The alert reader will notice that I have not yet given any of the ancestors a name; I will now. All three, as well as my grandfather’s grandfather’s father, were named “William Cook Disbrow.” At one point, they were named relatively logically “Sr.,” “Jr.,” “III,” and “IV.” However, at some point, “Jr.” became “Sr.,” “III” became “Jr.,” and “IV” became “III.” My mother maintained that it was because only royalty have “retired numbers,” and that after the second William Cook Disbrow died, the third should then have become “Sr.” and the fourth should then have become “Jr.” This never happened, and neither did the next logical step; so, my grandfather, the fourth William Cook Disbrow, grew up as “IV,” changed to “III,” and remained “III” throughout his life. It’s probably fortunate for the sanity of future genealogists, therefore, that my grandfather had two daughters and no sons. The “William Cook Disbrow” line was gone, at least in name. On this site, I will consistently refer to them by their chronological suffixes: “Sr.,” “Jr.,” “III,” and “IV.”

We know that the Disbrow’s house was on the uphill (west) side of Piermont Avenue, right in Grand View-on-Hudson. Unfortunately, we didn’t really have any extra time to do research, and we weren’t able to positively identify the house visually. Here’s a picture of it, though, which we believe to be from the 1920s, as well as one of the second William Cook Disbrow and his wife Elizabeth. I know we have more, probably better photos. I’ll try to post one when I’ve unearthed them.

Well, now, that didn’t take too long — I found them, all right! I’m posting this twice, because we have two hand-painted post cards; because they’re hand-painted, they look a little different. There’s no identification other than the printing on the front, “River Road looking South, Nyack, N.Y.” On the back, it says it’s “Printed in Germany” and that it requires one cent for domestic postage, two cents for foreign. This doesn’t help too much with dating the card: domestic postage for postcards remained at one penny through 1951! I cannot find a rate history for postcards sent internationally from the U.S., though I suspect that two cents was probably the going rate for most of the same time.

The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research was awarding John for his 1973 book, War, Presidents, and Public Opinion. John used based much of the book on public-opinion poll results archived — mostly on IBM cards — at Roper, Gallop, and other sites. This was long before the internet, so “sites” of course means boxes and shelves and filing cabinets at each of these organizations. (The Roper Center was at that time still located at Williams College in the beautiful but out-of-the-way town of Williamstown, Mass.) John was one of the first to use archived Roper Center data (in the case of War, Presidents and Public Opinion to compare the progression of public opinion through the Korean and Vietnam wars); the data had hitherto been considered ephemera.

Karen and I had a delightful time, met many fine people, ate delicious food, got to spend a little time with John, and met some of Warren Mitofsky’s family — practically neighbors of ours, from Montpelier, Vt. Bryan Mitofsky owns the not-to-be-missed Coffee Corner.

It was a fun evening, and definitely worth the drive down to “the city.”

Special thanks are due to local Volunteer Examiners in the area, Fred Messer WA1LIE, Jo Messer KB1EPT, Carla Straight KB1MFQ, and Ken Blair KB1GPQ for their flexibility and encouragement.

Now we just wait for Clara’s new call sign to show up in the FCC ULS database.

Born in Tampa, Fla., in 1933 as Jan Disbrow, Janneke was the daughter of William Cook Disbrow and Jean Cooper Disbrow. She moved from Florida with her family to Newton in 1948 and then to Wellesley in 1950, where she graduated from high school in 1951. Janneke graduated from Bates College in 1955, afterwards working as a translator for the Christian Science Publishing Society. In 1975, Janneke joined the newly forming Downer & Company in Boston, beginning a close professional relationship that would last for more than 30 years.

She loved languages, math, music, art, and nature, and she fostered these interests in her nephews and their children, who dearly miss her.

A memorial service will be held at the Martha-Mary Chapel at Longfellow’s Wayside Inn, 72 Wayside Inn Rd., Sudbury, Mass., on November 30, 2007, at 3:00 p.m. Relatives and friends are kindly invited.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Janneke’s memory may be sent to:

Arrangements are by J.S. Waterman & Sons & Waring Funeral Home, 592 Washington St., Wellesley, MA 02482.

“This is the special event station K1D I put together for the 24th Milton Hamfest and ARRL Vermont State Convention in February. The station was manned (kidded) only by under-18 operators. From the left: Timothy Mueller-Harder, KB1NBR (age 8); Ron Rossi, KK1L, control operator, and Erik Mu[e]ller-Harder, KB1NBQ, Timothy’s father. Erik and Timothy had just gotten their licenses the week before.”
— Carl Dow, AB1DD

CAPE PORPOISE, MAINE — Jon Harder, 65, of Cape Porpoise, Maine, passed away peacefully on Monday, Jan. 26, 2004, at Southern Maine Medical Center following a brief illness.

He is survived by his sister, Della Borseth of Yakima, Wash.; his brother, Charles Harder of Redwood City, Calif.; as well as his two sons, Erik Mueller-Harder of Cabot, Vt., and Christian Harder of Randolph, Mass.; and six grandchildren.

Born in San Francisco in 1938, he was the son of Jo Somers Harder and Grace Frantzel Asbury Harder. Jon moved to the Seattle, Wash., area as a young boy. He had earned his first Amateur Radio license by 1953 and was a cadet in the Civil Air Patrol. At Roosevelt High School in Seattle, he was consistently on the honor roll; he played organ, sang in the concert choir, was president of the science club, and was honored by the American Legion, before graduating in 1956.

Jon was awarded a Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship to Harvard University, where he played tuba in the Harvard Band and served as president of both the Spanish Club and the Christian Science Organization, before graduating with an A.B. in Romance Languages and Literatures, magna cum laude, in 1960. While there, he met his wife, Karen, who was secretary to the dean of the Harvard Law School. They were married in 1960 in Cohasset, Mass., and went directly to California for his assignment in the Navy’s Pacific Fleet, where he served as Naval Operations Officer and Navigator for three years.

Remaining in the U.S. Naval Reserve, Jon entered the chaplain training program at Boston University School of Theology in 1963, receiving his M.Div. in the History of Christianity and Biblical Languages, magna cum laude, in 1966, becoming accredited as a field ministry supervisor of students in training for the military chaplaincy, and teaching courses in human relations in the Boston University School of Business Administration. As a chaplain, he then transferred to the U.S. Air Force. Stationed in San Antonio, Texas, Clark Air Base, Philippines, and Denver, Colorado, Jon provided direct pastoral assistance to service members and their families and led Protestant services. He was also a member of the American Academy of Religion and the Military Chaplains Association, served as advisor to base commanders and staff agencies, and coordinated and taught courses in race relations, substance abuse prevention, cryptography, and the Military Affiliate Radio System. He also served as religious book editor for The Christian Science Monitor. He received the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Air Force Longevity Service Award, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service medal, and the Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation Badge.

Jon entered the U.S. Air Force Reserve in 1972, returning with his family to Massachusetts and entering the public practice of Christian Science healing. Beginning in 1972, he worked first as Consultant and then as Assistant Manager of Speech and Editorial Services at The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston. In 1978, Jon became Manager of Sunday School Activities and Armed Services Activities at The Mother Church and served as its Endorsing Agent for Christian Science chaplains in the Armed Services. Throughout this time, he was also the church’s Denominational Representative to the American Bible Society and the ABS’s National Advisory Council and he continued his work with the Air Force Reserve (receiving the Armed Forces Reserve Medal), giving sermons, providing counseling, planning and conducting conferences for service members and their families, and presenting courses at the USAF Chaplain School.

From 1983 to 1987, the Harders lived in Salzburg, Austria. Jon continued his healing ministry as a Christian Science Practitioner, as a Chaplain with the U.S. Air Force Reserve (he was promoted to Colonel in 1984), as a Field Assistant to the Clerk of The Mother Church, and as Editorial Consultant to the German and Slavic editions of the broadcast Herald of Christian Science. Traveling extensively with Karen, Jon assisted churches and groups of Christian Scientists, conducting workshops and providing support for individuals in Europe and Asia, including pre-revolutionary Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and East Germany, as well as Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, Guam, and the mountain provinces of the Philippines.

In 1986, Jon became a member of The Christian Science Board of Lectureship, lecturing fluently on spiritual healing in English, German, and Spanish in 13 countries through 1998. In 1987, he was invited, with the permission of the East German government, to give the first Christian Science lecture authorized in that country since the prohibition and banning of Christian Science in 1951.

Moving with his family to the Providence, R.I., area in 1987, Jon continued to lecture internationally. He was a member of the Christian Science Board of Education’s Normal Class in 1988, becoming a Christian Science Teacher. From 1992 to 1999, Jon was Chairman of The Christian Science Board of Lectureship, serving also as President of The Mother Church from 1998 to 1999.

In 1999, the Harders built their home overlooking the Batson River marsh in Cape Porpoise, Maine. Besides his continuing healing ministry, Jon was able to become more active with amateur radio. Continuously licensed as a “ham” radio operator since 1953, Jon had held an “Extra Class” license since 1968. His call signs over the years included WN7UED, W5QKO, AFSQKO, DU1POL, W1GVN, OE2ZDL, and, since 1983, K1US.

Jon served his local branch churches in many capacities, including as a Reader and a Sunday School teacher. Throughout his professional life, he wrote articles and contributed to columns in The Christian Science Journal and Christian Science Sentinel, as well as military, amateur radio, and religious publications.

A private family gathering was held in celebration of Jon’s life and work.

Donations in his memory may be sent to:

or to:

Arrangements are by Dennett, Craig & Pate Funeral Home, 365 Main St., Saco, Maine.

She is survived by her sister, Janneke Disbrow of Winthrop, Mass.; her husband, Jon of Cape Porpoise, Maine; as well as her two sons, Erik Mueller-Harder of Cabot, Vt., and Christian Harder of Randolph, Mass.; and six grandchildren.

Born in Tampa, Fla., in 1937, she was the daughter of Jean Cooper Disbrow and William C. Disbrow III. Karen moved to Massachusetts in 1948. A graduate of Thayer Academy in Braintree, Mass., she attended Kalamazoo College in Michigan before completing the executive secretarial course at Katharine Gibbs School in Boston. She was secretary to the dean of the Harvard Law School, where she met her husband, Jon, an undergraduate. They were married in 1960 in Cohasset, Mass., and went directly to California for his assignment as an officer in the Navy’s Pacific Fleet. During his ship deployments to Asia, Karen worked as secretary to Erwin Canham and the editorial staff of The Christian Science Monitor in Boston. A skillful editor of books and publications, she worked with authors of architectural, environmental, and historical works, as well as preparing a casebook in constitutional law for Dean Erwin Griswold at Harvard.

During her husband’s service as a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force, Karen was active in support of ministries in San Antonio, Texas, Clark Air Base, Philippines, and Denver, Colorado. After their return to Massachusetts in 1972, she was an active member of First Church of Christ, Scientist, Concord, Mass., and continued in editorial work from home.

From 1983 to 1987, the Harders lived in Salzburg, Austria. During this time they worked together in field assignments throughout Europe. As a fluent speaker of German, Karen’s talents in ministry blossomed during her work with First Church of Christ, Scientist, Salzburg. She was superintendent of its Sunday School and a reader in worship services. In 1985, she entered the public practice of Christian Science healing. Special church assignments in pre-revolutionary Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and East Germany gave her much enjoyment. In 1985, the Harders traveled together throughout east Asia to conduct supportive meetings for groups of churches in Thailand, the mountain provinces of the Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, and Guam.

Following their return to the U.S. from Austria in 1987, Karen continued her healing ministry in the Providence, Rhode Island area. She participated directly with her husband’s lecturing on spiritual healing in 13 countries, including Germany, France, Spain, the Scandinavian countries, and Latvia, and brought direct support to many through her gentle presence. In 1999 at the end of Jon’s term as President of The First Church of Christ, Scientist (The Mother Church) in Boston, the Harders built their home overlooking the Batson River marsh in Cape Porpoise, Maine. Besides her continued healing ministry, Karen was able at last to be active in support of conservation and environmental causes. She had campaigned successfully to help prevent destruction of critical environmental spaces in Barrington, R.I., and earlier in Concord, Mass.

An avid birder since the age of ten, she was an enthusiastic volunteer with the bird banders at Laudholm Farm of the Wells Reserve. She monitored and cared for nest boxes for Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, and was never happier than when seeing a new family of eastern bluebirds or black-capped chickadees fledge and fly at the marsh she loved so much. She was awarded a Certificate of Achievement for establishing a unique wildlife mini-refuge by The National Wildlife Federation, and was a member of the Maine and National Audubon Societies, the American Birding Association, and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Birdhouse Network and Project Feederwatch.

A private family gathering was held in celebration of Karen’s life and work.

Donations in her memory may be sent to:

or to:

Arrangements are by Dennett, Craig & Pate Funeral Home, 365 Main St., Saco, Maine.

Bill and Jean Disbrow playing Yahtzee with their friends and neighbors, Bill (not shown) and Ruth Wayman. Note the interesting angle of the fireplace and mantle, and the mosaic tiles not only around the fireplace but on the extended left side of the hearth. All designed by Bill Disbrow, probably with Jean’s help.