1939 - The Storm Rises....
"It was my lot in life to have been born at a time that propelled me into draft age just at the time WWII broke upon the scene. For several years - since 1937 - we had been hearing about Hitler; we heard his speeches via radio and we read accounts of his threats to absorb all of Europe - 'Today Europe - Tomorrow the world'. - H. Bishop Holliman, unpublished memoirs written 1991
For
my father, Bishop Holliman, a college history major, the new war brought energetic campus discussions, theological talks with his Methodist youth friends and friendly arguments with
brother-in-law, Robert W. Daly, Sr. My
Uncle Robert was famous for 'egging-on' his young in-laws, verbally sparing just for the sake of a good argument and on just about any subject. He helped sharpen their minds and characters during the 1930s.
Bishop was the fifth of seven children, born
1919, and whose life would go in different directions because of the War.
Robert was a mentor and 'big brother' figure for the three youngest Hollimans
who still lived at home in 1939. In addition to Bishop, Virginia (1922-2011)
and Ralph, born 1924, resided at 2300 3rd Avenue North, Irondale, Alabama with their parents,
Ulyss (1884-1965) and Pearl Caine Holliman (1887-1955).
Four
older children had left the nest earlier.
They were Melton (1908-1958), Vena (1909-1990), Euhal (1912-1989) and Loudelle (1914-1998).
Above, Melton Holliman as a Shades Cahaba High School senior in a natty bow tie. After graduating in 1927, he began clerking in his Uncle Floyd Caine's drug store. There he learned the pharmaceutical trade, and made a successful career as a major salesman for Wyeth. His career was interrupted from 1943 to 1945 with service in the Army and medic duty in England, France and Mississippi.
Robert W. Daly, Sr. was a third generation Irishman, his immediate ancestors only six decades in the States by 1940. His grandfather, a civil engineer, had helped construct the Alabama Central Railroad. His father, Karl Daly, had been an Irondale, Alabama farmer. By the 21st Century, the Daly fields had long been subdivided into large housing tracts for suburban commuters, but the highway bears his name. Robert left the farm and become a banker in the early 1920s..jpg)
Vena and Robert Daly fishing along the Coosa River in 1938. Although Vena wore a bandana to protect herself from the Deep South sun, Robert fished in a white dress shirt and tie. It was indeed a more formal era in the decade prior to the War.
In 1931 Robert built two brick houses in the 2300 3rd Avenue North block of Irondale, on the steep hill overlooking the railroad switching yard. Vena, his wife, had come of age in the house next door, the home of Ulyss and Pearl Caine Holliman since 1921.
Of the seven children, Vena Vivian Holliman Daly was the first to marry in 1928. Husband Robert, born 1901, wise and full of mischievous good will, managed a bank in Woodlawn, Alabama.
Next a County Divided....
Have questions about Holliman family history and associated families? You are invited to join the Hollyman Email List at Hollyman-Subscribe@yahoogroups.com and the Hollyman Family Facebook Page located on Facebook at "Hollyman Family". Post your questions and perhaps one of the dozens Holyman cousins on the list will have an answer. For more information contact Tina Peddie at desabla1@yahoo.com, the list and Facebook manager for Hollyman (and all our various spellings!).
Since early 2010, I have been publishing research and stories on the broad spectrum of Holliman (Holyman) family history at http://hollimanfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/ . For stories on my more immediate family since the early 20th Century, I have been posting articles since early 2011 at http://ulyssholliman.blogspot.com/ .
Let's save the past for the future! If you have photographs, letters, memorabilia or research you wish to share, please contact me directly at glennhistory@gmail.com. Several of us have an on-going program of scanning and preserving Holyman and related family records. Thanks to the Internet, we are able to scan, upload to the web (with your permission) and return the materials to you.
Announcing also a "Seminar and Site" gathering October 18 and 19, 2013 in Fayette, Alabama for Hollimans and associated families whose ancestors are from that area. Space at the Rose House Inn is limited for the occasion due to a football weekend. For information, contact me at the above email. Hope to see some of you there. - GNH
Above, Melton Holliman as a Shades Cahaba High School senior in a natty bow tie. After graduating in 1927, he began clerking in his Uncle Floyd Caine's drug store. There he learned the pharmaceutical trade, and made a successful career as a major salesman for Wyeth. His career was interrupted from 1943 to 1945 with service in the Army and medic duty in England, France and Mississippi.Robert W. Daly, Sr. was a third generation Irishman, his immediate ancestors only six decades in the States by 1940. His grandfather, a civil engineer, had helped construct the Alabama Central Railroad. His father, Karl Daly, had been an Irondale, Alabama farmer. By the 21st Century, the Daly fields had long been subdivided into large housing tracts for suburban commuters, but the highway bears his name. Robert left the farm and become a banker in the early 1920s.
.jpg)
Vena and Robert Daly fishing along the Coosa River in 1938. Although Vena wore a bandana to protect herself from the Deep South sun, Robert fished in a white dress shirt and tie. It was indeed a more formal era in the decade prior to the War.
In 1931 Robert built two brick houses in the 2300 3rd Avenue North block of Irondale, on the steep hill overlooking the railroad switching yard. Vena, his wife, had come of age in the house next door, the home of Ulyss and Pearl Caine Holliman since 1921.
Of the seven children, Vena Vivian Holliman Daly was the first to marry in 1928. Husband Robert, born 1901, wise and full of mischievous good will, managed a bank in Woodlawn, Alabama.
Ulyss
moved his growing family from Fayette, Alabama in 1917, seeking employment in the
bustling, hard-nosed, blue collar steel city of Birmingham during an earlier World War. He found his carpentry skills in demand by
the Birmingham Electric Company that ran the street car line. From that year until his retirement in 1949,
he repaired the wooden trolleys. In
1953, the last street car ran in Birmingham and an era closed. But Ulyss had earned enough to support his
family during Depression and World Wars.
By
1939, a new World War had already engulfed both Asia and Europe. The military government of Japan invaded
China in 1937, a snake trying to swallow an elephant. On September 1, 1939, a half-mad, anti-Semitic
dictator of a resurgent Germany ordered a Blitzkrieg, a lighting war, on
Poland. In the name of reclaiming lands
lost by the 1919 Versailles Treaty, Adolph Hitler, (pictured) who came to power in 1933, vigorously
pursued his dream of a Greater Germany that would dominate Europe.
In the autumn for 1939, for the second time in a generation, much of the world was at war. What would the United States do? Would it once again come to the rescue of the European democracies? Would the country remain neutral while Japan extended its conquest of China?
And how would it impact the Holliman family of Irondale, Alabama?
In the autumn for 1939, for the second time in a generation, much of the world was at war. What would the United States do? Would it once again come to the rescue of the European democracies? Would the country remain neutral while Japan extended its conquest of China?
And how would it impact the Holliman family of Irondale, Alabama?
Since early 2010, I have been publishing research and stories on the broad spectrum of Holliman (Holyman) family history at http://hollimanfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/ . For stories on my more immediate family since the early 20th Century, I have been posting articles since early 2011 at http://ulyssholliman.blogspot.com/ .
Let's save the past for the future! If you have photographs, letters, memorabilia or research you wish to share, please contact me directly at glennhistory@gmail.com. Several of us have an on-going program of scanning and preserving Holyman and related family records. Thanks to the Internet, we are able to scan, upload to the web (with your permission) and return the materials to you.
