Written and told by Helen Kavanaugh Tobbe (1905-2002) and transcribed by her youngest child, Kate Tobbe Ptak

A note from Kate: My grandfather, William Patrick Kavanaugh (WP), was a prominent businessman in the 1900s until his death in 1932.  He owned and operated five fish houses in Bay City, MI and along the Lake Huron western coastline as far north as Alpena, MI.  He processed and sold fish locally and to fish markets as far away as Chicago and the Fulton Fish Market in New York City. 

This blog series talks about a girl’s life growing up in Bay City beginning in the 1900s, as seen through the eyes of Helen Kavanaugh Tobbe or Mudi (a variation of grandma, loosely based on the German term for grandmother).  Mudi was the first-born child of William and Helen Callahan Kavanaugh (Nellie).  Mudi was our mother.   It is an introduction to her father.  Following that a new series of blogs will be published that cover the life and times of her father in more detail.