The Chamberlains

This is a photo of my paternal grandmother, May Chamberlain Cornelius, taken with two of her brothers -- Galen Chamberlain (on the left) and Fred Chamberlain. The date and location of the picture are unknown although Grandma was born in 1900 and Galen was born in 1902. Fred was born in 1894.

First wedding anniversary

Picture of my parents on their first wedding anniversary. The picture is dated June 14, 1950 which would have been the day before their actual anniversary. The photo was taken at "Eitel's Old Heidelberg Restaurant" located at 14 West Randolph Street in Chicago. They were married 52 years.

First Communion

This is a picture of my maternal grandmother, Agnes Rogers Kostal and her brother, Clarence Rogers. The writing on the back of the photograph says: "Agnes Rogers and Clarence Rogers on First Communion Day at St. Mary's in Coon Creek, Kansas." The photograph is not dated.

Edward and Agnes Kostal

This is a photo of my maternal grandparents, Edward and Agnes Kostal, after their marriage on May 3, 1922. They were married in Ravenna, Nebraska and drove to Kansas for their honeymoon. This photo was taken in Washington, Kansas.

Is six enough?

This is a picture of my father and five of his siblings. Starting with the top row is my Aunt Elaine, my father and my Uncle Eldon. In the bottom row are the twins Lowell and Wendell (I could never tell them apart) and my Aunt Carol. My Aunt Sandy was either not born yet...or was just a baby when the photo was taken.

Update (May 29, 2005, 6:37 PM CDT): I contacted my Aunt Sandy who tells me that Lowell is the twin on the left and Wendell is on the right. She also thinks this photo was taken about three years before she was born.

Floyde Wilson Cornelius (Sr. and Jr.)

Picture of my grandfather holding my dad who was born in February 1924. I'm assuming this picture was taken sometime in the summer of 1924.

August 1959

This is a picture of my 7th birthday party in August 1959. The party took place at my grandparents' farm house in Madrid and all of the kids surrounding the dining room table are my first cousins. (I'm the one at the end of the table under the orange arrow.) My sister Sheila would have been 9 months old at the time. I believe she is in the highchair behind me to my left. There are nine first cousins in the photo and we eventually grew to a total of 18 first cousins. I'm happy to report that we are all still around. What memories!

Mt. Calvary Cemetery -- James Kostal marker

This is the marker for my Uncle Jimmy who was killed in a training accident in 1953. His body was never recovered so this is all we have.

This is ridiculous!

My father passed away in January 2002. In April 2005, a letter addressed to my father came from the Circuit Court of Cook County. It was a jury summons for duty in May. My mother called the jury administrator and notified them of my father's death. She thought everything was straightened out. Not even close! In early May, she received the following letter:

This letter is to inform you that you have been excused from Jury Service on 05/17/2005 as a result of your request to participate in our Opt Out Program, which permits jurors who are 70 years of age and older to be excused from Jury Service on a specific court date. Your participation in the Opt Out Program applies only to the date for Jury Service noted above. Please be aware that your name will remain on the juror list and you may be summoned again for Jury Service at a later date. However, your ability to be excused from Jury Service under the Opt Out Program is always available to you, no matter how many jury summons you may receive.

Dad would have appreciated the humor in this bureaucratic buffoonery.