On December 24, 1945, Charlie receives a Christmas present from the Buffalo Evening News by publishing a story entitled "Father Guides Seven Motherless Children - Son 17 is Latest to Win Recognition". 

The story’s focus is on Bob's recent appointment to the Naval Academy and includes comments about JIm, Jerry and Denny's military status and mentions Kathleen, John and Paul.  The article is a great tribute to Charlie's success in raising the family, a great story in terms of public interest. 

Dad had an unconventional style and often employed unusual means to manage nearly impossible situations that the family presented. Dad usually phoned home every afternoon about 4:15 to check up on the family and get a status report on their chores. He’d then get home about 5:45 - 6:00 just in time for dinner which gave the kids lots of time to start and finish the work. 

One day the call comes in right on schedule and Denny gave the routine report — everyone got home on time and was there, jobs were either being done or finished and all is well.  Denny hung up and started to look for John, Paul and Kathleen to get them started when Dad walks into the house! 

Since Dad's drive home usually took nearly an hour, Denny couldn’t believe his eyes.  As it turned out Dad was sitting in the driveway when he made the call.  As a project Engineer at the phone company he was testing the mobile telephone that would soon to be introduced... its 1946.   (It wasn't long after this that Dad installed the first mobile phone in a helicopter at Hiller's Niagara Falls plant.)

Dad soon discovers that neither John or Paul were at home (actually, they were home from school but playing up the street), none of the housework or homework had been started let alone finished and nothing is being done as yet about dinner. Dad was furious, calls Denny a liar, untrustworthy, deceitful, unreliable raging on and on.  Denny is devastated to say the least and did his best to tell his side of the story but nothing he said mattered and Denny caught holy hell for the rest of the day and for days/weeks beyond.

Denny had learned to enjoy bowling while setting pins for the Men's Club at the Christ the King alley, and was asked to joined the Amherst bowling team.  The schedule fit between his work at Shoupe’s Dry Cleaners and the Cunningham's farm so he joined up and actually bowled a couple of times.  But when Dad found out that the meets were held at the alleys in the basement of the Amherst Community Church, he gave Denny a verbal beating for entering a Protestant church, told him he would probably go straight to hell and ordered him to resign from the team.  Dad wasn’t fooling, he was just being Dad and Denny had to give up an enjoyable sport!