Courtesy of Carondelet Historical Society
In the window of John Turner’s gas station in The Patch neighborhood once hung scores of frayed World War II-era snapshots such as these. The men here were from that section of South City. Turner had befriended the boys during the Great Depression, when he would give a kid credit on a couple of gallons of gas. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, The Patch emptied as neighborhood boys left to join the military. They had photos taken in uniform. Isadore Kreitman, who lived on Courtois Street, leaned against a tank for his picture. George Kinworthy, while on leave, stood next to his home’s rear steps on Pennsylvania Avenue. Paul Kloessner posed for a studio portrait. Louis Garavaglia wore fatigues when his photo was taken on a Belgian street. They sent their photos to Turner, who tacked the snapshots onto a bulletin board and displayed them. When the station moved (the original site is now part of Fanetti Park), Turner took the photos with him. In 2001, Turner’s nephew brought more than 170 of them—their corners tattered from the tacks—to the Carondelet Historical Society, where they still show the war’s profound effect on one neighborhood.
