Ethel May RADLOFF (nee DAVIES) at age 96 (1981) - in her own voice

From left to right, Frank RADLOFF, Ethel May RADLOFF (née DAVIES), Audrey CHRISTENSEN (née RADLOFF), Harold RADLOFF, Adeline RADLOFF, Wilma SHANKLIN (née RADLOFF); Waupaca, Wisconsin; February 1943. (Howard RADLOFF is absent from photo, probably away in military service at that date)

In the early 1980s, my grandmother and her sisters pinpointed me as the young person in the family most likely to be interested in the family history. In August, 1981, my great-Aunts Adeline AYRES and Wilma SHANKLIN (both née RADLOFF) were inspired to record their mother, Ethel May RADLOFF (née DAVIES) telling about her life, and to send the audiocassette to me.

Here is a brief audio clip (.MP3 format) of my great-grandmother telling about her life at age 96:

SHANKLIN, Arthur and Wilma (nee RADLOFF), ca mid 1930s

SHANKLIN, Arthur Edward, 1909 - 1995, and Wilma Gertrude (nee RADLOFF), 1910 - 2001.

RADLOFF Family post-war baby boom. Waupaca, Wisconsin, USA. October 1946.

All left to right. Back row: CA Christensen, Frank Radloff; left of stairs: Ruth Mortenson Radloff, Eileen Johnson Radloff, Wilma Radloff Shanklin, Adeline Radloff DeGodt; KIDS: David Shanklin, Dennis DeGodt, Donnie Radloff, Jay DeGodt with Lynn Christensen just behind, and Vicki Christensen; Right of stairs: Ethel Radloff, Kip Christensen, Harold Radloff, Art Shanklin.

 

Same farmhouse as in 1946 photo, November 2017, taken by Jason DeGodt. Farmhouse is just south of Highway 10 in Waupaca.