Dad's Family - The Bernard Family of Portsmouth

Dad's Family --The Bernard Family of Portsmouth

My dad is William Alton Bernard Jr. (Bill for short), the only child of William Alton Bernard, Sr. and Geneva West Bernard. He was born at King's Daughter's Hospital in Portsmouth, VA on December 2, 1940. Dad lived in the Waterview section of Portsmouth for all of his childhood and early adult years. Since Waterview had many young families with plenty of children, he had many playmates during those years.

Dad's first Easter, April 1941

Dad about age 3

Dad has many wonderful memories of childhood. When he was about seven or eight, the city was installing water pipes under the streets of Waterview. Several of the neighborhood kids were interested in watching the cranes dig the holds for the pipes. Later the boys constructed miniature cranes which were used to dig small holes in Dad's backyard.

April 1942, standing in the yet unpaved driveway at Grayson Street

Dad age 5. These two are my favorites.

Dad attended Mrs. Weaton's private school for first grade, Churchland Elementary for the second grade, Westhaven Elementary for the third grade, John Tyler Elementary for grades four through seven, and Woodrow Wilson High School for grades eight through twelve. He said elementary school was ok, but he really enjoyed his years in high school. He played trumpet in the WWHS marching, concert, and pit bands, and the orchestra.

A collection of some of Dad's school pictures

Grade 2 Churchland Elementary

Grade 4 John Tyler Elementary

Grade 6 John Tyler Elementary

Grade 7 John Tyler Elementary

Grade 8 Wilson High School

Dad remembers playing baseball and football in the park across from his house. During the summer, they played baseball in the mornings before the weather got hot, but it was not uncommon to play anytime during the day as long as they had enough players. Dad and several of his friends collected baseball cards, and used them to form teams. They built miniature stadiums in their back yards and played games with small bats and white marbles.

Dad and his good friend Albert Perkins. He said they found the clothes in someone's trash and decided to put them on to be funny. After the picture I bet they got in big trouble!

Dad and his friends would go to Brown's Grocery Store and buy baseball cards, penny candy, and soft drinks. They enjoyed going to Browns (kind of like 7-11 for my generation) because the owners had a hick accent, and Dad and his friends thought this was so funny. Going to the movie theaters was another source of entertainment for kids growing up in Waterview. Dad attended Saturday matinees at the Elco and Virginia theaters with his friends, and saw movies on Sundays at the big downtown theaters with his parents. Movie theaters became another interest of his, and using cardboard boxes from the grocery store, he built several miniature theaters, created a theater in his parents' garage, and an outdoor theater in the back yard. Radio and television stations became yet another interest, and he visited several in the area and build his own make believe studios at home.

Below: Harris family reunion, 1951, Tippi, the Palmer's dog.

Dad graduated from WWHS in 1958, continued his education at Old Dominion University, and graduated with his college degree in 1963.

During his college years and for a brief time after college, he worked part-time as a radio announcer at WYFI in Norfolk, VA. He enjoyed the work but soon realized that the profession did not provide job security and a suitable income.

Left: high school graduation
Right: college picture, September 1962

Madison, May 1965

At the Ware Neck cottage

During the summer of 1963, Dad met Carol Wootten when she was the maid-of-honor at her sister Charlotte's wedding. Dad just happened to be the best man. About one month after the wedding, Poopaw "arranged" for Dad to bring Mom to their family cottage at Ware Neck, where the family would be spending the weekend. Afterward, they had several dates and Dad began to feel that Mom was the girl for him --kind, considerate, thoughtful, a Christian, and "good looking". Mom even claimed to listen to Dad's radio broadcast at WYFI.

Mom returned to Madison College in the fall of 1963 and in November 1963 Dad began fulfilling his military obligation by commencing six months of active duty in the Coast Guard. He competed active duty in May 1964 and began his career at Newport News Shipbuilding on June 1, 1964. When Mom returned home from Madison for the summer, she worked at The Shoe Box, and they had lunch together. They became engaged during the fall of 1964 and were married July 3, 1965.

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