My Life in Stories and Photos

By Richard L. White

Richard White has always enjoyed writing family history and stories. His four previous books include a family history, two books of travelogues, and letters to his ancestors. In My Life in Stories and Photos, his autobiography, Richard connects the stories of his youth and adulthood with over 130 photos from 1950 to 2023. He writes, “This book is a far cry from the detailed draft of my autobiography, which I wrote in the 2000’s. It was hiding for years in a thick three-ring binder in the basement, and it only went as far as New Year’s Eve 2000. I wondered, ‘How should I tell my story?’ I opted for a substantially pruned-down narrative complemented by photos capturing special moments in my life through the years. So many details have been left out. But I hope what I have included here will be an interesting and at times compelling story.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9781669876724

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Copyright © 2023 by Richard L. White. 851760

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced

or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or

mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any

information storage and retrieval system, without permission

in writing from the copyright owner.

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

ISBN: 978-1-6698-7659-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6698-7672-4 (e)

Rev. date: 05/10/2023

Table of Contents

Dedication

Prologue

Part I MY FIRST HALF-CENTURY 1950-2000

1     My Early Days: 1950

2    My Great-Grandmother and 26 Edgewood Road: 1951 and 1952

3    Christmas: 1953

4    Jersey Shore: 1954

5    My First School: Age Four: 1954 and1955

6    New Home: 1955 and 1956

7    Washington Avenue School: Grades K, 1, 2, and 3: 1955-1959

8    Family Formal: 1957

9    Cub Scouts, Special Outings, and Friends: 1957

10  Wallace Family Gatherings: 1960 and 1961

11  Washington Avenue School: Grades 4, 5, and 6: 1959-1962

12  Snow Play and Baseball: 1961

13  Summer and Fall Fun: 1962

14  Dad’s Drinking: 1962

15  Cranberry Lake: 1963

16  Road Trips: Virginia and Massachusetts: 1964

17  Church Member: 1965

18  CHS Student-Athlete: 1965-1968

19  Looking at Colleges and Summer Work: 1967

20  Senior Year at CHS and Summer of ‘68: 1967-1968

21  Freshman Year at Dartmouth: 1968-1969

22  Sophomore Year: Spain and England: 1969-1970

23  Junior Year: 1970-1971

24  Senior Year: 1971-1972

25  England and Spain: 1972-1973

26  Grad School Days at Penn and Life in Philadelphia: 1973-1979

27  Return to New Jersey 1979-1982

28  Kerstin: 1982

29  A Tale of Two Marriages: 1983

30  Life before Children: 1984 and 1985

31  Two Baby Girls, a New House, and a New Job: 1986 and 1987

32  Our Good Friday Child: 1988-1993

33  Travels in Europe, Vermont, and the Jersey Shore: 1994 and 1995

34  A Year of Profound Loss: 1996

35  Pilgrimage: 1997 and 1998

36  End of the Millennium: 1999

37  The 2000’s: 2000-2009

38  The 20-Teens: 2010-2019

39  The 2020s: 2020-2023

PART II THE THEMES OF OUR LIVES: VALUES, PARENTING, HOMES, AND JOBS

40  My Values and Disposition: From Early Childhood to Later Adulthood

41  Parenting: 1986-Present

42  New Homes: Convent Station, New Jersey: 2014-2018

43  New Homes in Exeter and Newmarket, New Hampshire Our Brief Return to Madison: 2017-2023

44  A Typical Day in a Typical Year: 2002

45  My Jobs, Employers, and Work Experiences: Drexel, Drew, Nabisco, and Brown Brothers Harriman: 1977-1990

46  Rutgers and Drew: 1990-2018

47  Travel: 1970-2023

Epilogue

Appendix

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my ancestors who preceded me, my parents who raised

me, my friends who supported me, and my dear wife, Kerstin, and children, Janine,

Lisa, and Windy, who have given my life so much meaning and purpose.

Prologue

The initial catalyst for this book was a slip on the ice on our slanted driveway in early February 2023, resulting in a broken right wrist. Thankfully, after x-rays and consultation with the orthopedist, he confirmed that it was not a bad break. As he handed me an easy on-and-off brace, I asked, Can I still type? He assured me that I could and that wearing the brace would not interfere with this activity. As soon as I got home, I started thinking about how I would write and tell my story.

The more important catalyst occurred a few days later when I was rummaging around our basement den. There I rediscovered a thick binder with a draft of an autobiography that I had written in the early 2000s. It consisted of more than 250 single-space, typewritten pages, comprising nearly 50 chapters, and it only went up to the moment when the ball dropped on January 1, 2000—23 years ago! I considered editing and updating my autobiography, but quickly turned my focus to writing and publishing a much more compact version with plenty of photos. I contacted the publisher of my first four books, XLibris, and the sales representative offered me a very attractive package, including more than a hundred black-and-white and color photos. So I signed up.

Here is my story, pruned down for readability and hopefully striking the right balance between words and pictures, memories and images. My life—everyone’s life—consists of so many experiences, relationships, joys, sorrows, emotions, good decisions, mistakes, achievements, and regrets. So much has been left out. But I hope what I have included here will be a captivating, honest, coherent, and, at times, compelling story.

Newmarket, New Hampshire

May 2023

PART I

MY FIRST HALF-

CENTURY

1950-2000

1.jpg

6 months old and smiling

1

My Early Days

1950

I was born on Thursday, June 29, 1950 at 10:27 AM at Overlook Hospital in Summit, New Jersey. Although I was conceived in late August 1949, I was very much a product of the fifties. If I later became a moderate in everything from my temperament to my politics to my philosophy of life, perhaps this can be traced to my birth order and birth date: I was the middle son, and I arrived at the midpoint of the year that was the middle year of the twentieth century.

I was a lucky seven baby—seven pounds and seven ounces, and my height was 21 inches. I was delivered by Mom’s gynecologist, Dr. Harold Spence, with the assistance of the attending nurse, Mrs. Grimshaw. Mom and Dad liked the name Richard, and gave me the middle name of Lupton, the same as Dad, a tribute to his mother, Hazel Lupton White. Mom spent four days at Overlook and brought me home the following Monday, July 3.

On that very same day, Grandma Robbie—Meta Wilhemena Sauer Robbie, mother of Mom’s mother, Edna —wrote a 1cent postcard to Mom. We like the way you say Richard looks, especially that he has red hair. May he be a real comfort to all of you as he grows. As a devout Baptist and in accordance with her custom, Grandma Robbie cited a Bible passage, Psalm 63:7: Because you have always been my help, in shadow of our wings, I sing for you. She followed up with another card on July 5, not wanting to splurge on a phone call: Just a word to welcome you home with little Richard. May he always be a comfort to Lup & you, with his big brother Wally!

On December 10, I was baptized at Ogden Memorial Presbyterian Church by the pastor who would serve the church until I was in college, Reverend Clarence L. Lecrone. Other milestones during my first two years included my first attempts to creep at nine months, my first step alone at 13 months, and my first words, Ma Ma. I grew attached to my favorite stuffed animal, a teddy. A few years later learned a simple bedtime prayer from Mom, as she tucked me into my crib and later my bed:

God bless Mommy

God bless Daddy

God bless Peter

God bless Wally

God bless Richard

God bless the whole world

And thank you for everything

Amen

I learned and recited it for many years before going to sleep, adding the Lord’s Prayer after committing to memory in Sunday School.

In the photo taken at six months, I am smiling and happy to be here.

2.jpg

Glen Ridge, NJ: Visiting Great-Grandma Robbie

3.jpg

Chatham, NJ: Playtime at 26 Edgewood Road

2

My Great-Grandmother and

26 Edgewood Road

1951 and 1952

O f my eight great-grandparents, the only one whose life overlapped mine was Grandma Robbie. Born in 1866, Meta Wilhemena Sauer Robbie was the daughter of German immigrants, Wilhelm and Anna Sauer, who emigrated from Mainbernheim, Germany in