Family Pictures from 1971
On this page you will find the pictures of our family that I didn't take and which, consequently, were not part of my own album pages. As near as I and my sister can determine, the pictures on this page were taken sometime in 1971. Picture descriptions will be as accurate as possible, given that either I didn't take the picture, or wasn't present when it was taken, or was too young to remember when/where it was taken. Such actual dates as are specified were either written on the pictures or can be inferred.
February: At Judy's House
This section contains pictures that were marked "2-11-71" as well as others we infer were taken around the same time.
It looks like it's bath time for Ted and Jennifer at Judy's house on Hawthorne Lane. If the dates on these pictures are correct, Ted would be a month away from his second birthday, while Jennifer is only about 9 months old.
Pictures of young kids are always amusing; unless we happen to be the people in the pictures and they are being shown by our parents or others to others of our own generation or, as is the case here, to the entire world when we, ourselves, are well into our second half-century.
So I ask the indulgence of Ted and Jennifer for these pictures and others on this page.
That's Ted, of course, at the left.
Apparently, my Mom visited around this time, and below she is holding my niece:
March-April: At Judy's House
Along with a couple of pictures marked "3-26-71" I've included some others that seem to have been taken around the same time.
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This picture of my Mom and young Jennifer was apparently taken at the Saddle Club, where Judy has her horses. |
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Based on the notation "3-26-71" on this picture, Ted is almost exactly two years old. |
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Bob and Ted |
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Ted playing outside... |
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...and inside. |
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Lots of things to play with when you're 2. |
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I believe this is Bob's brother with Ted. |
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Even though this picture was marked "5-71", I think this is Ted on or around his birthday in late March. |
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At first this didn't look like him, but Judy identified this as Ted's 2nd birthday. She added that "Cousin Mo" is the other kid looking on. |
May: An Unknown Group
I have five pictures, all notated "5-15-71", showing a group of four people- all women- and one of them is my Mom. These people look vaguely familiar, but I can't really identify them. Perhaps some visitor to this page can help me.
June: At Judy's House
The pictures here, apparently taken during one of Mom and Dad's visits to their grandkids, were marked "6-13-71", which would make Ted two-and-a-quarter and Jennifer a month over one year. (If you are curious, that would make my Mom a half-year shy of 60 and my sister just past her mid-20s.
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Judy, Ted, Jennifer, and my Mom |
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Barbour Lawn Service |
The picture at left seems to have been taken somewhere other than at Judy's house.
August: At Judy's House
I returned from South Korea in late July, and on my way to my next assignment at the Finance Center in Indianapolis I had the opportunity to stop in Charlotte. In addition to buying a new car and visiting with my parents, the three of us made a trip up to Burlington to see my sister. On this trip, I took some pictures with my own new camera from Japan, including this picture of
my Dad.
The other pictures I took are in the main photo album. But my Dad took some pictures as well, or had Bob use his camera to take some. Here are those pictures:
The picture at left is Ted, of course, and he is just shy of 2 1/2. And below is probably the best family pictures that I have (taken by Bob).
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Jennifer and My Mom |
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Jennifer, Judy, and My Mom |
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This is another good Dougherty family picture. |
August: At Judy's House
After my visit in early August, I took delivery of my new car and headed off on the drive to Indianapolis and Fort Ben Harrison. My parents were planning a trip up to Muskegon in September, and promised that they would stop in and see me. In late August (the 22nd if the notations on some of the slides and pictures are accurate) my parents made another visit to Burlington, and came away with a number of pictures of Ted, Jennifer, and some of the adults. These pictures are pretty self-explanatory, so here they are:
August: Uncle Bud Visits Judy
In late summer, my uncle Bud from Detroit came down to Charlotte to visit his brother, and during that visit they drove up to Burlington to visit my sister and her family. I have some pictures from that visit. These were presumably taken by my Dad.
Ted and Uncle Bud
Ted is a little over two years old. |
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Jennifer
Jennifer is a year behind her brother; she is one, and already pulling herself up to a standing position. |
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This, of course, is my uncle Bud- the youngest of Dad's siblings. |
Apparently, Judy and Bob took Uncle Bud to the Saddle Club to see the horse that Judy keeps there:
September: My Parents Visit Me at Fort Ben Harrison
Reaching Fort Harrison in August closed yet another circle, since I was stationed here as my very first Army assignment at the Finance School. As it turned out, this would also be my last Army assignment, but that is a story for that other section of this photo album containing the pictures that I, myself, took.
Fort Harrison is located northwest of the center of Indianapolis just outside what was in 1971 the recently-completed I-465 loop around the city. When I was here in 1969, construction was still underway on the only section of this loop that I ended up using frequently- the north side and northeast corner of the loop- because of my relatively frequent trips to Chicago.
The aerial view at right that shows where I lived and where I worked is, of course, current to 2025, the year in which this particular page is being created. In its basics, the area is still the same, but in its detail the area has changed dramatically. (It is actually impressive that the Park Harrison Apartments are still in use a half-century later; I think this is uncommon for most suburban construction.)
Fort Benjamin Harrison became the home of the United States Army Adjutant General School (legal) in March 1951. In 1957, the school moved into the new Gates-Lord Hall along with the United States Army Finance School. At the time, this 300,000-square-foot building was the third largest owned by the Department of Defense. By the time I first arrived in 1968, the building was referred to simplay as The Finance Center, a huge, multi-storey rabbit warren of offices. There was some computerization at the time, but the vast majority of the records were in paper form, and the vast majority of the processing of that paper was done by human beings. In fact, about the only evidence of computerization were the checks that were generated, along with the carbon-copy pay statements that went with them. A large area of the complex was devoted to the physical distribution of these checks and statements.
Beginning in 1965, Fort Harrison was also the home of the Defense Information School (DINFOS). This was staffed by enlisted personnel and officers from all branches of the US military along with members of allied military personnel. DINFOS trained service members and Department of Defense employees to become journalists in print, radio, television, and photography, as well as training them in advanced supervisory roles in editing, public affairs, and media and community relations.
With the creation of a number of training classes in financial, clerical, and information technology (most notably the Programmer/Analyst Course and the Computer Machine Operator Course), that were utilized by both the US Army Finance Corps as well as the Adjutant General Corps (the Army's legal arm), Fort Harrison acquired the derisive moniker "Uncle Ben's Rest Home" implying that no real military training took place there.
At left is a current aerial view of The Finance Center; the building is essentially unchanged from when I was here in 1968-69 and 1971-72. During my first tour here, I spent most of my time in the school area in the northeast corner of the building. It was there that I first learned to program the UNIVAC (actually Sperry by the time I encountered it) computer that the school used in its training course. By 1970, the Army had moved to IBM hardware for actual production processing, so the UNIVAC was relegated to training purposes. I learned the SAAL on my own (Single-Address Assembly Language) and re-discovered my interest in computer programming that had begun in the Chambers Hall basement during my last two years at Davidson.
I didn't realize at the time that computers, computer programming, and systems development would end up being my career. At the time of my assignment here this year, I imagined that I would have a career in the Army. It was the wind-down of the Vietnamese War that ended the Army career option, as the Army began slashing its manpower this very year.
Anyway, after a few months working in the actual Finance and Accounting Office for Fort Harrison itself, I moved to working on JUMPS-Army (Joint Uniform Military Pay System). This project was, essentially, a computerization of military pay systems, including input documents, pay calculations, leave accounting, and other functions. It would also introduce the new concept of "direct deposit", eliminating most of the check-based or in-cash payments that had been the norm. This would be my last Army assignment before the third "reduction in force (RIF)" in which most Reserve Army members (such as myself) were separated from the service.
Fort Benjamin Harrison was closed as part of the recommendations of the 1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission. The site of the base has since been redeveloped, and includes residential neighborhoods, a golf course, and the Fort Harrison State Park.
Although the base has officially been inactivated, there is still a very significant military presence in the area. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service—Indianapolis, several units of the United States Army Reserve, the United States Marine Corps Reserve, the United States Navy Reserve, and the Indiana National Guard are located in the old Finance Center. There is also a US Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) and an AAFES post exchange/commissary (which service the large number of active duty and retired military in the area.
During both my first tour here (a short one at the Finance School) I lived in a BOQ (a bachelor officer's quarters) unit on the post itself. But this time, I was not on "temporary duty", so I was expected to find my own housing. I had contacted my new fellow officers at the Finance and Accounting Office to find that the Park Harrison Apartments, just a few blocks south of the post entrance, would be an excellent option. I had contacted them, and arranged to rent on of the vacant units- 9030 Eldorado Drive, Apt. 203. Then, there were seven, three-storey buildings with two apartments on each floor in each building- some 50 units altogether. You can see an aerial view of the buildings at right, and I have marked the location of my unit. If you want more information about my time there, or more pictures inside the unit itself, head over to the main section of the photo album.
As I said, I am moderately amazed that the apartments are still there; I would have expected them to be torn down and something larger or more upscale, or both to have replaced them. I have learned, however, that the buildings have been extensively renovated and expanded; the third floor has been changed so the apartments there are actually two-storey.
While I am sure there is a lot of puffery here, I have found a current description of the Park Harrison Apartments online:
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"The Park Harrison Apartments in Indianapolis, IN, stand out as a beacon of modern living in the heart of the bustling city. With its sleek architecture and contemporary design, this apartment building offers residents a perfect blend of style and comfort. Nestled in a vibrant neighborhood, it provides easy access to local amenities, shopping centers, and dining options, ensuring convenience at every turn.
Step inside the well-appointed units, and you'll find spacious layouts, high-end finishes, and large windows that flood the space with natural light. The building's amenities, including a fitness center, community lounge, and rooftop terrace, cater to residents' diverse needs and preferences. Whether you're a young professional seeking a dynamic urban lifestyle or a family looking for a cozy retreat, Park Harrison Apts offers a welcoming sanctuary to call home." |
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That is probably a lot of introduction for the relatively few pictures that my Dad took during my parent's short (1-night) visit. They got a chance to see where I was living and I got a chance to take them to dinner at the Officer's Club. I wish it had been possible for me to get them into The Finance Center itself, but the visitor clearance procedures are really complicated and they were only here for the weekend anyway.
As far as pictures are concerned, my Dad took a few, and in at least one of them (below) you can see that I have set up my stereo equipment that I have brought home from Japan. The setup is complete, but in the pictures I have from my Dad I found some pictures that seem to show me setting up the apartment. It doesn't appear that these were taken by my Dad (as they visited a while after I would have had my apartment set up), but nor were they were not part of the slides that I had digitized in the 1990s.
So there is a quandary; I am unsure where to put the pictures. But since I can say for sure that they were not taken by me, I don't want to put them in the main album. I am going to assume that someone else, perhaps a friend from the Finance Center, took them, but I cannot be sure. In any event, here are those pictures:
Now we can return to firmer ground with the pictures that my Dad took. These were mostly inside my apartment with me showing off all the stereo equipment I had brought back from Korea-Japan:
In that first picture, you can see on the top shelf my cassette deck, my tuner, and my turntable. Below the tuner are the reverb amplifier and the four-channel stereo amplifier. Below that is another amplifier for the reel-to-reel tape deck which is at right. (That we do all this now with a single box and no cassettes, discs, vinyl, or tape is pretty amazing.) I also have four large speakers.
I also brought the paintings on the wall home with me from Korea. I have (had, as of this writing) four actual paintings, each one done by a Korean artist who worked from a page from a magazine highlighting the work of four different artists.
On Monday morning, as they left for Muskegon and I was heading into work, my Dad took a very good picture of
my Mom and me
as we all left to head off our separate ways. I recall enjoying their visit a great deal.
September: Muskegon-Kalamazoo-Detroit
After leaving Indianapolis, my parents went (I believe) to Muskegon, to visit with my aunt Marguerite Stelle (nee Dougherty), Ann Arbor, where they saw my cousin Nancy Walkotten (nee Stelle), and Ferndale (Detroit) to visit with my uncle Bud (Dougherty) and his second wife, Evelyn. Here are the pictures my Dad had from that part of their trip:
At my aunt Marguerite's in North Muskegon, Dad came away with two pictures, both of friends of my aunt. At left is a woman named Lillian L., according to the notation on the picture. Below is another woman that was at my aunt's house, but there was no notation to tell me who she is:
In Ann Arbor, Dad and Mom visited the Walkottens- my cousin Nancy, husband Dick, and kids:
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My First Cousin Nancy Walkotten |
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My First Cousin Once Removed, Bob Walkotten |
My father got a nice group picture of Nancy's three children-
Ann, Susan, and Bob-
as well as individual pictures of each of them:
From Ann Arbor, Dad and Mom drove over to Detroit to visit with his brother Bud. Years ago, my Aunt Vy, Bud's wife, died, and a while back Bud remarried Evelyn, who appeared in the pictures my Dad's pictures. Uncle Bud live in Ferndale, a close-in suburb of Detroit near 9 Mile Road. Here are the pictures from that visit:
The car in the background in these two pictures of Bud and Evelyn is my Dad's Buick- which replaced the Oldsmobile Starfire that he used to have:
September 19: My Parents Visit Judy in Burlington
From the date written on this group of pictures, I can assume that my parents visited Judy on their way home from Michigan. It is possible that they went home to Charlotte first, so I can't be absolutely sure. Regardless, my parents came away from this particular visit with a number of good pictures of my sister and her two rapidly-growing children, Ted and Jennifer:
Thanksgiving: My Parents at Judy's
Next is a group of pictures that were apparently taken during a visit my parents made to Judy at Thanksgiving as there are a couple of pictures that seem to have been taken at the Thanksgiving Day Dinner at Bob Barbour's parents' house.
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Mom and Dad |
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Dad and an Unknown Barbour Relative/Guest |
I think it was while my parents were at Judy's house that my Dad took this
picture of my Mom.
And there were also these two other pictures from my sister's house:
Christmas in Charlotte
Having just started my new job in Chicago, I hadn't accumulated enough vacation time to spend a great deal of time in North Carolina, but I did make it down for a few days to have Christmas at Judy's house. Before my arrival, Judy and Bob brought Ted and Jennifer down to Charlotte to visit our parents, and my Dad took a number of pictures during their visit:
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My parents had a Christmas tree in the living room. |
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Bob and Ted |
It seems as if everyone made a short outing down to Freedom Park:
And here are a couple of pictures from late in the visit before my sister and her family headed back home:
At the Saddle Club
On a number of occasions when I or my parents were visiting with Judy and her family up in Burlington, we went to the Saddle Club where Judy has been keeping her horse(s). Judy, of course, knows their names and the sequence in which she acquired and owned the, but neither my Dad nor I do, so I would have a tough time trying to label all the pictures taken there.
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Click on the Image Above to View the Slideshow |
But I do want to put these pictures in this online album, so I have chosen to create a slideshow of them. Using the slideshow format, you are able to look at the pictures easily and quickly if you want to.
To view the slideshow, just click on the image at left and I will open the slideshow in a new window. In the slideshow, you can use the little arrows in the lower corners of each image to move from one to the next, and the index numbers in the upper left of each image will tell you where you are in the series. When you are finished looking at the pictures, just close the popup window.
My Aunt Marguerite in Charlotte
Here is one of the many groups of old pictures that weren't labeled with a date, and so which I have had to estimate a timeframe.
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Aunt Marguerite and My Mom |
It is obviously winter, and my best guess is that it is this year that my Dad's sister has driven from Muskegon down to Charlotte to visit with her brother and sister-in-law. That my sister now has two kids would seem to be a good rationale for the visit.
My aunt has driven her Oldsmobile 98 from Muskegon. I remember that my Aunt used to get a new car every few years- always an Oldsmobile and always from Matson Olds there in Muskegon. I have done some research and the car that you see in the couple of pictures below is a 1968 Oldsmobile 98. That means that if this is 1971, and knowing that my Aunt got a new car frequently, which she did, this is more likely to be early in 1971- perhaps January or February.
This would make Ted going on two years old, and Jennifer about seven or eight months. I do have another picture of my Aunt holding what appears to be a newborn, but in that picture the child seems to be younger than eight months, so I assume that my Aunt didn't make this trip specifically to see Judy's kids, but perhaps she was also going to Atlanta to visit her other brother Ralph.
Those are the old pictures that I have for 1971.
You can use the links below to continue to another photo album page.
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