June 22nd is the anniversary of the birth of my uncle, Charles Gosnell Hungerford. He was born on that day in 1924, in Rush County, Indiana. Sadly, I never knew my uncle as his life was tragically cut short at the young age of 19. His life and death was something I knew very little about when I was young. The one thing I did know from very early on was that my brother's middle name, Charles, was for our uncle. I knew that Charles died young, but did not learn of the circumstances until more recently. I recall an experience from my past that is related with Charles,
but I didn't make the connection until much later. The year was 1968, and the occasion was the passing of my dad's father, William Carl Baetz. I was seven and my brother just five, so my parents left us to stay with my mother's parents in Rushville, Indiana, while they went to Kansas to attend the funeral. During part of that week, we attended the YMCA summer camp on the Flat Rock River in northwestern Decatur County. There were many activities there, but a goodly portion of those centered on the river. Most of the kids were allowed to go into the river, however there was a small group who were not allowed in the water. My brother and I were a part of that group.
I didn't think much of it at the time, and we still had a good time at day camp I think, but I did wonder a bit about why we couldn't wade into the river. Fast forward several years, after having learned that my Uncle Charles had been drowned in a rain swollen river. We were out for a drive with my grandparents in Rush County, viewing some of the damage from a recent tornado, and my grandfather decided to drive us by the place where Charles was lost. My grandmother had quite a fit over that, and I think that's when I finally understood why my brother and I were forbidden to go into the Flat Rock River so many years ago. One small mystery solved.
The picture at left is Charles in Rush County, but shortly afterwards he moved with his parents to Chicago, Illinois as an infant, and lived there until he was roughly 7 years of age. They lived on the west side of the city, at the time of Al Capone and the prohibition era. I can only imagine what it must have been like to grow up in that place at that time. I had never seen a picture of uncle Charles until the funeral for his mother in 2002. A classmate of his had a very worn picture of Charles sitting on the steps of the schoolhouse with some of his schoolmates.
I have since discovered several photographs of Charles, including
many of him in Chicago. The picture to the right is Charles with his mother in front of the apartment at 5262 West Adams Street in Chicago's west side. The picture below left is Charles with his mother and Aunt Mary, the one below right is Charles with his proud parents dressed in their Sunday finest.
These pictures were taken on the back porch at the same place I think. They show a nice transition in Uncle Charles' childhood. Could these be his first steps?
I had the occasion to visit Chicago not too long ago and was fortunate to locate the place on West Adams Street. While the neighborhood is now quite different, I can happily report that the apartment building still stands.
My favorite I think is Charles on the back porch with a ball and glove. I recall that his dad was a Chicago White Sox fan, so perhaps Charles was as well. Old Comiskey Park wasn't too far from where they were living on the west side of Chicago. I wonder now if he ever attended a game there?
Charles' brother Owen and two of his sisters, Lois and Laura, were born in Chicago, but after the onset of the great depression, they moved back to the security of the farm in Rush County. The picture to the left
is Charles with his brother Owen, the photoon the right is Charles with Lois, Owen, and Laura, before they left Chicago for Indiana. The picture below is Charles and his sister Lois.
These pictures were taken at the farmhouse in Rush County, Indiana. On the left is Charles again with Lois, Owen, and Laura. In the photo on the right, they are helping youngest sister Ruby, perhaps with her first steps.
The picture below left is Charles with his brothers and sisters and his dad on the farm. The two pictures on the right below are quite a find, and rather stunning and ironic, as Charles is posing with his siblings and mother in the Flat Rock River, likely very close to where he would be lost several years later.
These two pictures are recent acquisitions to my collection of family photographs. On the left is a school picture of Charles, taken when he was in the fourth grade. The picture on the right is heavily doctored as the original was very dark and somewhat blurry. It is very possibly the last picture of Charles that was taken of him.
There wasn't any major news of World War Two for the Rushville Republican to print on Wednesday, July 7, 1943, but what little there was to print that day was overshadowed in the small farming community by this headline:
Sadly the news proved true, however it took nearly 30 hours for searchers to find his body downstream from where he was believed lost. The search team was comprised of local and state law enforcement, as well as friends and neighbors of the Hungerford family. They were said to have formed a human chain stretching clear across the river in order to locate Charles' body. On Friday, July 9, 1943, the Rushville Republican reported the news, the article appearing next to an article about Allied bombing of targets in the German city of Cologne.
Services for Charles were held at 2:00 PM that day at the Wyatt Memorial Mortuary, Reverend R. Melvyn Thompson officiating. He was laid to rest at East Hill Cemetery, located just outside of Rushville on several bluffs above the Flat Rock River.
Sadly I was never able to celebrate the birthday of my Uncle Charles. He nevertheless lives on in print, pictures, and most of all, the memories of his friends and family. On this, the anniversary of what should have been his 85th year, I submit these thoughts and images as a tribute to Charles Hungerford.
