MEYERS’ FAMILY HISTORY

By:

Thomas McKiernan

INTRO

My grandparents were Charles Russel Meyers and

Nancy Smith (meyers). They both grew up in Detroit

and went through the historical and cultural changes

presented during World War II and The Great

Depression. Both of these event played a significant

role on the upbringing of America. Many events

took place during these periods of time that made

America what it is today.

CHARTS AND PICS

(CONT.)

In October 1929 the stock market crashed,

wiping out 40 percent of the paper values of

common stock. Even after the stock market

collapse, however, politicians and industry

leaders continued to issue optimistic predictions

for the nation's economy. But the Depression

deepened, confidence evaporated and many lost

their life savings. By 1933 the value of stock on

the New York Stock Exchange was less than a

fifth of what it had been at its peak in 1929.

Business houses closed their doors, factories

shut down and banks failed. Farm income fell

some 50 percent. By 1932 approximately one

out of every four Americans was unemployed.

THE GREAT DEPRESSION

World War II killed more people, involved more

nations, and cost more money than any other war in

history. Altogether, 70 million people served in the

armed forces during the war and 17 million

combatants died. Civilian deaths were ever greater.

At least 19 million Soviet civilians, 10 million

Chinese, and 6 million European Jews lost their

lives during the war.

World War II cost the United States a million

casualties and nearly 400,000 deaths. In both

domestic and foreign affairs, its consequences were

far-reaching. It ended the Depression, brought

millions of married women into the workforce,

initiated sweeping changes in the lives of the

nation's minority groups, and dramatically

expanded government's presence in American life.

WWII

Grandpa was born on Sep 9th, 1926 in Columbus, Ohio.

His fathers name was Charles William Meyers, and his

mothers name was Levina Ashley. His father moved the

family to Detroit when he was two years old, for his father

had a new job at the Detroit GM Plant. This was a vital roll

in my grandfathers upbringing because during the great

depression the automobile plants were the only thing that

was surviving and still providing jobs. His mother was a

stay at home mom, typical nuclear family from back then.

Both of his parents were of German Decent. Grandpa says,

“I grew up like I was one of the little rascals.” He claimed

he and his friends at the age of 8 would be playing stickball

and rolling dice in the streets and alleys of downtown

Detroit. Something you absolutely would not see in this day

and age anywhere, not even Boone! The manager of the old

Woolworth Store called the police on him and his friends for

gambling in front of the store at the age of 10. At the age of

14 he had his own newspaper route. He bought a .22 long

rifle with the money he made of his routes, and now that gun

is in mint condition and he has given it to me. At the age of

15 or 16, his father whipped him because he found out that

he and his buddies were jumping on trains and riding them

around Michigan then hitch-hiking or catching another train

back to Detroit.

CHARLES RUSSELL MEYERS A .K.A . GRANDPA

After High School like most men he joined the Military to

fight in World War II. He joined the US Navy and became a

Radioman. He served on the USS Leyte which was an

aircraft carrier. He was also part of the 1 million man group

at Quadjeline to invade japan for the vengeance of Pearl

Harbor. Although as devastating as it was, the Atom bombs

allowed most of the people you see everyday to even be alive.

My grandfather told me a story of a near death Experience he

had on board the USS Leyte. On a foggy night he was

walking across the flight deck and claims he couldn’t see his

hand in front of his face, he couldn’t recall what it was but

there was a reason he had to go across the flight deck for

something. While walking slow and taking his time he all of a

sudden finds himself falling off the side of the ship without

warning and reaches out and barely grabs ahold of a cargo

net hanging off the side of the flight deck. He pulls himself

up and then crawls to the nearest hatch he could find. Thank

god for cargo nets!

International_Morse_Code.svg

After WWII he was Honorably Discharged and went

back home to Michigan. He then joined the Michigan

State Police, and not long after that met my Grandmother

(Nancy Smith) and married her in a short time. Then he

was called back to the Navy for the Korean War, not to

fight but to train other prospective Radiomen in the

efficiency of Morse Code. Even Today I can point out a

sign and he can rattle off a bunch of “dits” and “dahs”

like he was a machine. He says he was known as one of

the fastest Morse Code transmitters in the Navy, which

I'm assuming is why he was chosen to train the new

recruits. After the Korean War he came home and had 4

children all within a year or two apart. Kathy, Kim, Kurt,

and Kelly. After being on the road for awhile he became

a Forensic Scientist at the Michigan state crime lab. This

finished out his last 10 years of working there before he

retired after 25 years of service. During this time he and

Nancy would buy a house and fix it up and sell it.

Moving all those kids sounds like it would be a hassle but

he says that it wasn't that hard at all, he gives all the

credit to Grandma of course for she was the one doing a

lot of the fixing up anyhow and also taking care of the

kids

(CONT.). He then took a job as the head director at the

Florida Crime lab. At this time he was already

known as one if not THE top criminologist and

forensic scientist/expert in the Nation. In 76’ He

was offered a spot on the Warren Commission to aid

in the reopening of the JFK assassination, he

declined this [prestigious opportunity due to that he

had a family to support that was more important to

him than the bureaucracy of doing the JFK

investigation. Over his lifetime he testified in over

1000 big cases as a Forensic Expert and field agent.

He is now 86 years old living in the mountains of

North Carolina, he has a summer home in Florida,

and just finished his third book, two of which are all

about his cases and experiences as a forensic expert.

My grandmother was born on Feb 2nd, 1932 in Detroit, Michigan.

Her father, Melvin Gilbert Smith, was a 3rd generation sugar beet

farmer from Canada. Her mother, Roselle Miller, was an English

Mennonite from Indiana. My grandmother was the second eldest

of 6 children. At he age of 15 her mother became severely ill and

left my grandmother in charge of taking care of the housewife

responsibilities and the care of the other children. Taking on all

of these responsibilities on her own, while her mom was sick and

her father was on the farm, and through the Great Depression all

at once. This all really opened up my eyes to how strong she

really was. They were very poor growing up through the Great

Depression as many many people were. As a young girl she and

her brother would be seen walking along the railroad tracks

looking for coal that might have fallen from passing trains. Being

in a city with no woods around and no money to buy wood that’s

brought in, coal was their only form of heat through the cold

Detroit winters. They had no hot water, she would heat water

over the stove to bathe with. She would do this for the family

single handedly.

NANCY MEYERS (SMITH) AKA GRANDMA

With no heat in the “bedrooms”, my grandmother

would place rocks on the stovetop throughout the days

and then place these “hot rocks” in the sheets of her

siblings beds to keep them warm, of course they

wouldn’t last all night but it still gave comfort in falling

asleep in hoping that they would stay asleep longer

before waking up to the coldness. When her father

would come home and bring his harvest, they would go

to town and exchange and barter with baskets of sugar

beets for whatever they may need. She got a job as a

waitress at Tassies Tavern, an authentic Italian family-

owned restaurant in Detroit. Then one day in walked a

dashing Michigan State Police officer by the name of

Charles and swept her off her feet and from then on…

history. She was also a stay at home mom and avid

gardener and cook. Very Family oriented and “nuclear.”

My Grandmas Grandmother was a servant

to the Queen of England, Queen Victoria.

She was the monarch of the UK and Ireland

from 1837 until her death in 1901. When my

great great great grandmother was to get

married, Queen Victoria gave her a plate as a

weeding gift. This plate has been handed

down to the eldest daughter ever since, it

now belongs to my mother who will be the 6th

generation to have possession of it. I now

learn that since my mother has no daughters,

that I will be given the honor of holding onto

it when she passes, and I will carry on the

artifact and give it to my eldest daughter. I

am thrilled that I get to become a part of

something that’s over 100 years old.

THE PLATE

THE END

My Grandparents were married for 55 years. In

my eyes they are role models not only for me but for

the entire world to use. My grandmother died on

April 7th, 2007. It was Easter Sunday, the day of

Resurrection, she will be missed dearly by all.

R.I.P. Nancy Meyers

SECONDARY SOURCES

Tindall, George. “America: A Narrative History” Gerorge Tindall, David Emory

Shi, Brief 8th edition 2010. Norton and company, NY.

Knapp, Donna Evans. “From the Soup Lines to World War II.” Xlibris Corp. 2011.

USA

Nash, Gerald D. “The Great Depression and World War II: Organizing America,

1933-1945.” University of New Mexico, Vincent P. Carosso. St. Martins Press, NY,

USA 1979.

Hillstrom, Kevin. “The Great “Depression and the New Deal.” Omnigraphics,

Detroit, USA. 2009.

Cooper, Michael. “Dust To Eat: Drought and Depression in the 1930’s” Clarion

Books, NY, USA, 2004.

PRIMARY SOURCES

McKiernan, Kim. (Mother) interview by Thomas

McKiernan on March 31, 2012.

Meyers, Charles. (Grandfather) Interview by

Thomas McKiernan on April 1st, 2012.

“Google images” Last accesed April 28, 2012

www.google.com/search...... (Great Depression,

WWII, Queen Victoria).