Hap & Doris — When and Where?

2014-04-29

I always wondered at what dates, during what years, my parents lived at previous addresses.  Mother and dad would mention previous places where they lived, where me and my brothers were born.  They would mention that dad served in WWII and later went to college but I never knew exactly  when.  I always wondered.  I’d ask my brothers but they were just babies themselves.  Mother always had difficulty remembering the exact dates.

While going through some old papers I received after mother died, I discovered dad’s G.I. insurance from  WWII.  I called the VA to confirm that mother redeemed it when daddy died in 1993.  The paper is worthless financially but historically it and many other old papers confirm the addresses where they lived at various times.  I’ve uploaded them all to MyKinFolks.org./Photos.  Here are the file names (links) and dates on a timeline:

1942

Vincent – Doris 1942-05-05 War Ration Book.JPG
This May 5, 1942 ration book shows Doris living at “Box 257 Fairfield, Jefferson, Ala.” This is Browntown.  (see “Rutledge_Springs_Bethlehem_Church.pdf” below for more about Browntown)

This says Doris was 5 ft. 2 in. tall, weighed 102 lbs. had gray eyes (hazel) and brown hair.  She was 18 years old.  She had married when she was 16.

Vincent – Richard G 1942-05-05 War Ration Book.JPG
War Ration books could be issued to parents in behalf of their children. This one is for my brother “Vincent, Richard G.” issued May 5, 1942.  He and his mother’s names are in her hand writing. The address shows “Box 257 Fairfield, Jefferson, Ala.” (Browntown) The ration book shows Rick was 7 months old, 2 ft. 3 in. tall, weighed 19 lbs. and had red hair. His hair color changed to brown as he grew older.

1943

Vincent – Wilburn 1943 War Ration Book.JPG
This 1943 War Ration Book is key to the “Box 257, Fairfield, Ala.” address.  That’s the address written in the Post Office field.  In the address field it shows “110 Browntown” and is how we know the Fairfield box number was located near the Bethlehem Methodist Church.  This ration book also shows that, in 1943, Hap was a 24 year old male who stood 6 ft. tall and weighed 170 lbs. A May 5, 1942 ration book incorrectly shows his height at 6 ft. 2 in. but shows he had blues eyes, brown hair, and weight of 160 lbs.  It also shows he was 22 years old (he wouldn’t turn 23 ’til July).

1944

Vincent – Wilburn 1944 June.JPG
Insurance certificate dated June 14, 1944 shows mother’s name and address of “Box 257, Fairfield, Ala.”  (Browntown)

Vincent – Wilburn 1944-05-02 draft notice.JPG
Hap and Doris were still living at Browntown when he received his draft notice April 18, 1944. The address on the envelope shows “Box 257, Fairfield, Alabama.”  He was told to report May 2, 1944.  The war in Europe didn’t end until May 8, 1945.

Vincent – Wilburn 1944-06-14 pink slip.JPG
His pink slip shows his last day of work at TCI (U.S. Steel) was June 14, 1944.

1945

Vincent – Wilburn 1945-01-20 Navy advancement.JPG
By Jan. 20, 1945, Hap had completed his basic training and was aboard the merchant marine ship, Theodoric Bland.  This is his recommendation for advancement to “S1/c” (Seaman 1st Class). By April 10, 1945, according to a similar record, he received a recommendation for advancement to “GM3c” (Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class).  He received the higher rank April 20, 1945.

1946

Vincent – Wilburn 1946 March.JPG
Insurance certificate dated March 14, 1946 shows Hap’s address as “2313 20th St. Ensley, Birmingham, Ala.  Doris always called this neighborhood “Shadyside.”

 

1947

Vincent – Wilburn 1947-10-27 VA education.JPG
Hap applied for his VA education money Oct. 27, 1947 while living in Shadyside.  His college courses were offered at the Old Phillips High School in south Birmingham, then called “Univ. of Ala. Center” now called the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) where 3 generations of Vincents have received their higher education.

1947 and 1948

Vincent – Wilburn 1947 W2s 47-48.JPG
Form W2 for 1947 (the year I was born) which was received in 1948 shows Hap and Doris were still living in Shadyside at “2313 20th St. Ensley, B’ham, Ala.”  Also shows he earned nearly $3,000 that year.  That was a handsome wage back then when a new car could be bought for $1,100 – $1,500.  They didn’t move until 1949 when he received his 1948 W2 showing the address as “28th St.” in error on his W2 from U.S. Steelworkers, apparently pay for union activities.

Vincent – Wilburn 1947 to 1949 grades.JPG
Hap only attended college for two years from about September 1947 to June 8, 1949.  He majored in engineering and took courses in Math, English, Drafting, and Physics.  For grades he made  mostly A’s and B’s.

1949

Vincent – Wilburn 1949 building permit.JPG
The permit for construction of the house in Hueytown we grew up in was granted in August 1949. It shows a starting date of Aug. 8, 1949.  The blurred “Minimum Requirements” appears as an inked stamp on the original.  The cost of construction is estimated.  Dad and Uncle John Farris cut huge trees off the property and traded them for seasoned lumber.  His total cost for the house and 2 acres of property was probably less than $2,500.  A 1950 Real Estate Tax Return List shows he purchased the property from Betty R. and Virgil Harless.  This record was filed July 7, 1949. The following year, 1951, the property was valued at $500.  By then he had filed for Homestead Exemption.  He paid $5.04 property tax in 1949, $4.73 in 1950, and $7.25 in 1951.  Taxes shot up in 1952, the year after his home was completed, to $26.35, back down to $26.10 in 1953.

1951

Vincent – Wilburn 1951a house front.JPG ,
Vincent – Wilburn 1951b house back.JPG ,
Vincent – Wilburn 1951c house plan.JPG
This book was provided by Home Builders Plan Service in Birmingham.  It contained dozens of floor plans with builders’ blueprints available.  I don’t recall whether he ever had any blueprints for the house we grew up in.  A floor plan is found toward the back of the book with a photo of what the house was supposed to look like.  You can see where he drew sketches of proposed changes on that page and on the back of the book.  Compare the photo in the book with a 1951 Photo of the actual House.

He made a lot of changes in the design: hip roof instead of a gabled roof, longer eaves for better shading against the southern sun, a dormer instead of a gable in front, no shutters, and casement windows which he later hated because they were high maintenance.  He later replaced them, and dug out the basement.  Over the years he made many improvements in the little home.

He walled the side porch, added a garage, and eventually added a dining room and rear deck.  We grew up without central heat or air conditioning.  Heat was provided by a gas floor furnace shown in the hall floor plan below the “Disappearing Stairs” to the attic (which were never installed). Doris’s kitchen looked more like the kitchen pictured on the back of this book.  A large window A/C was installed in the kitchen but could not be put in the window since these were solid steel casement windows, not sash windows.

He had to cut a hole through the wall instead.  To provide circulation to the living room, he cut another hole through the wall between it and the kitchen and installed a small vent fan to suck the cool air into the living room.  Return air went through the open doorway so there wasn’t much cooling.  Both bedrooms, the bathroom, and office remained hot.

1952

Vincent – Wilburn 1952 March.JPG
Veteran’s Insurance Receipt shows dad’s name and address of “R D 1 BOX 651-N BESSEMER ALA.” This is Hardy Rd.  Mail was delivered from Bessemer because Hueytown did not have a post office at the time.  Mail was delivered “Rural Free Delivery (RFD or R D) via route & box number as opposed to “General Delivery” which required the addressee to visit the post office to pick up mail as was more common in my grandparents’ day.

Vincent – Wilburn 1952 TCI badge.JPG
This is Hap’s I.D. badge for him to gain entrance to the blast furnaces where he worked, first as a repairman, then a millright, then a gang leader, and finally a foreman.  He was in management when he retired.  The badge is not dated but says “TCI DIV. – U.S. STEEL FAIRFIELD STEEL.”  TCI didn’t become a division of U.S. Steel until 1952.

 

1959

Vincent – Wilburn 1959 Jan Termite Bond.JPG
Termite Bond shows address of “146 Hardy Rd., Bessemer, Alabama” dated 31 Jan. 1959. By then the official postal address was for Hardy Rd.  They were no longer on a route/box.

 

1963

Vincent – Wilburn 1963 March.JPG
Change of beneficiary shows address of “146 HARDY ROAD, BESSEMER, ALA.”  No zip codes as yet. Witness is “Mrs. Ann Hale” of “148 Hardy Road Bess., Ala.”  She was renting Aunt Evelyn’s old house next door.

Rutledge_Springs_Bethlehem_Church.pdf
A 3 page PDF file containing the history of the areas surrounding the 1817 Bethlehem Methodist Church obtained from http://www.hueytown.org/historical/.  The church is still there. Dad was a Methodist and we attended this church before I started school.  I remember the basement and looking up to see the huge, hand-hewn beams.

README.txt
This .TXT file.

Bethlehem Methodist Church 1818.jpg
Photo of the church mentioned above.  It was established in 1818, the oldest church in Jefferson County, AL.

FINALLY!  The mystery is solved.