Part 3: My Family Quilt (Contiuned)

James and Helen Faleris

21 June 1943

Canada

written by: Rene Corwin Young

This story is a continuance of the orginal post: "My Family Quilt". In Feb of 2007 Rene's dream and promise to Helen Faleris just before she died was fullfilled. When our Grama Helen got sick, one of her last request to Rene was to find my sister and I. She wanted to see us before she died. Unfortunately, grama was unable to have that wish. Before Rene's visit to Texas in October of 2007, she created a Scrapbook of the Faleris Family for me as a gift. In "My Family Quilt, "My Mother's Side", the story she wrote is that which I am sharing with you.

In 1942 Papa met Grama (Helen Baker) while she was working in a resturant. From the stories I remember he was trying to make his girlfriend jealous. After they broke up Papa went back to the resturant and courted Grama and they m arried 21 June 1943. Papa either had a job in the states or got a job in the states hauling coal for a company in Detroit, MI. Papa decided to make a move to Detroit where they would raise their family, as they found out that Grama was pregnant with her first child Joan. In July when Grma tried to cross into the states she was refused entrane because of the war that was going on at the time. In November 1943 Grama was allowed to move to the states with her husband, but was not allowed to become a US Citizen.

Detroit, MI is where they made their home until about 1957. When they moved to St. Ignace, MI Papa got a job ofer from his brother-in-law to help run his resturant(The Belle Isle). Grama and Papa had three children by this time, Joan, George and Kathy which all had been born in Detorit, MI. I remember being told "YiYi" (papas mother) had a home in detroit as well.