TOGETHER – THE FAMILY CAN
I Know – It Happened To Me
Hazel B. Thompson, March 31, 1956
Hazel at one year with her dog Nero
On a recent trip home to Detroit, my cousin, Arthur, presented me with a trove of photos of the Thompson’s from around 1906 until the middle 1950’s. He also gave me some of the manuscripts that Aunt Hazel had written during the time she was a graduate student at Wayne State University. One of the manuscripts stood out to me, and it is this manuscript which I present to you today. It is a long, free verse poem, chronicling the Thompson’s life together, from the earliest part of the Twentieth Century until 1956. It is titled: TOGETHER – THE FAMILY CAN. with a subtitle: I Know – It Happened To Me. I have used her poem as a structuring device that allows photographs taken of the Thompson family to have some chronology and context. After reading this poem, I understand better why the Walter Thompson’s left Manistee when they did. I know a bit more about how the depression affected Hazel and how much the Second World War affected the entire Thompson clan.
Remember, you can click on any of the photos and they will become larger. You will find “galleries” of photos on most of the pages. Although these photos are not captioned, if you click on an individual photo it will become larger. In the upper left hand of each larger photo there appears a caption.
Some of the lead photos are taken from historical collections that are now in the public domain. Most of the photos are “snapshots.” Some are damaged, and others are showing their age by becoming faded. This is a long blog with several pages. At the bottom of each page is a small section with page numbers. Select the page you want to look at and it will appear. Also, please let me know if there are any mistakes or discrepencies. This was a complicated blog to compile and took several weeks of editing to arrive at the stage that you are now experiencing. What started as a sack full of old photos now has some meaning and coherance. Please read the poem. It gives insight into Aunt Hazel’s feelings and passions. Enjoy! [Continue Reading…]