I grew up in north central Illinois in an area referred to by locals as the Illinois Valley. Like many areas, it has its own legends and ghost stories. One in particular I first heard about as a teenager in the 1970s involved a “hatchet man” who wanders an isolated cemetery near the Massock mausoleum in Spring Valley, Ill. More recently I noticed a discussion on social media among some people who grew up in the same area. One person mentioned they would like to know more about the men buried in the mausoleum. This made me realize I would…
Category: Family History
General Family History
“Programming” ChatGPT to Write a Story
Here’s an update on my continuing efforts to explore using ChatGPT and other AI tools to create stories for the Stories Behind the Stars project. After my last attempt, I was thinking that perhaps this could work if someone could program it to write the type of story I am looking for. But then I saw a Tweet by @thatroblennon which made me realize AI tools like ChatGPT can be programmed just by talking to them. This was somewhat of a revelation to me. So I decided to try my experiment again by first “programming” what I wanted. After several…
PVT Frank Mike Zabkar, Service No. 36775615
Frank Mike Zabkar was born in LaSalle, Illinois, on 8 June 1911, to Austrian immigrants Michael and Sophia Cujnik Zabkar. Frank’s father Michael was from the Zupeca Vas area while his mother Sophia had lived in Grandise. Both of his parents left their homeland at the turn of the century to travel to America when they were in their mid-twenties. They married in LaSalle on the first of January in 1900, and had their first child who they named Sophie a little over a year later. Michael supported the family working as a laborer at the local zinc works. Eventually…
Using ChatGPT to Write Stories
Over the last year, I have been volunteering with Stories Behind the Stars (SBTS) to write stories of those from the U.S. who lost their lives in World War II serving in the military. So far, I have completed 43 stories – all but one about men who were from the area around my hometown. With over 22,000 fallen members just from Illinois that leaves a lot of stories left to write. Fortunately there are many others working on this effort, and for fallen members from some states like Utah or who fought in specific battles, all stories have been…
PVT Frank Joseph Harzheim Jr., Service number 36784510
Frank Joseph Harzheim was born in Peru, Illinois, on 21 September 1913. He was the fifth child of Frank and Gertrude Potthoff Harzheim. His parents were both immigrants who left Germany for the U.S. in the late 1880s. They married in Peru, Illinois, on 8 November 1898. At the time of Frank’s birth, his family was living in a home they purchased at 1516 Eighth street in Peru, and his father was working as a caster at the local clock factory, Westclox. After Frank was born, his parents had four more children. Their total of nine kids included three boys…
PVT Angelo Joseph Venturi, Service No. 36327175
Angelo Joseph Venturi was born on 18 August 1912, in LaSalle, Illinois. His parents were Emile and Pauline Bacidore Venturi. Emile and Pauline had married about four years before his birth on 11 April 1908. Both of Angelo’s parents were from Montegallo, Ascoli Piceno, Marche, Italy. His mother Pauline left her homeland in 1907 and traveled to America aboard the SS La Bretagne in October. His father Emile arrived in the United States about the same time. After marrying, Emile and Pauline lived with her parents Louis and Rose Bacidore at 336 Berlin street—a road which would be renamed LaFayette…
2LT Bernard Dominic Valesano, Service Number O-825336
Bernard Dominic Valesano, also known as Barney, was born three days after Christmas on 28 December 1922, in Lostant, Illinois. His parents were John J. and Anna Cicciarelli Valesano. Bernard’s paternal grandparents were Dominick and Anna Baima Valesano. They had each traveled to America from the Piedmont area of Italy as young adults—Dominick from Locana and Anna from Corio. They appear to have met and married after arriving in the U.S. The couple raised their family in Toluca, Illinois, where Dominick worked as a coal miner. In 1918 at age 22, Bernard’s father John enlisted in the United States Army…
Flight Officer Arthur Dale Starkey, Service Number T-223756
Arthur Dale Starkey, sometimes referred to as Archie, was born on 4 October 1916, in Mount Vernon, Illinois. His parents were Clyde W. and Lola Bell Yearwood Starkey. When Arthur was born, his parents had been married for 10 years and already had a son Leroy and two daughters—Mildred and Helen. Arthur’s father, Clyde, was born in Indiana while Arthur’s mother was born in Jefferson county, Illinois. After their marriage, Clyde and his wife Lola seemed to live for some time in Rochelle and in Mount Vernon, Illinois. But they eventually settled in Peru, Illinois, prior to 1918. In Peru,…
PVT James Reynolds, Service No. 386368
James Reynolds Jr. was born on 6 December 1920, in Deer Park, Illinois—an unincorporated area in LaSalle Township. James was named after his father, James Grover Reynolds, who was born in Jonesville in 1892. The Reynolds family had lived in the LaSalle area for a long time. James Junior’s great-grandfather, Henry Reynolds, moved to America from England possibly in the 1850s. On 5 July 1857, he married Hannah Johnson, a young lady from New Jersey who had moved to Illinois. They initially settled in Ophir Township. By 1870 they had moved to Deer Park and had six children one of…
SF 3/C Robert Godfrey Reinhard, Service No. 7251857
Robert Godfrey Reinhard was born on 17 August 1921, in LaSalle, Illinois, to John and Hannah Medill Reinhard. His parents had been married for 12 years when he was born and already had three other children: Lawrence, Lucile, and John. Robert’s father, John, worked as a shipping clerk for the cement company. All but one of Robert’s grandparents were no longer living when he was born. So possibly the only grandparent he knew was his maternal grandfather James Medill who lived in LaSalle. James had sailed to American from Scotland in the 1850s and found work as a miner. When…