EY #7: Tell about your brothers while growing up; Part 2

This post is actually a day late, by my blog tradition, but I couldn't rush through it to get it done in time after work last night....

As I've mentioned a few times with other posts, our family tends to double up on special days; December 4th was the first one I was ever aware of... 4 birthdays on the 4th!

First came my brother Allen Carl Zielke, born December 4, 1947.

Allen, bursting his buttons
(Backyard at Grandma Hill's house)

Then came our cousin, Marcia Pope (second daughter of Aunt Grace).

Marcia Pope
Christmas (Late 60's)

Then came Al's first daughter, Gail Lynn, December 4, 1968.

Gail, modeling her first swim suit
Summer, 1970

And then came our niece, Bill's daughter, Kirsten Marie, on December 4, 1970.

Kirsten came to meet Grandma Zielke once
January, 1971

Now that you've met everyone, let me tell you a little bit about the three closest to me, my brother and my two nieces!

Al's Senior Picture
1965

A handsome young man, yes? I always kind of thought him a cross between Elvis and Troy Donahue and I certainly had a sense of pride when all the other girls on the school bus told me how cute my brother was!

Al's Kindergarten Graduation
1953

Allen was the only one of us to go to a parochial school. He missed the public school birthday deadline to turn "5" by three days. St. Paul's Lutheran School was willing to take him, so he went there with some cousins for his first year of school.

Something in this picture
reminds me of my grandson, Peyton!

He was the mischievous one in the family. At least I remember him getting in trouble a lot more than Bill or me. And he's the one I remember telling me not to tell Mom or Dad. And I never did. I just always felt special to be in on his little secrets! And, I never wanted to be responsible for one of those times that I stood by crying as I watched my mother chasing him around the dining room table with a belt! And part of his punishment was coming in to my room to console me and let me know he was alright...and he'd always laugh...

Al in his baseball uniform
with me & Boots!

He was a jock and has always loved all sports, but was particularly good at baseball & basketball. And when he wasn't playing sports, he made up games that I could play with him, kicking a tennis ball through the drainage holes on the front porch of our house in Aurora or the "balloon game" in the living room. I know I was always terrible at sports, but he rarely cut me any slack and still loved beating me.

In his East Aurora Marching
Band Uniform; 1962?

He was a musician, playing trombone in band & orchestra, usually sitting first chair and he used to play "Love Me Tender" on his accordion for me. (Maybe that's why I linked him to Elvis!)

Al & Marcia
August 13, 1966

He gave me my first sister (Marcia Lee Westphal; see May 23 post), my first nephew (Dan) and my first niece (Gail). Many years later, he gave me another nephew (Jeff) and another niece (Mary Ellen) with his third wife (Sue Wohlers).

A few years ago, he scared us all when he had a heart attack. Definitely not the one of us I would have expected to have health problems first, but he does what the doctor tells him to do now (for the most part).

Al with 3 of his kids & 2 grandsons: March, 2008
Gail & Mary; Dan, Devon, Donovan & Al

When I made my reunion tour to Wisconsin and Illinois in September, I was glad to get to spend time with Al & Mary and to meet Mary's husband and two adorable kids.

Me with Al, Logan, Andrew, Mary, Ella,
Abigail, Emily & Barton
September, 2013

I don't think there will EVER be a birthday more memorable for Allen than his 21st birthday though! That night the headline for the Aurora Beacon News was "Police Deliver Special Gift; Teller Reaps Dividend."

A week or so before that day, his pregnant wife was walking downtown Aurora when she slipped on a patch of ice and did the splits, apparently doing some muscular damage, because when she went into labor on the night of December 3/4, it was obvious to Al right away that he wasn't going to get her to the car to get to the hospital three blocks away! He ran upstairs to get my dad to help carry Marcia to the car, but it was obvious that wasn't going to work either. The police came and Gail Lynn arrived on the scene! They were taken to the hospital afterward and that evening I eagerly looked through the newspaper for the birth announcement of my new niece. When I couldn't find it, we were all a bit disgruntled! Just because she wasn't born IN the hospital, she didn't rank a birth announcement in the paper?!?!? And then we saw it! A front page headline and article explaining Gail's birth and playing up the fact that it was her dad's 21st birthday and even better--- it was his day off work from the bank!

Gail learning to make brownies!

Gail got a bit of her dad's mischief and a bit of her mom's ditziness, and I sure did love having her around. She and her brother brought me so much joy, love and happiness through my junior high and high school years. Nearly every day when I got home from school, she and Dan would run upstairs screaming and begging me to play their favorite songs, Doo Doo Doo and Bah, Bah, Bah on the stereo... 

On Saturday mornings I never got to sleep in, because they'd come bounding up the stairs asking me to make them French Toast. I used to take them everywhere with me, even to the grocery store on Saturday mornings with DeeDee. When I was in college I took them to spend a week with me in the summer on campus at the Zeta House and then they spent time with me at Randy's in Morton, Illinois the summer before we got married.

Gail Lynn with husband, Rick Perez

All too soon, before I knew it, my little niece was married with a daughter of her own and now SHE's a grandma herself! In spite of the fact that she's 45 now and no matter how THIN she is, she'll always be our little "porkchop" in her sailor swimsuit! (FYI-Her dad came up with that nickname--not me!)

Gail & I
September, 2013

And then we come to the last one born on this special day. Our special little Kirsten Marie. 

Kirsten
1971

Kirsten was born to my other brother, Bill and his wife Pat (Patricia Thomson).

She was a very welcome sight after a very difficult pregnancy during which Pat spent most of her time on bed rest.

Kirsten with big brother Todd

Kirsten loved to sing. She loved books. And she had a way of working her way right into everyone's heart. She loved Babar the Elephant and she loved her "babitz." (Her baby doll) She brought sunshine into all our lives, but sadly that sunshine didn't last long enough. Kirsten passed away little more than a month after her fourth birthday in January, 1975. Gone, but definitely not forgotten, we celebrate the anniversary of her birth each year, right along with Al & Gail.

To these very special people in my life, I wish a VERY Happy Birthday. I'm grateful for the part they've played in my life and the love they've given me.

I hope you all had a wonderful day and know that Kirsten was there with you.