Page 76 - The CRAIG family

1942: No one seems to know how Daddy, Uncle Ed and Aunt Sis knew Uncle Blue, but it appears they knew him before Aunt Gin knew him. From Daddy’s recording February 11, 2004: Daddy purchased his first car with his best friend Calvin Smith in 1942. It was a 1929 Model A Roadster with a rumble seat and roll down back window. One Sunday he drove it down to Sis’s house, but no one was home. Before he drove away “Blue” blew in on foot from Ft. Knox. He said, “Let’s go to Cincinnati to see May”. Daddy had maybe $5 and Blue had his pay (close to $100) so off they went. Before they got out of town, they had to put some oil in the car. The old car used more oil than gas, and they ended up using old used oil (free) at gas stations. When they finally arrived at their destination, May’s dad (Willis) ran them off in a hurry so they headed for home. They had to hi-tail it to get back before dark because the Model A didn’t have very good headlights. I remember hearing Daddy and Uncle Blue tell the story about going to see May many times over the years. Daddy and Uncle Blue would laugh and laugh.
1943: After Aunt Gin divorced, she went to El Centro, California to be close to Uncle Ed and Daddy. In April 14, 1944, Aunt Goldie and Butch left for El Centro to join Uncle Ed and Aunt Charlotte traveled
with him so she could visit them and Aunt Gin.
In Daddy’s audio memories that Ruth transcribed into a journal “And then there was my sister, Virginia Gertrude, known as Gin. She and I have always been best friends. When I (and Ed) joined the Marine Corps and finished Boot Camp and were assigned a location, Gin followed us there. Got an apartment and a job so we could stay close. All of our buddies liked her, and we were very protective of her. Riding the train once from Chicago to Los Angeles, Gin asked me the question: If the SP (Southern Pacific Railroad) hits a cow, whose fault is it? “They laughed about that for many years to come. Daddy would always bring it up to tease her.
Another memory – “And then other time Gin and I were traveling across country and we had a bag of fried chicken that Grandma (Adams) had cooked for us. I would reach into the bag and pull out a drumstick or a nice fat thigh, then Gin would reach in and come out with a wing or scrawny back. She was aggravated and wanted to know how come I always get the best pieces.”
1944: Aunt Gin made her way back to Indiana sometime after April, 1944 (maybe she came back with Aunt Sis when she returned home from her visit) and Uncle Blue returned to the states after being over seas for over 2 years and on September 26th or 27th (ancestry records show the 26th and paper shows the 27th), 1944, they were married.
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