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Great Uncle "Chuck," the Four Horsemen, and the Rest of the Story

  Charlie "Chuck" Baker, in an image from The Cleveland Press, November 1927. 1   Mention the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to me and football is not what immediately pops into my mind. But in my family history, mentioning the Four Horsemen brings up the name Charles "Charlie" Baker (1908-1955), my grandmother's brother. I've heard the phrase, "Charlie was one of the Four Horsemen," more than once over time, from my dad, cousins, maybe even an aunt or uncle. Not being raised in a football-centric household, however, the significance of the phrase was lost on me. But curious about Charlie's connection to the fabled football heroes who played under Knute Rockne at Notre Dame in the 1920s, I went in search of the story. And I found a great story—one with a surprising Texas twist that grabbed my attention, as I live here. Much of what I learned was from an account of this greatest of Cathedral Latin football stories, written by Robert Kelley, a...
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GENEALOGY CHALLENGE 2021 - Seeing Double

James, dwarfed by a Union Pacific engine.


 
James' grandpa, James Casey, Sr. enjoys his time on a train.

GENEALOGY CHALLENGE 2021

Seeing Double -  January 25th entry of a 31-day challenge to post a document, photo or artifact on social media every day in January.  

by Nancy Gilbride Casey


What is it about little boys and trains? Our son James was enamored of trains from the day he first noticed them as a tiny little guy. 

Whenever we saw one, he would want me to slow down the car so we could watch it, or roll the car windows down so that he could hear the train whistle. He collected Thomas the Tank Engine cars and track. I read him Thomas the Tank Engine books, and we watched the TV show too. With every library trip we took, we looked for any book with a train theme. I'm sure there was a train-themed birthday party at some point too.

James also loved a trip to the train museum with his Papa (James D. Casey, Sr.), or visiting other train exhibits in local small towns. Imagine his thrill when we took a ride on the actual Thomas the Train one year in Grapevine, Texas!

The love of trains must run in the family line: proven by this wonderful black and white photograph of James' Papa, standing on a train stairs when he was a little man. It wonderful to see shared interests passed through generations.


NEXT UP: Wartime Letter III

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