HOME STORIES – memories from Tim Whitmer 

THE ROBERTSON FAMILY HOME (Maternal grandparents of Tim Whitmer) 

Delbert C. Roberston and Lillian J. Jackson were Tim’s maternal grandparents. Their family home was in Owensboro, KY. By 1952, their home was at 1637 Parrish Ave. Tim recalls that the house was small, with a long and slender yard. One of the highlights of their yard, was a screened-in outbuilding where the family would gather for wonderful dishes like homemade ice cream. Among other wonderful foods served there, Tim mentioned the banana salad, b-b-q mutton, and watermelon. (Mutton was a favorite food and was served at a local establishment called The Mutton Pit.) Tim remembers that the home was shaped like a “box” with a living room at the front and 2 bedrooms in the back. There was 1 bathroom. He believes there was a crawl space. The kitchen was a good size, and his grandmother was a very good cook. One of the features of the kitchen were the bins that were 8” to 10” long and about 24” deep. These bins fit into the kitchen cupboards and held items like oatmeal, white flour, and cornmeal. Tim was allowed to play in the flour with his clean hands when he was very young. A happy family home that was always welcoming! 

THE WHITMER FAMILY HOME (Paternal grandparents of Tim Whitmer) 

Charles Emmett Whitmer, Sr. and Eura Noffsinger were the paternal grandparents of Tim Whitmer. Tim recalls, that his grandfather ran a local General Store that he had started on his own. In fact, the Calumet clock in the Ann Arbor home of Tim and Mary Ann came from that store where it used to hang. The store had a unique giant oak tree that grew up through the center of the building. The Whitmer family home in Owensboro was single story. There was no basement. This is the home that Charles Emmett Whitmer, Jr. grew up in. At some point, an addition was built on this home, and the large front porch connected the original home to an additional home with its own entry. Tim said that “duplex” was not a word used at that time. The porch was not like the porches of today. It was bricked halfway up, was about 8’ x 10’ and you “set out” (not sat out) on your porch! In several US Census records and city directories, a home address of 1303 Breckenridge was listed. 

ROMANCE A CUTE STORY ABOUT CHARLES AND WANDA (Parents of Tim Whitmer) 

Tim recalls that his parents met in High School where Tim’s father played the trombone, and his mother played the clarinet. A funny story that Charles liked to recall is how he would use the slide of his trombone to tap Wanda.