Roots: 1912 - 1943
My father, Arthur Collins, was born in Alton, Iowa on May 21, 1912. His dad, Hiram, worked in a creamery while his mother, Zoe, stayed home with their three children, Arthur, Evelyn, and Victor.
Arthur Collins; Hiram & Zoe
Victor, Arthur, Evelyn
Tragedy struck the family in 1920 when Zoe died from the influenza pandemic. Hiram struggled to raise his children alone until he married Elizabeth Kern in 1921. She had also been struggling to raise her son, Harold, whose father had been reported killed in action during the First World War.
Evelyn (holding Fidelis?), Harold, Dad, and Vic
By 1926, Hiram and Elizabeth had four daughters, Fidelis, Zita, Marcella and Marilyn. Elizabeth had grown up in a devout Catholic family and insisted that her husband Hiram (formerly Lutheran) and all the children be baptized and raised as Catholics.
Hiram and Elizabeth with Marilyn, Marcella, Zita, and Fidelis
Hiram continued to work in the creamery until he injured his back. The family moved to towns in Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota as Hiram and Elizabeth tried to keep food on the table for their large family. Hiram became alcoholic dealing with pain and depression. He spent time with relatives in Burns, Wyoming, recovering from alcohol addiction and tuberculosis. My dad, Art, was excited to meet him at the train station in Sioux City, Iowa, in 1936. But Hiram had died sometime during the trip from Wyoming. The Great Depression added to the family's woes. Dad had worked odd jobs to help his step mother make ends meet, but she wanted Art to have a life of his own and encouraged him to join relatives in California.
Dad about 1936
He found work in California as a milker, a roofer, and a baker in the Long Beach area before he joined the aircraft industry sometime before the United States entered World War II in December 1941. By the time he met my mother, Helen Scherer, he had worked his way up to an assistant foreman with Consolidated-Vultee.
My mother, Helen Scherer, was born in Long Beach, California, on July 9, 1919. Her dad and mom, John and Nellie, worked together in a butcher shop/grocery store in Long Beach.
Helen with Nellie and John
For ten years, Helen was the only child in the family, indulged by her parents who had become prosperous in their business. They owned several homes in the Los Angeles area and traveled in a luxurious Hupmobile around town and on a trip to visit Helen's grandparents in Missouri.
John, Helen, Nellie 1925
But all that wealth began to collapse with the stock market in 1929. Some of the Depression gloom was swept away when my mom's brother, Jim, was born in 1930.
Neighbor, Helen, Jim
By 1937, when my mom graduated from Jordan High School in Long Beach, her parents were running out of money and decided to leave Helen to support herself in Long Beach while they moved with her brother, Jim, to some cheap land in Temple City. Helen always had a heart for the homeless recalling her struggles on the streets of Long Beach until she found a job with Los Angeles County. In 1941 Helen's cousin, who worked in the aircraft industry with Art Collins, welcomed her to a blind date with Art.
Helen 1937
It only took four dates before Art proposed. They were married on June 7, 1941 by a Catholic priest in Yuma, Arizona. Soon after, mom took instructions in the Catholic faith. Once a self-described "heathen", she became a devout Catholic convert who would lead her family in the faith.
Mom and dad wasted no time in starting a family. My sister, Zoe, arrived on March 10, 1942, followed by my other sister, Joyce, on August 31, 1943. (Joyce's website). The growing family lived in a duplex in Long Beach until I arrived.
Zoe; Joyce