The house that the Toburens lived in has been torn down. What was an outbuilding on the left appears to be used as a house now and the old chicken coop on the right still stands.

Florence (Roggeman) and her husband, Chuck, with their children, Gordon, Carol (Foreman), Melvin, Marvin, Mary (Stankewich)  and Donald lived next door to Art and Mildred (Roggerman) Heiden during the early 1950s. Florence was Mildred's cousin although her father used the name Roggeman while Mildred's father, George's brother, Ralph, spelled his name Roggerman with a second "r". While doing German research on these ancestors, we find it spelled both ways and sometimes with an extra "n".

Later, Florence and Chuck moved to a farm in Onondaga, Ingham County, Michigan. They lived there until their deaths.

Florence Toburen lived about 200 yards east of us when we lived at 12444 Dixon Road. I was a couple of years older than Melvin and I would often walk over to their house to play. I remember that they had sulfur water from their well which you could smell and taste. It wasn't bad, just different. Florence had an old set of encyclopedias and I spent time sitting on the linoleum floor looking through them discovering the wonders of the world.

One time my brother, Ron and I were fishing on the River Raisin on the north end of the farm. Stanley Toburen who was in his teens was with us. Stan went to cast his line out and on the back swing, the hook caught my clothing and nearly pulled me into the water. I was fishing with a pole made out of a 3 foot long piece of 2 by 2 wood that had a metal eye hook on the end where the line would go through. An old sewing thread spool acted as the reel. I actually caught a small sucker on this rig once.

Florence and Chuck Toburen

Left to Right: Marvin, Melvin and Mary with Donald in front.

Florence (Roggeman) Toburen * *
    & Onondaga, MI

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