Vern's Memories of when he was growing up.
including his travels on the Railroad
Click on the map below to go along with 1941 - 1950 story.
Or go directly to the Fennville or New Richmond Pages.

FENNVILLE I first felt the rumble of the steam engines in 1940 when Mom, my two sisters and I moved to a house about 800 feet from the Pere Marquette tracks on Walter St. (Double White dot at bottom of Map). This is where I went to kindergardern.  We had previously lived three miles to the south west on Hutchins Lake. KELLOGSVILLE In 1941 we moved to Kellogsville, a suburb of Grand Rapids, where I went to the 1st grade.  We lived near a RR track there too. I was at the tracks one day, climbing trees and fell onto glass and cut the base of my left thumb. you can still see the scar. Mom worked at Frost's where they made latches. One day she told us she had to change jobs and we had to move. I made the mistake of telling the baby sitter and she left us kids all alone, on the spot. That is the first time I remember seeing Mom cry. BURTON HEIGHTS It was 1942 when we moved here and I was in the 2nd grade. Aunt Blanch lived about a block south of us. Just about three doors to the east was a bakery that made wafer cookies and they threw the broken wafer sheets out the back window. Guess who ate all he could. This bakery was on Division Ave. and across the street was a movie theater. That is where we saw "Bambi" when it 1st came. out.

Map is from the Pere Marquette Historical Society

June 6, 1947 Pere Marquette Railway merged into the Chesapeake & Ohio.