2x Great Grandmothers share diagnosis

Born thirteen years and worlds apart, my 2x great grandmothers had something in common.  Breast cancer.

Emeline Evelyn Palmer Cole was born 13 January 1861 in Delaware County, New York to Francis "Frank" Palmer and Hannah Washburn Palmer.  Emeline married Stephen Walter Cole about 1877.  She died of breast cancer on 3 December 1923 in Walton, Delaware County, New York.

Anna Catharina Margaretha Lewerenz Schnack  was born 16 Feb 1874 in Seth, Segeberg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany to Johann Hinrich Lewerenz and Anna Maschmann Lewerenz.  Anna married Eduard Schnack on 10 November 1895 in Stellingen, Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.  She died of breast cancer on 10 January 1925 in Oppenheim, Fulton County, New York.

Anna Lewerenz Schnack 1924

Cancer of any kind is a fearful diagnosis.   Until the 19th century, this cancer was not common.  Women simply didn't live long enough to develop breast cancer.  Families were large; women had early and frequent pregnancies and nursed their babies, which may have kept cancer rates low.

Generally, radical mastectomies were the standard course of treatment until the 1970s.  A radical mastectomy involved removing both breasts, lymph nodes, and much of the underlying chest muscles.  The results of these surgeries were often long-term pain and disability.

I don't know what treatments my great grandmothers went through.  I have only their death records to learn their cause of death.  Anna was first diagnosed about two years before her death; Emeline, about a year and a half.  Emeline's death record indicated that she had had an operation about a year before she died.

My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1989.  She underwent a single breast mastectomy followed by years of pharmacological treatment.   I myself was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007.  I underwent a lumpectomy followed by radiation therapy followed by years of pharmacological treatment.

Visit Emeline at http://bit.ly/1aphO9U and leave her a flower if you do :-)

Visit Anna at  http://bit.ly/15I6LdB and leave her a flower if you do :-)

Visit Irene at http://bit.ly/19PPn89 and leave her a flower if you do :-)

The Year at Home

These pictures are a review of what life was like for my family while my father was in Vietnam.

In the back is my mother and her parents, Howard and Ruth Harder Cole.  My brother and I are in the front with three girls who I don't know.  This picture may have been taken before my father went to Vietnam.

 Myself, my father, and Raymond in our backyard at Ayer, Massachusetts.

 

 Looks like I baked a birthday cake but for whom I don't know.

Seated from left to right is Grandma Schnack, Irene Schnack, Elsie Schnack, Katie Jones, and Viv Cope.  Standing left to right is Grandpa Schnack, Eddie Schnack, Bob Jones, and Harry Cope.  The occasion is the celebration of my Grandparents 40th wedding anniversary.

 I didn't get to be a little Vietnamese girl for Halloween but dressed up in items not normally worn.  We celebrated Halloween in Milford that year.

 My mom dressed up as a farmer :-)

 Myself and Mrs. Quintella outside our apartment in Ayer, Massachusetts.

 Myself horsing around with Miss Allen and Mrs. Allen.

 Myself, my mom, and my brother.

 My mom watching the news at our apartment in Ayer, Massachusetts.

 Myself and Raymond in the lower right hand corner.

 Myself and Raymond going to school.

 My mom and a friend.

 My mom above and two below.

 Above, my grandparents Schnack, obviously at Christmas time, and below with Raymond and myself.

 This is the year I must have started playing clarinet.

Above and below are pictures taken at the Milford Cemetery at Christmas time.  My Uncle Don died in October of 1966 and was buried there.

I believe the pictures above and below were taken at my Aunt Margaret's home.  Above is, seated or kneeling on the floor, my Aunt Tina (Don's widow) and Uncle Gerry.  Seated in the red chair is my grandfather Cole, Raymond is leaning over Gerry, and standing from left is Grandma Cole holding my cousin Larry, myself, and Aunt Margaret.

 Above, clockwise from noon, is Uncle Gerry, Aunt Tina, Raymond, Grandpa Cole, Grandma Cole, Aunt Margaret, and myself.

 My Uncle Eddie and Aunt Elsie with cousins left to right, John, Barbara, Julie and David.

 My Uncle Bob and Aunt Katie with cousins Peggy, Cheryl, and Bobby.

 All the 1st cousins on the steps of Grandma and Grandpa Schnack's house.

 My brother, mom, and myself.

 Myself, above and below.

 Me and my brother playing King of the Hill in our backyard.

 Me and my mom at a diner with the Allens.

 Above and below are the results of a March snow storm.

 Above and below are myself again.

 My brother and I.

 Above and below, myself with a cutie patootie baby :-)

Myself and my brother.

1966 October life on the homefront

A few little miscellaneous kind of things to lighten the mood.  Or not.  A glimpse of what daily life was like on the home-front while the men were across the world fighting a war that no one really understood.

I was such a hateful little girl, wasn't I?  Oh my, I don't remember writing this note, or what the result of it was, but I am mortified to read it now!

Cindy Lou Schnack, a poor old daughter of a tired mother.  This poor unfortunate girl will not be able to go out for Halloween night.  Her mother puts off the making of her costume.  She was to be a little Viet Namese girl.  Her mother is too lazy, stupid, tired, and mean bad to make a sweet costume.

This photo was taken at our apartment in Ayer, Massachusetts just outside of Fort Devens.  'Back in the day,' families of soldiers could not stay in government housing and had to find other accommodations.  If memory serves, there was another family on the other side and one above us.  We are standing in front of the upstairs neighbor's door.  Our door is in front of our car.  It was a small two-bedroom apartment.  My mother and I shared one bedroom and Raymond had the other.  The kitchen/dining room was small, as was the living room, and we had a single bathroom.  I remember it being very compact but nice.

 My mother worked as a nurse's aide when my father first went to Vietnam.  She wanted to be one of the first to see him should he arrive home injured.  Yes, she wore the little white cap pinned in her hair and white stockings, too.  I don't remember her working at the hospital for very long.  She next took a job as a seamstress at a dry cleaners.  She would sew patches on uniforms and make minor repairs to clothing and uniforms.  At times, my brother and I would go to work with her.  Our job was to go through pockets and make sure they were empty before they went through the wash.  So much for finding lost treasure!  I don't remember ever finding anything of interest.

Lee and Raymond are Rats.  Big ones.  But they don't scare me.  John is an Angel.  Lee is a devil.  Raymond is a medium fatso.  Humph!

Cindy Lou

How funny to read this now!  No, I don't remember writing this either but the boys must've sure gotten one over on me!

The photo above and below shows our pseudo families while our fathers were fighting the war in Vietnam.  Above is Mrs. Allen, Lee Allen, my brother Raymond, and Lee's sister whose name I don't remember.  The photo below is the Allens and the Quintellas (maybe?) and all the kids at, what I'm sure must be, a local restaurant.  I think my mom must have snapped this picture.  Her chair must be the empty one next to Raymond.  I'm leaning over what looks like might be soup.

A common practice among military families is to make friends quickly and they are friends that can sometimes last a lifetime.  My mother kept in touch with friends that she made in the many places we lived.  At times, the men would be gone for long periods of time, and friends were our support system; our pseudo families.  We were all far enough away from our own extended families that we became our own.  We were sisters and brothers and cousins to each other in lieu of our own. 

 

Near the end of my dad's assignment in Vietnam, he sent native costumes to my mother and I.  He also sent an embroidered silk jacket that I still have and several lacquered trinket boxes.  Mine contained a brush, comb, and mirror and it has long since been lost to me.  He sent us various other keepsakes as well.

1956 5 17 Walter J. Schnack to Olive Schnack

My father is looking forward to visits from family members and tells his mother of the heat in the Mojave Desert and Death Valley.

Family names in this letter and their relationship to my father are:

• 'Mom' was Olive Letha Rose Schnack, his mother
• 'Mrs. Cole' was Ruth Elma Harder Cole, his mother-in-law
• 'Tinker' is Margaret Elizabeth Cole Gray, his sister-in-law
• 'Irene' was Irene Orvetta Cole Schnack Speer, his wife
• 'Aunt Roxey' was Mildred Roxey McNeilly Perry, his wife's maternal grand-aunt
• 'Uncle Clarence' was Clarence David Perry, Roxey's husband
• 'Doris' is Doris Jane Rose Hastings, his cousin
• 'Don' is Donald Franklin Hastings, Doris' husband
• 'Cindy' is Cindy Lou Schnack Arsenault Coffell, his daughter
• 'Katie' was Katharine Rose Schnack Jones Gall Hammon, his sister
• 'Dad' was Jochim Walter Schnack, his father
• 'Jake' was Walter J. Schnack, himself and the author of this letter

 

17 May 1956
Camp Irwin, California

Dear Mom and all,

I received your most welcome letter two days ago and, believe it or not, I'm answering it already.  Gee, I hate to put you all to the expense of a trip out here but I can't see how I can manage to make the trip East.  So, I guess I'll be expecting you about the 17th or 18th of July.  It will take you about three days to come out if you don't push it too hard.  Try to let me know when you are coming so I'll be able to get a few days off.  Mrs. Cole and Tinker and Irene's Aunt Roxey and Uncle Clarence are planning on coming out sometime, too, so be sure and let them know when you are coming so, that if possible, you won't all visit at the same time.  We have the room but we

would all enjoy it better if you came at different times.

I'm glad to hear you got your raise and I know what you mean when you say it still isn't enough to go around.  I've gradually become aware of how rough it is to bring up a family and I haven't really gotten started yet.

I'm glad that Don and Doris had a nice wedding.  I guess Irene sent their gift.  I know she said she would but you know how long it took for your teakettle.  It sat around the house for a month.

Gee, its too bad you can't have some of the weather we're having out here in the Desert (Mojave).  We are only 40 miles from Death Valley.  It runs about 110° in the afternoon, cool at night.  Irene says it has hit 109° in Manhattan so I know its hot there because they have a lot of humidity.

Out here, its so dry you have a hard job sweating.  I've fixed 360 out of a possible 400, so I'm doing pretty damned good.  We run a lot of tactical problems here when, what we need for these young soldiers, we have in the unit.

I sure miss Irene and the kids, especially Cindy.  She and I were getting along just fine before I left and I really miss her.  She is as you say, "a real cutie."  Irene says she says kitty and baby now but no more teeth and only one step.

I'll try to get some cards for Katie.  How does she do in school?  Say hello to Dad for me and all the others; so, until next time, I remain

Your loving son,
Jake