cherries. And so, he and his wife, she works for Gordon Food Services buying products, especially fruits and vegetables for them because of her background. And they do a Farmer's Market on Fulton Street and in Rockford on Fridays and Saturdays. And they help run the family farm at Kent City, as well as the Shelby farm, 12 �Growing Community: Oceana’s Agricultural History Project A project supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant Project Director: Melanie Shell-Weiss, GVSU Liberal Studies Department WU: Well, I'm going to lead you into community activity because I know you're very much involved in that. And then we'll see if there's anything special you want to say and items that I haven't touched, at least for the purpose of today. Just briefly, you're involved in your County Commissioner to begin with, correct? LB: Yes. WU: And you've been there for how long? LB: I have been a County Commissioner for around thirteen years. Before that, I was on the Shelby Village Council for about twelve years, including Village President. WU: And are you from a church or a service club situation? Why don’t you describe that? LB: Within the church family, I'm a member and the chairman of the Deacons of New Era Reformed Church. And for organizations, I am a member and have been for over thirty years to Shelby Rotary Club. And I'm a member of, of course, Farm Bureau, member of MSU Extension Advisory Committee. And that would be a four-county committee. And part of being a County Commissioner also puts you in with other activities. One is I'm a member of the Michigan Works and that would be the West Central and that would be a total of six counties. I'm one of three members representing Oceana County. So, we look and we have an office here in Oceana County and Shelby and we work hard to get enough employees with the farmers, which is becoming a bigger problem. WU: Just to get the help needed. LB: Just to get the help needed. And part of it is, when I was in high school, all high school kids worked. Today, that isn't the case. I'm not saying they're lazy, but they've got band camp, they've got football camp, they've got cross country camp, they've got basketball camp. They've got all kinds of things going on. WU: And in what ways have you seen our area change since your boyhood days? LB: Since my boyhood days, I would say when I was in school, I'm happy to say we've always had pretty good race relations. And that, what I mean by that, is the Hispanics that were in my high school class were friends and they still are friends. But that probably represented five to ten percent of the class. Today, I think both Hart and Shelby, probably forty to forty-five percent of the student population would be Hispanic. I'm not saying that's bad or good, but, you know, that's probably the biggest change. And what I have found, Hispanics - in general, and I'm generalizing - but they really value hard work. They don't value education. You're going to see a lot of the parents will encourage the boys at sixteen or seventeen: Why continue with school if you're going to... if you can work elsewhere. WU: And make some money right now. LB: Right. WU: Well, if someone listens to this interview or reads the transcript that eventually will be made, say, thirty or forty years from now. What would you most like them to know about your life and the community? LB: Well, one of the things... I'm going to borrow a phrase from my old or former Shelby High School or Shelby School Superintendent, John [?]. John said he couldn't wait - as he was growing up on a farm - he 13 �Growing Community: Oceana’s Agricultural History Project A project supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities Common Heritage Grant Project Director: Melanie Shell-Weiss, GVSU Liberal Studies Department couldn't wait to get away from burning wood. He said it seemed like every Saturday we had to go out, chop down trees, cut wood. And he said, you know what happened? Of course, he started building homes in the summer. And he said, as I got older, I went back to burning wood because I needed the exercise and I enjoyed it. And I think back probably my least favorite thing to do in the wintertime was cutting wood on Saturday, using a two-wheel drive pickup, getting stuck, and having to cut wood with my dad and brothers and not liking that at all. Hey, the last two or three years, I’ve really enjoyed cutting wood and stacking it and burning a little wood along with my gas. WU: Well, is there anything that you would like to share that I may not have asked you about? Sort of an open-ended question... LB: Sure. WU: ...to give you a chance to say something that you think is important to, as part of this interview. LB: And again, this interview primarily ties in with agriculture. I am hopeful that we will continue to remain to have a strong, viable agriculture community. Obviously, we have the food processing plants, Gerber is very important, Peterson is important. But when I first moved here, in fact, when I graduated from college in ‘79, there was no such firm as Peterson’s Food Processing. Things are always changing and embrace that change. And hopefully you will get some dynamic people like an Earl Peterson who will continue to invest in the area and that we have smart enough government officials that basically stay out of the way when you have a responsible person like Earl who's willing to invest. And you can go through history over the last one hundred and twenty years, those individuals have stepped up. And it just seems to me like government is doing what it can to put a harness and hold back some of those folks. And I'm hopeful that in this area will continue to see people - again, I use the word “responsible” people - who won't leave a legacy of pollution like they did in the White Lake area. But that will continue to employ people, buy products here, and do what we call value-added services to our agriculture. WU: Well, I see the time that we had allotted is about to expire here. Larry, I just want to thank you for your time and for sharing your memories with me. And this formally concludes our interview. Thank you very much. 14 � https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c816ace3fec8a9d7c1ec5c3235a0d7d9.mp3 25f7e47e9ff6887f4a4bcd689b9622db Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oceana County Migrant Labor History Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Shell-Weiss, Melanie Description An account of the resource Collection contains images and documents digitized and collected through the project "Growing Community: A Century of Migration in Oceana County." This project was a collaboration between El Centro Hispano de Oceana, the Oceana County Historical and Genealogical Society, and Grand Valley State University funded by a Common Heritage grant from the United States National Endowment for the Humanities. The materials in this collection document the history of communities in Hart, Shelby, and Walkerville and explore themes of migration, labor, religion, family, belonging, national and cultural identities, regional, national, and international connections, and citizenship. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Oceana County (Mich.) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Grand Valley State University. Kutsche Office of Local History Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource El Centro Hispano de Oceana; Oceana County Historical and Genealogical Society Relation A related resource Growing Community (NEH Common Heritage project) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-06 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf image/jpeg audio/mp3 Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Image Sound recording Language A language of the resource eng spa Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016 Subject The topic of the resource Oceana County (Mich.) Hart (Mich.) Shelby (Mich.) Farms Farmers Migrant agricultural laborers Hispanic Americans Account books Diaries Oral history Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-06_Byl_Larry Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Byl, Larry Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2016-06-18 Title A name given to the resource Byl, Larry (audio interview and transcript) Description An account of the resource Oral history interview with Lawrence (Larry) Byl. Interviewed by Walter Urick on June 18, 2016 in Hart, Michigan. English language. Larry Byl was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1957 as the son of two Dutch immigrants. Larry and his family moved to western Oceana County in 1966 and created a life for their family on their eighty-acre fruit farm, which over the years grew to become a three-hundred-acre farm. He attended Shelby High School where he took Future Farmers of America classes, and later graduated from Hope College in Holland, Michigan before finding his life’s work in real estate. Larry also served many years as County Commissioner and Village President for his community of Shelby, Michigan. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Urick, Walter (interviewer) Subject The topic of the resource Oceana County (Mich.) Shelby (Mich.) Farms Farmers Fruit growers Future Farmers of America Hope College Audio recordings Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Growing Community (NEH Common Heritage) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Sound Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource audio/mp3 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6d9a37189e27b4b9fe8e11e724e365f8.jpg 6ed4e131f08332a83f7c843842716127 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Temple B'nai Israel Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Temple B'nai Israel (Muskegon, Mich.) Description An account of the resource Collection of photographs, scrapbooks, programs, minutes, and other records of the Temple B'nai Israel in Muskegon, Michigan. The collection was created as part of the L'dor V'dor project directed by Dr. Marilyn Preston, and was supported by grants from the Kutsche Office of Local History and Michigan Humanities Council. Original materials were digitized by the University Libraries and returned to the synagogue. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital objects were contributed by Temple B'nai Israel as part of the L'dor V'dor project. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Jews--United States Muskegon (Mich.) Scrapbooks Synagogues Women--Societies and clubs Minutes (Records) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Preston, Marilyn Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Relation A related resource L'dor V'dor (project) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-08 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Text Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Circa 1920s-2018 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. 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Relation A related resource L'dor V'dor (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Image Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource image/jpeg Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/244598469b12bd7029e12d1b2c7e0463.Pdf 1c32686c6af92f97d94e2d2cb94497a5 PDF Text Text ���� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Temple B'nai Israel Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Temple B'nai Israel (Muskegon, Mich.) Description An account of the resource Collection of photographs, scrapbooks, programs, minutes, and other records of the Temple B'nai Israel in Muskegon, Michigan. The collection was created as part of the L'dor V'dor project directed by Dr. Marilyn Preston, and was supported by grants from the Kutsche Office of Local History and Michigan Humanities Council. Original materials were digitized by the University Libraries and returned to the synagogue. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital objects were contributed by Temple B'nai Israel as part of the L'dor V'dor project. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Jews--United States Muskegon (Mich.) Scrapbooks Synagogues Women--Societies and clubs Minutes (Records) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Preston, Marilyn Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Relation A related resource L'dor V'dor (project) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-08 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Text Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Circa 1920s-2018 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. 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Relation A related resource L'dor V'dor (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/fcc867dca444028c77948bc130cb1c88.Pdf 72e09ae29d7154f1e58d40430b57287a PDF Text Text ������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Temple B'nai Israel Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Temple B'nai Israel (Muskegon, Mich.) Description An account of the resource Collection of photographs, scrapbooks, programs, minutes, and other records of the Temple B'nai Israel in Muskegon, Michigan. The collection was created as part of the L'dor V'dor project directed by Dr. Marilyn Preston, and was supported by grants from the Kutsche Office of Local History and Michigan Humanities Council. Original materials were digitized by the University Libraries and returned to the synagogue. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital objects were contributed by Temple B'nai Israel as part of the L'dor V'dor project. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Jews--United States Muskegon (Mich.) Scrapbooks Synagogues Women--Societies and clubs Minutes (Records) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Preston, Marilyn Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Relation A related resource L'dor V'dor (project) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-08 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Text Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Circa 1920s-2018 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. 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Relation A related resource L'dor V'dor (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0d6ad0146c158f30d9addeff323745e3.Pdf 03010e90e07da9b3f4c875739d5faa21 PDF Text Text �������������������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Temple B'nai Israel Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Temple B'nai Israel (Muskegon, Mich.) Description An account of the resource Collection of photographs, scrapbooks, programs, minutes, and other records of the Temple B'nai Israel in Muskegon, Michigan. The collection was created as part of the L'dor V'dor project directed by Dr. Marilyn Preston, and was supported by grants from the Kutsche Office of Local History and Michigan Humanities Council. Original materials were digitized by the University Libraries and returned to the synagogue. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital objects were contributed by Temple B'nai Israel as part of the L'dor V'dor project. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Jews--United States Muskegon (Mich.) Scrapbooks Synagogues Women--Societies and clubs Minutes (Records) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Preston, Marilyn Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Relation A related resource L'dor V'dor (project) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-08 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Text Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Circa 1920s-2018 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. 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Relation A related resource L'dor V'dor (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b03f4dec649c8f2b46df7f986ea1b558.Pdf 2e590c6e916e51599e8dc6acb90e0262 PDF Text Text ������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Temple B'nai Israel Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Temple B'nai Israel (Muskegon, Mich.) Description An account of the resource Collection of photographs, scrapbooks, programs, minutes, and other records of the Temple B'nai Israel in Muskegon, Michigan. The collection was created as part of the L'dor V'dor project directed by Dr. Marilyn Preston, and was supported by grants from the Kutsche Office of Local History and Michigan Humanities Council. Original materials were digitized by the University Libraries and returned to the synagogue. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital objects were contributed by Temple B'nai Israel as part of the L'dor V'dor project. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Jews--United States Muskegon (Mich.) Scrapbooks Synagogues Women--Societies and clubs Minutes (Records) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Preston, Marilyn Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Relation A related resource L'dor V'dor (project) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-08 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Text Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Circa 1920s-2018 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-08_BI-UJCGM-Minutes_1955 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource United Jewish Charities of Greater Muskegon Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1955 Title A name given to the resource UJCGM Minutes, 1955 Description An account of the resource Board minutes of the United Jewish Charities of Greater Muskegon, 1955. Subject The topic of the resource Jews--United States Muskegon (Mich.) Charities Minutes (Records) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by the B'nai Israel Temple as part of the L'dor V'dor project. Relation A related resource L'dor V'dor (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6ecb448fe6cd5b43ddb9d2bb3e81f9ab.Pdf 75d4aefaf146b3adf39ed22d7ce3608b PDF Text Text ���������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Temple B'nai Israel Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Temple B'nai Israel (Muskegon, Mich.) Description An account of the resource Collection of photographs, scrapbooks, programs, minutes, and other records of the Temple B'nai Israel in Muskegon, Michigan. The collection was created as part of the L'dor V'dor project directed by Dr. Marilyn Preston, and was supported by grants from the Kutsche Office of Local History and Michigan Humanities Council. Original materials were digitized by the University Libraries and returned to the synagogue. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital objects were contributed by Temple B'nai Israel as part of the L'dor V'dor project. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Jews--United States Muskegon (Mich.) Scrapbooks Synagogues Women--Societies and clubs Minutes (Records) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Preston, Marilyn Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Relation A related resource L'dor V'dor (project) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-08 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Text Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Circa 1920s-2018 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-08_BI-UJCGM-AR_1956-1957 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource United Jewish Charities of Greater Muskegon Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1957 Title A name given to the resource UJCGM Annual Report, 1956-1957 Description An account of the resource Annual Report of the United Jewish Charities of Greater Muskegon, 1956-1957. Subject The topic of the resource Jews--United States Muskegon (Mich.) Annual reports Charities Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by the B'nai Israel Temple as part of the L'dor V'dor project. Relation A related resource L'dor V'dor (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/908c302230475ddffc70e86a66d1150a.Pdf 760efa52b7aa8970fc9b2abf42b4a294 PDF Text Text ���������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Temple B'nai Israel Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Temple B'nai Israel (Muskegon, Mich.) Description An account of the resource Collection of photographs, scrapbooks, programs, minutes, and other records of the Temple B'nai Israel in Muskegon, Michigan. The collection was created as part of the L'dor V'dor project directed by Dr. Marilyn Preston, and was supported by grants from the Kutsche Office of Local History and Michigan Humanities Council. Original materials were digitized by the University Libraries and returned to the synagogue. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital objects were contributed by Temple B'nai Israel as part of the L'dor V'dor project. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Jews--United States Muskegon (Mich.) Scrapbooks Synagogues Women--Societies and clubs Minutes (Records) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Preston, Marilyn Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Relation A related resource L'dor V'dor (project) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-08 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Text Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Circa 1920s-2018 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-08_BI-UJCGM-AR_1955-1956 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource United Jewish Charities of Greater Muskegon Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1956 Title A name given to the resource UJCGM Annual Report, 1955-1956 Description An account of the resource Annual Report of the United Jewish Charities of Greater Muskegon, 1955-1956. Subject The topic of the resource Jews--United States Muskegon (Mich.) Annual reports Charities Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by the B'nai Israel Temple as part of the L'dor V'dor project. Relation A related resource L'dor V'dor (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/399864d1bff3f1190ef99825d7a1b859.Pdf 42372b48fd792add88ca0029a055958a PDF Text Text ����������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Temple B'nai Israel Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Temple B'nai Israel (Muskegon, Mich.) Description An account of the resource Collection of photographs, scrapbooks, programs, minutes, and other records of the Temple B'nai Israel in Muskegon, Michigan. The collection was created as part of the L'dor V'dor project directed by Dr. Marilyn Preston, and was supported by grants from the Kutsche Office of Local History and Michigan Humanities Council. Original materials were digitized by the University Libraries and returned to the synagogue. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital objects were contributed by Temple B'nai Israel as part of the L'dor V'dor project. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Jews--United States Muskegon (Mich.) Scrapbooks Synagogues Women--Societies and clubs Minutes (Records) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Preston, Marilyn Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Relation A related resource L'dor V'dor (project) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-08 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Text Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Circa 1920s-2018 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-08_BI-UJCGM-AF_1954-1955 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource United Jewish Charities of Greater Muskegon Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1955 Title A name given to the resource UJCGM Annual Report, 1954-1955 Description An account of the resource Annual Report of the United Jewish Charities of Greater Muskegon, 1954-1955. Subject The topic of the resource Jews--United States Muskegon (Mich.) Annual reports Charities Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by the B'nai Israel Temple as part of the L'dor V'dor project. Relation A related resource L'dor V'dor (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/021a4cc25d50f3ef11a8d589ae6f9fc0.Pdf ccc4d3218a78ac711db59bc32bb75e1a PDF Text Text ������������������� Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Temple B'nai Israel Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Temple B'nai Israel (Muskegon, Mich.) Description An account of the resource Collection of photographs, scrapbooks, programs, minutes, and other records of the Temple B'nai Israel in Muskegon, Michigan. The collection was created as part of the L'dor V'dor project directed by Dr. Marilyn Preston, and was supported by grants from the Kutsche Office of Local History and Michigan Humanities Council. Original materials were digitized by the University Libraries and returned to the synagogue. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital objects were contributed by Temple B'nai Israel as part of the L'dor V'dor project. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Jews--United States Muskegon (Mich.) Scrapbooks Synagogues Women--Societies and clubs Minutes (Records) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Preston, Marilyn Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Relation A related resource L'dor V'dor (project) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-08 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Text Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Circa 1920s-2018 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-08_BI-SonsofIsrael-Minutes_1943 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sons of Israel Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1943/1945 Title A name given to the resource Sons of Israel 1943-1945 Minutes Description An account of the resource Board meeting minutes of the Congregational Sons of Israel, Temple B'nai Israel from July 1943 to January 1945. Subject The topic of the resource Jews--United States Muskegon (Mich.) Men--Societies and clubs Minutes (Records) Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by the B'nai Israel Temple as part of the L'dor V'dor project. Relation A related resource L'dor V'dor (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/944dd7bdccef328c25a538468812ce56.pdf ea2c611c2f3d3b020b42e2475c5308e0 PDF Text Text CHARTS AND RECORDS FOR PLUMBING, WIRING, KEYS, ETC. CONGREGATION B'NAI �JEWISH CElll'ER & IDUSE OF \.~RSHIP LIGHrDlG CABINET #1 Boller Room IJall~ 1. Recreation Room 7. Cir. Pump & Plug Boiler Roon Boiler Room Lights 2. Plug Recreation Room R Foyer s. 3. Recreation Room 9. 4. TCtilat Ws.rdrooo and Fan. 10. ;. n. Kitchen Light 6. Foyer Kitchen Plugs 12. LIC-HTING CABINET #2 ?-bin Entrance 1. I-bin Cbapal- West 10. Corridol'-Toilet 2nd 1'1oor 2. 1-nin Chapel-Center 11. Balooiv Lights 3. Lobby 12. Plugs-2nd Floor 4. Vestibule-Entrance 13. l-hin Chapel-East 5. Sr.nil Chapel 14. l-bin Clnpal-Ccnter Lto. 6. Lights Under Bal.co~ 15. Kindergarten Class Room Pl:ugs Main Cmpel 7. Lounge 16. s. Class Room-East 17. Projection Booth 9. Projection l-hcld.ne �41tJ V FOWER No-C-440 V Boller Room 1. si:nre 8. Ix.. Fan 2. Spare 9. Cir. Pump ~ 10. Cir Pump 4. Intake Fan u. Air Co:mpreaaor 5. Intake Fan 12. Spare 6. 13. sinre 3. OU Burner SUmp fump 14. 7. Ex. Fan SJ:ere KrtCUEtr IOWER Boiler Room Hallt,ey · l. Ice Crea:n 4. 2. nm 5. Spare 3. Ice Box 6. Dismasher Spll"e LIGHl'ING CADillE'l' #3 Basement North Sta1nlell . 1. Raoreation,.North End 8. Secretar.r•s Office 2. Platform 9. Cow Lights 3. Clocks & Plugs Recreation lbcm 10. Organ ~ n. Stage Foot Lights 5. Stainny o.nd P.l.nttorm Plugs 12. Stage .Foot Lights 6. Ante Room am Ark Plugs lJ • Stage Foot Lights Ante Room and Fassage 7. Iabbi'e Study and Urxler Lights sio.r 14. Bulletin Board �OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS HEATING AND VENTILATING SYSTEM HOUSE OF JE\ ISH iORSHIP MUSKEGON, MICHIGAN The o~!"'burner is fully automat1o 1n operation and will operate as often and as long as necea ary to deliver water at the temper ture called tor by the aquastat. In starting up the heating system, therefore, 1t is necessary only to close all electric aw1tchea that supply energy to the oil burner, light th gas pilot an~ let the oil bnrner controls govern the operation. Close the switch starting the hot water o1rculat1ng pump and let the pump run as long aa there 1a demand tor heating. The direct radiation and conTectors are connected to a piping system having a circulating pump and thermostatically controlled mixing valve. The mixing valve 1a arramged to vary the temperature of the water supplied to the oonveotore and radiators inversely with outdoor temperatures. The aquastat in the boil r water should be set tor about 200 Fin mild weather and 240 F in extremely cold weather. The heating ot the b sement recreation room and the heating of the Main Ohapel is accomplished with the respective air supply and exhaust systems. Each room has finned convectors below the windows , which can furnish part of the heating, but operation ot the fan systems ia essential tor full heating and tor ventilating of the rooms. 'l'he blast conveotors of the air suppl y systems are supplied with water at boiler temperature, through a separate piping system having its own circulating pump. This pump likewise must be turned on whenever it is necessary to supply heating or ventilating to these rooms. Prior to occupancy or use of either room, start the re peot1ve supply and exhaust tan and set the pneumatic positioning dial tor 100 per cent recirculation. This will close the outside e.ir intake damper and set the dampers in the exhaust fan discharge duct to re_turn al.l the -ih t :r-.1:r _,. t t11 u ly y tem. The roo • quiokly may be warmed when all the air thus is recircul ated. When the room is ready tor occupancy, s t the pneumatic positioning dial tor about 50 per cent outside air 1n m1ld weather, or for not more than 2S per cent in extremely cold weather. -1- �!l'he ventilating systems may be used w1th 100 per cent outside air during weather requiring no heating or very little heating, as during spring and tall. After comuleting use ot the room, shut off the supply and exhaust tans serving the room. De-energizing the tan...motors automatically causes the pneumatic damper 1n the air intake to close end to set the reciroulating damper 1n 100 per oent recirculating position, regardless ot the setting on the pneumatic pos1t1on1ng dial. Whenever outdoor temperatures are below freezing, the circulating pump tor the ventilating systems should be run, whether or not the fans shall be used, as cold air leakage at the outside air intake drunpers may be euttic1ent to endsnger the conveotors. Replace the air tilter cells at periodic intervals, depending on frequency ot use and accumulation ot duet. Never replace all the cells at one time, as the reduced resistance or all clean cells will cause greatly increased a1r tlow. By staggering replacement of the tilter cells, the air quantity may be maintained fairly uniform. Keeping record of dates ot replacing filter cells, therefore, 1a essential to proper care of the ventilating system. 011 all motors, bearings and moving part at onthly 1nterVale, or as much oftener as required to~ proper lubrication. Use proper grade of oil tor each service. Blow out condensation trom bottom of air compressor receiver periodice:lly. 'l'he expansion tank of the heating system must never be permitted to become waterlogged. The water line must be visible in the gauge glass at all times. In ata'rting up from a cold system, the water should be Just visible in the bottom of the gauge glass. As the water expa.nda under heating, it will rise in the tank, compressing the air. The oil burner should be serviced once a year by the manufacturers representative. This should be a periodio check up prior to start or the heating aeason. Adjustment of valves, dampers, etc. of the oil burner must not be changed from the settings made by the oil burner ae.rv1.o.e r~preaentative. The pneumatic control system sh u.ld be checked once a year by aerv1oe representative of the manufacturer, to insure its efficient operation. Samuel R. Lewie and Associates August 14, 1948 �HardYrare Schedule Jewish Center & Hous of Worship Strom & Strom Builde / �p I :rch1t ti 1. or o. 1 - boilo.r ro to out i o - 6'0"x7•0"xl-3/4" - typ 2 or 'fio tal - l-3/ oar x • if R 1420 x pc • • I/ 0 r • .. chor 8n. s. '011x'7t O 'x.1.•3/ ' ~ x 1/Dl 00 - x J./Bll I �0.1 - t 'o. l. 9 f1n1oh o. l - typo o.1 ooi, x • x lmobo t: ros o ypo l o .l .fin1oh on 'h1. J / 3 door roo 10.t,m,,t~ to .foyer - 2 1 9"x'71 0 xl-s/,n • typ o.1 �/ n. • X 1:nob door.- oor,: 1:"0Se . " V 14. .u "' 0 11 - 1-S/ 1 • '0"~/4u - typo or x knob r s (n o. l cio.1 �- '0 .... '0 door x :-.1- x l:nobs ro ea - cyp T..7'0 r.J.-S/4 (s t t o. l !en( cinl - /4" O"x7'0"xl-3/ - t'Yl)O 1 :m 1, in --:s: - 2, s :r--7' o xi- dy - 21 G"X'l' 0 1n ( p ci l. b • 1 I ' l-3/ ' .. ;1 ) • o.S - "'6 x'l'O'xl~/4" tot 11 t ro ro ( C l 0 • o . l - '"''0"r;?'O"·tl.-"'/~ 0 cloor x ci l ( I 1gn) J Oel �oor x 1?9 • X 9 1n. 1~ ( ci l. �- • ol 0 - ild nrl:l ) ic;n) -3/. x knob • t ro ( c1 l ~~;,t.,L.,,oli,<- p l. • 3 1 0 ,r:,t O"xl- {4" t or .r. lmobn ro ( o.1. 1 l - - .. - typ ~• 0 ' :1-S/ ( c1 l o. l �( - -/ •o o. l - 7' ( 11 - t -4 &,--.,d • ; ' LJ, l t-,1 • - • • • - ' ' - t;., • • ( n•t) ,,,-:--- /->--' --./. o. l �o.l 1 .1 io.l ( • oil t o,.G - -✓ t sn-7, in. 0 o. - '0 •O' 1 .. ( - t e - t o o.1 o. 1 9 fin. - 5,0 x"l•O xl- (4 ll 67,. 0 !lo ('-( 1 t o. - 2, ]/: 110 E c. re •o xl.-3/ l/ 14 . v o - ,,, "l!7' 0 xl-, f " - .. x lmobo ( o. l cio.l �- -1 •o ,er•o 'J".JrS/ - .1 Fin. • • - .. I '0' o. 1 ro • 7' rr. - - 181 • • 0~ .. oor 1-5/ 1 "'✓ ( • •o / - /i nrb1o • • 1f tan • spl 1t t a.rd w:, �• •n • �J 0 H N S 0 s N E 4 4 6 R 0 V l- ov . t GRA"' T M RAP p A MICH N V 49507 , C e s or l a mixed air ec n mizer cor.tr 1 to mod 1 ~e the outxlaust a~r dampers to maintain t O mixed air tem1 r 1re. th this typo of control , the amount of o td or air admitted decreases as the oitdoor air temperature decreases;at -100 outdoor air temer ture, you are introducing approximately 2o,t outdoor r. �e JOHNSON SERVICE COMPANY b r w ir ne t. ✓ j In al pum whene erar 1r cor inu~u ly. a r ever the t ures be our rice~ r t is . . . . . . . . . . . .. s. . . . . . ., ,695.00) r NE a ria reo ired pressure switc~es or painting which This price incl for a coM l te and fre .. stats rna.y be necessit We w sh to thank you and tf we can e off us. 1, to ouote on hese changes do l"'O resit re to crmtact Very truly yours, JOHNSON SERV1CE COMPANY 1tt~.:!:n~ Service Sales~an WRH s �.. 8PSCIALIZ1Ntl NKCMIAIU~ llOUIPMIINT l"Olt •un..o,.... "HONE G L - 4898 1 MAX A. LETT. ME C HANICAL ENGINEER 801 MICHIGAN TRU8T BUIL OINO GRAND RAPIDS 2, MICHIGAN October 2, 1957 egat1on B 1 nat _..;-Eavl 'D:)<..• _.h & W$bst r t••• kegon:, 1'.J.ch1gan 1ttent1ons- • Sts.?uey s~ongregation B~na1 Israel :ait.1d1ng C-Plan. Rabbi -1/7 -?W,/ I' Iv -:r / Dear Rabb!. IQiplans --;,~¥)~~ field check was made on__the heat.1 s-- s1s"tem oft.he su )ect ~•-~-·..~ iber 30, 1957 and t.t a ver noted f ~ / ._,, the~?~~/28 .,_ 1. Oh1et a-ompla1lnt, vaa that office seotiore at nort end :!:, ot o°llm'oh did not heat properly. 2~ Wall convector radiators under basement assembly windows not heating properly 3~ Ind1cat1ons of overheating in south second story portion ~ building~ 4~ Otttdoor-'1.nd.oor reset not t't.llrot1oning properly'~ The heating plans for the building were as install was xamined. The ayst appeared to b a well installed vystem w1t'h all required ace asorie to tac111:t balancing & adj\lsting. By balancing is meant the prooeee of regulating the system 1:n a mamer to put the heat where requ1rec!. g; examined and then tbs e7at • The tollow1ng corrective measures w re t k ent lA. Thee~ ion tank was emptied of water and was l e ft w1th about 3" or water on the gaga. 21.. The system was tilled to 25 - --uhat.. t ""t..• ~ .t ,. :runt.ion to in 1c t hen the wat81! • vents ehould be r plac , otherwise, frequent band ven ing r quired. The anunl vent cooks at the auto vent looat1on indicated the water pr seur ample to fill tho eyat • :;&.. The hea tin t d el ents ent1oned 1n I:t l. a ov checked tor heating and found to be he t1n pro r r �2 o't 2 5&. With regard to Item~ l! will oontaot the J'obnson ce Company to recheck th ou:tdoor-indoor reset the next they have a man 1n t v1c1n1ty~ I beltsve I can got th• chec th item without cost to the OWner. 6A.. As noted 1n I-t 5A the system pi, ssure wa lett at 25 lbs. gage(boiler). Would like to have the Oustod1an drop the pr asur to 20 lbs. gage(bo1ler) by opening the valve slightly- at top ot compreee1on tank until system pressure has dropped to the desired figur. rn the event the above l av a any quent1o or prob a unanswered th n drop ea line giving telephon number of Custodian so the next time I in Muskegon I will atop by and see him. It is believed that the above will solve the problem of heating of the office section. It it does not then there are tJro t.e!"?lat1v. ... cpor. _.on --ao1ut11n ""OUld----be to .1 a-tall a rre1)81:' t pump forte off1oe eeot1on with supply & r turn runout from t boiler room to the section concerned. The other solution would be to in tall electric baseboard heating units 1n the rooms concerned. The alternatives should not be used if they can b avoided • • , �(\.~ • .J S~IICIALIZINO M f r N I C A ... 11:QUIPMENT l'"OR BUILDINGS PHONE C MAX A. LETT, MEC 601 M I CHIGAN ' GRAND RAPID. Congregation B 1 nai Israel Fourth & Webster Ste.~ Muskegon, Michigan REs-Congr~gation B'nai Israel Building -. -, .lttention:- Mr. Stanley Kaplan, Rabbi ./- :~ ~ '.,,,,-2_ Dear Rabbi Kaplan: ' ~ z:~~~ A fi eld c heck was made on the of the subject building on September 30, 1957 and the~owing i tams were noted a ~,(_', $ ~-------~- ~= . l. Chief complaint was that office section at nort end , of church did not heat properly~ 2. Wall convector radiators under basement Jnsembly windows 7 not heating properly~ 3-.· Indications of overheating in · sou" second story port1~ of building. I 4. Outdoor-indoor reset not f'unctic r properly-~ : • The heating ·r · 'll~ "11nc; wero I examined and t hen the system as syst em a ppeared to be a well in acce s sories to facili t e balanci is meant the proces s of regulat put the heat where r e1uired. I' 'trn follow1r u-. ., ... a.1.res we. The expansion tank was empw.Led of water and was left with about 3" of water on the gage-. a. The s ys t e • was f i l led to 25 ~•t ga~(boiler)-. It was noted t h.at the auto vents a t top of heating risers in roof ape.ca did not funtion to i ndica te ,:hen the wat~ had reached the vents-. The vents should be replaced, otherwise, fre quent band ventillg may be re~uired-. The manual vent cocks at the auto vent locations indicated t he wa ter pressure ample to fill the system. :;A. The heat ine elements mentioned 1n Item l above were then vented & checked tor heating and found to be heating properlyt. 4.l. The hand valves serv:1.ng the wall convector heating elements below the main assembly windows were turned off and then the similar heating ele~ents under ba sement assembly windows were examined and found to be receivin5 hea t. This indicated that by !'?'oper adjustment of' the balancing valves in the heatin g el ements the ~1eat could be distributed between the heating elements concerned. The Custodian wae. instructed concernine adjustment of the balancing valves~ � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Temple B'nai Israel Collection Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Temple B'nai Israel (Muskegon, Mich.) Description An account of the resource Collection of photographs, scrapbooks, programs, minutes, and other records of the Temple B'nai Israel in Muskegon, Michigan. The collection was created as part of the L'dor V'dor project directed by Dr. Marilyn Preston, and was supported by grants from the Kutsche Office of Local History and Michigan Humanities Council. Original materials were digitized by the University Libraries and returned to the synagogue. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital objects were contributed by Temple B'nai Israel as part of the L'dor V'dor project. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource Jews--United States Muskegon (Mich.) Scrapbooks Synagogues Women--Societies and clubs Minutes (Records) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Allendale, Michigan Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Preston, Marilyn Grand Valley State University. Special Collections and University Archives Relation A related resource L'dor V'dor (project) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-08 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image Text Type The nature or genre of the resource image/jpeg application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource Circa 1920s-2018 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context DC-08_BI-1950-BuildingEngineeringFacilities Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Congregation B'nai Israel Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1950-04 Title A name given to the resource Building Engineering Facilities Description An account of the resource Binder of charts and records for plumbing, wiring, keys, heating and ventilation system, hardware schedule for the Muskegon Jewish Center and House of Worship. Subject The topic of the resource Jews--United States Muskegon (Mich.) Synagogues Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Digital file contributed by the B'nai Israel Temple as part of the L'dor V'dor project. Relation A related resource L'dor V'dor (project) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6fdfba4044dd7e7ef042b516c352fe49.pdf eee7b8f0c51711be6c8e3aec6953ad1d PDF Text Text ���� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c220bfe2e2d03c3f99b4694f2c019b01.pdf 32b1811ab77da42dd7987a7a6e451fb4 PDF Text Text [RHC-93_Olexa_1943-04-17] [Page 1] North Africa April 17, 1943 Dear Agnes, Writing a few lines since I have some spare time at the moment. I’m still the same and in good health. Hope that this letter finds you the same. I hope that after this campaign [I] will be able to go back to the states for a rest. It was a good rumor once but it’s torn to pieces now. How is everyone over there nowdays? [sic] Don’t forget to give them my best regards. Roy came up to see me the other day and we had a pretty good chat together. The next day I went down to visit him [Page 2] and ate supper down there with him. It was a good ways back to our company so he took me back in a “Jeep.” He also showed me Carolyn’s graduation picture. It was a good picture of her. We got paid the other day for the first time in two months. I sent the money to my sister for safe keeping, for I can’t spend it over here. I suppose by now that spring is in full swing over there. It is getting a lot hotter over here too. I would like to be over there for Easter but that’s out [Page 3] with the distance too great. Well “sweets,” I haven’t much to write which isn’t unusual so I shall close. Write when you can and in the meantime I shall be thinking of you. Yours, With Lots of Love Joe {Signature accent mark} P.S. Give the Walsh’s my regards when you see them. [Envelope front] Cpl. Joseph P. Olexa (12016893) Co. “L,” 26th Infantry A.P.O. #1 �℅ Postmaster New York, N.Y. U.S. Army {Postmark} - partially illegible U.S. ARMY POSTAL SERVICE APR 2 [?] 1943 A.P.O. Via Air Mail Miss Agnes Van Der Weide 11 Main Street Ashburnham, Mass. PASSED BY US 11147 ARMY EXAMINER Robert Ostwald 1st Lt. Inf. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Olexa letters Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Van Der Weide, Agnes Description An account of the resource Collection of letters between Joseph Olexa and Agnes Van Der Weide, dating from 1941 to 1946. Olexa fought in the U.S. Army 26th Infantry Division, Company "L", and eventually attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Over the course of World War II, Olexa was engaged in North Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium, and Germany. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Belgium, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. While deployed abroad, Olexa maintained regular correspondence with Agnes Van Der Weide, a young woman he met through mutual friends. Agnes was the daughter of Benjamin and Minnie (Ter Meer) Van Der Weide. The Van Der Weide family lived in Jamestown, Michigan and Ashburnham, Massachusetts until moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1943. While the letters do not contain details relating to Olexa's military activities, due to heavy censorship of soldiers' correspondence by the U.S. Army, the letters do depict the daily activities of an infantry soldier and illustrate the blossoming romance between the two. Joseph and Agnes were married July 23, 1945, and lived in West Michigan until Agnes's death in 1993. Joseph Olexa died December 3, 2000. They were survived by their son, Karl Olexa. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence (RHC-93)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93_Olexa_1943-04-17 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1943-04-17 Title A name given to the resource Letter from Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, April 17, 1943 Description An account of the resource Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated April 17, 1943. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry, A.P.O. #1, New York, New York, dated April 1943. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes while stationed overseas in North Africa and in good health, sharing the news of their recent payday and how he wishes he could return home for Easter. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Africa, North Easter Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence, (RHC-93)</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c1ee2cfba4c2ce2ea194dfc420ce1955.pdf 71f87d1f02af0d5ad0f2b57ee838623f PDF Text Text ����� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/58cc5883f388aedf9a34eb087a6c1735.pdf 11afaac80a7510a64513ef6479e8c627 PDF Text Text [RHC-93_Olexa_1943-04-13] [Page 1] North Africa April 13, 1943 Dear Agnes, Rec’d three of your latest letters of March 11, 16, and 19. I’m the same as usual and getting along as fine as can be. You state that my letters are far in between. Well, I have written every time I had the chance. I hope by now that you got most of them. Did you receive the French money and pictures I sent to you? I hope you did and if not let me know as soon as you can. I’ll send you some more if you didn’t. [Page 2] I got a letter from Helen, my brother Johnny, and a newspaper. I sure was glad to hear from them. So, you were surprised when Helen sent you that clipping. It’s all in a day's work and just a hint that it isn’t a picnic over here the way some people around there think. I don’t want people to worry about me, so that is the reason I don’t mention things about myself in letters. When I get back, I may try to answer some of your questions. I have written to you over [Page 3] a week ago and hope you get that letter too. I haven’t answered Beasie’s letter as yet but will when I have the time. Now for a little sad news. I’ve been reduced back down to the grade of Corporal for some unknown reason. It’s temporarily and I’ll probably get my promotion back again. I haven’t done anything wrong or holding out on information. When I find out the reason, I’ll let you know. Claypool and Tuck, the Lover, I used to write about are now missing in action. I don’t know whether they are captured or dead. [Page 4] Anyway, I am hoping that they are still well and alive. They were in my squad at the time and I sure miss them. I used to go out with them in the States and over here. Well, it’s the results of war, so we all have to take the breaks on the chin. Give the folks my regards and Hello. I still miss you as much as ever Sweets and hope that we will see each other sometime in the near future. Will close and write when you can. Yours, With Lots of Love Joe �{Signature accent mark} [Envelope front] Cpl. Joseph P. Olexa (12016893) Co. “L,” 26th Infantry A.P.O. - 1 ℅ Postmaster New York, N.Y. U.S. Army {Postmark} - partially illegible U.S. ARMY POSTAL SERVICE [?] A.P.O. Miss Agnes Van Der Weide 11 Main Street Ashburnham, Mass. PASSED BY US 11147 ARMY EXAMINER Robert Ostwald 2nd Lt. Inf. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Olexa letters Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Van Der Weide, Agnes Description An account of the resource Collection of letters between Joseph Olexa and Agnes Van Der Weide, dating from 1941 to 1946. Olexa fought in the U.S. Army 26th Infantry Division, Company "L", and eventually attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Over the course of World War II, Olexa was engaged in North Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium, and Germany. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Belgium, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. While deployed abroad, Olexa maintained regular correspondence with Agnes Van Der Weide, a young woman he met through mutual friends. Agnes was the daughter of Benjamin and Minnie (Ter Meer) Van Der Weide. The Van Der Weide family lived in Jamestown, Michigan and Ashburnham, Massachusetts until moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1943. While the letters do not contain details relating to Olexa's military activities, due to heavy censorship of soldiers' correspondence by the U.S. Army, the letters do depict the daily activities of an infantry soldier and illustrate the blossoming romance between the two. Joseph and Agnes were married July 23, 1945, and lived in West Michigan until Agnes's death in 1993. Joseph Olexa died December 3, 2000. They were survived by their son, Karl Olexa. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence (RHC-93)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93_Olexa_1943-04-13 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1943-04-13 Title A name given to the resource Letter from Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, April 13, 1943 Description An account of the resource Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated April 13, 1943. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry, A.P.O. #1, New York, New York, dated April 1943. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes while stationed overseas in North Africa and after receiving three of her letters written back in March, sharing the downhearted news of his returning to being a "Corporal" and the squad members who are missing in action. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Africa, North United States. Army Promotions Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence, (RHC-93)</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e726fa1c85342c1d02728c67fa741a1e.pdf 24623d530a64312e39ecee7dd249b1e6 PDF Text Text ��� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/632bd0536931d1711a7b6a87c6ab46cb.pdf 2f436597682c41877ef07882e3a51e30 PDF Text Text [RHC-93_Olexa_1943-03-11] [Page 1] North Africa March 11, 1943 {Stationary letterhead featuring a “V” with stars and stripes in red, white, and blue} Dear Agnes, Rec’d your letter with the two snapshots of yourself and I will say that they were good ones. I haven’t as yet gotten the others you mentioned in the letter. I had to stare a long time at the picture with Richard on it for, at first, I thought he was a neighbor boy. He sure did grow and the haircut made a great change in him. I got some old mail today from Helen and a friend of mine. Well “Sweets,” I’m still in good health and hope you are the same. I still miss you and think of you often. You haven’t changed much in your pictures, to my estimation. Claypool is all smiles nowdays [sic] since Gloria wrote to him. He says that he’s going to write her a long letter. I sure was surprised to get that letter from her also. What does she think of the picture I sent her? Ha! Ha! Boy, I’ll bet she put up a lot of steam around the place. I have not seen Roy in [Page 2] a couple of weeks. If I find the time I may go down to see him. He still writes to Carolyn. I got a lovely valentine card from my mother and Dad. As yet my brother Ollie has not written but my sister claims he did. Maybe I’ll hear from him sometime soon. How are your folks and the Walsh’s? Don’t forget to give them my regards and a hello. I got a picture from Helen with my little nephew and niece. They sure did grow since I saw them last. Well “Honey” I shall close for I haven’t much to write. Same excuse as usual. Ha! Ha! Write real soon. Yours, With Lots of Love Joe {Signature accent mark} P.S. I’ll let you know when I receive your other pictures. [Envelope front] Sgt. Joseph P. Olexa (12016893) Co. “L,” 26th Infantry A.P.O. - 1 ℅ Postmaster New York, N.Y. U.S. Army �{Postmark} U.S. ARMY POSTAL SERVICE MAR 16 1943 A.P.O. Free {Signature accent mark} Miss Agnes Van Der Weide 11 Main Street Ashburnham, Mass. PASSED BY US 11102 ARMY EXAMINER Robert Ostwald 2nd Lt. Inf. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Olexa letters Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Van Der Weide, Agnes Description An account of the resource Collection of letters between Joseph Olexa and Agnes Van Der Weide, dating from 1941 to 1946. Olexa fought in the U.S. Army 26th Infantry Division, Company "L", and eventually attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Over the course of World War II, Olexa was engaged in North Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium, and Germany. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Belgium, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. While deployed abroad, Olexa maintained regular correspondence with Agnes Van Der Weide, a young woman he met through mutual friends. Agnes was the daughter of Benjamin and Minnie (Ter Meer) Van Der Weide. The Van Der Weide family lived in Jamestown, Michigan and Ashburnham, Massachusetts until moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1943. While the letters do not contain details relating to Olexa's military activities, due to heavy censorship of soldiers' correspondence by the U.S. Army, the letters do depict the daily activities of an infantry soldier and illustrate the blossoming romance between the two. Joseph and Agnes were married July 23, 1945, and lived in West Michigan until Agnes's death in 1993. Joseph Olexa died December 3, 2000. They were survived by their son, Karl Olexa. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence (RHC-93)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93_Olexa_1943-03-11 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1943-03-11 Title A name given to the resource Letter from Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, March 11, 1943 Description An account of the resource Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated March 11, 1943. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry, A.P.O. #1, New York, New York, dated March 16, 1943. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes while stationed overseas in North Africa and after receiving the latest snapshots she mailed to him, noting how she hasn't changed much in her pictures, and hoping she remains in good health and spirits. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Africa, North Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence, (RHC-93)</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/42ad43b08fe012acf559ca40505550e0.pdf 617b0c2a0ba62bbc77a93fbbe260304d PDF Text Text ����� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/cb851257c3cf0b7922da11b35a03cef2.pdf 35fb0caaa28f327b4c5ee80ee34f8de5 PDF Text Text [RHC-93_Olexa_1943-03-02] [Page 1] North Africa March 2, 1943 Dear Agnes, Rec’d four of your letters today and the latest one was Feb. 6. I was very surprised to get a letter from Gloria. I nearly fell over from the surprise. I also got the small miniature you sent but the painting or tinting job was a poor one. The picture itself is a very good one. I haven’t gotten the other pictures you sent but I guess they’ll catch up to me soon. I’m the same as usual, Honey, and hope you are the same. I still think of you often and miss you. Yes, I got your Valentine and Christmas card and they were swell. [Page 2] I also got a nice card from my mother and Dad. I heard from my buddies for the first time since I came to Africa. They’re still in the States, where I’d like to be. Did you get the French money I sent you? I hope you will. I saw Roy the other day for the first time since I left England. He’s a Staff Sergeant now, in other words he’s a mess [?] sergeant. Carolyn writes to him often. From his talk I get that the Wenneburgs [?] announced their engagement in the papers. What do you think of that or did you know that already. Roy is the same as ever [Page 3] although he didn’t stay long for a good pow-wow. He asked about you and your folks. Claypool got Gloria’s letter and Valentine. Boy, he was sure happy and surprised to hear from her. Well, “sweets,” I got my hair cut very short for the hot weather is just around the corner. Another reason is that if I go around like this, they might send me back to the states. Ha! Ha! I said (might). Sending you two postcards, one of an Arab man and the other an Arab woman. If I can, I’ll try to get a lot more to send. How are the Walsh’s these days? Don’t forget to give them my regards. [Page 4] Don’t forget to give my regards to your folks also. We are now back resting and for how long, is still a question. I don’t believe I’ll be able to catch up with your Dad in rank so I guess he’s got [text strikethrough] me up a tree. Ha! Ha! Well “Honey,” news is scarce so I shall close. Write real soon for I’ll be waiting to hear from you. Yours, With Lots of Love Joe {Signature accent mark} �[Envelope front] Sgt. Joseph P. Olexa (12016893) Co. “L,” 26th Infantry A.P.O. - 1 ℅ Postmaster New York, N.Y. U.S. Army {Postmark} U.S. ARMY POSTAL SERVICE MAR 11 1943 A.P.O. Free {Signature accent mark} Miss Agnes Van Der Weide 11 Main Street Ashburnham, Mass. PASSED BY US 11147 ARMY EXAMINER Robert Ostwald 2nd Lt. Inf. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Olexa letters Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Van Der Weide, Agnes Description An account of the resource Collection of letters between Joseph Olexa and Agnes Van Der Weide, dating from 1941 to 1946. Olexa fought in the U.S. Army 26th Infantry Division, Company "L", and eventually attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Over the course of World War II, Olexa was engaged in North Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium, and Germany. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Belgium, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. While deployed abroad, Olexa maintained regular correspondence with Agnes Van Der Weide, a young woman he met through mutual friends. Agnes was the daughter of Benjamin and Minnie (Ter Meer) Van Der Weide. The Van Der Weide family lived in Jamestown, Michigan and Ashburnham, Massachusetts until moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1943. While the letters do not contain details relating to Olexa's military activities, due to heavy censorship of soldiers' correspondence by the U.S. Army, the letters do depict the daily activities of an infantry soldier and illustrate the blossoming romance between the two. Joseph and Agnes were married July 23, 1945, and lived in West Michigan until Agnes's death in 1993. Joseph Olexa died December 3, 2000. They were survived by their son, Karl Olexa. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence (RHC-93)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93_Olexa_1943-03-02 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1943-03-02 Title A name given to the resource Letter from Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, March 2, 1943 Description An account of the resource Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated March 2, 1943. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry, A.P.O. #1, New York, New York, dated March 11, 1943. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes while stationed overseas in North Africa, sharing the news of his happiness in receiving her Valentine and Christmas card, and his recent haircut in anticipation of warmer weather. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Africa, North Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence, (RHC-93)</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4fc99f5e8759a5975e64f5b5bdbaf34d.pdf 57bcc44236f2aafce3558d7ac1bd774a PDF Text Text ����� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/87ce02bea4a1646349af30fc0788936e.pdf 0dd9f9a6b6ab4d93ffe7ebb092167a22 PDF Text Text [RHC-93_Olexa_1943-02-09] [Page 1] North Africa Feb. 9, 1943 Dear Agnes, Got your letter dated Jan. 13 and was pleased to hear from you. I’m the same, and hope all of you are in the best of health. I also got a letter from Helen. I have not as yet heard from my folks but hope to any day now. Well “Honey,” how are things in general with you? Fine, I hope. How are your folks and the Walsh’s? Don’t forget to give them my best regards. I nearly forgot about my little sweetie, Beasie, so tell her I’m still a kicking for her. [sic] I’m still mad at Gloria. Ha! Ha! [Page 2] I hope you receive my other letter with the French money in it. I’m sending you another bill which is worth a dollar in our money. I suppose it’s as old as can be back there, “Eh!” It’s been quite chilly here but later on I’m liable to roast. I have a few postcards that I bought as souvenirs to show the one’s I know, when I get back to the States. If I ever get to a place where I can get some good things or articles, I’ll buy it and then send it away. Until then, I’ll move along doing [Page 3] my part. I have a lot of faith and from past experiences, I sure thank the Lord that I am alive and well. How has your Dad made out drilling the boys at Cushing? I’d like to be there to hear his voice boom around the gym. Ha! Ha! I can picture myself leaning on the rail, looking down on the boys taking and executing his commands. I hear that no more packages are allowed to be sent overseas. Why they did this, is a question beyond me. I know that all of us will miss them. We’ve gone through a lot of hardships, so it won’t make any difference with [Page 4] something else. We barter or buy eggs, dates, Arab pastry, and so forth around here from the Arabs. The Germans sure did take and bleed the people of things they had and needed. Well “Honey,” I shall close and in the meantime, will be thinking of you. Yours, With Lots of Love Joe {Signature accent mark} P.S. I still miss you as much as ever and think of you often. �Don’t forget to send me those pictures of yourself. [Envelope front] Sgt. Joseph P. Olexa (12016893) Co. “L,” 26th Infantry A.P.O. - 1 ℅ Postmaster New York, N.Y. U.S. Army {Postmark} U.S. ARMY POSTAL SERVICE FEB 13 1943 P.M. A.P.O. Miss Agnes Van Der Weide 11 Main Street Ashburnham, Mass. PASSED BY US 11102 ARMY EXAMINER Robert Ostwald 2nd Lt. Inf. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Olexa letters Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Van Der Weide, Agnes Description An account of the resource Collection of letters between Joseph Olexa and Agnes Van Der Weide, dating from 1941 to 1946. Olexa fought in the U.S. Army 26th Infantry Division, Company "L", and eventually attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Over the course of World War II, Olexa was engaged in North Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium, and Germany. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Belgium, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. While deployed abroad, Olexa maintained regular correspondence with Agnes Van Der Weide, a young woman he met through mutual friends. Agnes was the daughter of Benjamin and Minnie (Ter Meer) Van Der Weide. The Van Der Weide family lived in Jamestown, Michigan and Ashburnham, Massachusetts until moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1943. While the letters do not contain details relating to Olexa's military activities, due to heavy censorship of soldiers' correspondence by the U.S. Army, the letters do depict the daily activities of an infantry soldier and illustrate the blossoming romance between the two. Joseph and Agnes were married July 23, 1945, and lived in West Michigan until Agnes's death in 1993. Joseph Olexa died December 3, 2000. They were survived by their son, Karl Olexa. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence (RHC-93)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93_Olexa_1943-02-09 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1943-02-09 Title A name given to the resource Letter from Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, February 9, 1943 Description An account of the resource Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated February 9, 1943. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry, A.P.O. #1, New York, New York, dated February 13, 1943. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes while stationed in North Africa, hoping she will soon receive the French money he sent to her, and the recent news regarding the delivery of packages overseas. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Africa, North Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence, (RHC-93)</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ea5be601e0e52319f324646a1afbd369.pdf 9e047e519d35a9e6ccc4f514b0d04066 PDF Text Text ����� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7745b6faa31da2fe83cb536e18987fdf.pdf d88b2bc5bc421be65702d98799be6ca3 PDF Text Text [RHC-93_Olexa_1943-02-04] [Page 1] North Africa Feb. 4, 1943 Dear Agnes, Rec’d four of your letters dated Jan. and tickled to hear from you. I’m the same as usual Sweet and hope you are the same. I still miss you as much as ever and it’s seven months today that I saw you last. I’m waiting patiently for them pictures and hope they get here real soon. I got another letter from Helen today and everything is fine with her. I suppose by now that she has written to you telling you about her having [Page 2] a little farm. How’s the weather out there? If it’s bad, I’ll send you a barrel of sunshine providing you have a barrel. I got Helen’s other package today. Most of them have caught up with me, so I guess most of you will stop wondering or worrying whether I got them or not. It’s too bad that your mother & Dad beat me to the punch in getting you a birthstone ring. Since you got it, I’ll rattle my brain and think of something else. I’m putting your Dad on a week's K.P. for that. I really liked the Valentine that you sent to me and some [Page 3] day I may show my appreciation with a few bear hugs. Give your folks my regard and hello. I’m still a plugging along doing my part. [sic] I’m sending you a French 20 franc note and 5 Franc note, it’s the best I could get for a souvenir so far. The 20 Franc note is worth 25¢ and the 5 Franc note about 7¢. Later if I can get them, I’ll send you some with a different value. How are the Walsh’s? Fine I hope and don’t forget to give them my hello. I haven’t forgotten the 2 short chats I had with them either. I haven’t heard from my brother Ollie or Johnny [Page 4] in a long while. Well, Sweets, I shall come to a close. Will be waiting to hear from you. Don’t forget the pictures. Yours, With Lots of Love Joe {Signature accent mark} P.S. (A surprise) I’m writing with Ink. Ha! Ha! Tell Richard to be a good boy and not to wear curls. �[Envelope front] Sgt. Joseph P. Olexa (12016893) Co. “L,” 26th Infantry A.P.O. - 1 ℅ Postmaster New York, N.Y. U.S. Army {Postmark} U.S. ARMY POSTAL SERVICE FEB 15 1943 7 [?] P.M. Air-Mail Miss Agnes Van Der Weide 11 Main Street Ashburnham, Mass. PASSED BY BASE 1107 US ARMY EXAMINER Robert Ostwald 2nd Lt. Inf. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Olexa letters Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Van Der Weide, Agnes Description An account of the resource Collection of letters between Joseph Olexa and Agnes Van Der Weide, dating from 1941 to 1946. Olexa fought in the U.S. Army 26th Infantry Division, Company "L", and eventually attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Over the course of World War II, Olexa was engaged in North Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium, and Germany. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Belgium, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. While deployed abroad, Olexa maintained regular correspondence with Agnes Van Der Weide, a young woman he met through mutual friends. Agnes was the daughter of Benjamin and Minnie (Ter Meer) Van Der Weide. The Van Der Weide family lived in Jamestown, Michigan and Ashburnham, Massachusetts until moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1943. While the letters do not contain details relating to Olexa's military activities, due to heavy censorship of soldiers' correspondence by the U.S. Army, the letters do depict the daily activities of an infantry soldier and illustrate the blossoming romance between the two. Joseph and Agnes were married July 23, 1945, and lived in West Michigan until Agnes's death in 1993. Joseph Olexa died December 3, 2000. They were survived by their son, Karl Olexa. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence (RHC-93)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93_Olexa_1943-02-04 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1943-02-04 Title A name given to the resource Letter from Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, February 4, 1943 Description An account of the resource Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated February 4, 1943. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry, A.P.O. #1, New York, New York, dated February 15, 1943. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes while stationed in North Africa and after receiving four of her letters written back in January, while also sharing how much he misses her after seven months apart. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Africa, North Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence, (RHC-93)</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3744cf1fb5f5769ed2a5a6c9c6890a2c.pdf 9be47fb5441755c7f76e6f4c319c8cdc PDF Text Text ����� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/4f945ae8c24f82c671318b34dbbbc4e2.pdf ad514e7ff5b036dc1cde57e32de3c827 PDF Text Text [RHC-93_Olexa_1943-01-29] [Page 1 - front] North Africa Jan. 29, 1943 Dear Agnes, I was most certainly surprised to get your packages and their contents last nite. [sic] Everything got her in good shape, so you don’t have to worry anymore. My morale came up a 100% and if you were here, I’d give you a big bear hug. I still miss you as much as ever and someday I’ll be back again. I’m very tickled and grateful in getting the packages you sent to me. They are the only ones I got so far and I hope to get the ones from the folks soon. I also got your two V-mail letters dated Dec. 21 & 22. I’m fine and well as [Page 1 - back] usual and hope you are the same “sweets.” How are you folks and the Walsh’s, nowdays? [sic] Don’t forget to give them my regards and a hello. I finally did hear from Ollie and I nearly had a fit. It was the first time since I left the Gap. Maybe, by now, the Army may have him a drilling. Ha! Ha! Roy is not with us so I wouldn’t know where he is. The last I saw of him was in England. Hope you got my other letters and don’t forget to send me some pictures of yourself. It won’t be long now till I have in six months overseas. How time does fly. [Page 2 - front] I’d like to tell you where we are and what we are doing, but for military reasons I can’t. I’m not going around the U.S.O. Clubs, etc., either. I forgot to mention that I got a lot of gum from my brother at college. I want you to thank Mary G. for the gift she sent. I’ll sure have a lot of use for the other things that you sent me. Helen is back on the farm and the way she writes, it must be swell for her. How’s my little gal “Beasie.” Haven’t heard from her in a long while. She don’t even tell me about school or her work. I’m still mad at Gloria, yet. Ha! Ha! Is there much snow in Ash. this year? [Page 2 - back] I’ll bet there’s a lot of sliding [sic] and skiing going on there right now. Well, “Honey,” I haven’t anything more to write so I shall close and write real soon. Yours, With Lots of Love Joe {Signature accent mark} �P.S. Thanks for the 2 packages and I shall remember it till I get back to the States. Remember to send me those pictures and I hope they are on the way already. [Envelope front] Sgt. Joseph P. Olexa Co. “L,” 26th Infantry A.P.O. - 1 ℅ Postmaster New York, N.Y. U.S. Army {Postmark} U.S. ARMY POSTAL SERVICE FEB 11 1943 P.M. Miss Agnes Van Der Weide 11 Main Street Ashburnham, Mass. U.S.A. PASSED BY BASE 1107 US ARMY EXAMINER Robert Ostwald 2nd Lt. Inf. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Olexa letters Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Van Der Weide, Agnes Description An account of the resource Collection of letters between Joseph Olexa and Agnes Van Der Weide, dating from 1941 to 1946. Olexa fought in the U.S. Army 26th Infantry Division, Company "L", and eventually attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Over the course of World War II, Olexa was engaged in North Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium, and Germany. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Belgium, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. While deployed abroad, Olexa maintained regular correspondence with Agnes Van Der Weide, a young woman he met through mutual friends. Agnes was the daughter of Benjamin and Minnie (Ter Meer) Van Der Weide. The Van Der Weide family lived in Jamestown, Michigan and Ashburnham, Massachusetts until moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1943. While the letters do not contain details relating to Olexa's military activities, due to heavy censorship of soldiers' correspondence by the U.S. Army, the letters do depict the daily activities of an infantry soldier and illustrate the blossoming romance between the two. Joseph and Agnes were married July 23, 1945, and lived in West Michigan until Agnes's death in 1993. Joseph Olexa died December 3, 2000. They were survived by their son, Karl Olexa. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence (RHC-93)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93_Olexa_1943-01-29 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1943-01-29 Title A name given to the resource Letter from Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, January 29, 1943 Description An account of the resource Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated January 29, 1943. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry, A.P.O. #1, New York, New York, dated February 11, 1943. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes upon receiving her packages the previous night, sharing his gratitude for the great boost in morale and the V-mails she wrote to him back in December. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Africa, North V-mail Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence, (RHC-93)</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/be759e876f1a73300e135c8717b7fed3.pdf a88d59538a6e1cc946cc97bc98d161de PDF Text Text ����� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/38164755f60cdaa7a0da3c418de130c5.pdf ff1c03407a7e81e33b68089d3fa483ac PDF Text Text [RHC-93_Olexa_1943-01-19] [Page 1] North Africa Jan. 19, 1943 In a “Fox Hole” Dear Agnes, I received your letter of Jan. 4 and was glad to hear from you. I also got a lot of your letters written in Oct. and Nove. Last but not the least, the telegram. I suppose and hope that you are getting what few letters I write from here. Don’t go a worrying for when I have the chance, I’ll write. I have not gotten your packages and I hope that they will catch up with me sometime. As a matter of fact, I haven’t gotten the packages my folks [Page 2] sent to me either. I’m well and safe as usual and hope that you are the same. Everything is coming along fine. How are your folks, the Walsh’s, and the rest of the family? Don’t forget to tell them I said, Hello. I also received a letter from my sister, Helen, and have answered it already. I also have written to my folks at home. Your Dad sure pulled a good one on me by getting a Master Sergeants rating. I think he did a lot of handshaking to get it. I’ll just have to plug along now as a buck sergeant [Page 3] for it’s a stiff climb to get up even with him. Just for meanness, I’ll work more. Ha! Ha! Roy isn’t with us and I haven’t seen him since we left England. Carolyn hasn’t written to me at all, so she just wanted to make some gossip. I still miss you, “Honey,” and think of you often. I’m not very affectionate in my letters now and hope you will understand. How is my girl “Beasie”? Don’t forget to tell her to write? What are you going to do with all that money you’re making? After a while you may turn into a penny-pincher. Ha! Ha! [Page 4] I don’t think that I’ll be able to answer all of your letters but will write when time permits. Don’t forget to send me some of your latest snapshots. I’ll be looking for them from now on. Well “sweets,” I shall close and write real soon. Yours, �With Lots of Love Joe {Signature accent mark} P.S. Excuse the writing. [Envelope front] Sgt. Joseph P. Olexa (12016893) Co. “L,” 26th Infantry A.P.O. - 1 ℅ Postmaster New York, N.Y. U.S. Army {Postmark} U.S. ARMY POSTAL SERVICE JAN 24 1943 P.M. A.P.O. Miss Agnes Van Der Weide 11 Main Street Ashburnham, Mass. U.S.A. Robert Ostwald 2nd Lt. Inf. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Olexa letters Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Van Der Weide, Agnes Description An account of the resource Collection of letters between Joseph Olexa and Agnes Van Der Weide, dating from 1941 to 1946. Olexa fought in the U.S. Army 26th Infantry Division, Company "L", and eventually attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Over the course of World War II, Olexa was engaged in North Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium, and Germany. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Belgium, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. While deployed abroad, Olexa maintained regular correspondence with Agnes Van Der Weide, a young woman he met through mutual friends. Agnes was the daughter of Benjamin and Minnie (Ter Meer) Van Der Weide. The Van Der Weide family lived in Jamestown, Michigan and Ashburnham, Massachusetts until moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1943. While the letters do not contain details relating to Olexa's military activities, due to heavy censorship of soldiers' correspondence by the U.S. Army, the letters do depict the daily activities of an infantry soldier and illustrate the blossoming romance between the two. Joseph and Agnes were married July 23, 1945, and lived in West Michigan until Agnes's death in 1993. Joseph Olexa died December 3, 2000. They were survived by their son, Karl Olexa. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence (RHC-93)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93_Olexa_1943-01-19 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1943-01-19 Title A name given to the resource Letter from Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, January 19, 1943 Description An account of the resource Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated January 19, 1943. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry, A.P.O. #1, New York, New York, dated January 24, 1943. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes from inside a "fox hole" in North Africa and after receiving letters from her dating back to October. He also forewarns that he may not be able to answer each of her letters, but reassures that he will write to her whenever time permits. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Africa, North Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence, (RHC-93)</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c2599d584d30ea9faf9b92e49065a5e1.pdf aea9fdc2c11ffba653d4915a043e10db PDF Text Text ��� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5be1ddf56fc0fff356e29a910a455263.pdf 8594609237338181e655e0ee53275dcd PDF Text Text [RHC-93_Olexa_1943-01-03] [Page 1] January 3, 1943 North Africa Dear Agnes, Rec’d your V-mail letter dated Nove. 16th and was glad to hear from you. I’m fine and well as usual and hope you are the same. I suppose by now that you know that I am in North Africa. My folks sure were surprised to get my letter stating that I am here. How is your Dad making out with drilling the boys at College? I sure chuckled some about him giving me instructions for a promotion. You can tell him, I may be one of his superiors someday and then give him a lot of orders. Ha! Ha! How is the rest of the family getting along? [Page 2] I received a couple of letters from home and one from Helen while she was visiting at home. Has Ollie written to you? Ha! Ha! I’ll bet not. I’ve been overseas 5 months now and to me, it really seems like it was yesterday. Well “Honey,” I shall close and in the meantime be thinking of you. Write real soon. Yours, With Lots of Love Joe {Signature accent mark} P.S. I still miss you and think of you often. [Envelope front] Sgt. Joseph P. Olexa (12016893) Co. “L,” 26th Infantry A.P.O. - 1 ℅ Postmaster New York, N.Y. U.S. Army {Postmark} U.S. ARMY POSTAL SERVICE JAN 7 A.M. 1943 A.P.O. �Miss Agnes Van Der Weide 11 Main Street Ashburnham, Mass. U.S.A. PASSED BY US 11102 ARMY EXAMINER Robert Ostwald 2nd Lt. Inf. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Olexa letters Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Van Der Weide, Agnes Description An account of the resource Collection of letters between Joseph Olexa and Agnes Van Der Weide, dating from 1941 to 1946. Olexa fought in the U.S. Army 26th Infantry Division, Company "L", and eventually attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Over the course of World War II, Olexa was engaged in North Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium, and Germany. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Belgium, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. While deployed abroad, Olexa maintained regular correspondence with Agnes Van Der Weide, a young woman he met through mutual friends. Agnes was the daughter of Benjamin and Minnie (Ter Meer) Van Der Weide. The Van Der Weide family lived in Jamestown, Michigan and Ashburnham, Massachusetts until moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1943. While the letters do not contain details relating to Olexa's military activities, due to heavy censorship of soldiers' correspondence by the U.S. Army, the letters do depict the daily activities of an infantry soldier and illustrate the blossoming romance between the two. Joseph and Agnes were married July 23, 1945, and lived in West Michigan until Agnes's death in 1993. Joseph Olexa died December 3, 2000. They were survived by their son, Karl Olexa. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence (RHC-93)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93_Olexa_1943-01-03 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1943-01-03 Title A name given to the resource Letter from Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, January 3, 1943 Description An account of the resource Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated January 3, 1943. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry, A.P.O. #1, New York, New York, dated January 7, 1943. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes while stationed in North Africa, noting his family's surprise in hearing that news, and his own feelings after five months of being stationed overseas. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Africa, North Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence, (RHC-93)</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/57011fe7e60ad63d71d9665d219e7be0.pdf 1d172f79788b4f517f73be3a4ee9e01a PDF Text Text ���� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b511386926a6d5f91a2dc5f473e0d7fa.pdf f17dfb064177e98db1aeeed1a88d43e6 PDF Text Text [RHC-93_Olexa_1943-01-01] [Page 1] Co. “L,” 26th Infantry A.P.O. - 1 ℅ Postmaster, New York, N.Y. January 1, 1943 North Africa Dear Agnes, Writing to let you know that I am still well and safe. Last year at this time I was up at your house and my furlough ended the same nite. [sic] I have not received any of your latest mail as yet and hope to soon. I still didn’t get that package you sent but it may turn up sometime. Well, Honey, how have you been? I’m about the same as usual which is nothing new. This New Year’s Eve was a quiet one and it was just another nite [sic] to me. Did you go to a dance? [Page 2] How are your folks these fine days? Don’t forget to give them my regards? Do you go down to see the Walsh’s? When you do, tell them I’m getting along fine. I still think of you often, “Honey,” and miss you as much as ever. I have carried the pictures we took the 4th of July and they sure went through a lot. They keep a growling for reinforcements, so you’d better send me a few recent snapshots of yourself soon. How’s my Chick-a-dee Beatrice getting along these days? I gave Gloria the air for not writing and at least Beatrice does write once in a blue moon. Ha! Ha! Claypool says to give all of his love and regards to Gloria. [Page 3] He also is expecting the “Purple Heart” for cutting his finger while opening a can of beans in a fox hole under heavy artillery fire. Ha! Ha! The rest of the boys are about the same and as crazy as ever. Well, “Sweets,” I shall close and don’t forget to write all about yourself. Write real soon. Yours, With Lots of Love Joe {Signature accent mark} P.S. Don’t forget to send the pictures. [Envelope front] Sgt. Joseph P. Olexa (12016893) Co. “L,” 26th Infantry A.P.O. - 1 ℅ Postmaster, New York, N.Y. �U.S. Army {Postmark} U.S. ARMY POSTAL SERVICE JAN 2 1943 A.P.O. Free {Signature accent mark} Miss Agnes Van Der Weide 11 Main Street Ashburnham, Mass. U.S.A. PASSED BY US 09327 ARMY EXAMINER [?] Censored by Robert Ostwald [?] 2nd Lt. Inf. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Olexa letters Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Van Der Weide, Agnes Description An account of the resource Collection of letters between Joseph Olexa and Agnes Van Der Weide, dating from 1941 to 1946. Olexa fought in the U.S. Army 26th Infantry Division, Company "L", and eventually attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Over the course of World War II, Olexa was engaged in North Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium, and Germany. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Belgium, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. While deployed abroad, Olexa maintained regular correspondence with Agnes Van Der Weide, a young woman he met through mutual friends. Agnes was the daughter of Benjamin and Minnie (Ter Meer) Van Der Weide. The Van Der Weide family lived in Jamestown, Michigan and Ashburnham, Massachusetts until moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1943. While the letters do not contain details relating to Olexa's military activities, due to heavy censorship of soldiers' correspondence by the U.S. Army, the letters do depict the daily activities of an infantry soldier and illustrate the blossoming romance between the two. Joseph and Agnes were married July 23, 1945, and lived in West Michigan until Agnes's death in 1993. Joseph Olexa died December 3, 2000. They were survived by their son, Karl Olexa. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence (RHC-93)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93_Olexa_1943-01-01 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1943-01-01 Title A name given to the resource Letter from Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, January 1, 1943 Description An account of the resource Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated January 1, 1943. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry, A.P.O. #1, New York, New York, dated January 2, 1943. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes reassuring her of his health and safety while stationed overseas in North Africa and reminiscing about being on furlough and visiting her house the previous year. He also writes about how he carries their 4th of July photographs with him everywhere and how he is in need of photograph reinforcements. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Africa, North Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence, (RHC-93)</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5785b46d59f1fbd8105bb2940d09dfba.pdf e9ec92f10afe3f6768a4f0570fa67234 PDF Text Text ���� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/247c5de93a18096bb617cd4823df8e5d.pdf e0c59ecf1e4b990ac5ea97fafd1210b3 PDF Text Text [RHC-93_Olexa_1942-12-25] [Page 1] Co. “L,” 26th Infantry A.P.O. - 1 ℅ Postmaster, N.Y.C. Dec. 25, 1942 French North Africa Dear Agnes, Thought I would write you another letter since I’m in the writing mood. Today is Christmas, but without any snow it does not seem so here, although it is a bit cold. I hope Santa brought all the things you wanted this year. I’m thankful to be alive and that makes it the best Christmas I ever had. I’ve spent the day being in charge of a Guard Detail and in between writing a few letters. I went to the church service we had here and the Chaplain sure did give a [Page 2] swell sermon. He even had a beautiful altar made up of palm branches, candles, some white cloth, a cross, and ration boxes to make the altar. It sure was pretty. For our Christmas dinner, we had beef, mashed potatoes, carrots & peas, dates, rice pudding, coffee, a little wine, and bread. Not bad. Eh! I forgot to mention tomatoes and they were really delicious. The boys are about the same so there’s nothing new. Claypool said to give Gloria all his love. Little “Margie” was wounded in battle. He is coming along fine from what I heard of [Page 3] him last. Is there much snow out your way? Wish I was there to go sliding [sic] or go to the show up at Cushing. Even to a basketball game to see the other team win. Ha! Ha! So you must be getting up in the world, working for the principal. Well, that makes me think you are a teacher’s pet. Ha! Ha! Gee! “Honey,” I’ve run out of brains again, so I shall close, write real soon. Yours, With Lots of Love Joe {Signature accent mark} P.S. I still miss you and always think of you. [Envelope front] Sgt. Joseph P. Olexa (12016893) �Co. “L,” 26th Infantry A.P.O. - 1 ℅ Postmaster, New York, N.Y. U.S. Army {Postmark} U.S. ARMY POSTAL SERVICE DEC 27 1942 A.P.O. Miss Agnes Van Der Weide 11 Main Street Ashburnham, Mass. U.S.A. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Olexa letters Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Van Der Weide, Agnes Description An account of the resource Collection of letters between Joseph Olexa and Agnes Van Der Weide, dating from 1941 to 1946. Olexa fought in the U.S. Army 26th Infantry Division, Company "L", and eventually attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Over the course of World War II, Olexa was engaged in North Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium, and Germany. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Belgium, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. While deployed abroad, Olexa maintained regular correspondence with Agnes Van Der Weide, a young woman he met through mutual friends. Agnes was the daughter of Benjamin and Minnie (Ter Meer) Van Der Weide. The Van Der Weide family lived in Jamestown, Michigan and Ashburnham, Massachusetts until moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1943. While the letters do not contain details relating to Olexa's military activities, due to heavy censorship of soldiers' correspondence by the U.S. Army, the letters do depict the daily activities of an infantry soldier and illustrate the blossoming romance between the two. Joseph and Agnes were married July 23, 1945, and lived in West Michigan until Agnes's death in 1993. Joseph Olexa died December 3, 2000. They were survived by their son, Karl Olexa. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence (RHC-93)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93_Olexa_1942-12-25 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1942-12-25 Title A name given to the resource Letter from Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, December 25, 1942 Description An account of the resource Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated December 25, 1942. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry, A.P.O. #1, New York, New York, dated December 27, 1942. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes on Christmas Day while stationed overseas in North Africa and expresses the holiday's special meaning to him that year while experiencing profound gratitude for his life. He continues to write while focusing on positive news such as the swell sermon he attended and the delicious holiday dinner. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Africa, North Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence, (RHC-93)</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7ee949f4e8d69f3ac444fb5f2c717783.pdf a386f4e372c6ec8c1013ae7cc167ae57 PDF Text Text ����� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/178858a4430f6c86d1aa6dbcc66166c3.pdf d26e9d2396159c1db68b29aef4880a8f PDF Text Text [RHC-93_Olexa_1942-12-24] [Page 1] Co. “L,” 26th Infantry A.P.O. - 1 ℅ Postmaster, N.Y.C. Dec. 24, 1942 North Africa Dear Agnes, Rec’d 5 of your letters today and even though they are marked Oct. I sure did enjoy reading them. I also got that note that Mrs. Harmon gave you and I have sent it on to him. We are not stationed with his Battalion. I also got Beasie’s letter and it sure surprised me to get one from her. I still miss you “Honey” and I’m always thinking of you. I suppose my letters are far apart and I shall try to write more often. Most of the time I have a good reason for the delay. [Page 2] I hope you are patient in hearing from me “Honey” for I am. There are some reasons I have that I can’t write about for the delay in my letters. I’m safe and well as usual and hope you are the same. I sure do enjoy reading of what you did and do. If you can, I’d like to have some more recent pictures of yourself providing you have some. I have not received your package as yet, but when I do, that sweater will come in handy. It gets quite cold here also and I don’t mean maybe. [Page 3] A fellow here rec’d word that in the paper it stated that the first shipment of the Christmas packages to England got sunk. I hope your package wasn’t on that ship for I know you must have worked a plenty to make that sweater. Tonite [sic], which is Christmas Eve, our platoon has to go on Guard. Well, all of us has to take the bad with the good. How is your Dad getting along with drilling the men at Cushing? How is your mother and [the] rest getting along? Hope they are all well. I think I’ll give Gloria the air and have [Page 4] Beasie as my girl. Ha! Ha! At least she writes. Tomorrow is Christmas and I haven’t even sent a card. I’ll think of you though and someday I may [be] back to see you on a Christmas. Well, “Sweets,” I shall close with all my love to you. Yours, Joe {Signature accent mark} �P.S. Don’t forget to write real soon. [Envelope front] Sgt. Joseph P. Olexa (12016893) Co. “L,” 26th Infantry A.P.O. - 1 ℅ Postmaster, New York, N.Y. U.S. Army {Postmark} U.S. ARMY POSTAL SERVICE DEC 27 1942 A.P.O. U.S. POSTAGE 6¢ VIA AIR MAIL Miss Agnes Van Der Weide 11 Main Street Ashburnham, Mass. U.S.A. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Olexa letters Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Van Der Weide, Agnes Description An account of the resource Collection of letters between Joseph Olexa and Agnes Van Der Weide, dating from 1941 to 1946. Olexa fought in the U.S. Army 26th Infantry Division, Company "L", and eventually attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Over the course of World War II, Olexa was engaged in North Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium, and Germany. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Belgium, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. While deployed abroad, Olexa maintained regular correspondence with Agnes Van Der Weide, a young woman he met through mutual friends. Agnes was the daughter of Benjamin and Minnie (Ter Meer) Van Der Weide. The Van Der Weide family lived in Jamestown, Michigan and Ashburnham, Massachusetts until moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1943. While the letters do not contain details relating to Olexa's military activities, due to heavy censorship of soldiers' correspondence by the U.S. Army, the letters do depict the daily activities of an infantry soldier and illustrate the blossoming romance between the two. Joseph and Agnes were married July 23, 1945, and lived in West Michigan until Agnes's death in 1993. Joseph Olexa died December 3, 2000. They were survived by their son, Karl Olexa. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence (RHC-93)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93_Olexa_1942-12-24 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1942-12-24 Title A name given to the resource Letter from Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, December 24, 1942 Description An account of the resource Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated December 24, 1942. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry, A.P.O. #1, New York, New York, dated December 27, 1942. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes upon receiving five of her letters that were written back in October and his enjoyment in reading them despite the delay. He also reassures her about the continued delay in their correspondence and how his platoon will be spending Christmas Eve on Guard Duty. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Africa, North United States. Army--Guard duty Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence, (RHC-93)</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f4c3eee554693459c9c677c84cd36d45.pdf 88b8d797ab34d7c6c2304d4c0136b2c9 PDF Text Text ������� https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e9e31ac75f2df97e587a81886b1611cf.pdf d2c2e84ac4d215033d1d3ff32d02a74e PDF Text Text [RHC-93_Olexa_1942-12-23] [Page 1] Co. “L,” 26th Inf. A.P.O. - 1 ℅ Postmaster, N.Y.C. Dec. 23, 1942 North Africa Dear Agnes, Rec’d your two air mail letters dated Nove. 27 and Dec. 1 and was glad to hear from you. I have not any of your letters from Oct. 9 to your last two which I just got. [sic] Maybe they got sunk [?] or are still or are still on the way. I’m fine and safe as usual and hope you are the same. I suppose you were very surprised to get my other letter saying I was located in Africa. It gets cold here too believe it or not and I’m not kidding. [Page 2] Most of the people back home know more than I do about Africa for we get news here occasionally. I rec’d two Christmas cards from my folks at home and a long letter from Helen. Everything out this way is O.K. and about the same. How is everything with you? Fine I hope. How are your folks? Don’t forget to give them my regards. I shall try to write more often, but if there is a lapse in my mail don’t forget to be patient. Roy isn’t with us and I haven’t seen him in a coon’s age. [Page 3] A year ago today I was getting into Buffalo on furlough. Boy a year is a long time and the miles are many. Just two more days till Christmas and I haven’t even sent a card or went shopping. Oh! Well, I must be a slipping. I must have been a bad boy for he’s skipping me this year. Ha! Ha! Before I forget, I wish all of you a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I’ve done well so far for I quit smoking. I haven’t had a cigarette in my mouth for 8 weeks. It sure makes me feel good to think. [Page 4] I will not crave for a smoke when I can’t get any. So, you won’t have to send me any. I should be congratulated. Ha! Ha! �I miss you as much as ever, even if I don’t write much about it and I still think of you often. My sister, Helen, sent me a diary and I don’t know whether I can keep one up but I’ll try. I got a package from my folks with a pipe tobacco and cigarettes in it. I don’t smoke, so some of the boys will enjoy smoking them. I miss them basketball games and shows at [Page 5] at Cushing this year. Well, don’t forget to have a good time while you are young. “But be good.” I’ve been in North Africa ever since the invasion. How is my Chick-a-dee, Gloria, these days? Is she dead? She must be for I ain’t heard from her in a poodle’s age. Give the Walsh’s my regards the next time you see them. No, I have not met the Harmon fellow as yet but may someday. My folks sent me a nice card, military at that, and I’ve put it away for duration. Does Ollie still write to you? I can imagine. Ha! Ha! [Page 6] I haven’t heard from him either. Well, Honey, I shall close and will be thinking of you, till I hear from you again. Yours, With Lots of Love Joe {Signature accent mark} P.S. I might as well wish you a Happy Birthday, too, even though I am late. Anyway, I thought of you on that day. [Envelope front] Sgt. Joseph P. Olexa (12016893) Co. “L,” 26th Infantry A.P.O. - 1 ℅ Postmaster, New York, N.Y. U.S. Army {Postmark} �U.S. ARMY POSTAL SERVICE DEC 26 1942 A.P.O. Miss Agnes Van Der Weide 11 Main Street Ashburnham, Mass. U.S.A. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Olexa letters Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Van Der Weide, Agnes Description An account of the resource Collection of letters between Joseph Olexa and Agnes Van Der Weide, dating from 1941 to 1946. Olexa fought in the U.S. Army 26th Infantry Division, Company "L", and eventually attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. Over the course of World War II, Olexa was engaged in North Africa, Sicily, France, Belgium, and Germany. He fought in the Invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Belgium, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge. While deployed abroad, Olexa maintained regular correspondence with Agnes Van Der Weide, a young woman he met through mutual friends. Agnes was the daughter of Benjamin and Minnie (Ter Meer) Van Der Weide. The Van Der Weide family lived in Jamestown, Michigan and Ashburnham, Massachusetts until moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1943. While the letters do not contain details relating to Olexa's military activities, due to heavy censorship of soldiers' correspondence by the U.S. Army, the letters do depict the daily activities of an infantry soldier and illustrate the blossoming romance between the two. Joseph and Agnes were married July 23, 1945, and lived in West Michigan until Agnes's death in 1993. Joseph Olexa died December 3, 2000. They were survived by their son, Karl Olexa. Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1941/1946 Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence (RHC-93)</a> Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93 Language A language of the resource eng Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-93_Olexa_1942-12-23 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Olexa, Joseph P. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1942-12-23 Title A name given to the resource Letter from Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, December 23, 1942 Description An account of the resource Handwritten letter and envelope with transcript by Joe Olexa to Agnes Van Der Weide, dated December 23, 1942. The envelope is sent from Co. L, 26th Infantry, A.P.O. #1, New York, New York, dated December 26, 1942. In the letter, Joe writes to Agnes after receiving two of her Air Mail letters while stationed in North Africa and sharing the news of his safety, while wishing their loved ones a "Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year" back home in the United States. Subject The topic of the resource United States. Army. Infantry Division, 26th World War, 1939-1945 Soldiers -- Michigan Correspondence Africa, North Air mail service Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/543">Joseph P. Olexa WWII memoir and correspondence, (RHC-93)</a> Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant World War II Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Lemmen Library and Archives