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Willis Potthoff, Ruth's father,
was born at nearly the same time as Edward Lee's son, Eugene.
Since Edward was specifically targeting those who were approximately
his son's age, Willis was also the recipient of all Leo Edwards'
fun loving, moral/morale boosting entertainment. This then became
the start of the collection of items that revealed to me the
history of his penchant – love – fondness- for all
things Leo Edwards.
The donated material is a collection
of items, some of which must have been quite personal to both
Ruth and her father Willis. Presented first are photos of Ed
Lee at his cottage where he entertained his "pals"
and wrote books and articles that very possibly depicted a life
he might have had, if circumstances would have been different
in the early years of his development. Son Gene, whose photos
are shown below, must have had mixed feelings about the time
he spent here with his father. Ed Lee viewed Hi-Lee cottage as
his special summer place of relaxation and fun, but Gene lost
him here prematurely when he passed away at the age of only sixty.
Willis, who became friends with
Gene, would also have bittersweet memories of visits here and
their contacts during their many book seller/trading shows. Ruth
Potthhoff Stewart also later helped her father with the Leo Edwards
model building and remembers their good times.
Thank you for sharing these memories!
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