Adele Mildred (Kestler) Dyess 1932-1933

This is a photo of my mother at about 16 years old.This is one of my favorite photos of her. I like the hand colored look and the lace collar.

My mother and father on their wedding day, August 1933. My mother would have been 17 years old. My father would have been 23 years old. This is another hand colored photo.

1933 was the worst year of the depression with unemployment peaking at 25.2% with ( 1 in 4 people unemployed ) this year . Adolf Hitler became the chancellor of Germany and opened the first concentration camp at Dachau. 10’s of thousands travelled the road and rail in America looking for work , and the US banking system which was under great strain was propped up by the US government ( US banking act of 1933 )to try and stop the panic of people withdrawing their money from the banks. the continuing drought in the Midwest made even more of the land into dust bowls
thepeoplehistory.com

 

Advertisements

Adele Mildred (Kestler) Dyess

This is my mother Adele Kestler around age 10

My mother Adele kestler age 16

My mother Adele is sitting on my father’s automobile in 1932, when they were dating. Her father john Kestler died when she was 13 years old. She went to work sewing after she finished 8th grade and didn’t attend high school. This photo may have been taken in Dittmer, Missouri. I believe the auto is a Model A Ford ,around 1930, probably black in color.

Dittmer is an unincorporated community in western Jefferson County, Missouri, United States.^[1] It is located about 14 miles northwest of Hillsboro on Route 30. This is shown on an early railroad map published in 1891 as “Dittmer’s Store.”

A post office called Dittmer’s Store was established in 1870, and the name was changed to Dittmer in 1899.^[2] William Dittmer, an early postmaster, gave the community his last name.^[3][4]
1n 1932 the United States was in a financial depression. I not sure if this was the reason my mother had to work in a factory and not attend high school.

The initial economic collapse which resulted in the Great Depression can be divided into two parts: 1929 to mid-1931, and then mid-1931 to 1933. The initial decline lasted from mid-1929 to mid-1931. During this time, most people believed that the decline was merely a bad recession, worse than the recessions that occurred in 1923 and 1927, but not as bad as the Depression of 1920-21. Economic forecasters throughout 1930 cheerily predicted an economic rebound come 1931.
Wikipedia

Adele Mildred Dyess – photos as a child

My mother Adele Kestler is sitting and her brother Gilbert Kestler is standing for this formal portrait. She lived in St.Louis. I don’t know the name of the photographer. I wonder if the sailer suit was provided by the photographer. The only photos I have seen of my mother when she was a child were taken by professional photographers. My guess is this photo would have been taken in 1917. She was born on January 17, .1916

 

 

My mother Adele is standing next to her brother Gilbert in this photograph taken at by a professional photographer. My guess is this was taken around 1918 or 1919. The way the shirt fits my uncle Gilbert makes me think it was provided by the photographer. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A major world event 1n 1918 was the influenza pandemic.

It is estimated that the Spanish flu killed more people in 24 weeks than AIDS has killed in 24 years and more in a year than the Black Death killed in a century. Hence it is referred to as “the greatest medical holocaust in history”. The pandemic which started in the final year of the First World War not only killed more people than the World War I but it killed more people than all the wars of the 20th century combined.Most influenza outbreaks disproportionately kill juvenile, elderly, or already weakened patients. However the 1918 flu predominantly killed healthy young adults. Individuals between the ages of 20-40 accounted for nearly half of the fatalities. This abnormal result is believed to have been caused due to ‘cytokine storm’ in which the immune system over responds to the threat of infection. Thus the strong immune system of young adults ravaged their bodies while the population with a weaker immune system was able to recover.
After the lethal second wave which struck in late 1918, new cases dropped abruptly. The reason for the rapid decline of the disease might be that the virus mutated extremely rapidly to a less lethal strain. Influenza viruses usually become less lethal with time as the hosts of more dangerous strains tend to die out and this might have been the case with the 1918 flu too.
leanodo-newtonic.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adele Mildred Kestler 1916

Adele Mildred Kestler Dyess is my mother . She was born in St.Louis on January 17, 1916 and died on June 22, 1991. I will be sharing photos of her for about a week. My daughter Christine gave me a gift certificate to Ancestry DNA for Fathers Day and I received the results several days ago.Next Tuesday Christy is going to record an interview of me, asking me questions about my life. She is interested in learning about the history of the Dyess and Kestler families. For a couple of months I will be sharing photos of of various members of these families along with information about historical events that occurred during their lifetime.This is a photo of my mother in 1916. I would like to find out more information about the photographer Alan Wuensche.

J

 January 1916

• January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled.
• January 9 – WWI: Gallipoli Campaign: The last British troops are evacuated from Gallipoli, as the Ottoman Empire prevails over a joint British and French operation to capture Istanbul.
• January 10 – WWI – Erzurum Offensive: Russia defeats the Ottoman Empire.
• January 13 – WWI – Battle of Wadi: Ottoman Empire forces defeat the Allied British, during the Mesopotamian campaign in modern-day Iraq.
• January 24
  • In Browning, Montana, the temperature drops from +6.7 °C to -48.8 °C (44 °F to -56 °F) in one day, the greatest change ever on record for a 24-hour period.
  • Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad Co.: The Supreme Court of the United States upholds the national income tax.
• January 29 – WWI: Paris is bombed by German zeppelins for the first time.
• January 30 – The McMahon–Hussein Correspondence, between Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca and the British official Henry McMahon concerning the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire, ends.
• January 31 – WWI: An attack is planned on Verdun, France
  Wikipedia
  
  The arts in 1916
• February 9 – 6.00 p.m. – Tristan Tzara “founds” Dadaism (according to Hans Arp).
• March 1 – Liljevalchs konsthall inaugurated in Stockholm.
• May 20 – Boy with Baby Carriage is Norman Rockwell‘s first cover for The Saturday Evening Post.
• May – Muirhead Bone recruited as a war artist by the British War Propaganda Bureau. At the end of the year, his album of drawings The Western Frontbegins publication.
• June 16 – Cleveland Museum of Art opens.
• Summer – Paul Strand experiments with ‘straight’ abstract photography at Twin Lakes (Connecticut).
• August 31 – Kestnergesellschaft founded in Hanover, Germany.
• September 19 – Edvard Munch‘s paintings for the Aula (festival hall) of Det Kongelige Frederiks Universitet, Christiania, are inaugurated.
• September 26 – C. R. W. Nevinson‘s first major single-artist exhibition opens in London.
• November – John Nash arrives with the Artists Rifles in France.
• Vanessa Bell‘s first single-artist exhibition is staged at Omega Workshops in London.
• Provincial Fine Arts Museum completed in Córdoba, Argentina.
• Gilbert Cannan publishes his novel Mendel: a story of youth, based on the lives of those in his artistic circle of friends with a young Mark Gertler as the central figure, together with Dora Carrington, Christopher R. W. Nevinson and John Currie.
• Ezra Pound publishes Gaudier-Brzeska: A Memoir.
  

  St.Louis Post Dispatch

My history – World War 2

This is my Ration Book from World War 2. I was issued this book of ration stamps when I was 4 years old. I weighed 40 pounds and was 3′ 9″. My daughter Christy is interested in tracing her family history and wants to interview me to get my history. I have many family documents in my possession and this War Ration book and a few other ration books are in my family documents. Much of my life’s history are in documents that I have.   Even if a person isn’t interested in the study of history or the history of their family, the history of their family becomes a part of who they are. I’m interested in my family history and the history of America, especially history during my lifetime.I hope you take the time to read the information on the cover of this ration book and on the back cover. I have scanned the stamps inside that were required to buy food.

This is the back cover of my ration book. Included in the information on the purpose the ration book is the warning ” If you don’t need it, DON’T BUY IT” Currently some Americans are stressed about the future of our country, including me. My ration book from this time period reminds me  to have an appreciation for the sacrifices made by Americans during world War 2.

ration stamp with canon drawing on it.

ration stamps with tank and aircraft carrier.

ration stamps with airplane drawing on it

The illustrators Journal

I want to thank Lon Levin for including me in the online magazine the “Illustrators Journal” and for creating a magazine that features  illustration and illustrators. I look forward to seeing future issues.

Here is a link to the issue that features my illustrations. The illustrations he has shown are from the 1970’s. These images represent a period of my career when I was employed at Maritz Motivation Company in St. Louis. This was an exciting fun time in my career. I have moved on from these techniques. My current illustrations and paintings can be viewed on studiodyess.com.

Gallery opening

I will be showing three paintings in the “33” gallery show, along with 32 other artists, at The Old Orchard Gallery 39 S. Old Orchard,Webster Groves, MO This show is sponsored by MySLART.org. The show opens Friday June 29 from 6-9 pm This is one of my paintings in this show. I hope you can attend.

Here is a link on facebook.com with information about the show.  https://www.facebook.com/Myslartorg/

Then they came for me – page 2

(CNN)Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump called Monday for barring all Muslims from entering the United States.

“Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on,” a campaign press release said.

Trump, who has previously called for surveillance against mosques and said he was open to establishing a database for all Muslims living in the U.S., made his latest controversial call in a news release. His message comes in the wake of a deadly mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, by suspected ISIS sympathizers and the day after President Barack Obama asked the country not to “turn against one another” out of fear.

 

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Martin Niemoller

 

• “First they came for…” is a poem written by the German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller. It is about the cowardice of German intellectuals following the Nazis’ rise to power and subsequent purging of their chosen targets, group after group. Many variations and adaptations in the spirit of the original have been published in the English language. It deals with themes of persecution, guilt and responsibility.

  from an article on Wikipedia

Then they came for me –

During an interview with Fox News to discuss his first 100 days as president, Trump denounced the constitutional system of checks and balances as “archaic.”

“It’s a very rough system. It’s an archaic system,” Trump said. “It’s really a bad thing for the country.”

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Martin Niemoller

• “First they came for…” is a poem written by the German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller. It is about the cowardice of German intellectuals following the Nazis’ rise to power and subsequent purging of their chosen targets, group after group. Many variations and adaptations in the spirit of the original have been published in the English language. It deals with themes of persecution, guilt and responsibility.

  from an article on Wikipedia

Unite children with their parents

I started this blog around 2010 with the purpose of sharing visual images, which include my drawings, paintings and photographs and the art of other people. This post is about love and compassion for children.

I am a United States citizen because I was born here. I did nothing to earn being a citizen. I served in the Army reserves from 1961 until 1967, worked for the United States Air Force as a civilian from 1962 until 1966. I vote.
below is an e-mail that I sent today to my Senators, Roy Blunt and Claire McCaskill that represent Missouri.
I am a 79 year old citizen of the United States that has lived in Missouri for 79 years and have never been so sad and angry at our elected leaders about how we are treating children from other countries. I am a visual artist and have taught at St.Louis Community College at Meramec since 1997. It has my privilege and joy to have taught many students from other countries.
Would you and Senator Roy Blunt please work together to unite the children in President Trump’s detention centers. Would both of you travel to Texas to visit these children and release a statement about when these children are going to be united with their parents?
Work together as human beings and not politicians.
Do this for America and for which ever God you believe in.
I am sending this same message to Roy Blunt.
John Dyess