Story of Two Families
Jack Wilbur Schwarze
1922 - 1989 (67 years)
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Name Jack Wilbur Schwarze [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9] Birth 19 Jan 1922 Covina, Los Angeles, California, USA 
[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17] Gender Male Residence 1935 Liberty, San Joaquin, California, USA [8] Residence 1935 Liberty, San Joaquin, California, USA [8] Residence 1936 Los Angeles County, California, USA [18] Residence 1939 Lodi, San Joaquin, California, USA [4] Age: 16 Residence 1940 Liberty, San Joaquin, California, USA [8] Age: 18; AttendedSchool: Yes; EmploymentCode: 6; EmploymentDetails: School; EmploymentHistory: No; EnumerationDistrict: 39-29; GradeCompleted: High School, 4th year; Income: 0; IncomeOtherSources: No; IsEmployed: No; PublicEmergencyWork: No; ResidenceFarmNineteenThirtyFive: Yes; SeekingWork: No; WeeksWorked: 0; MaritalStatus: Single; RelationToHead: Son Residence 1940 Liberty, San Joaquin, California, USA [8] Age: 18; AttendedSchool: Yes; EmploymentCode: 6; EmploymentDetails: School; EmploymentHistory: No; EnumerationDistrict: 39-29; GradeCompleted: High School, 4th year; Income: 0; IncomeOtherSources: No; IsEmployed: No; PublicEmergencyWork: No; ResidenceFarmNineteenThirtyFive: Yes; SeekingWork: No; WeeksWorked: 0; MaritalStatus: Single; RelationToHead: Son Residence 1 Apr 1940 Liberty, San Joaquin, California, USA [12, 15] Residence 1941 Sacramento, California, USA [19] Residence 1942 Acampo, San Joaquin, California, USA [5] Age: 20; RelationToHead: Self Residence 1952 Sacramento, California, USA [20] Residence 1958 Orange County, California, USA [21, 22] Residence 1958 Orange, California, USA [9] StreetAddress: 413 E 20th St Costa Mesa; PartyAffiliation: Democrat Residence 1960 Orange County, California, USA [23, 24] Residence 1964 Orange County, California, USA [25] Residence 1964 Orange County, California, USA [26] Residence 1964 Orange, California, USA [6] StreetAddress: 413 B..2QTH St jCtM; PartyAffiliation: Democrat Death 23 Jun 1989 Costa Mesa, Orange, California, USA [1, 2, 3, 7, 10, 13, 14, 16] Person ID I15 My Family Last Modified 8 Dec 2023
Father Conrad Henry Schwarze, b. 24 May 1893, Palmdale, Los Angeles, California, USA d. 8 Apr 1952, Santa Clara, California, USA (Age 58 years) Relationship natural Mother Lydia Aleen Schlitzkus, b. 2 Jul 1898, Brenham, Washington, Texas, USA d. 17 Nov 1986, Sacramento, Sacramento, California, USA (Age 88 years) Relationship natural Marriage 17 Oct 1918 Los Angeles, California, USA Family ID F14 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family Wanda Marie Moleskey, b. 21 Oct 1916, Neffs, Belmont, Ohio, USA d. 11 Sep 2006, Newport Beach, Orange, California, USA (Age 89 years) Marriage Jan 1950 Fairbanks, Fairbanks North Star, Alaska, USA Children 1. Living 2. Living Family ID F12 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 8 Dec 2023
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Event Map 
Birth - 19 Jan 1922 - Covina, Los Angeles, California, USA 
Residence - 1935 - Liberty, San Joaquin, California, USA Residence - 1935 - Liberty, San Joaquin, California, USA 
Residence - 1936 - Los Angeles County, California, USA 
Residence - Age: 16 - 1939 - Lodi, San Joaquin, California, USA Residence - Age: 18; AttendedSchool: Yes; EmploymentCode: 6; EmploymentDetails: School; EmploymentHistory: No; EnumerationDistrict: 39-29; GradeCompleted: High School, 4th year; Income: 0; IncomeOtherSources: No; IsEmployed: No; PublicEmergencyWork: No; ResidenceFarmNineteenThirtyFive: Yes; SeekingWork: No; WeeksWorked: 0; MaritalStatus: Single; RelationToHead: Son - 1940 - Liberty, San Joaquin, California, USA Residence - Age: 18; AttendedSchool: Yes; EmploymentCode: 6; EmploymentDetails: School; EmploymentHistory: No; EnumerationDistrict: 39-29; GradeCompleted: High School, 4th year; Income: 0; IncomeOtherSources: No; IsEmployed: No; PublicEmergencyWork: No; ResidenceFarmNineteenThirtyFive: Yes; SeekingWork: No; WeeksWorked: 0; MaritalStatus: Single; RelationToHead: Son - 1940 - Liberty, San Joaquin, California, USA Residence - 1 Apr 1940 - Liberty, San Joaquin, California, USA 
Residence - 1941 - Sacramento, California, USA 
Residence - Age: 20; RelationToHead: Self - 1942 - Acampo, San Joaquin, California, USA 
Marriage - Jan 1950 - Fairbanks, Fairbanks North Star, Alaska, USA Residence - 1952 - Sacramento, California, USA 
Residence - 1958 - Orange County, California, USA 
Residence - StreetAddress: 413 E 20th St Costa Mesa; PartyAffiliation: Democrat - 1958 - Orange, California, USA Residence - 1960 - Orange County, California, USA Residence - 1964 - Orange County, California, USA Residence - 1964 - Orange County, California, USA Residence - StreetAddress: 413 B..2QTH St jCtM; PartyAffiliation: Democrat - 1964 - Orange, California, USA 
Death - 23 Jun 1989 - Costa Mesa, Orange, California, USA = Link to Google Earth
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Photos jack182.jpg 
Jack's profile.jpg 
Group of 4 Schwarze.jpg
Documents 
Jack Schwarze separation notice.jpg 
Jack Schwarze card.jpg 
Schwarze family history.JPG 
Jack's letter to family regarding marriage.jpg
Albums 
Jack Schwarze (32) Schwarze Group Photos (7) 
Jack Schwarze docs (9)
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Notes - I was born on January 19, 1922 at our ranch house in Covina, California. I was named Jackie Wilson Schwarze, and I was given that name because no one else had that name and my cousin was named Johnny and about the same age as me.
As a boy.
My father's name was Conrad H. Schwartz and met his wife when church friends brought my father over to my mother's house. My father earned his living farming walnuts and beans. My birth certificate says he was a rancher.
My family lived in Covina until 1927; Dos Palos until 1929; Tracy, Monteca Ripon until 1931 and Lodi 1931 to 1948.
My room was a country library before we moved into the house.
Our neighborhood was special because I could go in the fields and hunt rabbits in birds with my 22 rifle.
My jobs around the house were keeping the kindling wood box full so my mother could start a wood fire each morning.
A hardship my family had to overcome was the depression when the banks took all of our land.
As a student I like mathematics, but hated English. I had to write with my right hand and although I am left-handed.
My ambition was to go to Arctic or Antarctic places.
My parents taught me the value honest hard work and to be nice to others.
What I loved about my father was he always took time to take me swimming, to the fair, airports and other places.
What I liked a lot about my mother was she never balled me out. Not even when I got a D + in public speaking one quarter.
I was taught to drive by my 14-year-old brother. When I was 13.
The first car I drove was in 1926 Buick.
The first car I owned was in 1922 model T. Ford. It cost $10 used.
The car I dreamed of having was one that I did not have to crank.
What I worried most about in those years was others and that someone would tell my dad I bumped Mrs. Kessler's car.
My happiest memory of those years was my high school gang. About five of us from fifth grade to junior college. Even saw several at our 45th high school reunion.
As a boy my favorite game was basketball. My favorite team was the Detroit Tigers with Hank Greenberg. My favorite participation sport was raid the flag at boy scouts and 4 H club meetings. I love books on the Arctic and Antarctic. My favorite comic was Katzenjammer kids. My favorite singer was Gene Autry with his song Frosty the Snowman. My favorite radio program was Jack Benny and my favorite movie was the six-day bike race starring Joe E. Brown. My favorite actor was Joe E Brown. My favorite actress was Shirley Temple. My favorite superhero was Jack Armstrong and my favorite subject in school was mathematics. My dog's name was Smoky, and my favorite food was a BLT sandwich. In my spare time I hunted and practiced basketball. I was active in Boy Scouts and the 4-H club. I spent my summers working on farms. My parents are very strict about being good a student. Once I got into hot water for going to a movie instead of watching my sisters. I got my spending money by driving a tractor and doing farm work.
As a young man, I graduated from Lodi High in 1939; the Coast Guard Academy in 1945 and the University of Alaska in 1949. After I finishing High School, I worked to go to junior college and prep school from 1940 to 1942. I served at sea from 1945 to 1947 and was a civil engineer from 1949 to 1984. On weekends, I enjoyed the get-togethers with the boys and young man and usually ended up with a movie and China feed. A major news event was the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It affected my life because it started World War II. I served my country by being in the Coast Guard, which during World War II was a part of the U.S. Navy. What I remember most about these years are the hurricanes off Florida and the big waves off of Newfoundland and Greenland. My favorite political figure was Senator Goldwater. I felt that way because he was really conservative. He believed in less government. My concerns about the future are growing government and the debt being passed on to my children. I feel optimistic about cures for heart attacks that killed my father. When I was growing up a postage stamp cost $.02 up until 1935. A movie cost $.25 and a gallon of gas was $.12.
If I could teach you anything I would like to teach you how to whistle through your hands. I first learned to do it when I was eight years old. I was taught by a cowboy when he was cutting hay. I enjoyed it because sounds different and very few can do it. In British Columbia near the Yukon border I made a sound like a wolf call. For about five minutes a wild wolf answered my call each time I made it.
The world has changed a lot since I was a boy. They invented TV, jet airplanes, computers, talking movies, refrigerators, spaceflights, and microwave ovens. They succeeded in preventing polio many infections and smallpox. When man landed on the moon I watched it on black-and-white TV. The one time saving device that my father never had is a laser beam to help land leveling to make sure farmlands sloped for irrigation. A man's responsibilities are different today that the he can't do things from start to finish. He now must depend on many others. Even the movies today are different, because they don't hand out Joe E. Brown, the Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, the Marx Brothers and the Ritz Brothers
Big brothers! To most little sisters the phrase conjures an image of plague and pestilence, with emphasis on the "pest," but such was not my case. My brothers were 12, 13 and 14 years old when I was born, a gap that prevented the usual brother-sister tangles. In fact, by the time I was old enough to remember much, they were, for the most part, old enough to be living away from home, so most of my memories are of their visits home. Rambunctious tyke that I was, I'm sure lid done things that would stir their wrath, but I do not have a single memory of their ever scolding or being mad at me, and, of course, I worshiped the ground they walked on. They contributed enormously to my earliest and most memorable recollection of "warm fuzzies" from childhood.
For the first 8 or 10 years of my life I can't recall they ever called me "Mary Arm." They always used their nickname for me--"Baby." Jack was known for providing nicknames for people. He started calling Betty Lou "Bett", Lois Jean "Bobo", and when I outgrew "Baby" he dubbed me "Annie Mocus." His name for us 3 sisters was the Beetles (and this was decades before the singing group Beatles). Bett, being the oldest, was Big Beetle, Bobo' Was Medium Beetle and I was Miniature Beetle, and when we all sat around on hot summer days drinking lime Kool-aid (at 5 cents a packet it was one of the few treats economically possible for us--proper nutrition was not "vogue" yet) Jack said we were drinking our beetle juice.
My Dad lost his farm property in West Covina (now worth millions and covered by a shopping mall) during the Depression of 1928. This prompted a move to Northern California and eventually the Lodi area. It also meant a life of what would now be considered poverty level, though we were "rich" in many other ways; poor in the pocketbook but not in spirit. We always lived on the farm, and the rural environment provided lots of space for lots of fun--trees to climb, basketball courts, ping pong table, large lawn for croquet, lots of dirt for building cities for our Tootsie Toys.
The boys had Model A's and Model T's and the open spaces allowed a large, circular driveway that was their racetrack, that is when they weren't spinning in little circles out on the country road. Those old cars could turn on a dime with a speed limit of 35 mph there was plenty of time to get off the road when you saw a car coming. The earliest memory I have of Jack is bouncing along on the seat beside him in his old Model A (or T? I don't know who had which model). Likewise, my earliest memory of Bud was when he took me for an airplane ride. My brothers were good friends of brothers whose dad owned the small airport, so they all had an opportunity to learn to fly. Funny how brothers like to take little sisters for rides. My modes of conveyance were just a little more varied than those of most children, however.
I also remember watching Jack as he roared along the driveway and got too close to an irrigation ditch and a wheel went flying across the field. This same vehicle was the mode of transportation when Jack took a friend for a ride to a place in the foothills called Columbia Hill. They went at night and naively went zooming over a steep, winding and twisting, narrow road (of course, most roads then were narrow). The return trip next day was a different story, when daylight allowed them to see the steep drop at road's edge, as white-knuckled hands steered precariously at a much slower speed.
There were other close encounters when Bett was learning to drive and we all piled in the back of our pickup truck, Big Beetle at the wheel as we chugged down the dirt road through a vineyard and got some mighty close looks at a few grapevines.
All that activity in the hot dust was conducive to spending the evenings outside on the cool grass. (Air conditioning was unheard of, and I can't recall that we ever had an electric fan of any sort, even though my mother would spend days over steaming hot kettles in the summer, canning fruit that would feed us through the winter.) It was always Jack who would get out the old blanket and
spread it out on the lawn under a bright, starry sky and we'd all follow him out the door like the pied piper. Not until we were all older and moved to cities did we realize how special it was to live in the country with no outdoor lighting to mark the celestial sights. We would count the stars one by one as they emerged in twilight, then when they }~came too numerous to count we would ramble on about life in general, or sometimes sing, sometimes just think and allow the cool breeze to help us forget how hot it was that day. Who needed the luxury of lawn chairs we couldn't afford?
Ah, a blanket on the grass, surrounded by big brothers and sisters--what more could a child ask for?
The four room country school from which we all graduated did not have a kindergarten, but these "night schools" became my "kindergarten" class. My first introduction to the planetary system was on such a night. Two of the dearest people in my young life were an aunt nicknamed "Marse" and Uncle John. They lived 100 miles away and a visit with them was joy beyond words. Jack suddenly said, "Oh look, there's Mars." Thinking he said "Marse" I got all ~" excited as I thought my aunt and uncle arrived and I somehow missed seeing their car pulling into the driveway. To clarify my mistake, Jack explained what Mars is, followed by the age-old attempt with a l) all and flashlight to decode to the unlearned the mysteries of the stationary sun, its planets, and what makes night and day.
Under this bucolic atmosphere I was protected from the fact that a war was in the making. Adults must have been aware of the prospects, but fear of war and our bleak finances were two worries that were not discussed in my presence. How vividly I remember hearing the news of Pearl Harbor on the radio, my not-quite eight-year-old world shattered with fear. It was Jack who calmed me down, finally convincing me we weren't all going to be bombed. All three brothers were draft age but Bud and Ralph were deferred because they had jobs in aircraft factories in Southern California and it was not until the war had taken its toll after years of heavy battles and more men were needed that they got drafted. Jack was headed for a prep school in Long Beach and acceptance into the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. No surprise. Mother kept samples of childhood drawings of all six of us kids, and Jack's drawings were always of boats.
Gas and tires were among the many things rationed during the war years. Since we lived on a farm we were allowed extra rations of gas for our farm vehicles to provide much-needed crops. With careful planning we were able to drive to Los Angeles occasionally. At 35 mph we didn't mind, for it was a privilege few others could enjoy. And can you imagine the entire area of Los ~Angeles at night with no lights anywhere during an air raid practice?! We visited Jack in Long Beach and he told of an air raid complete with searchlights and flying shrapnel. Rumors were rampant about many things during the war and the government never liked to frighten people so similar events were always hushed up. To this day there are still arguments over what was fact vs. fiction, and whether or not enemy planes ever flew over U.S. mainland.
Because of the war, the usual four year course of study at the Coast Guard Academy was compressed into three years. It must have been a grueling life, but Jack did have a little time off to come home each summer and what a treat that was for me. We gathered around him like missionaries on a remote island when the supply boat arrives once a year, listening to his tales. The "real" sailor cap that he brought to me was a mainstay of my wardrobe and treasured for years. Whatever the tale, whatever the situation, whatever the challenge, I believed my big brothers could do absolutely anything and everything. Jack would teach me the Coast Guard song, the motto, the things the plebes had to memorize to say to the upperclassmen upon demand. All the plebes sitting on the same side of the dining table had their hands chained to a common, long rod so that every time one moved his hand, they all moved their hands, and they had to eat their meal this way. Or they'd have a race to eat their vegetable soup and when the first person finished, everyone else had to turn their bowls upside down on their heads, with peas, carrots, noodles dribbling down their faces. Their subtle ways of teaching teamwork, no doubt.
He told how, when they all went out on dates in the winter, someone would sneak ahead, climb up a tree where the path narrows, and when the group would approach the tree and narrow spot the guys would "politely" let the girls walk ahead and the guy in the tree would shake the limbs hard and make all the snow fall on the girls. Another tale was about a training cruise to Cuba. All the Coast Guardsmen had to go to a fancy dress ball. As all the couples were dancing, one by one (or two by two?) they started clearing a path as an enormous tarantula went crawling across the dance floor. All stood around the edge of the floor, wondering what to do. Finally, one brave soul went out to the middle of the floor and killed the spider. Not missing an opportunity, Jack strutted out to the floor with chest puffed out, smiling to everyone and thumbs stuck under his armpits (that was a comical gesture of pride in those days) because it was his date who killed the tarantula!
Jack always liked to drive places, and each summer visit usually meant an excursion nearby. He had a knack for wanting to take unusual pictures, which meant we often ended up doing some silly things and of course the pictures never turned out looking the way he thought they would. One time at a lake someone's boat was pulled
up on the sand so he wanted us all to get in the boat and make the picture look like we were on the water. He "pulled" the oars through the sand while the rest of us leaned back in the boat, "trailing" our toes and fingers in the sand. Another time as we walked in a forest we came across a large tree fallen on the ground and way behind it was an upright, burned out tree trunk. Immediately he saw the possibilities for a fun picture. He told us to climb up on the fallen tree and he would climb into
the other trunk that was hidden by the fallen tree and no one would be able to figure out how he was standing up so high way back in the background. Well, of course the pictures never showed the hoped for illusions but to this day it makes me laugh every time I see them in the photo album. Come to think of it, it was not very long ago when he brought six watermelons from his garden to a family gathering. It so happened all six of us "kids" in our 50's and 60's were there, so he wanted a picture of us all, with each one holding a watermelon on our heads. Jack's spontaneity was always a fresh breeze in our otherwise predictable lives. One time we were playing baseball in the schoolyard near our house when the fire truck from the rural station two miles down the road went by. In an instant Jack said let's follow it. We went home, jumped in the car and went out searching for the fire truck. Pretty soon we caught up with it and it was taking its own sweet time. We puttsied along behind it for a while, prompting Jack to lean out the window and say, "Hey, would you hurry up? We've got to get to a fire!" Soon we saw a pillar of smoke from a brush fire about 25 miles away and decided that was too far, so turned around and carne home.
Our drives frequently took us to the foothills and cool mountains. Jack always stopped at every historical marker (and there were many in the pioneer and mining country of the foothills) so we could get out and read and ponder in awe at the bravery and/or fate of the people who shaped the country. In this same foothill area were many old, rusty })ridges with their picturesque high-sided frameworks, many years past their prime, precariously perched above ravines. They would shake ominously as our old cars rumbled across them, sounding (and feeling) as if they would snap and break any moment, hurling us mercilessly into the depths of heinous perils. We could hardly wait to get across them, safely secure on solid ground again after reaching the other side, but Jack usually had other plans. He knew that a real attention getter was to go half way across the bridge and then stop! This was always followed by frantic female squeals from the back seat: Jack! Jack! Hurry up! Get across! Most of these bridges have been replaced now with sleek, unnoticeable bridges that people zoom across without even a whimper, unaware of the adventure it could have been if they rode with Jack years ago.
That was to the east of where we lived. Now if you drove to the west to the delta islands of the mouth of the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers still another type of bridge was awaiting Jack's "victims." This was high-water/low-bridge boating country and if a boat was too big to fit under the bridge, you signaled with your boat horn, the bridge master sounded the siren and warning bells, lowered the gates across the road and waited for everyone to finish driving across the bridge, and then raise the bridge. A few bridges would pivot in the middle to allow boats to pass, or the entire middle section would raise up, but most drawbridges were designed with an enormous concrete block weighing who-knows-how-many tons slowly lowering and as it lowered it would pull up the other end of the bridge. When the bridge was in its normal position this concrete block was hovering high above the roadway. Now any sensible person knew it was more than just the termites holding hands (a famous Jack expression) that kept this concrete block safely in its place. On the other hand, anyone with any sense of imagination would not want to tarry underneath it, either. Of course, this was another favorite place for Jack to stop the car--right under the concrete block. Again, terrified squeals from the back seat, followed by laughter from the driver.
When the war was over it was a relief to have all brothers safely home, although Jack had to stay in the Coast Guard for a while to finish his commitment. (After investing in a student in a service academy, the government wanted to be sure to get its money's worth.) He was home for my 8th grade graduation. My 8th grade teacher was big on poetry, and for the program I had to recite a long poem. Actually, it was a four-versed song recitation, during which another teacher played the music on the piano, so there was no room for error nor to bluff my way through. Naturally, I was nervous about it. A few days before the graduation, Jack tried to put a whammy on me. Each time our paths crossed he'd look me straight in the eye and slowly and methodically repeat, When.you.get.to.the.1st.line.of.the.3rd.verse. you're. going. to. forget. what. to. say! " I tried to ignore him, but his prediction always lurked in the back of my mind and for a few fleeting moments just before I went on stage I feared I might blow it, but once I started I was very confident. I looked at Jack in the audience several times during the recitation just to prove to him that he hadn't freaked me out, but when I got to the 1st line of the 3rd verse I didn't dare look at him, because I knew it was too risky and I knew better than to underestimate the power of Jack! I wouldn't have forgotten my lines, but I would have burst out laughing, and that would have been even harder to explain to my teacher.
Jack planned to get a teaching credential at San Jose State just in case he would: need it. (The post war years meant many young men were out looking for jobs.) So he spent part of the summer working at home until the school year started, and what a summer that was! The images that flash through my mind as I "fast forward" the scenes of that summer are still vivid--many chase scenes through the house with loud door-slamming, and as we sailed through the house the inside-dog, never wanting to miss out on a good romp, would join in, yapping at our fast-flying heels. Then out the front door and around the house to the back door, during which time the outside-dog would take up the chase. The floor plan of our large house was unique in that it had many "islands" of doorways where one could chase around in circles, or hide or sneak around while waiting for the other person to discover what dastardly deed you had done to them or their possessions.
It was mental exercise as well as physical, since each joke played required some thought for retaliation. Short sheeting the beds was always popular, and filling the toes of shoes with rocks and pebbles was usually worthy of some recognition, too, and, of course, the summer heat always prompted a good water fight. It would start out innocently enough--perhaps I'd ride my bike down the long driveway while Jack was watering the yard. Well, one thing would lead to another and before you knew it Bingo! Niagara Falls!
There'd also be long games (endurance tests, actually) of ping pong, card games (his memory amazed me), checkers and its opposite--giveaway, Chinese checkers and still the perennial favorite, star-gazing. But we were in a different house now, and behind this house was a fruit shed where peaches were cut and dried, and there was also a loading pit where boxes of grapes were emptied into gondola trucks. All of the grapes didn't make it into the truck, and after the wheels squished over the fallen grapes it made a nice, gooey mess. No doubt I was asking for trouble and had done some pesky thing when Jack escorted me to the loading pit and decided a few smashed grapes smeared around my face would improve my looks. This act was not to go unnoticed. Along the entire length of our long yard was a huge, thick hedge about 5 feet high and 4 feet wide. Jack was pruning the hedge and I was dust mopping in the house. What, to do with the dust mop? Well sure, Why not?. I sneaked around to the other side of the hedge, mop in hand and suddenly reached across the hedge and shook all the dust out in Jack's face. That did it. The usual chase commenced. We always raised a few chickens and the "nursery" included a small coop about 6' x 9' made of chicken wire on all sides and across the top. Jack dragged me into the chicken coop and nailed the door shut so he could finish his pruning in peace. Fortunately, it was soon time for my piano lesson and I still laugh when I contemplate what any farm workers nearby must have thought when my mother opened the back door from the house and yelled out "Jack, let Mary Ann out
of the chicken coop now! II
Between mosquitoes and the heat, it was often hard for me to get to sleep at night so I slept late in the mornings. If Jack thought I slept later than I should he'd ask "What are you trying to do, rot in bed?1I and then tip the mattress up so I'd roll onto the floor, and there I'd be sprawled on the floor with my mattress on top of me. Frequently, Jack's way to cool off in the evenings would be to go for a bike ride, or a ride in the car with all the windows down. Or better yet, ride to town for a milkshake. This only happened when Jack was home, and it was special.
Always cautious with the pennies and no doubt tired after a hard day's work, my parents would never think of driving six miles all the way to town just to buy a milkshake. But with Jack anything and everything was possible. He was very family oriented and shared so much of himself with us. Sometimes he was my chauffeur as well as my counselor. He'd drive all around town to find a parking meter that still had time left on it. He wasn't cheap, it was just more of a challenge that way. He always enjoyed what he was doing and he made everything fun for everyone around him. Our play-fighting and teasing was all in good humor and was great fun. One time a medical encyclopedia salesman came to the door and was trying to get Mother to buy his books. (Salesmen were a rarity in the country.) Jack pretended to answer the phone and in a very loud voice said "Dr. Smith's residence. (Pause) No, Dr. Smith isn't here right now" Mother didn't have any trouble getting rid of the salesman.
Jack even made mowing the lawn a challenge. In addition to all of us graduating from the same elementary school, we all also graduated from the same high school-Lodi Hi. When he mowed the front lawn, he didn't just routinely zip back and forth across the lawn. He would mow carefully and strategically with concentration, guiding the mower (a hand-powered mower, not motorized) this way and that, "carving" out letters in the grass and when he was finished, voilà the unmowed tufts of grass would spell out "Lodi Hi."
Most kids don't want summer to end because they have to go back to school. I didn't want summer to end because my brother had to go back to school.
After he got his credential at San Jose State, the call of the north lured Jack to the University of Alaska. There he would earn his civil engineering degree which embarked him on his life's career, and there he would find marriage and parenthood. By this time I was in my early teens. How well I remember saying goodbye at the train depot. I stayed at the track side and watched the train head north until it was no longer in sight and I was staring bleary-eyed at empty tracks. It was the end of an era and it was the end of my childhood.
- I was born on January 19, 1922 at our ranch house in Covina, California. I was named Jackie Wilson Schwarze, and I was given that name because no one else had that name and my cousin was named Johnny and about the same age as me.
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Sources - [S956] Ancestry Family Trees, (Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.;), Database online.
Record for Jack Wilbur Schwarze - [S398] Ancestry.com, U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2015;).
Record for Jack Wilbur Schwarze
http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=Numident&h=19311593&indiv=try - [S956] Ancestry Family Trees, (Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.;), Database online.
Record for Wanda Marie Moleskey - [S342] Ancestry.com, U.S. School Yearbooks, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2010;), "U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012"; School Name: Lodi High School; Year: 1939.
Record for Jack Schwarze
https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=1265&h=291632268&indiv=try
US, School Yearbooks, 1900-1999 - Jack Wilbur Schwarze - [S421] Ancestry.com, U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2011;), The National Archives in St. Louis, Missouri; St. Louis, Missouri; WWII Draft Registration Cards for California, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 1619.
Record for Jack Wilbur Schwarze
https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=2238&h=17333590&indiv=try - [S1109] Ancestry.com, California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2017;), California State Library; Sacramento, California; Great Register of Voters, 1900-1968.
Record for Jack W Schwarze
https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=61066&h=62335026&indiv=tryCalifornia, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968 - Jack Wilbur Schwarze Jack Schwarze - 1940 United States Federal Census - [S506] Ancestry.com, U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2015;).
Record for Jack Wilbur Schwarze
https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=60901&h=19311593&indiv=try - [S853] Ancestry.com, 1940 United States Federal Census, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012;), Year: 1940; Census Place: Liberty, San Joaquin, California; Roll: m-t0627-00324; Page: 20A; Enumeration District: 39-29.
Record for Jack Schwarze
https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=2442&h=72971793&indiv=tryJack Schwarze - 1940 United States Federal Census - [S1109] Ancestry.com, California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2017;), California State Library; Sacramento, California; Great Register of Voters, 1900-1968.
Record for Jack W Schwarze
https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=61066&h=47825312&indiv=tryCalifornia, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968 - Jack Wilbur Schwarze - [S959] Ancestry.com, U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2011;).
Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index, Master File. Provo, Utah: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2005. - [S407] Ancestry.com, California Birth Index, 1905-1995, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2005;).
Ancestry.com. California Birth Index, 1905-1995 [database online]. Provo, Utah: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2005. Original data: State of California. California Birth Index, 1905-1995. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. - [S312] Ancestry.com, 1940 United States Federal Census, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012;), Database online. Year: 1940; Census Place: Liberty, San Joaquin, California; Roll: T627_324; Page: 20A; Enumeration District: 39-29.
Record for Jack SchwarzeJack Schwarze - 1940 United States Federal Census - [S968] Ancestry.com, California, Death Index, 1940-1997, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2000;), Database online. Place: ; Date: ; Social Security: .
Record for Jack W Schwarze - [S959] Ancestry.com, U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2011;), Database online. Number: 554-20-6257; Issue State: California; Issue Date: Before 1951.
Record for Jack W. Schwarze - [S312] Ancestry.com, 1940 United States Federal Census, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012;), Database online. Year: 1940; Census Place: Liberty, San Joaquin, California; Roll: T627_324; Page: 20A; Enumeration District: 39-29.
Record for Conrad Schwarze SeniorJack Schwarze - 1940 United States Federal Census - [S968] Ancestry.com, California, Death Index, 1940-1997, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2000;).
Ancestry.com. California Death Index, 1940-1997. [database online] Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2000. Original electronic data: State of California. California Death Index, 1940-1997. Sacramento, CA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics, 19--. - [S407] Ancestry.com, California Birth Index, 1905-1995, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2005;), Database online. Birthdate: 19 Jan 1922; Birth County: Los Angeles.
Record for Jacky W Schwarze - [S332] Ancestry.com, California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2008;).
Record for
http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=CAvoter&h=1321421941&indiv=tryCalifornia, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968 - Jack Wilbur Schwarze - [S408] Ancestry.com, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2011;), Database online.
Record for Jack W SchwarzeJack W Schwarze - U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 (Beta) - [S408] Ancestry.com, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2011;), Database online.
Record for Jack W SchwarzeWanda M Schwarze - U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 (Beta) - [S332] Ancestry.com, California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2008;), Database online.
Record for- California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968 - [S332] Ancestry.com, California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2008;).
Record for
http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=CAvoter&h=3478572062&indiv=try- California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968 - [S332] Ancestry.com, California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2008;), Database online.
Record for- California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968 - [S332] Ancestry.com, California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2008;).
Record for
http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=CAvoter&h=3790462641&indiv=try- California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968 - [S332] Ancestry.com, California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2008;), Database online.
Record for- California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968 - [S332] Ancestry.com, California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2008;).
Record for
http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=CAvoter&h=909587162&indiv=try- California, Voter Registrations, 1900-1968
- [S956] Ancestry Family Trees, (Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.;), Database online.