Notes:
Ted Cole attended one of the Miles family reunions in Minneapolis in the 1990's. He was probably the only Miles descendant any of the other people attending had ever met who was not a descendant of L.D. Miles. Ted descended from L.D.'s sister, Kate. At my question, he told me that he had three past Elizabeth Cole's related to him but none of them were the Elizabeth Cole who was grandmother of Carrie Curran, L.D.'s wife. The following is an abbreviation of a May 1985 autobiography sent to me by Ted in April 2003. (LWG)
Ted's parents lived at 121 Marguerite Avenue, Mill Valley, Marin County across the Golden Gate from San Francisco. They moved often, living in Alameda, Redwood City, San Carlos and back to Redwood City. "Altogether we lived in ten different houses, in 15 years", writes Ted, and his Mother had many commects about it like "It was cheaper to move than to pay rent", or "We were one step ahead of the Sheriff".
Ted was active in sports and at one point suffered three serious injuries in succession forcing him to drop out of school for a time. He was regularly involved in extracurricular activities in high school, was a Life Scout, joined a DeMolay Chapter, became a Mason and more. Summers he held a variety of jobs such as printer's helper, working in a Yosemite Valley dining hall, working on a maintenance repair crew, and more.
In 1940 he dropped out of school and became a swimmer in the Billy Rose Aquacade where he met and began dating his future wife, Mildred Price, a dancer in the show. When the show was over it was back to the print shop in Redwood City for a time but in 1941 he joined the 12th Naval District Intelligence Office and became a seaman first class in the U. S. Naval Reserve, shortly to attained the rank of yeoman second class. It was during this period of his life that he and Millie were married in May of 1942 on her twenty-first birthday in the Latter Day Saints Church in Reno. It was not long after this that Ted was assigned to sea duty aboard S.S. Matsonia, a class B hospital and troop ship. While aboard the Matsonia he made trips to New Zealand, Australia, New Guinea, Guadalcanal, and the Hawaiian Islands. After his sea duty he was reassigned in the San Francisco area and upon his discharged in October 1945 he went to work for the Telephone Company.
Ted started with the phone company on a line crew working out of San Mateo but by 1947 had been transferred to Redwood city. After three years with the phone company he left and bought a fruit and vegetable business, stuck with it for twenty unprofitable months, and then decided to go back to school to complete his Junior College credits. Completing that he was hired by the Redwood City Police Department in July 1950. After less then two years on patrol, he was assigned to the complaint/dispatcher desk on the graveyard shift.
With the help of a loan from his parents, Ted and Millie were able to buy a lot and start building their house in 1953. They moved into the unfinshed structure in 1955 because their other house was sold and they had to move. In this new residence at 1288 Fairview Avenue they settled into what was to finally become a permanent home for Ted and Millie. Here they joined a nearby First Congregational Church and became involved in many church activities. Their children attended the church school and joined the youth groups. Millie taught in the church school and joined several boards over the years while Ted ushered and helped on the financial secretary's committee.
By 1956 Ted was appointed Sergeant and went back out on patrol. After two years on that assignment he was appointed Juvenile Officer, went into plain clothes and drove an unmarked car. He remained 13 years as a Juvenile Officer during which time he served a term as president of the Peninsula Police Officers Association. During the period of Ted's police career he joined the Optimist Club of Redwood City and was very active therein. He served in several official positions of the Optimist Club beyond his Redwood City membership.
By now the father of five children, making ends meet was no small challenge for Ted. He worked jobs evening and nights, worked in a lumber yard, in a sheet metal shop, moved furniture, was a special officer at dances and on private property, helped one of his fellow officers build five houses, and worked in the hardwood flooring trades. In 1965 they were able to invest in a duplex ,a block and a half from where they live, as income property. Not long after this, Ted's responsibilities increased when his mother came to live with him and Millie following the death of his father in 1970. She remained with them for five years until she passed away while recovering from a short illness. About this time their investment in the duplex had worked well enough for them to buy another property only six blocks away.
Ted continued to work at part time jobs. For a time he was with the Redwood City Credit Bureau, then for three years a driver for the County Juvenile Probation Department transported court wards to doctor appointments, courts, and Youth Authority facilities. He also retrieved runaways who were picked up in other cities.
In 1982 Ted became interested in genealogical research and it has been an important part of his life every since. Not only has he discovered many of his first cousins but he has traveled to visit over a dozen of them. Keeping up with the family genealogy, being involved in the youth and community activities of the Optimist Club, puttering around in the yard, and collecting the rents from the property keeps him as busy as he now wants to be. "It is a good life", he says..
Notes:
I received a letter from Millie dated 8/21/09. In it she wrote that she had given all of her husband's genealogical information to his brother Jim.