Hello, my name is Tamara Kaye, and this is my on-line store in which I decided to call “Krazy Katie’s”!
“Krazy Katie” was my mother’s nick name that she picked up in 1990, when we bought a bar & grill in our little county in Southeastern, Ohio! Both of my parents were born and raised here in Vinton County!
My father was from the village called Hamden while my mother was from even a smaller place called Radcliff, Ohio. My mother broke my pappy’s heart when she decided to try and passed away June 15, 2022, and I wanted to keep her memory alive so that is why I decided on calling my on-line store “Krazy Katie’s!
I am going to tell you a little bit about my life, growing up as a military dependent (army brat)!
My father joined the Army early in 1959, soon after he turned 18. He talks about how he and one of his buddies went in on the buddy system. it turned out his buddy had medical issues and couldn’t join. So it was goodbye buddy, and dad was off to Ft Knox, Ky for Basic Training.
My mother and father had been acquainted for several years, prior to pappy joining the military! They just never got married right away, because mom was already married and her husband was off in the military.
My pappy told me, at that time in his life, he really didn’t know what he wanted. He was very young; my mother was married and she was pregnant with my father’s child. Randall Wayne was born July 16, 1959 and he carried my mother’s husband’s name.
Momma broke my pappy’s heart when she decided, she would stay with her husband. They were going to try and work things out.
My father had completed his 6–9 months basic training in Ft Knox, Ky, when he got orders to go to Korea!
While serving time in Korea, pappy had met a Korean woman and they were going to get married and dad was going to bring her to the States.
Dad told me, the Korean woman had told him she was pregnant. He felt obligated to take care of her and the child. He soon found out that the woman had tried to trick him into marriage, so she could go to the USA and become a citizen. Pappy had decided to go ahead and marry this Korean woman, until he discovered that she had went and had the baby aborted.
He was still going to marry her, until he got a letter from my mother. She had informed him that she and her husband were definitely getting a divorce.
Mother had daddy’s son, Randall Wayne, and she had a daughter with her x-husband. Gail Anne. Gail was born on July 3, 1960
After his tour in Korea, pappy got orders to go to Vietnam! When pappy discovered he would be taking a ship over to Vietnam from Korea! He refused to get on that ship. Pappy had prior experiences on ships, and they made him very sick!
My pappy decided to get totally intoxicated and when he passed out, several soldiers in dads’ platoon, picked him up and put him on that ship. Pappy said, when he woke up, he was on one of the eighth high bunk beds! He said he didn’t like those ships because he got terrible motion sickness! Dad’s tour to Vietnam lasted for 9 months. While dad was stationed in Vietnam, he got an R&R (Rest & Relaxation) order, so he met up with my mother in Hawaii for a week of rest and relaxation!
Dad then had to return to Vietnam for the rest of his tour! After his Vietnam tour, he was then stationed to return to Ft Knox, Ky!
Mom and dad got married on June 10, 1961, after dad had finished his basic training, and his tours to Korea and Vietnam. Dad and mom got married sometime after he got back to the states. they never had no big wedding because neither family could afford such a ceremony.
My father adopted both Randy and Gail. They were both given my fathers last name.
My Pappy talks about all his weekend trips, when he would hitchhike from his base in Ft Knox, Ky to Hamden, Ohio, where his family was living at the time. Dad did not have a vehicle, so he continued hitchhiking home, every chance he got.
Pappy said, sometimes he would almost get home to Hamden, and would have to turn around and go back to Ft Knox, Ky, because he ran out of time, and he had to be back at his base-on Monday morning, or he would be Awah!
Pappy eventually bought himself a 57 Chevy, so he had transportation to travel from the base at Ft Knox, Ky to Hamden, Ohio, where his family was residing.
Mom, Randy and Gail traveled with my father in the United States.
When Pappy was stationed in Ft Bragg, NC, mom got pregnant with me. I was born on October 12, 1962.
Dad got orders to move again, so when I was a week old, we traveled back to Hamden. We always went home to Hamden in between dad’s orders.
Dad had bought a house in Hamden, just for that purpose. He would rent it out when we were not using it.
Whenever he was stationed in the United States, he would go ahead of us and get the housing prepared for us, his family.
I was really young, so I don’t remember any of this traveling around. Mom had told me stories about our travel home when I was a week old. She told me we almost run out of gas in Dads red, 57 Chevy. Mom always said dad was a risk taker.
We hadn’t been in Hamden very long before dad got orders for Karlsruhe, Germany. Again, I was too young to remember any of this traveling, but we had plenty of pictures of all the places we visited and/or lived.
After our tour to Germany, Pappy got orders for Ft Lewis, Washington in 1966 or 67. When we got back to the states, we went back to Hamden and dad got things together so we could all go to Ft Lewis. He bought a blue Ford station wagon so we would be traveling comfortably.
I was about 4 yrs.old at this time, so I vaguely remember the trip, but I do have some memories. I remember flashes of the things we did and places we visited on the way to Washington! Yellowstone Park was one of them.
Since my brother, Randy and sister, Gail were a few years older than me! Randy, who was born in 1959 and Gail who was born in 1960! Their memories of our trip
to Ft Lewis, Washington was a lot clearer for them, then it was for me.
As I mentioned earlier, we stopped at Yellowstone National Park! I remember the bears coming right up to our window! That was frightening, but they had been fed sometime or other by humans, so they were looking for more hand outs.
We stopped at other Mountain Parks, but I can’t even remember the names of them. I believe Big Ben, was one of them, wherever that may be! But the memories of riding a big turtle stay stuck in my head! Probably because of all the pictures my mother had taken!
While we lived in Ft Lewis, WA, I went to 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade at Hillside Elementary! I can actually remember my teachers name in first grade. Her name was Ms. Jasper, and she had the longest fingernails, I had ever seen.
Washington State was a beautiful state. When you stepped out on our front porch, on a clear day, you could see Mt Rainer! It was a beautiful site!
I actually remember a lot about Washington State! I remember the Space needle; My brother went there for a class field trip. He told us it had a restaurant at the top of it that continuously r0tated slowly as people were enjoying their dinner. It seems as if we went there ourselves, but that I am not sure of now.
While we were in Washington State, we went on a vacation. Pappy took us to Canada! I don’t know what part, but I remember, Gail and I looking out the window on a raining day. We could see a fruit trees; it seems like it was an orange tree, but we were forbidden to pick any of the fruit. I can’t remember why but it was a no, no.
In 1970, dad had got orders to go to Ft Campbell, Ky! My mother’s brother had just come up to Washington to visit us! He had been living in California, so he hitch hiked up to Washington just in time to ride back to Hamden, Ohio with us!
It was 1970, and we had just got settled in Hamden, again! I didn’t know it at the time, but my dad had gotten orders to return to Vietnam, again!
He was sad and he had been drinking, when he told me about it. I was devastated, seeing my pappy that upset. I knew it had to be a bad place, otherwise my pappy would not have been so upset!!
It just so happened, my father’s orders to Vietnam fell through, because the war had ended, and our President was bringing our troops home! Thank you, Jesus!!
To be continued………..
