Alice married her “Sailor Boy”, Erwin H. Bardeen, at the home of Rev. S.S. Pratt in Canandaigua NY Dec. 8 1945 while he was home on leave from the US Navy. The witnesses were Doris Bergman of Gorham &  Mrs. Clifford Straight of Canandaigua. Erwin returned to his ship shortly after. He was discharged Dec. 24 1945. MERRY CHRISTMAS. The only thing the author remembers about the day was Erwin gave him some money. Charley Bergman & the author went to the movies. We both were almost 12 years old.

Erwin Henry Bardeen Born Dec. 3 1916

Shown in his US Navy uniform 1944 - 1945

Alice May Bond Born Feb. 17 1914

Wedding picture [to Erwin]

    Erwin was born in Naples, Ontario Co. NY, the eldest of five children born to Alfred Vernie Bardeen [Nov. 8 1894 - Nov. 11 1988] & Leah Belle Bergman [Nov. 27 1895 - Sept. 7 1980]. The other children are: Gretchen b. 1920 - d. 1928 ~ Ruby b. abt. 1923 ~ Harold b. abt 1925 ~ Robert b. 1928

    The Bardeen family lived around the Naples, Rushville & Gorham NY area. The 1930 Gorham census shows them living on NY Rt. 247 just south of the intersection with Lake to Lake Rd. Erwin & some of the others went to the brick schoolhouse located on the northwest corner of that intersection. When he married Alice she owned the schoolhouse having bought it in 1937. It is now # 4496 Rt. 247.. He moved in with her & lived there the rest of his life. After attending school there he went to the high school in Gorham village where he was in the first graduation class of the “new” school in 1934.

    After graduation, Erwin worked on the farm with his father, drove milk truck & later worked at the Geneva [NY] Foundry. Erwin married Morrine Rundt about 1937. Their only child, Alfred James “Jimmy” was born Aug. 28 1938. Erwin & Morrine were divorced around 1941. 

    On April 15 1944 Erwin enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Basic training was at the Sampson Naval base, now Sampson State Park on Rt. 96 south of Geneva NY. He received a Gunner’s Mate 3rd class rating. He became a 20 mm anti-aircraft gunner aboard cargo & transport ships. He served aboard two ships, the USS Maya, probably from Honduras & a Liberty ship the USS George W. Mc Crary. During his short career [1 yr.- 8 mo.-10 days] he was in 2 English ports, 2 French ports, 1 Russian [Baltic Sea] port, Naples Italy, Suez Cannel ,Panama Cannel, Okinawa & Japan ! He was discharged Dec. 24 1945.  For more detail on his WW II service contact the author.

Specifications of a typical Liberty ship:

Length = 441 ft 6 inch

Beam= 56 ft 10.75 inch

Draft = 27 ft 9.25 inch

Propulsion = 2 oil-fired steam boilers- single screw

Speed= 11 knots [12.7 mph]

Crew= 41

    After Erwin was out of the Navy one of the first things he & Alice did was to sell her worn out 1939 Buick [left]. Alice’s 1st husband, Charles Blakesley, bought it for her in 1940. Erwin & the author went looking for a replacement. What they found was a mint 1930 Model “A” Ford similar to the one on the right. Alice was not pleased. She had to drive this 15 year old car to work, suffering  the teasing of her co-workers. A far cry from the big luxury Buick. Erwin & the author thought it was the finest car ever built. It did not last long. She drove the living hell out of it !    

      As Alice continued to work as a waitress, Erwin went to work for H.W. Keeney. a construction company based in Canandaigua NY. At the time they were involved in road construction. Erwin drove truck for them. The author remembers going with him to light safety flares on days when they were not working. At some point he bought 1946/47 Dodge truck & went into the business of hauling milk from farms to Grandview Dairy in Gorham NY, something he he had done before WW 2. 

Erwin with his new 1946/47 Dodge truck. Photo taken at his & Alice’s home at the intersection of NY Rt. 247 & Lake to Lake Rd in the town of Gorham. This is the same place that Alice & first husband, Charles Blakesley bought in 1937. Now known as # 4496 Rt. 247. In the back ground is the farm home of Charley’s parents, Homer & Lucy Blakesley. They were still living there at the time.

    Around late 1946, early 1947, Erwin had his brother Harold take over the milk route while he took up farming. The first place he operated was the Claude Gorton farm on Crowe Rd. in the town of Gorham about 2 miles east of Rushville village. There the author learned to drive tractor, trucks & a 1928 Chevrolet jalopy. Erwin also started to remodel the home. A cellar was dug around & under the wood rear section making room for a furnace. A water pump was hooked to the cistern in the old cellar under the main house. The end result was two more bedrooms, a bath with hot & cold running water & central heat. WE WERE LIVING HIGH OFF THE HOG NOW. In early 1948, Erwin took over the operation of the farm across the road from his & Alice’s home. This is the place that the authors grandparents Homer & Lucy Blakesley had operated. AKA “The Wilson  Farm”

    Erwin & Alice found 1948 to be both a good & bad year. The bad was that Alice’s son, the author, came down with Rheumatic Fever which confined him to total bed rest for three months. This was followed by another month or so of rehabilitation. This meant she had to attend to him plus he was unable to help around the house or help Erwin on the farm.

    The good was the birth of Erwin & Alice’s twin sons on June 29 1948.   Photo on the left is Erwin & the twins ca 1948. David on the left, Daniel on the right,

     Erwin continued to operate the “Wilson Farm” with various farm hands until the end of 1957. He then quit farming & went to work for the Town of Gorham Highway Department. On February 5, 1964 he suffered a massive heart attach & died instantly. He was 47 years old.

The original of this photo was taken in 1962

Erwin’s grave site in Rose Ridge Cemetery in Naples NY

R.I.P. good father, good friend.

    The death of Erwin left Alice in about the same situation as she was in when she divorced her first husband in 1944. She had the old house, a nearly new car, two young children & not much else. The twin boys, Daniel & David were 15 years old at the time. What she had going for her was steady work as a waitress, determination & moral support from her two older children & many friends.

Alice, age about 50 at the time of Erwin’s death in 1964.

Left: Erwin & Jimmy about 1944

Right: Jim’s high school graduation photo. about 1956.

Jim was killed in a car accident April 28 1972. He was the authors stepbrother & friend.  R.I.P. good brother