THOSE PLACES THURSDAY

Places I've been - and when...


Birmingham, Alabama: 1944 - 1945

Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Birmingham boasts a metropolitan population of a little more than 1 million people. Founded in 1871 as a steel-making center, it exploded onto the map almost overnight, quickly growing into Alabama's largest city and thus earning the nickname of "The Magic City." Today, it is a medical and financial center, as well as a cultural and heritage destination. Its vast selection of attractions includes the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, the Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, Southern Museum of Flight, Vulcan Park, Arlington Antebellum Home, McWane Center, Alabama Adventure Theme Park, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, and the Birmingham Zoo, the state's largest. The city is also famous for its beautiful golf courses, year-round calendar of entertainment, fabulous shopping and world-class dining. Birmingham is centrally located between Huntsville and Montgomery and serves as the major hub of air transportation in the state.

I was born in this hospital (Jefferson Hillman) on Thanksgiving Day in 1944

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Minneapolis, Minnesota: 1945 - 1946

The city of Minneapolis grew up around the flour mills powered by St. Anthony Falls on the Mississippi River. Other industries overtook milling by the middle of the 20th century, but the west bank of the river remained the commercial center of the city.
Now office buildings and skyscrapers dominate downtown Minneapolis, together with modern apartment blocks, shopping centers, theaters, restaurants and all kinds of entertainment.

Moved to Minneapolis to be with matriarchal family.

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New York City, NY: 1946 - 1950

 New York is the most populous city in the United States of America and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. The city is referred to as New York City or The City of New York to distinguish it from the State of New York, of which it is a part. A global power city. New York exerts a significant impact upon commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment. The home of the United Nations Headquarters. New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has been described as the cultural capital of the world.

This is me in 1946

(the baby, not the mother)

In the original black & white edition

I was standing in line to see Santa.

(can't find me in the colored version)

Are you interested yet? Do you have questions? Come on, ask them. I dare you!

This is only the first installment of "Places." I've lived in several places over the years, so this will be an on-going feature on Thursdays for awhile.