On Saturday, November 1, the Romeo Community Archives hosted a Scanning Party. Through this program, people received high-quality scans of their photographs to ensure long-term preservation. They even had a chance to donate their digital copies to the archives if they wanted to. One person Sue Poosch did just that by giving copies of family pictures throughout the years to our digital collection. This is one of them.
This picture was taken on Christmas 1943 in front of the Bradley home on 129 Minot Street in Romeo. Charles T. Bradley Sr. built it around 1919. Sadly, he passed away six days before Christmas. This explains why his widow Marguerite is dressed in black. Charles Sr. and Marguerite were Sue's grandparents.
Charles Sr. and Marguerite had ten children - six sons and four daughters. Five of Sue's uncles are seen in this photo. In the front row, there's Charles Jr. (or "Bud" as the family called him), Marguerite, and George. Larry, Allan, and Bob are in the back. These Bradley sons enlisted before or during World War II, which explains why Charles Jr., George, and Bob are in uniform. Most of them were either in the Army or Air Forces. Larry served as a medic in North Africa and India even though Sue mentioned that he mustered out early due of tuberculosis.
This was one of the last photos taken of the Bradley boys. On January 17, 1945, Charles Jr. was killed while overseas. According to the family, it was friendly fire. Prior to his death, he received his commission as Second Lieutenant. Charles Jr. was one of the six Romeo High School athletes who were killed during that conflict. He's buried in France. Romeo honored his memory by including his name on the World War II plaque as well as renaming Second Street to Bradley Street.
Cherish the veterans around you whenever you can because you don't know when they will be gone.
People can view this picture and others on our online catalog at https://rcarchives.pastperfectonline.com/
We will have another Scanning Party soon!
To learn more about the Charles T. Bradley family and the Scanning Party, you can contact the Romeo Community Archives at rca@romemodistrictlibrary.org or call (586) 690-4890.
Images and sources courtesy of the Romeo Community Archives; Romeo Community Archives, Digital Collection; Sue Poosch; Ancestry; and The Romeo Observer Press, February 16, 1945, p.1