Dorothy Ann goes to nursing school, and then plans to get married...

Dorothy Ann's class at nursing school. Left to right in the back (last names only): Heinlein, Lemley, Underhill, 'JB.' And in the front row, left to right: R. Moore, Cooper (Dorothy Ann), Searcy. The 'title' of this photo says, "Probic Days" IMA

 A nice-looking bunch of nursing students! (Dorothy Ann is on the far right.)

 This is a portrait taken when Dorothy Ann had her 'capping ceremony.'

And, this is my sister, Dorothy Ann, after she finished nurses' training and became a full-fledged R.N.

Here is a Chicago photo of Jean, Margaret (I think, although it does not look exactly like her), Jimmy Herman and Dorothy Ann, with me in front (again, out of the picture!)

This is the wedding portrait of Dorothy Ann Cooper and Henry James Herman. Jimmy was serving in the Marine Corps during World War II, and the couple lived on Bainbridge Island, near Seattle.

From Wilma's biography:

"When Dorothy Ann finished nurses' training, she and Jimmy Herman decided to be married. He was in the Marines stationed on Bainbridge Island, Washington."

During the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Jimmy was on a rooftop in Hawaii, shooting at Japanese airplanes as they flew over and created the battle that began the entry of the United States in the war. 

Dorothy Ann and Jimmy

 

Obviously, this photo was taken after their marriage, on 'The Honeymoon Express!'

The Hermans enjoying the company of a small kitten on Bainbridge Island.

This photo shows Jimmy and Dorothy Ann after their marriage, and living on Bainbridge Island.

Dorothy Ann and Jimmy had a son who was born during the war in Seattle, Washington. His name was Ronald James Herman, and was born July 3rd, 1944. Ronald lived only two days, and died in Bremerton, Washington. When this tragedy happened, my mother decided she needed to go and be with Dorothy Ann. So, she and I took a train from Chicago to Seattle, and we spent a couple of weeks on Bainbridge Island helping console the young couple. I still remember the train ride, and sleeping in an upper berth that was made up each night from the seats we sat in during the day. I slept in the top berth, and my mother slept in the bottom berth. I thought it was so neat to be able to look out the little window and see the mountains as we passed through them, and see the moon shining. I think the trip out there took about 4 days. 

My mother Wilma holding me, with Dorothy Ann and Jimmy standing next to us. This was on Bainbridge Island.

After the war ended, Dorothy Ann and Jimmy came back to Chicago, and moved into an apartment in a 'row house.' They made friends with the couple in the next building, and Dorothy Ann remembered that she and the neighbor gal rigged up a pulley between their two apartments, and could pass 'a cup of sugar or a couple of eggs' across, when one or the other needed those things. (This reminded me of the pulley Wilma rigged up between my sister's beds when they all had scarlet fever and were made to stay in the upstairs of the house in Humboldt until they were all recovered...)

Young friends, living in Chicago...

 Meanwhile, the rest of our family was still living on Dayton Street, and dealing with the shortages that came along during the war. I remember that my mother had some kind of coupons that she could use to get certain food items that were sometimes hard to find at that time. I also remember that we had an icebox, and the ice man would bring us a big cake of ice when we needed it, and that ice had sawdust on the surface. The ice block was brought into our flat with a big pair of tongs, and the man would put it into the top cabinet of the two-door ice box. That ice would allow us to keep things that needed to stay chilled such as milk, eggs and butter, but would not freeze ice cream. Until electric refrigerators became the norm with a really cold separate freezer compartment, ice cream was a treat that was not enjoyed regularly. If we wanted ice cream, it was made in a wooden ice cream freezer, and was usually eaten at once since it would melt in the ice box. Also, at that time there were ice cream treats that were brought into the various neighborhoods by a man usually peddling a bicycle that had a cart attached to it, and that cart contained frozen treats such as ice cream bars. Those carts had a bell attached, and when kids heard that bell ringing, they would go beg their moms or dads to give them some coins so they could buy a cold treat. 

I also remember that we had a really big 'cabinet-type' radio that stood in the living room. During the war, members of the family would sit around that radio and listen to the president or some announcer give updates on the war. 

In the photo above, I was probably about 2 or 2 1/2 years old, and my mother put me into a 'playpen' to keep me safe while she was busy with cooking or cleaning.  I had forgotten about the Mickey Mouse pull toy, but there it is! 

Here is a photo of my father with me, and it looks like there is a small dog in the picture as well. It is not clear enough to identify the dog, but it might be our Boston Terrier, Mitzi.

 

According to the caption with this photo of my dad and me, that is our little Mitzi. She had joined our family while my mother and I were in Washington, and was a very sweet dog. Back then, there were no leash laws, and dogs were usually just let out a couple of times a day. Mitzi always came tearing back home when she heard her 'whistle,' and we all became very fond of her.

This photo was taken before Dorothy Ann and Jimmy were married, and all five of us girls were still living at home. Left to right in the photo are: Margaret, Jean holding me, Merry and Dorothy Ann. 

More photos and stories to come in future posts, the Cooper Family in Chicago...to be continued...