Guest post: More thoughts on Capt. Bill ...

The following is a guest post by Sharon (O'Malley) Cassidy, Capt. Bill Mooney's first grandchild (and the star of "On the Frontenac, Summer 1939"). Sharon shares some delightful recollections of Cap and his fondness for cigars. We love these stories, and we know you will too. For that reason, we plan on holding Sharon to the promise implicit in her last sentence, namely, that this is only the first installment and that she'll be sharing even more of these memories going forward.😉

On the Frontenac, Summer 1939.

As mentioned in the first Evangeline post, Capt. Bill's position as master of various freighters permitted him to take family and other guests on the ships' voyages. As a follow-up, Chuck O'Malley has sent an outstanding video clip with scenes from one such voyage — on the Frontenac in the summer of 1939. The cinematographer is Capt. Bill's son-in-law Bob O'Malley Sr. The cast includes Cap and three of his children: Eileen, Dorothy (in the black-and-white plaid), and Tom. But the star is either a very young Shirley Temple or else Bob and Eileen's daughter Sharon O'Malley Cassidy.

An Evangeline update.

Another picture of Evangeline ...

Among the responses to the posts about Evangeline Moran Mooney (part 1 here) was an email from Chuck O'Malley with a picture of Evangeline that I don't believe I had seen before. Chuck thinks he got his copy from John Mooney. Here's the picture:

Evangeline Charity Moran Mooney - Part 3.

(Part 1 is here, and Part 2 is here.)

The 1918 influenza ...

• There were two waves of influenza in 1918, and a third in early 1919. The first wave, which began in March and peaked in July, was comparatively mild, with relatively few deaths and quick recoveries. People called it the "3-day fever", an illness that passed much the same as seasonal flus usually did.

Evangeline Charity Moran Mooney - Part 2.

(Part 1 is here.)

Angie & Capt. Bill in Cleveland ...

• Capt. Bill and Angie first took up residence in a rental house at 9407 Detroit Ave., on Cleveland's west side. After a year or so, they moved to another rental, at 4908 Franklin Ave. Capt. Bill's maritime title appears to have confused the editors of the 1911 Cleveland City Directory, since they listed his occupation as "police."

Evangeline Charity Moran Mooney - Part 1.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Great Influenza of 1918, the flu pandemic that killed 50 million or more people worldwide. Not by coincidence, this year is also the 100th anniversary of the death of Evangeline Charity Moran Mooney, who died from complications of the flu on December 15, 1918, two days before her 34th birthday, at her home in Lakewood, Ohio.

Angie (as she was known to friends and family) left behind her husband, William (Capt. Bill) Mooney, and their four children: Bill (who was 3 days shy of his 8th birthday), Eileen (who had just turned 5), Dorothy (3 years and 2 months old), and Tom (age 5 months).

This is some of her story ....