Places we have lived

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420 Geneva St. Bellwood, IL

Chicago - 1944 - 1947

John has no recollection at all of this place – but it is listed on a birth certificate.  Of course, the city of your birth lasts forever. The street was renamed sometime but John deduced the location from the surroundings.

 

John’s Father was assigned to the Chicago area flying DC-3’s for United from Midway Airport to Denver and back.  He was radioed the news of the birth while flying over Omaha.

 

Jackson 1945 - 1958 (off and on)

Jo-Ann’s place of birth is listed as Jackson, Michigan.  Jack Daly was in the Army Air Corps, learning to fly B-29’s so Mary Ann Avis Daly lived with her parents in the ‘town home’.  This was Jo-Ann’s second home for many years and she learned of the death of her mother in 1950 from Polio while staying here. 

 

Amazingly, sister Carol and George Dove purchased this home about 1985 after it had been out of the family for a while!  They lived there until 2015.

1006 W. Washington, Jackson, MI

Main Street Hudson MI

 Hudson 1945–1950 

Jo-Ann lived for many years in this large home in Hudson, just south of Jackson.  It was known as the Cogswell house.  Jo's maternal grandfather owned the building and they lived there while Jack Daly started his career at the local machine works, Hardie Manufacturing Co.  The wonderful old building was lost to time and the bank on Main Street now stands in its place.  The photo is thanks to cousin Jim who has a great history of the Avis family, both on video and print form.

Clark Lake, MI 1945-1958

1945 – 1958 Here is a winter picture of the summer home in Clark lake Michigan where Jo-Ann spent many summers with her grandparents. This was on her Grandfather Avis’s farm where he had apple orchards and bred world famous palomino horses. It eventually became the primary home for her Grandmother Avis who lived there until her death.5.

Clark Lake Road

SomePlace in Elberon, NJ

Elberon, NJ - 1947-1949

1947-1948 John’s next recollection of living was along the Jersey shore in Elberon, NJ.  Sister Margaret at age of 2, locked herself in the bathroom and Father Lee had to get a ladder, climb onto the roof and climb through the window to undo the latch she had pressed.  Amazing what sticks in your memory from that age.  John also remembers with delight taking a wagon full of ashes from the coal fired boiler to the Ocean and dumping them in.  Had to watch the wind direction.

 

Westfield, NJ  - 1949 - 1950

1948-1949 While John cannot remember the exact street we live on in Westfield New Jersey, he does remember going to nursery school having a great time with my best friend from next door who is so much older at the ripe old age of age 6.  His name was Roger Wanamaker.  My parents remain friends with the Wanamaker's during their time both in Cape Cod in Florida.

Someplace in New Jersey

Lake Road, Sodus, NY

 Sodus NY  - 1950, 1958 and 1959

 

John remembers this Lake Ontario lake front home from many visits.  His Grandfather Rees moved here for retirement about 1935.  John lived here for his Kindergarten year while his parents were in Europe participating in the ‘second Exodus’ when Israel became a nation.  

 

Summers of his freshman and sophomore year in high school where also spend here and he worked with migrant workers in the fields picking cherries.  Most Christmases were spent here as it was his Mother’s family home.  John’s grandfather finally sold the home and moved to Rochester in about 1968.  See this Zillow link for more.

Hudson MI - 1952 - 1958

Jo-Ann lived in Baltimore for a few years with Aunt Jo and Uncle Dick.  Jack just could not care for three young children.  When he married Casilda, they moved here, just outside of Hudson.  Sister Alexia and brother Peter Daly were born here.  This is a picture from our 2005 visit to Michigan.  The current owners warmly invited us in for a tour.  Still there was the old knotty pine paneling in the living room!

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Elm Road, Hudson,MI

101 Union Ave. Saratoga

 Saratoga Springs, NY 1951-1953

 

John moved to upstate New York when his father transition from his career as a pilot to that of a traveling salesman selling men's accessories (Hickok belts and wallets) to small retail haberdashers.  We lived in the bottom floor of this old Victorian on the residential main street. He was able to walk to school and his mother was able to walk to work at Skidmore. It was here that he met his best friend for life, Dick Fahey.  Not much else for memories except overflowing bathtub and loving school.

Saratoga Springs, NY 1953

John live for one year at this old pre-Victorian farmhouse. It was out in the country and offered many opportunities for boyhood adventures.  This included finding a decomposed skunk skeleton which Dick and John were convinced was a baby tyrannosaurs.  He did have to take the school bus and that was fraught with a lot of strife from bullying in the third grade.  We had to move out for the summer so that the home could be rented to the Race Track elite for one month at a very high rental rates. We rented a home at Lake Cassayuna for just two months!

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Eddy Corner, Saratoga

137 State Street Saratoga

 Saratoga Springs, NY 1954 -1957

Except for of our home in California, this may be called ‘home’ in John’s memories. Still another old home in Saratoga which became our residents for the formidable years of a boy. This home was closer to town but on the edge of a large wooded area that eventually became Skidmore College.  Many forts were constructed of bushes, snow and earth during this period.  John had several friends who banded together to form the Amphibian Reptile Association.  They purchased motorcycle caps with ARA embroidered across the top.  School was a lot of fun back then although it was 2 miles to school, uphill each way in the snow. 

 

When stopping by here in 2010, John found his boyhood friend, Peter Saxton still lived down the street

Saratoga Springs, NY 1958 -1960

Still another home in Saratoga not too far from our original one. This was built as a duplex and appears to be so even today.  It was here that John's father became a priest and then commuted to Albany for a series of temporary job as a curate and assistant at the Diocese.  John spent the summers in Sodus New York (see above) and vividly remembers his first  romantic date in 8th grade with a girl who lived up the street.  He also had a paper route which was right nearby and included the National Thoroughbred Hall of Fame. t.

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137 Spring Street, Saratoga

233 South Main, Albany

 Albany, NY 1960-1968

 

This was the Rectory of Trinity Episcopal Church which was the Lee home up until the early 1980’s.  John had a small room over the porch because he did not stay here very much.  The only time he ever lived here was in 1964 while attending Hudson Valley Community College.  Summers were spent in Sodus, a stint as a camp counselor, a winter in Turin, NY working at a ski resort, summers later during college days at Lake George.  They all added to the “places I lived” which are not shown.  The picture is from a visit we made to the area in 2010.

Deerfield, MA 1958-1962

John spent four VERY LONG years at this exclusively male secondary school in Massachusetts.  They did their best to stifle John’s emerging engineering talents with a Liberal Arts education.  He had to demand taking physics but even then he was put in the ‘dumb guys’ class where he still got an A+.  Up side was that there was probably less of the typical High School trauma and drama than usual.!

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Deerfield Academy

Clifton, OH

 Clifton, OH 1960-1963

 

Jo-Ann spent three VERY LONG years at this secondary school run by the ‘Madams’ of the Sacred Heart nuns.  She managed to get in every kind of trouble imaginable, but they would not expel her.

 

Summers were spent in homes outside of Cleveland and Lexington – neither of which is memorable except for continually being grounded but easy to sneaking out. 

Mostly Upstate New York 1963

John purchased his first ‘car’ which was in fact a used 1956 Metro delivery van.  So far ahead of his times, he converted it into a RV with a window, 120volt AC power and fold down couch / bed.  He actually lived here while it was parked in the back yard of the house in Albany.  He commuted to Union College in Schenectady for 3 months and was always set to go for weekends at Skidmore College in Saratoga.  Alas, it gave up the ghost and was last seen at a pig farm near the Thruway exit where the owner used it to ‘escape’ the trials of married life.

Albany, NY

East Kingsly Street Ann Arbor

 Ann Arbor, MI 1965-1966

 

John lived here with 3 other roommates.  He had gone to Michigan with no place to live except short term with his Step-Grandmother, Bea.  This place was a dump then and appears to not have improved.  Who would put a dumpster right at the front door?  Turns out this was a ½ block away from St. Thomas where John and Jo would be married in 2 years. 

 

John studied rather than partied as this was his 'last chance' at college. Three schools beforehand and he was only a 21 year old sophomore. 

Ann Arbor, MI 1966-1967

John 'moved up to the East Side' for his second year at Michigan.  He and 4 other engineers had a large, two bedroom unit at ‘The Forum’ which was right across from the Law School.  It was here that Jo-Ann went on her first date with John at a party hosted by the gang.  John proposed to Jo-Ann on June 9,1967.  He stayed here during the summer prior to the wedding with a great job in construction building the tallest building in Ann Arbor. 

726 State Street

905 Berkshire Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MI 1964-1966

Jo-Ann’s family moved to Ann Arbor but Jo never really had a room here.  She was away at school or spending summers at the Clark Lake home.  But during our first year of marriage, we met here many times to share holidays with Family.  Turns out this home is about a block away from where John’s father grew up.

Ann Arbor, MI 1967-1968

 Our first home as a married couple after we were married on September 8, 1967.  It was on the edge of town near ‘Ypsi’.  The ‘Village Green’ was brand new and offered discounted rents for immediate move in at $135 a month.  John was finishing his Senior year and Jo-Ann worked as a travel agent for Boersma Travel near the campus. 

 

We had a great circle of Civil Engineering friends who also got married over the proceeding Summer.  Friday was always hot dog pot luck at Mike and Patti’s house while watching season 2 of Start Trek.  And John would love to tell you stories about Frazer's Pub and George of the Jungle.

 

4979 Washtenaw Ave  Ann Arbor

26 Grand Avenue  Atlantic Highlands NJ

 Atlantic Highlands NJ 1968-1969

 

Off to work for Humble Oil in New Jersey. The job kept John out of Viet Nam.  But the price to pay was a long commute from ‘the shore’.  Jo-Ann really thought that metropolitan New Jersey was terrible place, but this are was pretty nice.  We had the upstairs apartment of this circa 1920’s summer house with a nicely wooded back yard. And could just see the ocean from the corner of the porch.

 

Here Jo-Ann worked for about a year as the Plant Administrator at a sailboat factory.  We had a choice: a) a large employee discount on a new sailboat or b) start a family. No contest!

 

Atlantic Highlands NJ 1969-1970

About a year into out stay in New Jersey, we purchased this Victorian home from our landlady from 26 Grand, Mrs. Goldsworthy.  At the ripe old age of 82, she was moving to Punta Arenas Chile to live with her son.  It was a private sale with no money down and our cost of $150 a month.  We had 3 tenants on the upper floors who helped contain the mortgage and property taxes.  John also managed the home she still owned at 26 Grand. 

 

For a while, John’s sister, Margaret, moved in after a particularly difficult divorce.  This was Catharine’s home after her birth for just two months. 

6 Third Avenue

2979 Vessing Road

 Home Sweet Home 1970

 

This was the only home we saw when we traveled to California to check out the job offer in November.  It had sold, but the deal fell through when we arrived.  Jo-Ann stayed in Michigan until John found a place to live.  This was available, so Jo-Ann said she wanted it and we could eat spaghetti until we retired.  House payments went up 20% - to $180 a month!  We did live in a best unremembered furnished apartment on Monument Boulevard for 3 months until the house closed.  

 

See history of Vessing homes for more details over the years.