When my cousin Mary handed me a new batch of old photos, last weekend, I recognized this handsome young sailor immediately! His unmistakable face appears several times in my Mystery Photos, specifically this grouping of wedding photos, formerly titled “Mystery Wedding.” I was also pretty sure he was Dick Hine Jr.’s best man in his wedding to Barbara Tazelaar.
Happily, the photo Mary gave me was labeled “Hobe Klaaren.” Thanks to a rather unique name, and few hours of research, I was able to establish that the Klaarens were family friends of the Richard and Jennie (Smith) Hine family, in their close-knit Dutch community on the South Side of Chicago. Hobe’s father John Klaaren was a respected minister in the Dutch Reform faith and presided over numerous churches, including First Reformed Church of Roseland.
Hobart Ernest Klaaren M.D. Wikitree
Hobe Klaaren Obituary on Find A Grave
My grandfather’s brother Richard Hine Jr. and his bride-to-be Barbara Marie Tazelaar both graduated from Hope College in 1945. Barbara was involved in the YWCA: https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1019&context=hcn_1945 and the Sorosis club: https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1018&context=anchor_1945 and was on the honor roll: https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1021&context=anchor_1945, the English Club: https://digitalcommons.hope.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1020&context=anchor_1945
