Aunt Bea celebrates..

My sweet Auntie, on the left, celebrated her 90th birthday. On the right is my mom, who is just 2 years older.
The church Aunt Bea attends surprised her with a party.

Along with a photo birthday cake was a nice picture display.

The evening before the surprise party our immediate family

celebrated together at a nice restaurant.

I had provided some pictures to the church of Aunt Bea and I thought I'd put some of them here too!

This picture was about 10 years ago when my brother's twin girls were just babies.

(She was holding the babies.)

Aunt Bea and Uncle Stan

Bea and Stan, the early years.

A beautiful wedding picture.

Bea, the bride and my mom, the matron-of-honor.

Weren't they fun to see?

John and Mildred romance

This picture (above) was taken on the day John and Mildred met. Mildred's friend sort of set up Mildred to meet her boyfriend's friend ... and I guess she was a good match-maker!

Isn't this picture a riot? My dad was pretty strong, and my mom was petite and lightweight. I wonder who took this picture?

This picture speaks for itself - he is washing her hair! How romantic! Go figure...

On the farm where my dad lived was this neat little log structure - I think he may have built it with his dad. I think it's very interesting.

I have always loved my Dad's wide grin. From ear to ear - and if you look at the little picture of him that was in the newspaper back in 1920, he was smiling just the same way.

This must be an earlier picture of Dad - probably before he met my mom as he was quite slim in this picture. Don't you love how high he had his pants at his waist? Remember - someday people will look at pictures of the boys of our days and remark at how LOW they wore their pants!

John Crater childhood

Here is my father's childhood home in Stillwater, New Jersey. I think they called it "Sunnyside Farm."

Does anyone know the name of Dad's dog? Seems that is something we should know.
Cute picture of John and "man's best friend."

My grandmother Olga worked for wealthy folks as a very good cook. During my father's childhood she was often living at the home where she was employed and my dad was on the farm with his father. My guess is that this photograph was taken at the Grannis estate in Morris Plains, where she worked during this period of time. She seemed pretty stylish in that furry coat and feminine pose with one foot placed ahead of the other. How do you like Dad's pants?

Olga, John Henry and young John Crater

This picture is the first family picture of my grandmother Olga, my dad John Robert and the man that married Olga in order to adopt my father - John Henry Crater. His loving action and desire to become a father to my dad was remarkable. My dear grandmother was a struggling single mother with a 2 year son and John Henry Crater made them a family - and gave us his name. I love this picture and hope you do as well. Olga married John Crater on October 29, 1920 and this picture was likely taken shortly thereafter.

More Mildred childhood pictures

This is one of my favorite Herlich family pictures: my mom on the left, then my Grandma (Beatrix Sauter Herlich) and my Grandfather George Herlich and Aunt Bea. I love the girl's coats and they remember this day as being a very special family outing.

This is my mom and her sister, Aunt Bea, being hugged by their grandma Amelia Kessler Sauter. I knew Amelia, who also went by the names of Mollie, Millie and Mildred. In fact, she was born Amelia and died as Mildred. Go figure!
At any rate, I referred to Amelia as "Nanny" - she was my great grandmother. She was born in 1870 and died in 1964 at age 94. This is a happy picture, don't you think?

In this picture we see my great great grandmother, Marie Coburger Kessler. My mom and Aunt Bea called her "nanny" - she was their great grandmother. That has caused some misunderstanding when we try to discuss family history and they refer to "nanny" and I say "wait, your nanny or my nanny?" At any rate, I figured this picture was taken around 1921 or 1922 and she died in August of 1922. She was the mother to Amelia Kessler, the lady in the previous picture.
Marie Coburger was born in Germany as was her husband John Kessler. He was a veteran of the Civil War and was wounded in a battle near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. After the war they married, around 1866. I think they had other children but I can't find any good evidence of them. One on census record it looks like there was a son named George but I don't find him ever again. And I think perhaps she had a brother named Louis, as a person named Louis signed her autograph book as her brother. But where is he? I'll keep looking....


Here are the little Herlich girls, Mildred and Beatrix. Cute.

This is one of my mom's school pictures.

And yet another school picture of my mom, Mildred Herlich.

Isn't this cute? Another picture of little Beatrix being hugged by her older sister, Mildred.

Baby Mildred

Here are some pictures of my mom when she was just a little toddler.

That is some bow on her head! It reminds me of the bow Aretha Franklin just had on her hat during the Inauguration!

Mildred is taking a fun bath.

Here my mom is getting some help from her mom, Beatrix Sauter Herlich. (my grandma Herlich)



This is the first picture we have of my mom with her mom (Grandma Beatrix Herlich)

This picture was taken two months before my mom was born. I don't know who the people are on the far left and the far right, but my grandma Beatrix Herlich is second from the left; pregnant with my mom. The little lady next to her is HER grandmother, Marie Coburger Kessler. I think Marie or Maria was born in 1826 in Germany. She died in 1922, so she was about 92 years old in this picture. We have good genes - many women on this side of the family lived well into their 90's.

.

My Grandma Herlich and her sister, my great-Aunt Helen, both said that their "grandmother" danced with the Kaiser. People often use the term "grandmother" loosely - grandmother, great-grandmother, whatever... Also, Grandma Herlich onced noted that a German ancestor was from a family of nobility. I haven't been able to verify to whom they were referring or the truth of the information, however, Marie Kessler was a Coburger and either her or her family may have been the branch of the family in Germany that was "of nobility" .. or from Coburg? If I ever find out, I will let you know!

Crater children

This sweet photograph is my mom with her first child, my sister Marlane.

I think this picture is just wonderful.

Two years after Marlane was born, my brother John joined the family.

When John was 4 and Marlane was 6, I was born.


I remember how exciting it was when my brother Cordell was born!
I was 6 1/2. Now we were two boys and two girls. My mom thought it was perfect.
She didn't realize that she wasn't finished having children.....

We were happily surprised when baby number 5 joined the family!
I was 16 and it goes without saying how surprised everyone was when my mom, at age 47, gave birth to Jeffrey!
This picture has always been a favorite one of my mom's - she loved seeing her three sons together.