July 20, 1941 (Sunday)

EDNA IS GOING TO BED EARLY

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Real cool all day.

Rob, Maggie and Mary left

at 5 o'clock to go to Lyd's to

pick up Luella then go to G.R.

to Eleanors for the night then

leave for Ill to-morrow.

Going to be early as I'm

really all tired out.

Rob + Maggie, Henry and I

and Shirley with Mary in her

car went to Jen's to call

this A.M.

Hank and Orlo reached

home about eleven o'clock

last night from Detroit after

seeing "the double header."

Hank took Marie Watson

Orlo took Jean Godfrey.

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Edna is going to be early and I am glad for her. The last few days have been fun but exhausting. Here's to a peaceful slumber, Edna.

One of the things I love most about my great grandmother's journal is when she writes things that, I think, are meant to be little inside jokes or remarks to herself. In this entry, she places quote marks around the words "the double header" then goes on to write about how Hank and Orlo took Marie Watson and Jean Godfrey to Detroit with them.

Hank was not quite 18 when he went to the double header in 1941.

Orlo was 23. He and Jean Godfrey were married a few months later on October 3.

Almost exactly one year earlier, on October 14, 1940, Orlo enlisted for service.

I couldn't find a lot of information about Orlo's service during WWII. I did find a short record noting that after 2.5 years of service, Orlo Hostetler was discharged from the United States Air Force in May of 1944 after having contracted malaria while in the line of duty.

Howard Hostetler

While searching for information about Orlo's service, I stumbled upon an image of Orlo's brother Howard in his military dress.

Looking at the picture of Howard brought unexpected tears. He was so young. Look at him!

Orlo was young, too.

Orlo and Howard's mother, who was also named Edna, had five sons. I wondered how many of her boys saw active duty during WWII. I could only find information about Orlo's and Howard's service.

My great grandmother on mom's side of the family, Lizzie Hoover, raised nine boys and a girl. Five of her boys served during WWII. Read about George, Henry, Andrew, Michael and Jacob Hoover's service during WWII.

Orlo Hostetler passed away on August 25, 1999 at the age of 81.

His brother, Howard Hostetler, lived to be 94.

The image I found of young Howard was attached to his obituary, which I wanted to share in its entirety here.

Howard W. Hostetler, age 94, of Hastings passed away June 21, 2017 after a long and satisfying life.

He was born July 28, 1922 in Bowne Township, Kent County, MI, son of Murl and Edna (Mishler) Hostetler. Howard was the third of seven children born into a farming family. He attended school(s) in the rural Freeport area and graduated from the eighth grade. He possessed astute math skills and a broad spectrum of real world skills. Growing up on the family farm during the great depression, sponsored many do-it-yourself activities and learning experiences in those days. Working the fields with horses, canning and drying meats and vegetables, the outdoor copper pot method of making many gallons of apple butter and so many more endeavors, filled those busy times. In his mid-teens, he would ‘hire out’ to local farmers doing more of the same. He remembered exactly where he was when the news came, that The Empire of Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor. Rather than waiting to be drafted into the Army, he enlisted in the U. S. Navy. He took his basic training in Gulfport, MS and later sailed from California under the Golden Gate Bridge headed for Hawaii. At Pearl Harbor he would acquire more training as a hardhat deep sea diver and was later deployed with the Seabees in the South Pacific. He dove on the sunken battleship Arizona while at Pearl.

After being honorably discharged from the Navy in December, 1945, he would return home to the Freeport area where he would continue his working career. He had many occupations with many employers over the years, along with self-employment. He bought equipment for sod laying and acquired work with state and local highway construction agencies. He owned and operated a Harley Davidson dealership in Hastings in the early 50’s. He would also work at E.W. Bliss, Eaton’s, the Sunoco station in Dowling, Sackets Garage in Hastings, Hastings Schools as a bus driver, Dowling Cemetery Sexton, farming, and the Barry County Road Commission from 1965 retiring in 1987. He was a hard worker and held two or more jobs during many years of his life, providing for his wife and family.

He met his future wife and love of his life, Elsie June Tobias in 1948 at Angelo’s restaurant in Hastings. It was a chance meeting that resulted from their food orders getting mixed up. They were married in Goshen, IN on June 17, 1950, the bride’s birthday.

Howard enjoyed many varied hobbies over the years, including gardening, yard games with the kids and family, model airplane flying, radio controlled vehicles, kites, cribbage, and the family board game ‘Pollyanna’, and much much more. He was very mechanically inclined and could fix anything. He spent many hours in his shop tweaking and reinventing things. On many occasions friends and neighbors would seek his help with challenging mechanical issues. He loved that.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his oldest brother Lawrence Hostetler and sister-in-law Beulah, brother Orlo Hostetler and sister-in-law Jean, brother Jim Hostetler, brother Gerald Hostetler, brother-in-law Art Ketchum, brother-in-law Bob Bauer, brother-in-law Basil Tobias and sister-in-law Fern, brother-in-law Merle Tobias and sister-in-law Wilhelmina.

Howard is survived by his wife of 67 years, Elsie, son Stan Hostetler (Patricia), daughter Jayne Mitchell, sister Edwina Burgess (Frank), sister Barb Bauer, sister-in-law, Jerilee Hostetler, and many nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his faithful cat, Howie.