Obit: Hemp, Helen Marie #2 (1907 - 2010) 
 

Contact: Dolores Mohr Kenyon

Email: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 
 

Surnames: Hemp, Ruege, Eisentraut, Olafson, Beierle, Syth, Allen 
 

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI.) May 19, 2010 
 

Hemp, Helen Marie #2 (1907 - 11 March 2010) 
 

Graveside services for Helen Marie Hemp, 103, of Rochester, MN, who died March 11, 2010, will be held at the Neillsville City Cemetery Saturday, May 22, at 11 a.m.  The service will be followed by a luncheon at the Super 8 gathering room. 
 

Helen and her husband, Paul Hemp (deceased), were born and raised in the Globe area.  Helen was the daughter of Alvin and Rose (Ruege) Eisentraut.  The Hemps lived in Rochester since 1932, where they raised their two children, Carl and Ann. 
 

She is survived by seven grandchildren, Kathryn Olafson, Sheryl Hemp, Steve Hemp, Paul (Shelly) Olafson, Eric Olafson, Jon Hemp and Heide Hemp Beierle (David); five great-grandchildren, Samuel, Rachel and Sara Beierle and Isaac and Ian Olafson; a son-in-law, Dr. Richard Olafson and a daughter-in-law, Judy Hemp. 
 

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; daughter, Ann (2003) and son, Carl (2005); and her siblings, Ruby Syth, Alta Allen and Carl Eisentraut.  She had numerous relatives and acquaintances in the Neillsville area. 

Biographical Information

Name: Helen M Hemp
Event: Census
Event Date: 1930
Event Place: Winona, Winona, Minnesota
Gender: Female
Age: 23
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Birthplace: Wisconsin
Estimated Birth Year: 1907
Immigration Year:
Relationship to Head of Household: Wife
Father's Birthplace: Wisconsin
Mother's Birthplace: Wisconsin
Enumeration District Number: 0033
Family Number: 458
Sheet Number and Letter: 16B
Line Number: 52
Household Gender Age
Spouse Paul L Hemp M 25
Helen M Hemp F 23

Responses

I knew Carl Hemp when we were both at the Karamursel air station in Turkey in the late 1950s and was sorry to read he had died in 2005.  Please my memories below.  Chuck Maki.

Life at Mainsite (Alan Karamürsel - Karamürsel Field)

Chuck Maki, © 2003 - 2011 by Author

 
If I'd have known I was going to write this for the 'net, I'd have kept a journal but I didn't and so I must rely upon an imperfect, and selective :) memory. By sheer good fortune, I fall in with a band of rogues who know how to enjoy Turkey - included here is the one name I won't forget. He gave me a Turkish-English dictionary and his name, John R. Markland, is written inside. I also remember Roger Bean from the northeast part of the USA. Bean was with TUSLOG Det 46, the base dispensary while John worked in the base education office.

I am slowly eased into the local culture and dealings with indigenous personnel (air force talk for the people who lived there) by these friends. I get my redbook (Turkish military pass) and finally leave base on a trip to Yalova to sit in an outdoor cafe with John R. Markland and drink local beer - maybe I had raki also. That was just a short evening visit. We ride the chartered Turkish bus free between Mainsite and Yalova - it takes us to the ferry boat landing which is very close to this outdoor cafe and we do the 20 km in about 40 minutes - great for a washboard road. The bus has the general shape of a schoolbus but that's where the similarity ends. It is palatial in comparison.


GOING TO ISTANBUL

The Yalova Ferry

If you haven't read Sergeant Cook's story, you should at least look at his "red book". I had one also and because I rotated out in the usual fashion, I had to return mine. I toyed with the idea of claiming I had lost it but chickened out. The red passbooks allowed us to get 50% discounts on ferry boat and railroad fares. I think the fare was about 3-4 lira one way to Istanbul. Memory says I paid 1.90 TL one way. The normal thing was for us to take an express ferry which made one stop in the Princes Islands at BuyukAda as opposed to the regular ferry which stopped at several islands of the group.

On the boat we could sit almost anywhere we wished. Waiters served up delicious tea in small glasses on glass saucers - "iki tani çai lutfen" (two teas please). One time John R. Markland got us invited by the captain to have tea and enjoy the trip with him. I met some interesting people on these trips. I know my first trip into Istanbul was October 29, 1957 -the anniversary of the founding of the modern Turkish republic because my first foto was of a parade with many Turkish flags.

GOING TO ISTANBUL

By Taxi
Tragic Loss for Others

Twice we went to Istanbul in different ways. We were to the ferry landing as usual on a Friday afternoon and found the ferry standing offshore unable to come alongside because of the stormy sea. Unable to go by ferry, and wanting to get away, we took a taxi from Yalova which cost us 100 TL. This took us on a drive east past Mainsite (Karamursel Field), by Golçuk, through Izmid and then heading west until we got to Istanbul. I am not sure if the taxi took us into Istanbul or to a ferry where we crossed on our own. Later when we returned to base, we learned of the tragedy which had befallen the eastern end of the Bay of Izmit. A ferry boat, loaded with children, had sunk in that stormy sea. A typhoon had struck. We at the base took up a collection of several thousand lira and deposited that money to a relief account in the bank at Karamursel. I was base photographer at the time and was sent along to record the event. Meetings were held with the mayor and military governor before bringing the funds to the bank. 1stLt Eugene Terry of Chicago had the honor of depositing the funds in our name.

GOING TO ISTANBUL

The Foot Ferry

The foot ferry was another chartered operation. It was mostly used by married personnel. It left the base dock and crossed almost directly north to a small town which I believe is Gebze. There we see a parking lot that the married people use with Turkish private security men on patrol. The married guys then drove home while we went to the railroad station and caught the TCDD (Turkiye Cumhuriyeti Devleti Demiryolu/Turkish Republic State Railroad). It was a very pleasant and sedate ride to the Haydar Pasha Station across from Istanbul.

GETTING TO OUR HOTEL

Otel Gul Palas

When we left the boat at the Galata Bridge, we either took a taxi, 2 ½ TL fare, or we walked to the entry of Tünel and took the funicular railway up the hill through a tunnel, hence the Turkish name Tünel. The train was a nicely varnished wood and fairly rickety-appearing set of two coaches on each end of the cable but I loved it. One coach was first class - 25 kurush and the other second class - 15 kurush. We usually rode second class (no cushions and longer walk uphill once at the top). Upon arrival we had a set of alley ways and narrow streets to maneuver through before finding our preferred hotel, the Gül Palas Otel (Rose Palace Hotel). We were able to get in there practically all of the time. Only once did I stay at the Istanbul Hilton, sharing with Don Kingery, for a 40 TL room rate as opposed to perhaps about 7 - 10 lira at the Gul Palas. I think I stayed at the Park Otel on Taksim Square once but that is a vague memory

THE USUAL WEEKEND IN ISTANBUL

This gang of rogues I hung with awoke practically in unison and walked downhill about a block and a half from the Gül Palas for breakfast at the Pera Palas of Agatha Christie fame . Usually a roll and tea. Tea was the most common beverage and coffee almost non-existent on the Turkish economy. After breakfast we would then go to various places. Among the destinations were the BX and Class VI store in the basement of the Kahan Building, the Hq of TUSLOG Det ? in Istanbul, which was about 2 blocks from the Hilton. Among other choices was the grand (covered) bazaar across the Golden Horn. We also visited museums and once I visited a stamp collector's store. Now I am a collector of Turkish stamps and dearly regret having been into a Turkish shop only once. Perhaps I had the privilege of speaking with Ali Nusret Pulhan himself, the premier authority on Turkish philately of all time and author of catalogues. Well, at least I have his catalogue!

The covered bazaar was a favorite place of mine. I loved wandering there and buying and bargaining or just looking. We could buy Turkish toweling, meerschaum pipes, gold coins, Byzantine coins, and who knows what else. We could buy what appeared to be old muskets which were inlaid and similar pistols. I think Carl Hemp got a pistol.. Wearing of the fez was illegal but you could get them as a tourist item so I got one - it's lost now.

Our evenings varied, we could take in movies with Turkish subtitles, go to nightclubs, go to the NCO Club at the top of the Kahan Building, whatever... We had a favorite Turkish restaurant very close to the Kahan Building which we used whenever we were in town. The owners were very friendly and the food was good. They also had another place to the north but still in Istanbul which we visited once or twice. It was loaded with ambiance and charm. Oh, this reminds me that we would also often go to a German restaurant which appeared to have been lifted out of 1930s Germany itself. We had great German food there. I loved that place.

HMS EAGLE, HMS SHEFFIELD, and HMS TRAGALFAR

The Royal Navy shows the flag with great success

The Yalova ferry had crossed the Bosphorus and was on its way to docking at Galata Bridge when we noticed an unusual structure moving slowly across the skyline beyond Seraglio Point. Carl Hemp and I didn't see anything else at the time and went on our usual way. That Friday evening we - Carl wasn't a part of the rogues group but another friend - I say this to save his reputation =). Ever hear of the Hemp Old Car Museum at Rochester, Minnesota? That was his dad's place.

Oh, yeah, back to the story. That evening we had taken in an English movie, probably an Alec Guinness film, and were leaving by a side exit when we bumped into a group of 6 or 7 British sailors. We invited them to go to the NCO Club with us and they did. We drank American beer and talked and Carl and I got an invite from John Utting, an AB Seaman at the time (and whom I still know and visited in 1959 and later in 1988 in England) to visit HMS Eagle the next day. Just tell the guy at the boat landing we are invited by him, says John. H.M.S. Eagle is an aircraft carrier, H.M.S. Sheffield a cruiser, and H.M.S. Trafalgar a destroyer. We visited Eagle next day and found it very interesting - of course I don't have a camera along and Hemp was equally lax enough to leave his back at the base. I remember the small jets on the deck, I remember walking the flight deck and visiting crew quarters - they slept in hammocks. We went to many places on that ship which I cannot recall now but we did go into the mess hall with its huge urns. In the U.S. navy, those urns would have been filled with hot coffee. Aboard Eagle they were filled with hot tea with the milk already added as is the British preference which is where I developed a taste for hot tea with milk.

OK, we leave the ship and it is Saturday night and what are we to do? I don't know where or how but Carl and I met several petty officers from H.M.S. Sheffield. These guys had the traditional Royal Navy beards - fabulous look! These guys were seasoned naval veterans of ports of call who knew right where to go and they took us with them to a nightclub called the Cordon Bleu. Belly dancers, alcoholic beverages!, lots of cigarette smoke, lots of noise. Lots of fun.

the narrative above is all I have where Carl and I were in Istanbul together...both of us forgetting to bring cameras. I do have a few of Carl and so I will try to find them.  Chuck Maki.