FATHER'S DAY

Joe Rudolph, circa 1942

When I was born in July, 1944, my father Joseph Rudolph was in Italy as part of the U.S. Italian Campaign (World War II).  He was a doctor in the front lines.  He earned a purple heart and a bronze star.  He was 27.  I didn't see him until I was 15 months old.

He was a war hero.  He was an excellent pediatrician and subsequently child psychoanalyst.  He was an omnivorous reader (he passed that on to me), a card player (poker), a fisherman (he took me along on many of his fishing trips), a lover of mysteries, a fanatic John Wayne fan and movie lover (actually any cowboy movie), a superb storyteller,  and a life-long student of everything.  He was the best of husbands (ask my mom) and the best of dads and grandpas.  I was so lucky to have him for 59 years. 

There are many transferware patterns that celebrate fathers, but I thought I'd show the patterns that remind me most of my dad.

John Rogers & Son (1815-1842) 6 inch child's plate

Enoch Wood & Sons (1818-1846) "Fisherman" pattern 10 inch plate

Enoch Wood & Sons "Fisherman" pattern mark/Notice the creel and net

Joe Rudolph with his grandson, Jonas Halpren, at his 80th birthday party in 1997