DESCENDANTS OF
EARL WILLIAM SAUNDERS
AND
WILMA FANNY FISHER
My Father was born 19 Oct 1912 in Afton, New York. The son of Alfred Saunders and Lillian Porter.
He was one of the 250,000 teenagers that road the rails during the depression.
His parents had been divorced and he being the oldest thought it was his place to help support his Mother.
He travelled across the nation hopping box cars and sending money home when he could spare a few dollars.
He was gone for several years with his family seldom knowing where he was.
There was one time, in Idaho, when he started to hop a freight and slipped and fell. He was unconcious and hurt very badly.
He was taken to the hospital, where it was discovered he had a crushed skull and a metal plate was put into his head.
A kind family payed for his expenses and took him into their home.
It took three months for him to recover.
Eventually, he joined the CC's and stayed in their camps for about 3 months.
He built roads, bridges and parks.
He always said his favorite state was Arizona.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In 1934, he travelled to Michigan to visit his Mother's Brother, Leroy Porter.
He lived with them and got a job hauling coal.
One day, he was delivering coal to one house in Detroit, when he saw one of the daughters.
They started dating and then decided to get married.
On 21 Oct 1934 he and WILMA FISHER took a train to Toledo, Ohio and were married.
His Uncle, Leroy Porter and wife May Porter and Wilma's Mother, Lula O'Berry Fisher went with them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wilma was born 13 Apr 1916 in Fenton, Genesee County, Michigan. The daughter of Elton Fisher and Lula O'Berry
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They lived in several places in the Detroit area.
He had one job at the Briggs Manufacturing plant.
By 1945 they were living in Pontiac, Oakland County, Michigan.
He got a job at Fisher Body Plant on Baldwin Road in Pontiac.
They lived in an apartment on Parkdale Street just down from the auto plant.
In 1947 on his days off and at night he, his Father and Wilma's Father, Elton Fisher, worked on building a house for his increasing family.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In 1947 they moved into their house on Joslyn Road in Pontiac.
That winter we had a very bad blizzard. My Father got up at his regular time at 5:00 am to go t work. It was so bad out he couldn't drive the car, so he said he would walk to work. My mother begged him not to go.
But he said it would be alright. So, she put his new Navy Pea Jacket on him (she had just bought it for him for Christmas). He walked the 5 miles in bitter cold snow to Fisher Body.
It was late when he came back home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shortly after Christmas of 1948, my Mother had 2 pumpkin pies baking in the oven for dinner. My Father had just come in from work.
A man knocked on the door and said he noticed a fire behind the house.
Immediately my Father went to check on it.
He called the Pontiac Fire Department, but they were 10 miles away.
It took just minutes for the fire to over tak the house.
My Mother had just started suffering frm Rheumatoid Arthritis and couldn't walk very well, so my Father carried her outside, put a coat on her and set her in a chair. At the same time they both hurried us kids out.
My Father went back in the house to bring out furniture and clothes.
My Mother kept pleading with him to stop, but he kept going back into the burning house, until he realized it was getting too much.
We were able to get temporary housing until we bought a house in Waterford.
Eventually we moved to Ortonville. My Father wanted us to be able to run and play in the wide open spaces.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Father was a rough tough person with a high temper, which I am told he got from his Mother. He smoked and was not proud of it.
He said it was something he got into when he was young and couldn't stop.
He always said he didn't want his children to smoke, and none of us do.
There were many times, in the terribly cold Michigan weather, he had trouble with he car and would work on his cars so he could get to work, his hands red as a beet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Mother was a brave courageous lady. She suffered from Arthritis for 30 years.
At that time, they did not have a lot of medicines for arthritis, so hers went untreated. She went to Doctors, but refused to take the medicine.
When we were little, she would sit in the kitchen chairs and scoot around washing the floors.
She would get up at 5:00 very morning and fix breakfast for my Father before he went to work.
It wasn't easy raising eight children in that condition.
She was a great cook and taught all her daughters to cook.
She loved to laugh, joke and sing.
She was constantly checking on the children making sure none of them got into trouble. (Personally, I believe she raised a pretty good bunch of children). None of us have ever gotten into much trouble and are all hard workers.
If any of us were having problems with our grades in school, she would call the teachers and see what could be done to help.
She made sure each child graduated.
She had a very hard life and more of it is talked about in the Fisher Geneology.
Her suffering came to an end Sep 1973.
She died of heart failure and arthritis at the age of 57.
After death, her Doctor said that she had the right to be as grouchy as she wanted to be, because she had been in unbearable pain for 30 years.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Father followed suit 9 My 1976. The smoking finally got him.
He died of Pancreatic cancer which is caused by smoking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After my Father's funeral, Phyllis Walter, a neighbor and Mother-in-law of my sister Norine, came to me and said "Your Father was one of the finest people I have ever known. He didn't talk much to most people, but if he liked you he would talk up a storm. Some people did not like him because he was rough and grough, but we liked him."
Some time later, I ran into my one of my Mother's cousins.
She said "You had two of the nicest parents. They would give the shirt of their backs to anyone that needed it.
Everyone was welcomed at their table. It may not have been the most expensive meal, but they gave what they had."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*NOTE: Due to idenity theft some information is not shown.*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Their children are:
1. NORINE CAROL SAUNDERS born in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan.
She married ARTHUR JOHN WALTER 19 Sep 1958 at the Methodist Church in Ortonville, Oakland County, Michigan.
He was born 4 Jul 1936 in Oakland County, Michigan. Son of Paul Walter and Phyllis ?
Their children are:
BETHANY ANN WALTER
The 1930 Census at Ancestry.com
EARL WILLIAM SAUNDERS
AND
WILMA FANNY FISHER
My Father was born 19 Oct 1912 in Afton, New York. The son of Alfred Saunders and Lillian Porter.
He was one of the 250,000 teenagers that road the rails during the depression.
His parents had been divorced and he being the oldest thought it was his place to help support his Mother.
He travelled across the nation hopping box cars and sending money home when he could spare a few dollars.
He was gone for several years with his family seldom knowing where he was.
There was one time, in Idaho, when he started to hop a freight and slipped and fell. He was unconcious and hurt very badly.
He was taken to the hospital, where it was discovered he had a crushed skull and a metal plate was put into his head.
A kind family payed for his expenses and took him into their home.
It took three months for him to recover.
Eventually, he joined the CC's and stayed in their camps for about 3 months.
He built roads, bridges and parks.
He always said his favorite state was Arizona.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In 1934, he travelled to Michigan to visit his Mother's Brother, Leroy Porter.
He lived with them and got a job hauling coal.
One day, he was delivering coal to one house in Detroit, when he saw one of the daughters.
They started dating and then decided to get married.
On 21 Oct 1934 he and WILMA FISHER took a train to Toledo, Ohio and were married.
His Uncle, Leroy Porter and wife May Porter and Wilma's Mother, Lula O'Berry Fisher went with them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wilma was born 13 Apr 1916 in Fenton, Genesee County, Michigan. The daughter of Elton Fisher and Lula O'Berry
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They lived in several places in the Detroit area.
He had one job at the Briggs Manufacturing plant.
By 1945 they were living in Pontiac, Oakland County, Michigan.
He got a job at Fisher Body Plant on Baldwin Road in Pontiac.
They lived in an apartment on Parkdale Street just down from the auto plant.
In 1947 on his days off and at night he, his Father and Wilma's Father, Elton Fisher, worked on building a house for his increasing family.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In 1947 they moved into their house on Joslyn Road in Pontiac.
That winter we had a very bad blizzard. My Father got up at his regular time at 5:00 am to go t work. It was so bad out he couldn't drive the car, so he said he would walk to work. My mother begged him not to go.
But he said it would be alright. So, she put his new Navy Pea Jacket on him (she had just bought it for him for Christmas). He walked the 5 miles in bitter cold snow to Fisher Body.
It was late when he came back home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shortly after Christmas of 1948, my Mother had 2 pumpkin pies baking in the oven for dinner. My Father had just come in from work.
A man knocked on the door and said he noticed a fire behind the house.
Immediately my Father went to check on it.
He called the Pontiac Fire Department, but they were 10 miles away.
It took just minutes for the fire to over tak the house.
My Mother had just started suffering frm Rheumatoid Arthritis and couldn't walk very well, so my Father carried her outside, put a coat on her and set her in a chair. At the same time they both hurried us kids out.
My Father went back in the house to bring out furniture and clothes.
My Mother kept pleading with him to stop, but he kept going back into the burning house, until he realized it was getting too much.
We were able to get temporary housing until we bought a house in Waterford.
Eventually we moved to Ortonville. My Father wanted us to be able to run and play in the wide open spaces.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Father was a rough tough person with a high temper, which I am told he got from his Mother. He smoked and was not proud of it.
He said it was something he got into when he was young and couldn't stop.
He always said he didn't want his children to smoke, and none of us do.
There were many times, in the terribly cold Michigan weather, he had trouble with he car and would work on his cars so he could get to work, his hands red as a beet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Mother was a brave courageous lady. She suffered from Arthritis for 30 years.
At that time, they did not have a lot of medicines for arthritis, so hers went untreated. She went to Doctors, but refused to take the medicine.
When we were little, she would sit in the kitchen chairs and scoot around washing the floors.
She would get up at 5:00 very morning and fix breakfast for my Father before he went to work.
It wasn't easy raising eight children in that condition.
She was a great cook and taught all her daughters to cook.
She loved to laugh, joke and sing.
She was constantly checking on the children making sure none of them got into trouble. (Personally, I believe she raised a pretty good bunch of children). None of us have ever gotten into much trouble and are all hard workers.
If any of us were having problems with our grades in school, she would call the teachers and see what could be done to help.
She made sure each child graduated.
She had a very hard life and more of it is talked about in the Fisher Geneology.
Her suffering came to an end Sep 1973.
She died of heart failure and arthritis at the age of 57.
After death, her Doctor said that she had the right to be as grouchy as she wanted to be, because she had been in unbearable pain for 30 years.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Father followed suit 9 My 1976. The smoking finally got him.
He died of Pancreatic cancer which is caused by smoking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After my Father's funeral, Phyllis Walter, a neighbor and Mother-in-law of my sister Norine, came to me and said "Your Father was one of the finest people I have ever known. He didn't talk much to most people, but if he liked you he would talk up a storm. Some people did not like him because he was rough and grough, but we liked him."
Some time later, I ran into my one of my Mother's cousins.
She said "You had two of the nicest parents. They would give the shirt of their backs to anyone that needed it.
Everyone was welcomed at their table. It may not have been the most expensive meal, but they gave what they had."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*NOTE: Due to idenity theft some information is not shown.*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Their children are:
1. NORINE CAROL SAUNDERS born in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan.
She married ARTHUR JOHN WALTER 19 Sep 1958 at the Methodist Church in Ortonville, Oakland County, Michigan.
He was born 4 Jul 1936 in Oakland County, Michigan. Son of Paul Walter and Phyllis ?
Their children are:
BETHANY ANN WALTER