World War II signature of Jack Dempsey from U.S.S. Wakefield

Daddy (Arthur Woodson Towne 1919-2003) had told me he had obtained Jack Dempsey's signature, but couldn't find it.  Jack Dempsey was a well known boxer in his day and Daddy was very proud of the fact that he had met Dempsey.  I had never seen the signature.  I was looking at the backs of some old photos today and found it.  Including the Dempsey signature, mother had written:  Mama & Papa Towne (guess she was writing this for her grandkids).  "Obtained in 1944 aboard the U.S.S. Wakefield going from Boston to Liverpool England"

So my guess is that Daddy carried this picture with him during World War II and it was handy when he had the opportunity to get Dempsey's signature on the ship.

This paragraph from the Wikipedia article on Dempsey actually mentions his serving on the USS Wakefield:   Wikipedia on Jack Dempsey

When the United States entered World War II, Dempsey had an opportunity to refute any remaining criticism of his war record of two decades earlier. Dempsey joined the New York State Guard and was given a commission as a first lieutenant. Dempsey resigned that commission to accept a commission as a lieutenant in the Coast Guard Reserve. Dempsey reported for active duty in June 1942 at Coast Guard Training Station, Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, New York, where he was assigned as "Director of Physical Education." Dempsey also made many personal appearances at fights, camps, hospitals and War Bond drives. Dempsey was promoted to lieutenant commander in December 1942 and commander in March 1944. In 1944, Dempsey was assigned to the transport USS Wakefield (AP-21). In 1945, Dempsey was on the attack transport USS Arthur Middleton (APA-25) for the invasion of Okinawa. Dempsey also spent time aboard theUSS General William Mitchell (AP-114), where he spent time showing the crew sparring techniques. Dempsey was released from active duty in September 1945 and was given an honorable discharge from the Coast Guard Reserve in 1952.^[2][30]

Cross-stitch takes a LONG time

I started a cross-stitched family tree for the new edition to the family who was born last November.  I started it during the school summer vacation last year.  I have quite a bit finished, but am anticipating being able to do more in a couple of weeks when school is out again this year.  It's taking SO long that I've asked a friend to finish it in the case of my early demise!  It's taking a LONG time. The friend laughed, but promised to carry through if I'm hit by a truck or something.  I hadn't done any needlework for DECADES.  I don't remember previous efforts taking this much time, but almost forty years probably makes me a wee bit slower too!

UPDATE:  It looks like I never posted a picture of the final results.  The following is a picture I found, taken in 2015.  Seems to me like it took..... can't remember if it was three months or three years....  seems like even longer, whichever it was!!!  It shows Ellie as the youngest child.  I had to add to it a few years later, when Jeffery Matthew Cook was born in 2017, giving Ellie a brother.  I cross stitched my name and the date into the margins of the cloth canvas, where it's not visible, but can be found by future generations, I hope.

Note to self

The school year is coming to a close. Things are a little slower the last week and a half as we move toward semester exams.  I thought I'd post a large multi-page family tree on my classroom wall to share my hobby with my students.  I'd shared a few things from my research over the school year - my Salem witch connection, and the connection to the Lewis & Clark expedition by their food/booze supplier Elijah Galusha.  I thought those things would be interesting to ninth graders.  I quickly realized I need to make a note to myself before doing it again next school year.  Seems the thing they found most interesting was my BIRTH YEAR!  Sheesh - guess I'll take that off the chart next year.  I saw some students look at the chart then whisper to the student next to them.  I took the initiative when I realized what they were doing and said, "yes, those are birthdates (and death dates) on the chart."  Sigh.  One student came back to his seat and said "You don't LOOK 64."  I wonder what 64 looks like to a 14 year old these days?  I guess I should be glad he could subtract the numbers, after all it is a MATH class (Algebra actually).