20 – Bearded: Dad part 2

The first time Dad grew a beard, that I remember, was for some sort of Village of Villa Park, Illinois, historical celebration; it was a circle beard. A Villa Park Historical Society newsletter notes that they celebrated the 100th birthday in 2014, so that would have been their 50th in 1964. 

My youngest sister was born in 1963, the sixth child in our family. That would be a lot of kids today today, but it was not that unusual during the baby boom years. Mom was the caregiver and ran the household, and Dad had the responsibility of providing for us all. 

Dad with circle beard, with Great Aunt Dorothy and my sister Pat

Over the next few years Dad may have experimented with beards a couple times, but he ended up with a full beard, in 1969, which he kept for the rest of his life. It certainly fit him, and I think made him less conscious of his baldness, and hid his upper lip – his nose might have been taken as evidence of a fight at a younger age. 

October 1969, West Point, at his brother's grave

Dad was the city manager of Villa Park, hired in late 1962 and fired in 1970. He tried a short bit as an appraiser, but eventually landed another city manager job in Madison Township, New Jersey, in the summer of 1971. I moved on to college as my older sister had the previous year, and the rest of the family moved out east. 

June 1972, looking a bit like Salman Rushdie, with my sister Stephanie, Jersey Shore

Dad's beard grayed a bit after he turned 50, but he died before it turned completely gray. He went through a couple jobs in New Jersey, the Madison Township job lasting into 1976 followed by a short stint in Oceanport in 1977. My older sister and I spent some college breaks out there working for money to help pay expenses back in the Midwest. The family lived in their New Jersey home for almost 7 years, and Mom always looked back fondly on their time there. Eventually Villa Park hired Dad back and they returned to Illinois in early 1978, leaving one married daughter behind.

January 1977, at age 50, in New Jersey home

His job back in Villa Park lasted another 7 years until he was fired again in 1985. A city manager is hired by an elected board, and the hiring board isn't always around after the next election. Dad was also not that good at politics; he was good at managing the city, but freely gave his opinions at board meetings, not always politely. A little while after he was fired, he ran for the board himself and served a two-year term. I never talked to him about whether that gave him any new insights into the board-manager relationship. 

1979, back in Illinois

Eventually Dad started growing hair on one side and combing it over his bald spot. He lived to see 11 grandchildren, and his personality softened a bit in these years. He certainly enjoyed holding them on his lap and reading them stories. My kids always referred to him as "Grandpa Beard."

Dad in 1991, a few months before he died, with grandson Travis

Historical Facial Hair

When he was growing up the men in my father's life weren't sporting any beards or mustaches: his father and uncles had neither. There were some mustaches in the late 1800s to early 1900s, and his great-great-grandfather Heinrich Jakob Gerhard had a long untrimmed beard. I get the feeling that these were all part of the fashion in those days, but when Dad grew his beard it was a bit unusual.

Heinrich Jakob "Jacob H." Gerhard 1806-1868