As one of the largest photo digitizing services in business, we have carefully scanned more than 130 million analog pieces, including photos, slides and negatives. It’s great when customers write to us, telling us how happy they are to have those memories saved. It’s even better when they share the heartwarming stories behind the photos.
We recently scanned and restored some images for Bob Ehinger of Michigan. The pictures and story he sent us are a timely tribute to both his father and to fatherhood.
Here is Bob’s story:
I was born in 1940 and raised in the very small Midwestern town of Palmyra in Lenawee County, Michigan. My father was the executive of a small paper company that supplied heavy cardboard for the automobile industry in Detroit. He was a powerful man – in physique and spirit. A naturally gifted engineer, he could fix almost anything or invent his own method of solving a problem. He first worked at his father’s factory as a woodsman, cutting large trees and sawing them into lumber for making wood turnings. He loved the outdoors and taught me how to fish using a long bamboo pole and a fishing line with hooks at two different levels. We would attach his favorite bait – crickets – and drop the line in, often catching two fish at the same time.
He also played baseball as a young man and traveled to play teams in other small towns. Many a hot summer afternoon saw Dad working with the radio on while the Detroit Tigers were playing. When TV started carrying baseball games, he still listened to them on the radio. He explained that he could “see” the plays better with radio than he could on TV.
During WW II, when he tried to enlist, they would not take him because he was more valuable at home keeping the machinery working at the paper factory. They were running 24 hours a day to try to keep up with the war effort. We often didn’t see Dad for several days at a time because he stayed at the factory.
Dad had many friends and he was quick to help anyone in need. He was known for his integrity and fairness. He was a person who always kept his word; who treated everyone as an equal and with respect.
Here is Bob with his father, Charles Ehinger, in the summer of 1941:
Another timeless picture, this one from Charles’s graduation in 1922:
Look out for more personal pieces such as this one in our ‘Timeless Pic and a Story” series.
Comments are closed.