Notes

Note N7 Index

Richie was about 2 when the family farm was taken by eminent domain to create the Cannonsville (NY) Reservoir.
(See Cannonsville Dam and Reservoir in Walton NY.)
Richie was about 8 when Blanche (grandmother) was kicked-out of the home for stabbing Jerry; she moved to Deposit NY and lived on her own.
Richie remembers spending time at "Gene's" farm (Uncle? Grandfather?) and an old lady there was petrified of snakes.
From questionnaire Richie filled-out before Class of '72 20thHigh School Reunion:
"Divorced but seriously committed - 2nd marriage a distinct possibility.
Lived in San Francisco 2 years.
In Boston since 1984.
Very active member of medieval recreation organization. Involved in armored combat/archery; still play guitar and sing.
Became black belt in Washin-Ryu Karate 1984.
Refereed and judged at U.S. Open in Karate in October of that year.
Struck on the head in criminal assault in 1982 with multiple skull fractures and cerebral trauma. This resulted in profound personality change - actually an improvement "

Notes

Note N6 Index

Per Richie:

Careers: Robert was a master gunsmith and Richie grew up with a houseful of guns, including a functioning Gatling gun. He was a Master Machinist at the -- plant. Tell the "Euclid" story.

Prison: Richie says his father was imprisoned for manslaughter as a result of shooting 2 "white trash" who were beating up a black man. Robert became a "jailhouse lawyer" and was able to get out of prison by enlisting in the National Guard -- which then almost immediately became Army service in WW2.

Military Service: Robert received multiple purple hearts from his service in WW2; he was on Omaha Beach on D-Day and was one of very few survivors from his unit (and the only one with all his arms and legs). Richie tells the story of his father sleeping in a hole, where he was discovered by General Patton, who ordered him guarded until he woke up, which he did after 2 solid days of sleep. He is also said to have been responsible for blowing-up a key bridge. At some point, Robert was liaison for a Ghurka company. While recovering from injuries, his hospital was over-run by Germans; he was not permitted a weapon, so he escaped from the hospital, and was listed as AWOL. He spent the end of the War in a Wermacht POW camp; a story from that time is of the holiday care/food packages the prisoners received and how the guards were ordered to protect the POWs from having their packages stolen. Prisoners and guards alike were living on meager rations. When Robert came home from the war, malnourished and suffering from what is now known as PTSD, he spent recovery time at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. Someone there, seeing him and others with nothing to do, arranged an offer of education from Wellesley College; all but Robert declined. He apparently had completed enough courses to come within 1 credit of earning a degree, and that was not permitted as the prestigious womens' college did not want to bestow a degree on a man.

Miscellaneous: Tell the hospital/surgery story. Tell the story of the race to town by him on motorcycle vs Laura on horseback.

Per Penny Tuttle Sencer Nov. 2011: "The stories about Bob saving the world single-handed are a crock, according to Jan. Also, he only took a couple of courses at (Wellesley), not one course short of a degree."

Notes

Note N4 Index

Per Richie Dec.2008:

Marriages & Children: Janet was married to a man whose name he does not know. The marriage was annulled. Janet was pregnant and said the father was Bob Cavanaugh who used to drive her to work; this person has not been found. It is possible the father was the husband from the annulled marriage. Janet went to live with Doug Tuttle and his wife, and when the boy was born, the birth certificate gave their names as parents, not Janet. (This is Craig Jared Tuttle aka Jerry Monroe.) She lived with the Tuttles for some time, giving birth to a girl (Penelope) and later a boy (?), whose birth certificates also list the Tuttles as parents. It is likely that Doug Tuttle was the father of both these babies. Janet and the Tuttles had a fight and she moved out. Janet married Robert Monroe and had a son, Richard, about 8 months later. (She has said that all her births were premature.)

Education: Richie also has always said his mother was one of the first female graduates of RPI, and that she did slide-rule calculations for a government agency which was likely part of the Manhattan Project. She was known as "Boom Boom" at RPI for having caused a lab explosion.

Career: Janet worked at General Electric for a few years. (Is this when/where she did the calculations?) Janet taught Biology, Chemistry, Physics & Latin for a year or so in Sidney NY. She taught Biology & Chemistry at Bainbridge until her retirement, and was a local Teachers' Union president.

Per Richie Nov 2010: While Janet was lifeguarding at swimming pool, the umbrella on her tall chair was struck by lightning; she was knocked unconscious and into the pool

Notes

Note N9 Index

Per Penny Tuttle Sencer Nov. 2011: "The Webers were originally from the Alsace/Lorraine region, but several generations back."