he also found a job in Kalamazoo. He worked as a mechanical engineer in the auto industry.

“They met at a dance at the CYC. (Remember Catholic Youth Centers?) They dated, got married in 1940, and rented a small house with a single garage.

“When WWII broke out, Ed was exempted from the draft because he worked in what was termed a ‘necessary occupation.’ The automakers were hard at work building cars, jeeps and tanks for the war effort.

“From time to time, Ed would come home with a money-making scheme. Mom would not say anything, allowing Ed to play with his inventions and contraptions.

“At one point, a guy he knew sold him a machine that cut old tires into strips that could be woven into a doormat. Ed made afew mats, but the machine kept breaking down. Finally, the machine quit for good and could not be repaired. Mom retained her composure as their poor old Ford sat out in the snow and cold. It would not fit in the garage because of the nonfunctional doormat machine and the stacks of old tires.

“As the war continued, it was impossible to buy new cars, so people hung on to their old cars and maintained them. One of the hardest things to find was tires. The only thing that people could do was patch the old tires and drive on them until they wore through the treads and blew out.

“This was Ed’s time to shine. He quickly became the most popular guy in the neighborhood as people discovered the