OCTOBER A TIME OF MYSTERY IN THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY

All Hallows Tree at the home of Janne and Jerry Fecht in Tarzana.

ANN WOOD

Ann Wood is descended from Frances (Frankie) Eleanor (Moss) and James G. Knight. Her birthday is on May 13th. She resides in Pennsylvania, in the heart of Amish country.

KATHERINE JEAN FLETCHER

Katherine Fletcher from a Facebook image - click on image to enlarge.

Katy holds a masters of business administration from the Kellogg Graduate School of Managment of Northwestern University. Her birthday is on February 5th. Katy resides in Bellvue, Washington.

BRENDAN AT STAPLES CENTER

Brendan Patrick Fecht at a Lakers Basketball game - 2008
Brendan is the great, great grandson of Susan (Powers) and James E. Moss.

KNIGHT FAMILY 1921

Knight Family Picnic 1921 - New York State (click on image to enlarge)
Frances (Frankie) Moss Knight was the daughter of Susan (Powers) and James E. Moss.

SUMMER 1921

(click on images to enlarge)
Children in front: Jonathan Fletcher and Frances Fletcher Gross
Left to right:
Katherine Fletcher Shreves, Mary Moss (wife of Jesse Moss), Jesse Moss, Marjorie Moss Thomas, Dexter Moss, Clyde B. Fletcher

JAMES E. MOSS - SUMMER 1921

James E. Moss - July 1921 (click on image to enlarge)

SUMMER WATERFIGHT - 88 YEARS AGO

"Frances and Jonathan, having a waterfight in Walnut Creek - Summer 1921 (click on image to enlarge)
Grandchildren of Susan (Powers) and James E. Moss

HOMER KNIGHT 1920

"Homer and Mascot" New York license 1920 (click on image to enlarge)
Homer Knight was the grandson of James E. and Jennie Powers Moss.

JESSE MUNSON MOSS

Jesse Munson Moss was born on 11 January, 1876 in Sandwich, Illinois. He was the son of Helen (Munson) (fl-228) and Dexter Moore Moss (fl-104).

At the age of six Jesse came with his parents to Scranton, Iowa where they settled on a farm a mile north of that town. On that farm he resided continuously until 1936. On 3 May, 1903, Jesse Moss was baptized a Christian and received into the Scranton Methodist Episcopal Church.
On 12 April, 1905 Jesse Moss married Mary A. Thompson, after which they took up residence on his father’s farm. There they lived until moving into their final home together in 1936.

MARY A_________ THOMPSON (fl- 230) called “Mamie”
born: ___________, in __________, ____, _________
mother: ______________ (_____________)
father: ________________, ____________
married: 12 April 1905 to Jesse M. MOSS in Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa.


Like most of the members of his family, Jesse was “a talented and accomplished musician. Jess was famed and admired throughout a wide area. He served as the director of the Greene County Band and other musical groups in the area. He was also a member of the Des Moines Shrine Band.
Jesse Moss was a member of the Scranton, Iowa town council. He also belonged to the Masonic Lodge and Eastern Star at Scranton and of the Commandery of the Mason in Jefferson, Iowa. In 1929, Jesse became a member of the Za-Ga-Zig Shrine in Des Moines, the state capital.
Jesse M. Moss died 25 May, 1941. He lived to be 65 years, 4 months and 14 days old. He is buried at the Scranton Cemetery, in Scranton, Iowa. His funeral was held at the Scranton Methodist Episcopal Church, the pastor Rev. E.L. Stone officiating. Music was furnished by Tyne Buck, with Mrs. Bill E. (Marian Knight) Friend

FAMILY OF DEXTER MOSS

Dexter Moore Moss was the son of Sarah (Moore) (fl-79) and the elder James Moss (fl-78). Dexter was born on the 26th of July 1848. He appears to have lived much of his youth in Illinois (possibly Sandwich, Illinois) where he married a woman by the name of Helen Munson. Dexter was a soldier in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He farmed near his brother James E. Moss in Greene County, Iowa.

Dexter Moore Moss (click on image to enlarg) Photo was taken by N. Smith's Gallery in the Bank Building corner of Main and R.R. streets in Sandwich, Illinois.

Helen Munson Moss was born on the 24th of March, 1836 (likely in New York state) Her mother was Lucy White Munson (born on the 7th of April 1806) and her father was Alvah Munso (born in June of 1795). The family lived in Windham, New York
Helen married Dexter Moore Moss in May of 1875 in Windham, New York. She lived most of her adult live in Scranton, Greene County, Iowa and is buried in the Scranton Grave Yard.

Helen Munson Moss (click on image to enlarge)
An unique 2¢ United States "Internal Revenue" stamp is affixed to the back of this photograph)

Jesse Munson Moss was born on the 11th of January, 1876 in Sandwich, Illinois. He married Mamie Thompson in Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa. Jesse died on the 25th of May, 1941 in Scranton, Iowa.

Jesse Munson Moss (click on image to enlarge - image copied from an original tin-type in the collection of Gerald Fecht, Tarzana, California 2009) A similar photo taken about this same time of Jesse has a Sandwich, Illinois label on the back.

SCHOOL HOUSE WHERE JAMES E. MOSS ENLISTED IN THE UNION ARMY

(click on image to enlarge)
"This was taken Nov. 24th, 1915. The church was dedicated Nove. 30th, 1876 on Thanksgiving Day.
This is the school house where we sent to school and in which we enlisted in 1861 for the war.
The school house was built some time in 1847 or 1848 - no one living seems to know. The auto is Paul W. Hatches. The house Wm. Tripps.
James S. Hatch."


The house of William Tripps is at the far left. The school house is in the center of the photo and the church to the right in the foreground.
Since James E. Moss grow to manhood in Little Rock, Kendall County, Illinois - this photo is likely from that area of Illinois.
I believe the writer James S. Hatch was one of the Three Jims of Civil War fame.
Jerry Fecht

KATHERINE FLETCHER SHREVES

That her union card and transfer document were found among Katherine Shreves' possessions is not surprising, since without a union card she would not have been allowed to work in New York and many other places across the nation. Recording and "canned music" were replacing live musicians at an alarming pace, and the American Federation of Musicians was busy defending employment opportunities for its members. Katherine's Republican political views made her uncomfortable with her union membership and was a source of tension between her and her sister Frances and brother-in-law Robert Gross.
(click on image to enlarge)
Union "locals" were very territorial in the years the Gross and Shreves moved to Los Angeles. Katherine was required to be in residence for a year before she could play AFM events. Her friend Della found a job working as a music teacher in the Los Angeles City Schools and never returned to performance for a living. When her brother-in-law used "connections" to get around the year of waiting, it created a long lasting rift within the family.

JANNE AND DAMON FECHT GO TO SPRING TRAINING

Both Damon and his mother Janne work long and hard at this time of year, so they took a break this last weekend to visit the Los Angeles Dodgers at Spring Training in Glendale, Arizona. To make sure that they got the full measure of their "sports fix", Damon and Janne went to see Phoenix play their NBA rivals, the Washington Wizards.
OK Janne, it's back to tax season.

ODDS AND ENDS

Yonkers Department Store - the chic place for a fashion lunch in Des Moines - c. 1940

KIDDING HER BROTHER JONATHAN

Katherine Shreves sent this postcard to John M. Fletcher at 645 Harwood Drive, Des Moines, Iowa on June 24th, 1937
It reads: "Thurs - Does this afternoon make me homesick for Santa Monica. Oh boy. Love K. (click on image to enlarge)

POST CARD FROM JIM MOSS 1918

This post card was sent by James E. Moss to his grand daughter Katherine Fletcher on the 20th of April 1918. Jim Moss fought here during the American Civil War. (click on image to enlarge)
Note that the streets of Murfreesboro were not as yet paved when this card was purchased, nor are there any automobiles.

JANNE FECHT IN REFLECTION

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Janne's reflection at Bergamot Station - Santa Monica

JONATHAN MOSS FLETCHER

Jonathan Fletcher 1931 Graduation photo. (click on images to enlarge)
Clyde Fletcher wrote his daughter Katherine on Oct. 27, “Jonathan will be 17 tomorrow, he is some good kid.” Perhaps the father didn’t feel quite as positively when late one night, he left the house only in his underwear and a straw hat, to pull Jonathan and his car out of a ditch.
Jonathan Fletcher at the University of Iowa
At the height of the Great Depression Jonathan Fletcher went off to the University of Iowa. His once affluent parents were now burdened with a lifestyle unsupportable by the times. Jonathan hid his family’s money status and took a job once viewed as suitable for poor boys. For economic reasons he shared living quarters with several other young men, despite the noise and inconvenience.
Jonathan's mother Jennie described her son’s room as “decorated with pennants, pictures and calendars.” She wasn’t overly concerned with the arrangements since “Jonathan is surely the most level headed fellow you ever saw.”
Jonatha is elected captian of the University of Iowa’s tennis team. In 1935, he graduated from the University of Iowa

Jonathan Fletcher as a young man.

Jonathan Fletcher 1940

Jonatha is elected captain of the University of Iowa’s tennis team.
His first job was in the State of California work for a New Deal Agency created by the Franklin Delano Roosevelt administration.

JONATHAN MOSS FLETCHER

Jonathan Fletcher at age one. (click on images to enlarge)
Jonathan Moss Fletcher was the third child of Jennie (Moss) and Clyde Beals Fletcher. He was born on the 28th of October 1914 in Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa.
Jonathan Fletcher was named for the son of his father’s one-time employer Ed Garst, Jonathan Garst. Clyde’s best friend Jonathan Garst would eventually become a professor at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).


Jonathan adored sports when he was a boy. His letters to his sister Katherine in 1923 are filled with hero worship, talk about the University of Iowa's Hawkeyes and West High’s football champs. But, football wasn’t Jonathan’s only sports interest; he busied himself with tennis and baseball too.


Jonathan Fletcher in his "knickers".

Jonathan Fletcher 1930

1931, October Jonathan Graduates from Roosevelt High School at 17.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR KATY

Winter Blossom - Long Beach Art Museum - by Janne Fecht 2009 (click on image to enlarge)

Happy Birthday to our dear kinswoman Katherine Jean Fletcher. Katy is our family treasure.

OUR GROSS FAMILY IN BELLVIEW WASHINGTON

Ben Gross - 2008 (click on images to enlarge)

Bella Gross - 2008

Bella and Ben are the children of Nicole and Chris Gross. The Gross family lives in Bellvue, Washington. They are descendants of Frances Fletcher Gross.

OUR GROSS FAMILY IN SALT LAKE

Our Gross Family Children in Salt Lake City, Utah (click on image to enlarge)

This image of the Gross children was on the cover of Jody and Jeff Gross' holiday card for 2008. The kids are (l to r) Sophie (age 8), Max (age 5) and Meredith (age 4). They are great grandchildren of Frances Fletcher Gross.