American Legacies Organization, Inc.

On January 31, 1936, the Green Hornet radio program aired on WXYZ in Detroit, Michigan. Al Hodge played the part of the Green Hornet from 1936 through January of 1943. The program was created by George W. Trendle, the same man associated with the creation of the Lone Ranger radio show.

The relief of returning home was not like anything that I had ever experienced, or have since that time. It was so good to finally be reunited with my family after not seeing them for almost two years. I remember spending much of my spare time conversing with elderly men every evening after work. Many of us would gather after work at Elden Borneman's Store, and listen to the world news on the radio.

Papa and Jim came by as often as they could, but it did not seem like it was very often. Papa did as he had promised, when he came, he would take Haywood and Chester to the General store and buy them both a sack of penny candy. Sometimes he would take them to the Schloss Furnace where he now worked, to pick up his check. He made 3 dollars a week.

Left to right: Grandpa Wilson (Achus), Francis Wilson, Achus Wilson, Jr. and Grandma Wilson in front of the boat they owned and used for carrying wheat up and down the Erie Canal.

By Susan James

The second time I ever flew in an airplane, I jumped out of it. I was a 25-year-old surgical intern when World War II broke out; convinced that there would be more romance in Europe than in the Pacific theater, I volunteered as a battalion surgeon to join parachute regiment 506 of the 101st Airborne Division, also known as the "Screaming Eagles."

"Nobody could ever agree on my birthdate, so I just picked one," my grandmother always told us. In turn-of-the-century Seattle, fires were frequent and all records of her birth were destroyed. She chose June 14, Flag Day, as a tribute to the adopted country of her parents, who had fled Soviet persecution a few short years before.

Remember this?

The following were some comments made in the year 1955:

"I'll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, its going to be impossible to buy a weeks groceries for $20.00."

"Have you seen the new cars coming out next year? It won't be long until $3000 will only buy a used one."

"If cigarettes keep going up in price, I'm going to quit. A quarter a pack is ridiculous!!!!!

"Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging a dime just to mail a letter?"

He knelt in front of me, took my tiny right hand in both of his, and rubbed the two ugly warts that had suddenly appeared on my index finger the previous week. He closed his eyes as he massaged my hand and his lips moved wordlessly to some ancient chant.

On June 8, 2000, Clement F. Marley, former Motor Machinist’s Mate, was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal for retrieving a telephone cable that had been lost in deep ocean water at Green Island in the Solomons 56 Years after the Fact.

While I know much about the men on the maternal side of my family, their history is easily traced. Documents are easily found, birth certificates, their names listed as having fought during the civil war. The men have been traced and places to find their heritage listed by family members.