John Reichenberg

Biography

Timeline

1. Spanning the 9 years from 1618, to 1627

   Seven children born to Jonathan and Grace

   The list contains two children named Mary; individual birth dates are not given.

   History of the Guild Family

2. 1633

   Family sails to Boston in Jonathan's ship

   Jonathan was 39. A later sentence describes the 1636 move as six years after landing, inconsistent with this arrival year.

   History of the Guild Family

3. In 1636, six years after landing in America

   Family moves down the Charles River

   The destination is described as 40 miles down the Charles River. The stated elapsed time conflicts with the 1633 arrival.

   History of the Guild Family

4. the Forties

   Learning to ride a bicycle

   Daddy taught Bernard in less than ten minutes and praised him to John Reichenberg, not knowing Bernard had already practiced on Iris’ bike with Bobby's help.

   Bernie's Chapter

5. August 15, 1945

   Celebrating the radio announcement that the war was over

   Ruth and John explained the news; the children jumped, clapped, and shouted. Carol says she was about six and that the war was officially over that day.

   Carol's Chapter

6. One time, when we were quite young

   Watching chicken butchering from the plum tree

   Barbara and other children watched Ruth and John butcher chickens. Barbara recalls hanging chickens on a clothesline and chopping their necks, while expressly questioning the accuracy of that memory.

   Barbara's Chapter

7. After the children were grown and Daddy had passed away

   Supper and midnight cards with neighbors

   Mom and her neighbors took turns hosting supper and cards until midnight, then shared a snack before going home.

   Dee's Chapter

Stories mentioning John

• Plum-Tree Spectators and Garden TreatsChildren watched from the plum tree in the Reichenberg’s back yard as Ruth and John butchered chickens. Barbara recalls chickens hanging on the clothesline and having their necks chopped, but explicitly says, “I know this can’t be right.” The children shrieked as headless chickens ran about. She also remembers stealing kohlrabi from the Reichenberg’s garden and admiring Mrs. Britz's gladiolas and chocolate cakes.
• Club Days, Secret Pals, and Midnight FriendshipMom’s eight-player club met on the second Wednesday of each month, rotating homes to play 500. Alice Atchison recalled its names changing from the Pregnant Women’s Club to The Hot Flash Club. Mom prepared with meticulous cleaning and dessert making; prizes and annual Secret Pals added to the fun. After Daddy had his stroke, he mistook a Secret Pal card for evidence of a secret lover, a story Mom later told with amusement after his death. In her widowhood, Mom enjoyed supper, cards, and midnight snacks with Ruth, John Reichenberg, and Florence Britz. She also played Euchre through Friend’s Circle and the Community Center, preferring the Circle’s company.
• Jump-Rope Rhymes and Fun Without BatteriesCarol recalls chants used while jumping rope, including counting kisses, a broken milk bottle, and teddy-bear actions. She remembers playing many different games and entertaining themselves for hours with simple things, without batteries.
• Sharing Water and Learning to Save Every DropCarol recalls a family well that repeatedly went dry. Their water tasted and smelled good, unlike some neighbors' sulfurous water. Mom hauled water from Reichenberg’s well for laundry. Ruth and John Reichenberg and their children, Kent and Carolyn, were close friends and neighbors. Daddy fitted a wagon with a five-hundred-gallon tank he had made and fetched water from town two or three times a week to replenish the family's and neighbors' wells. These shortages taught Carol lasting water-conservation habits.
• War Stamps and Joyful News in Carolyn’s YardCarol recalls buying ten-cent Savings Bonds stamps at school as family finances allowed. A book holding $18.50 in stamps could be exchanged for a $25 War Bond redeemable in ten years. Her parents used ration stamps for food and gas, including rationed meat, coffee, sugar, and butter. While Carol and Carolyn Reichenberg played in Carolyn’s yard, a radio announced the war was over. Ruth and John tried to explain, and the children jumped, clapped, and shouted. Carol dates the memory to August 15, 1945, says she was about six, and states that the war was officially over that day.
• Friends Around the Card TableEthel and Floyd enjoyed Poker, Pinochle, Euchre, and 500 Rummy, while Floyd also played Cribbage with Grandpa. Friday poker nights included the McFarlands, Nickelsons, and Vergaines. They played Pinochle with Art and Eilene Cordingly and Ruth and John Reichenberg. After Floyd died, Ethel played cards almost nightly with Florence Britz.
• Making Do with Ration Books and a Victory GardenThe family had ten Food Ration and three Gasoline Ration books, and Bernard remembers little hardship from rationing. Iris and his mother improvised stocking seams with makeup. The family's established vegetable garden became a source of Victory Garden pride, with John Reichenberg supplying advice and shared seed catalogs. His mother displayed a blue-star service banner, his father refused to surrender potentially useful junk to scrap drives, and Bernard participated in Boy Scout paper drives.
• Learning to Ride and Making an Old Bike ShineBernard loved his repeatedly repainted bicycle. Daddy proudly declared him a remarkably quick learner, unaware that he had already practiced on Iris’ bike with Bobby's help. The children enjoyed spraying gravel with dramatic starts and stops. Bernard learned to ride hands-free, but copying Ray Rohrer's seat-standing stunt left his knee full of gravel. Bicycle errands included buying Mom's Marvel cigarettes at Fredrickson’s Market with no money left for treats.
• Across the Atlantic to a Lasting Family HomeThe family traces its line to Mr. William Fairbanks in Yorks in 1445, then recounts Jonathan Fayerbanke's marriage to Grace Smith Lee, their seven children, and their voyage to Boston in his own ship in 1633. Jonathan moved to Contentment in 1636, built the enduring Dedham house, acquired land, joined the township covenant and eventually the church, and prospered as a farmer. The house is described as America's oldest standing timber frame dwelling, a National Landmark continuously owned by the family and never mortgaged, with replicas including one at Boston Commons. The passage also describes the wider family's political activity, Patriot and Union service, and slaveholding by some landed members. It retains inconsistent arrival chronology and contradictory wording about Jonathan's death relative to Grace's.

Referenced in

• Barbara's Chapter — CHILDHOOD PASTIMES & FRIENDS
• Dee's Chapter — WEEKLY WOES
• Carol's Chapter — WELL WATER
• Carol's Chapter — A FEW OF THE CATCHY VERSES I REMEMBER WE CHANTED WHILE JUMPING ROPE
• Carol's Chapter — GRADE SCHOOL
• Carol's Chapter — MOM AND DAD
• Bernie's Chapter — CARICATURES
• Bernie's Chapter — W. W. II
• Bernie's Chapter — BIKES
• History of the Guild Family — EARLY HISTORY OF THE FAIRBANKS FAMILY