My dad is John Henry Menser Sr. I didn't have my dad very long, I'm not sure of the exact year but it was around 1975 or 1976, when I lost him, so I would have been only 26 or 27. Dad had a heart attack and died within hours of having his heart attack. My dad did not have the best health as he grew up. It started with diabetes and something that made him move from Pennsylvania to California in 1953. Then he had some stomach problems and hernias, which caused him to have approximently 80% of his stomach removed. Then eventually the diabetes caused him to have his big toe removed and that didn't take care of the problem so they had to remove his leg just below the knee. But that's really enough sad things about my dad's health.
My dad was not a very large man. He was about 5 foot 4 inches and at his prime he weighed about 180. That went down as his health went down. He grew up in Franklin Pennsylvania. When he was 9 he lost his dad and he had to help his mom raise his brother and sisters. I don't remember but I think he had one brother and two sisters that were alive when I was a kid. If he had more I don't know for sure. Either I don't remember, or they died when I was very young. As a kid my dad had to walk to school, and I remember that he had to walk 9 miles and in the winter it was in the snow. And of course he had to hike uphill BOTH ways.
My dad was in WWII and served in the Army as a Sargent. I remember some of his stories that he told us about being in the war. He told me a story about a rifle he got from a German sniper he had killed. Dad was a marksman so the rifle came in handy. One day a brand new Lieutenant came by where Dad and some others were resting and he told my dad that he had to confiscate all enemy weapons. My dad told him he wasn't getting the rifle. The Lieutenant said he would go on report. So my dad took the rifle and grabbed it by the barrel and wrapped it around a tree, scope first. Now the rifle was ruined and wasn't any good, either as a weapon or as a souvenir. My dad said, "Here you can have it now!" The Lieutenant said, "I don't want it now." He only wanted it for himself my dad told us. After it was broken he didn't want it and if it was really to be confiscated they would take it even if it was broken.
My dad never went into too much detail about his days in the war. But he did tell us some things. One of the stories was during the Battle of the Bulge. His unit was in a three day battle and when it was over, he and two others were the only ones left. He didn't go into details other than he said it was h*ll. Another story that he told us was about a newspaper clipping from his home town paper. He had made cherry pies at Christmas time and took them up to the guys up at the front.
I don't remember any other stories, but I do know that he earned the Bronze Star, for what I don't remember. He also was wounded and received the Purple Heart, again I'm sorry but I don't remember how he was wounded.
But my dad did bring home one souvenir that I kinda wish I had just as a remembrance of his time in Europe and the war. He brought home a German banner, it was about 3 to 4 feet wide and about 7 to 9 feet long. It was a black swastika on a white circle with red on each ends. What a cool thing to have, I know there will be some who think that this is not a cool thing and it's something that reminds us of a troubled time in our lives and that's true, but it is part of our history even if it's a very dark part of our history. I don't have it and I want people who read this to know that if I did have it, it would not have been a symbol of something wonderful but something that was bad but still part of our history just the same. That's all about that.
My dad had different jobs over his lifetime. He worked for the Joy Mfg. Co. in Pennsylvania. This was a company that made mining equipment for the coal mining industry. But when his health made him move to California he became a mailman. He had that job for about 3 years and then his back and feet made him quit that job. Then he became a cook. He cooked for restaurants very similar to Denny's and he also did some cafeteria work at Lockheed. Those people at Lockheed loved him, especially when he was making BBQ beef sandwiches, they always sold out of those sandwiches. Also on Fridays he made clam chowder and he usually ran out of clam chowder also. After my dad's health went downhill in the mid sixties he had to quit being a cook and even working completely for a few years. After some long stays in the hospital he had to learn a new profession. He also couldn't go back to work unless he went to Goodwill and learned a new trade and see if he was able to work for a full 8 hours.
At Goodwill he learned how to operate a Eubanks machine. This was an electric and air operated machine that was to measure, cut, and strip the ends of wire. This machine was capable of different lengths of wire, it could cut it 6 inches long, 8 inches even 2 feet or longer, just about any length. The ends could be stripped like an 1/8", 1/4", 1/2", even 1". I think that was the longest you could strip off the ends. An interesting piece of machinery. After learning how to operate the Eubanks machine, his doctor and Goodwill said that he could go back to work full time. Goodwill offered him a job and he went to work for them operating a Eubanks machine. After about 5 years with Goodwill he got another job for a company that had 2 Eubanks machines. It was more money and closer to home. He took the job and work there until he retired in 1974.
My dad loved to fish and he actually got his picture in the San Jose Mercury Newspaper. We had taken John's 17 foot runabout out in the San Francisco bay for a day of fishing for stripers. We launched the boat from the ramp at Coyote Point Recreation Area. We were going to fish near the approach lights for the airport. They had lights that went into the bay and we had fished there before and caught stripers so we wanted to try our luck again. After about 4 hours of nothing, we finally got a few bites and caught a couple of leopard sharks. We decided to move the boat and try another spot. Dad suggested we try over by the harbor. So we drove over and anchored just outside the harbor. We baited our lines with filleted sardines. We were there for about 30 minutes when Dad hooked a fish. We didn't know what it was, but we knew it was BIG by the way the fishing rod was bending. After 45 minutes of fighting this fish my dad was getting tired but he didn't want to give up. Finally he got the fish close to the boat and we knew he had a monster. Since he was getting the fish closer to the boat, we knew the fish was getting tired. After another 20 minutes Dad got the fish close enough to the boat so that I could net it. When we wrestled the fish into the boat we couldn't believe what Dad had caught. If we had been out in the ocean it would be one thing, but to catch this huge fish in the San Francisco Bay, that's something else. After fighting this fish we were done for the day, so we lifted anchor and drove the boat back to the ramp where we got the car and trailer and loaded up. When we got our car and trailer squared away, we finally got to weigh our catch. He weighed in at a whopping 42 pounds. This was huge, so we went home, which was in Mountain View, and we called the San Jose Mercury Newspaper and asked if they wanted to have a picture of a 42 pound striper for the paper. They said yes but to do that we would have to come to the papers office in San Jose. So we drove to the papers office car, boat and fish in tow. They had a photographer come out and take a picture of my dad hefting his 42 pound catch. You could tell how proud my dad was. and I didn't blame him.
Some of the things that I remember about my dad were centered around Christmas. (Any small children you might be reading this to have them leave the room, we don't want to spoil Christmas for them.) My dad loved to do things that made John and me believe about Santa more than most kids. One of those things was that he would go back in the house when we were going over to our cousins house on Christmas eve and he would put out the presents that were from Santa so when we got back from our cousins house everything was there. We didn't know what was going on until we were older but that was so cool at the time. I also remember the year we had found a present hidden in the garage. When it wasn't under the tree on Christmas morning, John and I knew our dad had forgotten that he had hidden it in the garage. John and I knew it was there so now we had to figure out how to get it. Well we came up with the plan that John would tell Mom and Dad that I sure wanted a Carom game and that I was disappointed that I didn't get it. When John told them that, they remembered the game and that it was in the garage and Dad went and got it.
My dad was pretty awesome I just wish I could have had him around a little longer. Here is a picture of Dad and Mom, taking a walk downtown during their dating days.
My dad was in WWII and served in the Army as a Sargent. I remember some of his stories that he told us about being in the war. He told me a story about a rifle he got from a German sniper he had killed. Dad was a marksman so the rifle came in handy. One day a brand new Lieutenant came by where Dad and some others were resting and he told my dad that he had to confiscate all enemy weapons. My dad told him he wasn't getting the rifle. The Lieutenant said he would go on report. So my dad took the rifle and grabbed it by the barrel and wrapped it around a tree, scope first. Now the rifle was ruined and wasn't any good, either as a weapon or as a souvenir. My dad said, "Here you can have it now!" The Lieutenant said, "I don't want it now." He only wanted it for himself my dad told us. After it was broken he didn't want it and if it was really to be confiscated they would take it even if it was broken.
My dad never went into too much detail about his days in the war. But he did tell us some things. One of the stories was during the Battle of the Bulge. His unit was in a three day battle and when it was over, he and two others were the only ones left. He didn't go into details other than he said it was h*ll. Another story that he told us was about a newspaper clipping from his home town paper. He had made cherry pies at Christmas time and took them up to the guys up at the front.
I don't remember any other stories, but I do know that he earned the Bronze Star, for what I don't remember. He also was wounded and received the Purple Heart, again I'm sorry but I don't remember how he was wounded.
But my dad did bring home one souvenir that I kinda wish I had just as a remembrance of his time in Europe and the war. He brought home a German banner, it was about 3 to 4 feet wide and about 7 to 9 feet long. It was a black swastika on a white circle with red on each ends. What a cool thing to have, I know there will be some who think that this is not a cool thing and it's something that reminds us of a troubled time in our lives and that's true, but it is part of our history even if it's a very dark part of our history. I don't have it and I want people who read this to know that if I did have it, it would not have been a symbol of something wonderful but something that was bad but still part of our history just the same. That's all about that.
My dad had different jobs over his lifetime. He worked for the Joy Mfg. Co. in Pennsylvania. This was a company that made mining equipment for the coal mining industry. But when his health made him move to California he became a mailman. He had that job for about 3 years and then his back and feet made him quit that job. Then he became a cook. He cooked for restaurants very similar to Denny's and he also did some cafeteria work at Lockheed. Those people at Lockheed loved him, especially when he was making BBQ beef sandwiches, they always sold out of those sandwiches. Also on Fridays he made clam chowder and he usually ran out of clam chowder also. After my dad's health went downhill in the mid sixties he had to quit being a cook and even working completely for a few years. After some long stays in the hospital he had to learn a new profession. He also couldn't go back to work unless he went to Goodwill and learned a new trade and see if he was able to work for a full 8 hours.
At Goodwill he learned how to operate a Eubanks machine. This was an electric and air operated machine that was to measure, cut, and strip the ends of wire. This machine was capable of different lengths of wire, it could cut it 6 inches long, 8 inches even 2 feet or longer, just about any length. The ends could be stripped like an 1/8", 1/4", 1/2", even 1". I think that was the longest you could strip off the ends. An interesting piece of machinery. After learning how to operate the Eubanks machine, his doctor and Goodwill said that he could go back to work full time. Goodwill offered him a job and he went to work for them operating a Eubanks machine. After about 5 years with Goodwill he got another job for a company that had 2 Eubanks machines. It was more money and closer to home. He took the job and work there until he retired in 1974.
My dad loved to fish and he actually got his picture in the San Jose Mercury Newspaper. We had taken John's 17 foot runabout out in the San Francisco bay for a day of fishing for stripers. We launched the boat from the ramp at Coyote Point Recreation Area. We were going to fish near the approach lights for the airport. They had lights that went into the bay and we had fished there before and caught stripers so we wanted to try our luck again. After about 4 hours of nothing, we finally got a few bites and caught a couple of leopard sharks. We decided to move the boat and try another spot. Dad suggested we try over by the harbor. So we drove over and anchored just outside the harbor. We baited our lines with filleted sardines. We were there for about 30 minutes when Dad hooked a fish. We didn't know what it was, but we knew it was BIG by the way the fishing rod was bending. After 45 minutes of fighting this fish my dad was getting tired but he didn't want to give up. Finally he got the fish close to the boat and we knew he had a monster. Since he was getting the fish closer to the boat, we knew the fish was getting tired. After another 20 minutes Dad got the fish close enough to the boat so that I could net it. When we wrestled the fish into the boat we couldn't believe what Dad had caught. If we had been out in the ocean it would be one thing, but to catch this huge fish in the San Francisco Bay, that's something else. After fighting this fish we were done for the day, so we lifted anchor and drove the boat back to the ramp where we got the car and trailer and loaded up. When we got our car and trailer squared away, we finally got to weigh our catch. He weighed in at a whopping 42 pounds. This was huge, so we went home, which was in Mountain View, and we called the San Jose Mercury Newspaper and asked if they wanted to have a picture of a 42 pound striper for the paper. They said yes but to do that we would have to come to the papers office in San Jose. So we drove to the papers office car, boat and fish in tow. They had a photographer come out and take a picture of my dad hefting his 42 pound catch. You could tell how proud my dad was. and I didn't blame him.
Some of the things that I remember about my dad were centered around Christmas. (Any small children you might be reading this to have them leave the room, we don't want to spoil Christmas for them.) My dad loved to do things that made John and me believe about Santa more than most kids. One of those things was that he would go back in the house when we were going over to our cousins house on Christmas eve and he would put out the presents that were from Santa so when we got back from our cousins house everything was there. We didn't know what was going on until we were older but that was so cool at the time. I also remember the year we had found a present hidden in the garage. When it wasn't under the tree on Christmas morning, John and I knew our dad had forgotten that he had hidden it in the garage. John and I knew it was there so now we had to figure out how to get it. Well we came up with the plan that John would tell Mom and Dad that I sure wanted a Carom game and that I was disappointed that I didn't get it. When John told them that, they remembered the game and that it was in the garage and Dad went and got it.
My dad was pretty awesome I just wish I could have had him around a little longer. Here is a picture of Dad and Mom, taking a walk downtown during their dating days.
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