Growing Up
In The Greatest Generation
Frank Clymer
ISBN 978-1-64079-839-7 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-64079-840-3 (digital)
Copyright 2018 by Frank Clymer
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.
Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
832 Park Avenue
Meadville, PA 16335
www.christianfaithpublishing.com
Printed in the United States of America
Dedication
I dedicate this book to my dear wife of fifty-nine years, Leila.
She was always an encouragement to me and especially as she knew I wanted to do this new adventure.
Her constant comment to me as I was writing was, How can you remember so much and so many details about your youth so many years ago? She would laugh that maybe she could write one or two pages of her own first twelve years. I know that wasnt true.
I dont think she ever knew the full impact her words would have on me throughout our entire marriage when she said, Frank, I know you can do anything you put your mind to do.
I still dont believe it.
She was the Lords gift to me.
We knew love.
Introduction
M any of us have read accounts of the greatest generation, but they were always written by adults as they either read or experienced it. What makes this story different and will keep your interest from other accounts is you will be seeing it from a childhood view as I actually lived through it and had so many experiences to draw from. Children see and experience things differently than adults. I believe there is an honesty and simplicity in their observation that is many times lost as we mature into adult life.
Fortunately, I was blessed with a good memory and was able to recall details to all I will write about. If you like nostalgia, I know you will enjoy this book. I will take you back to the good old days, and you will live it with me no matter what your age.
I will try to show you how life was lived during the greatest generation and how the war affected everything we did by using our family, neighborhood, and community to tell the story. The things we went through were typical for the time, and yet our community and neighborhood was unusual.
For instance, our small town of 2,500, which was made up mostly of German people called the Pennsylvania Germans or Pennsylvania Dutch, produced five generals, one in the First World War, three from the Second World War, and one after the war. We were a very patriotic community. Sellersville, with our good neighbor Perkasie, through the sale of war bond stamps through schoolchildren and adults purchased a B-17 bomber for the US Army Air Force and named it the Spirit of Sell-Perk .
Because of our heavy German population, the Nazi Party established a German American Bund Camp before the war at the edge of our community. Ill share the personal contact I had with a family on our street who had sons in this youth camp and our reaction from the community about this camp.
There was even a Warner Bros. movie called The Pride of the Marines, which showed our local heros part who died at Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. He was an orphaned Native American boy named John Rivers, who was credited with killing over two hundred Japanese in one night. I will give you details of his life and this battle, which is quite interesting.
I had four uncles who also fought in the war. This made the war even more personal for us. The first two were US Army; one fought in Europe and enlisted as soon as war was declared and his brother, who dropped out of school to also join the army and fought in the Philippine islands. Of special note, Ill explain later in the story that I had two uncles who fought in the Russian Army against the Nazis, and both were killed.
I will be sharing with you the sacrifices made by Americans during the war and how our everyday activities were affected. We will talk about the ration stamps for gas, food, etc. The scrap drives, music, movies, news, air-raid drills, purchasing war bond stamps, the military drafts, loved ones lost and woundedall the things that changed our lives forever.
Was it challenging? Yes. Would I exchange it for anything? No. It was the greatest generation. I will be covering happenings in my life and family background in order to show how things really were at this time that led us to become the greatest generation.
As I looked growing up in this time period.
Sellersville
Main St looking north opposite of Post office and Washington House Hotel.
North Main Street and Washington House Hotel. Walter Baums house on left side with American flag.
T he town this story takes place in is Sellersville, Pennsylvania, nestled in the rolling hills in rural beautiful Bucks County, approximately thirty-five miles northwest of Philadelphia. It was founded in 1738 and located on what is now known as the Liberty Trail because the Liberty Bell was moved from Philadelphia to Allentown, Pennsylvania, in order to hide it in a church building since the British were coming into Philadelphia.
There are still two buildings standing and in use today that have existed from the founding of the town, the Washington House hotel and the Old Mill building. Both are proud symbol of our heritage. Pictures of both are in the next chapter.
What makes this or any community different from other communities? It is citizenry. At the time of my youth, you really dont come to appreciate the people who are affecting your life, but as time passes and you reflect back, you have a new perspective.
The community was friendly but reserved. Men especially held back all emotions except when it came to joking and laughing. It was a happy community as was our home. Even though love was seldom shown outwardly within the home, there was an atmosphere of love, peace, and caring that is difficult to describe.
As Sellersville had a strong German heritage, this was also reflected in our speaking. Older adults would speak a dialect of German called Pennsylvania Dutch, i.e., German. This was a mixture of German and English but definitely German sounding.
