Well, Grandma was a bit apprehensive about this idea but Grandpa knew that Frank could do it and gave the okay. The two boys took their time and made the long trip without incident, except for a few flat tires and sore behinds. They had fun.
Occasionally my big brother would take his little sister, me, for a ride on his bike. I felt so proud to be seen by my friends with my big brother taking me for a bike ride.
I was probably about seven or eight years old and he would tell me to sit across the bar (boy's bike) with my skinny legs draped to one side, and hang on to the handle bar with him. We'd travel down the street with me screaming for him to not go that fast!! What a tease ... but now these are special memories of my dear brother.
Frank built model planes and enjoyed tinkering with crystal sets. Margaret and I shared a bedroom but our brother was lucky to have his very own private bedroom which he would say was off limits to us girls.
In his room, Frank would suspend his finished plywood painted planes in all shapes and sizes from the ceiling, and the planes floated gently to and fro - a fascinating sight to see when I peeked into his room when Frank wasn't home!!
Frank was very neat and accurate about building things. When Frank was about fourteen, Grandpa taught him to build a crystal set and Frank was excited about being able to hear a faint voice coming across the wires. Hearing the scratchy and weak sound of someone speaking was a great experience, and Frank loved it.
I also remember Frank owning toy lead soldiers which he could melt down into liquid lead in a special small pot with a side pouring spout, over the flame of the kitchen stove and would carefully pour the molten lead into lead forms to make and remake soldiers which would be in different fighting positions. The hot lead would create an interesting but strange burning metal odor in the house whenever Frank worked on this project.
1935 - Mary Ann and Frank Fischer in backyard of 3341 N. Lakewood Avenue, standing in front of the rubber tree in the yard [63C]