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Halloween 1985
One year after getting out the army and watching the Tigers win in 1984, James Dad decided it was time to do a Halloween display and using odds and ends around the house put together a very interesting display at very little cost. This was actually the second big Halloween display James Dad did at home, the first was when he was in college in 1980. The guitar player actually played the guitar with a little motor that controlled his hand, unfortunately we did not have a video camera at the time so we never got any live footage of him playing.
The Halloween display was well received and several people mentioned that we should have called the newspaper which I think would have been an overkill. Most everything in the pictures moved at least a little bit and we were fortunate to have very good weather as some of these props were very light and would have blown over with a strong gust of wind.
Jim & Lisa Wedding 1985
Jim and Lisa (part of the “little friends”, a name for a group of friends that have known each other since first grade) decided to get married and James Dad was asked to stand up in the wedding along with the other “little friends”.
The night before the little friends spent time cleaning and decorating cars that would be used in the wedding procession. The wedding was on a hot summer day and many pictures were taken, the ones shown here were taken by James’ grandmother during the ceremony at St Albert the Great Church.
After the wedding a great reception party was had and everyone had a great time. After the reception the “little friends” headed up to the Hyatt Regency in Dearborn where the party continued into the wee hours of the next day.
Truly a memorable day in the “little friends” Lore.
Waldenwoods 1985
This was the year of the fishing exposition, where James Grandma went out on a rubber raft and caught a couple huge catfish and a pike, which was very rare in this lake. The fishing expo began at twilight at about 8pm as the rubber raft left the dock with Grandma, James Dad, and Cousin Ron. It was a very relaxing trip and no one really expected to catch anything (we really just wanted to take the boat out at night), but all of a sudden all the lines were being pulled on and everyone was catching something. Fortunately we had a metal fish basket and placed the fish in the basket to get them home. Once we got out of the boat we noticed the pike had tried biting its way out of the metal fish basket which kind of scared us since we were in a rubber boat and that fish could have sunk us had we not had the basket outside the boat. The next day we had fish for lunch and a great time was had by all.
Boblo Island 1985
The Boblo Island event was unlike anything probably anywhere else in the world. First off it was an amusement park that was on an island so you had to take a boat ride to get there and back. Second, it was in Canada so you were actually visiting a foreign country when you came (yes there were custom booths there but I don’t remember them ever questioning anyone either going or coming from Boblo). The Boblo boat ride was in itself an event and so popular that each year before the Michigan/Notre Dame game (when it was in Ann Arbor) there would be a boat race between the two teams using two of the Boblo boats. The amusement park operated from 1898 until its closure on September 30, 1993. Its amusement rides were sold in 1994. The park was located on Bois Blanc Island, Ontario.
When we arrived at Boblo the entire family would ride the water log ride, after that we were on our own till about 6pm when we would meet back and go on the Pirate ride (which was near the docks) before leaving.
James Dad in Hokuto Japan
Right before this trip happened, the Russians shot down a passenger jet killing all on board. This put a little political spin on this exercise at the start, but at the end it ended up being routine and uneventful. We were told our visit was the largest deployment of U.S. troops to Japan since World War 2.
James Dad was deployed as a part of a 900 man brigade controlled Battalion task force from 9th Infantry Division to participate in a bi-lateral exercise with the Japanese ground self defense forces & United States forces from 2-21 October, 1983.
James Dad Goes To Alaska
James Dad went to Alaska for cold weather training, leaving from the high tech test bed at Ft Lewis, Dad remembers flames shooting out of the engine when landing and how the nose hairs froze instantly upon stepping off the plane.
Christmas 1982
Sandy and her family were in town for this celebration, along with her mom Aunt Terese, and the Trenton home never looked more festive for a holiday celebration as it did today, with an angel these both on the tree and on the dinner table. A very nice touch.
The Trenton house has been a fixture for so many parties taking place throughout the years that we lost count. In fact one could say every weekend was a party atmosphere as the family get together for a meal and then a card game. All are welcome and everyone knows where you will find members of the family on Saturday, at the Trenton house playing cards
James Dad was in Korea at the time and was unable to attend, but her heard nothing but good things from everyone in their letters about Christmas so he felt like he was there.
Bill Landis Wedding 1982
When William Howard Landis was born in 1956, in Nashville, Tennessee, his father, William, was 28 and his mother, Judith, was 19. He has one son and two daughters with Valerie Keel. He has two brothers and one sister.
James’ Grandpa Landis told us once on one of our road trips that James’ Mom was the one who introduced Valerie to Bill. Mom says she does not remember that exact moment as they had many friends they introduced to each other so Mom said that it was quite possible, she just did not remember that exact introduction.
The wedding was in Nashville and a great time was had by all.
Waldenwoods 1982
A visit to Waldenwoods pre A frame era (Waldenwoods built a really cool A frame for rental which was rented by the family in the future). Waldenwoods was an inclusive resort that featured swimming, boating, fishing, and a complete variety of activities. You could visit for a day or a week with membership, and the membership was not cheap and you had to commit to a 20 year membershp to get the best price. Waldenwoods is close to Brighton and located just off U.S. 23 at the M59 exit. Its about an hour drive from Dearborn Heights, an hour and a half from Trenton and the downriver area. You can see it on the West side of US 23 when driving on US 23 between Brighton and Fenton Michigan.
Niagara Falls 1982
Where we live in the midwest there are two very popular vacation points, each about six hours apart, the first is Mackinaw and the second is Niagara Falls.
Niagara Falls is through Canada which means a trip through customs there and back (which is why we visit Mackinaw more often, who needs a customs headache on vacation). One advantage that Niagara does have is that you can drive your car to the Windsor train terminal and take a train to Niagara, spend a few hours there, then take the train back to Windsor and be back home the same day.
This is one of those train trips as Peg, Loretta, and Louise are making the one way trip. The train ride is fun as they make a stop and let you put pennies on the track, then the train runs over them, flattening them into souvenirs for the kids.
