My father, Boyce Thompson, Sr. (1932-2009) was the last person to drop-kick extra points for his high school team in Westchester County, N.Y., one of many claims to fame for a great high school athlete who never lost his youthful enthusiasm. Drop-kicking, of course, gave way to place-kicking after the football was redesigned to give it […]
Hunt for Homes Built by J.E. Thompson Turns Into Wild Goose Chase
Great grandfather Joseph Edward Thompson must have wanted future generations to find the homes he built as a young man in Bisbee, Arizona, in 1905-06. Why else would he have paid an architect to brand them with his initials, J.E.T.? Unfortunately, the J.E.T. brand, which was painted on the homes, was nowhere to be found on a recent […]
Hidden Evidence Proves the Kruttschnitts Did Actually Live in Tucson House
By the time Patti Toci and her husband bought the Julius Kruttschnitt, Jr. house in Tucson, previous owners had taken virtually everything the family had left behind. Then, one day in the 1960s, a remodeling crew opened a plaster wall and discovered a small piece of uncrumpled paper behind the lathe. “It was a receipt,” […]
Academic Rips Apart Mardi Gras Queen Alma Kruttschnitt’s Dress
She never married. She never had children. She lived most of her adult life in homes owned by her brothers or sisters. Yet Alma Kruttschnitt (1863-1942) had one important claim to fame: She was Queen of the Mardi Gras in 1896, at the age of 32. Now, 100 years later, an academic comes around and spoils Alma’s party, ripping apart […]
Meany and Babushka Admired Each Other’s Handiwork
Andrea Calfee sent along this wonderful picture of Meany and Bill Thompson, which was taken by Andrea’s mother, Galia Kelsey, at their home in Eastchester, N.Y., circa 1951-1952. Meany, who was a marvelous seamstress, is wearing a beautiful beaded belt made by Andrea’s grandmother. “Meany and ‘Babushka’ had a mutual admiration society going,” Andrea remembers. […]
Hugh Simmers, Jr., Knew How to Have Fun, Even Though He Worked His Whole Life
This is, without question, one of the greatest family pictures of all time. I never got to meet my grandfather, Hugh Simmers, Jr. He died when my mother was 16. But I’m sure I would have really enjoyed his company. In addition to having a penchant for photography, he must have had a good sense of humor. And he certainly knew […]