Bob at Age 10
Bob was born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was named after his father, Joseph Robert Raymer, who went by Joe. Couldn't have two Joes in the house, so Bob became Bob.
He did not like school, but he did like sports, and most of all he liked making model airplanes. From a very young age onward, all he wanted was to be a pilot. At around age 6, he made an "airplane" that he could sit in, and invited his friends to come over and watch him fly it. He was absolutely certain the plane would fly, and couldn't figure out why it didn't.
As angelic as he looks in the photo, at least on one occasion he was involved in a prank. He and some of his friends greased the railroad tracks and laughed when the train could not ascend the hill.
Young Bob had a way with the girls in the neighborhood. Somehow he was able to convince them to pull him around in his wagon, an ability to be persuasive that no doubt stood him in good stead especially when as an adult he became a liaison between the pilots and the union.
Unfortunately, Bob's mother was an alcoholic. In those days it wasn't known as a medical problem like it is now, so she would hide liquor bottles around the house and Bob and his dad would search for them and throw them out. It didn't stop his mother from drinking though, of course.
Bob's family had a housekeeper named Bertha who undoubtedly played a motherly role in the young boy's life. She was a good cook, he said.
Bob had a close and loving relationship with his dad, who owned the Raymer Hardware Company started by his father Arthur. Bob also had two unmarried aunts, his mother's sisters, who also played a motherly role in young Bob's life. They took him to Sunday School most Sundays, which he disliked immensely.
Even though he would rather not have been in any kind of school, Bob attended the college prep high school at the University of Minnesota. His real love, of course, remained flying.
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Photographer unknown.
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