About Us

I recall the closeness of family as I grew up. Every week, we would see Grandma, Grandpa and at least once a month, one of my Aunts, Uncles and cousins. While divorce hit my Mother's side of family hard before I was born, to her credit, I noticed my Mom always tried to keep the family cordial and connected. I have a strong attachment to family too. While I followed in my Grandparents footsteps by putting my children through a divorce, I still want all of us to stay close and in touch. Time will tell if I we feel we were as successful as I believe Esther was.

I was born in May of 1955, after what my Mother said, was a long awaited coming into their lives. They had 10 years to get established and had their lifestyle. With my birth, my Mother seemed to dedicate her life to me. I was an only child growing up in their household, and thus, as people like to call us, was a bit spoiled. I felt like the Center of the Universe there with everything revolving around me. Are you a little Jealous, Eh???

I had an older brother figure in my Dad's baby brother, Avery, whom they took in after the death of their Mom and my other Grandma, Cora at the request of my Grandpa, Clem, who was too busy with the farm work at that time in his life.

Uncle Avery became my best friend and foil as I grew up at home. He was paying room and board as a young man of 20 when I was little; I think $15 a week. He had a hot rod, jet black Elvis and Ricky Nelson hair with a meticulous pompadour combed up. He played Fifties Rock & Roll 45's all evening, as I was falling asleep and a girlfriend Susanne, who looked to me like Jackie Kennedy. He had a great sense of humor and as my Mom said, was clean cut and good looking. I admired and wanted to be like him when I grew up.

Growing up as an only child in a front porch neighborhood of Blyler Place, with Baby Boomer parent neighbors and what seemed like 50 kids on the block, I formed close friendships with the boys on the block, particularly Nody (Noel Dean Staszewski) who was by one month, a grade below me. We would greet us every morning with the same phrase: "Whatcha wanna do?" Then we would be playing cards and games until our Mom's lunch call was heard. We stayed close up until Middle School. Another good friend in my age group, who would move in at the farthest end of the street and would shortly move out, Gary West, who moved to Virginia, I think. I was traveling down the block and back on my own at 6 or so. I also befriended the little tykes, whom I liked to lead as my pack. Jimmy Borntrager, Randy and Jeffrey Staszewski were on the crew and we had much fun hanging out on our turf, playing in sandboxes. I had them all playing Army with me, as I had a fascination with being a soldier. Then there were the girls, Jody and Julie Borntrager, Debbie Staszewski, Gail Symkowiac and Judy Sloan, whom we all would tease and play Tag, and Hide 'n Go Seek with. "Not it" or "I'm safe" (as in being stuck on "goo"), was the call of the day. My Parents got me the best toys around, on a limited budget and mostly items repaired and hand painted back into looking good, found tossed out in the Alley, at the Good Will or Salvation Army or with Yellow Trading Stamps or constructed by my Dad. There were peddle rides like an airplane, a car, an Irish Male, tricycles; or recreation toys like large building blocks, a sand box, an above ground pool, an ice skating rink and a trampoline. Best one of all was the push Go Kart made by my Dad and Uncle Avery.

Soon I was off to Brown Elementary School As my World soon enlarged. I was playing with friends all around the streets in the "Hollow" and across "The Field." Mike Glaser and Scott Osthimer, became my next friends who would come and go. There was a large undeveloped field that was between my neighbor and the next one. That was the domain of Mark Goodhew, John Ferguson, Mike Joachim, Phil Burkus were the new pack that I was a part of. The Field was a great woods and high brush area where tree forts could be made and exploration could be done with great notoriety.

Cub Scouts, with my Mom as a Den Mother drew me out and I formed a lifelong friendship with Robbie Ralston, who's Mother succeeded mine as Den Mother. Robbie was my Play Army buddy and we fought every war ever fought, reenacting and with toy soldiers. Tommy Hadley from his group also joined us in playing with toy soldiers. During my Muessel Middle School time period, I would meet my other lifelong friend, Bruce Waggoner, through mutual friends of Dan Giddings and Carl Hollis.

When I was little, my Grandpa had a lake cottage on Indian Lake where we would visit him often in the summer. One day, he decided to sell it and my parents wanted to buy it. That was a life changer and another reason to be envious! I grew up on a lake and what fun was that for me and my friends.

Every summer, there was a picnic at home with the relatives visiting and every three years, was our Family Vacation to visit my Uncle Dick in Louisiana and a different route taken each time. He owned 80 acres in Doyline, LA near Lake Bistineau and raised tropical fish imported from Southeast Asia in over a dozen ponds there on the property as well as cattle. One summer, we did a Niagara Falls and Washington, DC trip with my Uncle Bob and my two cousins, Tudy and Susie. On every trip, My Parents would work in some historic site and some battlefield for my edification.

It was a good life, indeed.

Thomas Lewis Van Dyke, Sr

Thomas, Sr. was the oldest of five Van Dyke children. He married Esther M. Roys and had one son and two grandchildren. Esther survives him in Venice, FL living with their son, Tommy.

Favorites

Here's a list of some of my favorite youth memories and regrets (not all are pretty) BTW, My Mom always felt I was a good boy who did not get into trouble...very much, that is:

1. Telling on cousin's Cathy and Susie who invited me downstairs to practice cutting hair and cutting off my pompadour into a set of bangs.

2. The day Pat Garvey and I burned down The Field and got in trouble with the SBFD and Mrs. Niblick. This was after I hurled a larger stone into the brush he was hiding in and hit him in his thick skull.

3. When I pounded Bobby Schumanski, a bully from the next block, into the ground during a "touch" football game.

4. Assuming a role in the neighborhood pecking order by bulling Billy Lochmondy whenever I saw him.

5. The time I slipped a rock into my boxing glove to give bigger and older Jimmy Symkowiak a fair fight.

6. The time I broke into my neighbors, The Rose's, open house and smashed plums in the drive way.

7. When older Gail Symkowiak to jump on our new trampoline when she was older and bigger than the recommended weight.

8. When I got onto the escalator at Robertson's Department Store and my red galoshes, which I extremely hated, got pulled into the escalator while I was wearing them. Mom asked, Tommy, did you do that on purpose???

9. Upon hearing that Mom was going to spank me, I quickly ran to get the pancake griddle and stuck it in my pants. She took one swat and she yelled ouch, mad as a hornet chasing me upstairs.

10. Another time, after she switched to using a safer for her yardstick, I snatched it out of her hands and broke it in two across my knee.

11. When I confessed that I was the one that actually cut the naugahide on the armrest years ago, in order to remove what I thought was a splinter with my trusty Cub Scout Knife.

12. The day that Jack Grey exclaimed to my Mom that a meteorite had been the cause of the window that broke while we were "just standing there."

13. The time I shot an arrow up in the air and did not get killed or kill anyone, even though I was warned by my Mom and the instructions.

14. The same time that the arrow hit the Staszewski neighbor's roof, though did not stick.

15. When I decided to help Mrs. Borntrager by pulling up what I thought were weeds in her garden and it turned out to be landscape ivy.

16. The time that I missed the bulls eye and the arrow stuck in the garage door.

17. The time I tossed a tennis ball indoors at the cottage in front of Jimmy Borntrager and it amazingly stuck in what would be the new place a picture soon was to hang so to cover up an unexplainable hole in the wall.

18. My pet water snake that scared Mr. Symkowiak when it bit my hand after I held it by its tail to play in his swimming pool. RIP after he killed it with a shovel :)

19. My pet armadillo from Louisiana who lasted one night in a new trash can.

20. My pet muskrat from Indian Lake, even though I don't know how or what he ate while I had him and though he got too hot one day and was dearly departed.

21. My pet garter and ribbon snakes who ate baby toads we fed them.

22. My pet turtles, tadpoles, frogs and toads who ate hamburger, lettuce and bugs I fed them and the snapper that I wanted to see if it could bite my finger once.

23. Puff and Snowball, my only normal pets as in two cats, who ran away during a thunderstorm because I may have left their outside cage unlocked.

24. Washington, DC trip with Uncle Bob and cousins Tudy and Susie when I got soaked by rain and had to be carried into a restaurant by my Dad at age 11 because I had no shoes on. Also being allowed to go into a hotel bar to have dinner with my parents by the manager.

25. The day Tudy and I caught our limit of pan fish in 30 minutes on cane pools!

26. Bullfroggin with Mom and Tudy.

27. Gigging for frogs and anything that moved in The Swamp.

28. Bow fishing the first time and getting two with one arrow during spawning season.

29. The one that got away, with my arrow impaled in it, it seemed like it was Moby Dick.

30. Catching my Uncle Dick while fishing with my Dad and him with a fish lure hook in the back. He took it fairly well.

31. Getting yelled at for sticking my hand in the Lake Bistineau water while boating because there are alligators there. I should have known.

32. Getting spanked by my Dad because I would not agree to take a cap with me to the Chicago White Sox baseball game, because he was concerned about me getting sunburned.

33. Getting scolded for sneezing 25 times in a row by Dad, thinking I was trying to be funny and actually being allergic to the mold coming out of the AC vent in the car.

34. Getting spanked (seems like that happened a lot, but these are the only times) by Mom after I had just got a shot in the rump and was already sore. She was regretful for doing it.

35. Being playfully chased around the above ground pool by Mom and nicking my knew on one of the pool fastners opening up a two inch gash needing stitches. She was also badly feeling responsible for that.

36. Fishing with Mr. Williams, the best fisherman, boxer with Nobbie Clark, once met Frank James, got reprimanded by Al Capone's body guard and the greatest story teller that every lived.

37. My first 5 lb Bass, although, technically out of season.

38. Water Skiing behind the Lone Star 40 HP and learning to slalom.

39. Learning to maneuver sky disk outside and back into the wake.

40. Leaning to sailing on my Aerocraft with Tudy's boyfriend, Mike Vanslager and knocking him almost out of the boat with a tacking maneuver. Later, losing the custom made anchor he gave me on a rope that was not tied well.

41. Sailing alone with Wendy Burkhart and pretending I wasn't infatuated with her and her yellow bikini and tanned bod!

42. Playing poker for money all summer with best friend Nody Staszewski.

43. Bugging Julie Borntrager while she was sunbathing in a bikini and getting squirted by her Sun-In hair lightening product, thus having a strand of blond hair all summer.

44. Discovering that looking at a bikini girl on the raft with binoculars could be detected by the photogenic object. "Take a picture, it last longer," were the words that sent me scurrying into the house.

45. Scaring the young punks of the neighborhood from the dark of night.

46. Being the cool guy who could buy beer for the neighborhood teens or classmates on two occasions.

47. Skinny dipping in the lake while neighbor lady was fishing two piers down and skinny dipping with a girl in the Howard Johnson's pool.

48. Going to hard against the wind and capsizing in my sailboat.

49. Seeing LBJ when he visited the destruction from the Palm Sunday Tornados.

50. Watching a man use a jet pack to fly off the ground at the Century of Progress Parade. Also seeing Red Skelton in the parade and my Uncle Avery marching with the Marine Corps Reserves.

51. Witnessing a huge lumber yard fire in Niles, Michigan and feeling the heat from 4 blocks away.

52. Surviving a head over heels cartwheel spin when my basketball slipped out of my arm while riding my bike and landing ahead of the front wheel.

53. Watching new friend, Jack Grey gunning for Carl Hollis, my good friend, to establish himself in the pecking order and not stopping the fight.

54. Picking on David Zalinski in Latin class, in which I regret, as he was actually a nice kid.

55. Drinking from the fountain in a government building in Bossier City and not reading the "Colored Only" sign. Kept drinking when my Aunt and Mom were yelling at me from down the hall. "What's the matter, it's just water," I said. They then told me about "Jim Crow" in the South.

56. Dancing with Althea Barnes at the Junior High Dances and not caring/noticing she was African American.

57. Joining my friends in making fun of sisters, Melanie and Debbie Steiner and the Rita and Nita Hollis sisters. Being embarrassed later that Helen Hess told me Debbie liked me. Being told later by Bruce that Debbie was actually alright.

58. Eating Nichola's Pizza on Portage Ave., a barbeque sandwich from the J&A Grill or meat in three at The Copper Kettle.

59. Believing that the whole Country was interested in the Notre Dame Football Team's success. My Grandpa was a volunteer usher at the games.