Lloyd
Biography
His birth date was unknown to the narrator. Raised by Grandpa Williams after his mother’s death. Seldom seen by the narrator’s family. Brought Mom two embroidered rayon “sweetheart” pillowcases and brought home photographs from the Philippines. Mom's brother and Carol's uncle; taught the children to dunk folded peanut butter sandwiches into hot cocoa. Obtained a WPA gravel-truck-driving job for Floyd during his Depression-era John Deere layoff. Stayed with grandparents in Astoria for four or five months about 1921, aged nine.
Timeline
1909
Lloyd’s birth
Listed before Ethel despite the opening description of her as firstborn.
History of the Guild Family1912
Birth of Lloyd
History of the Guild Familyabout 1919
A frightened train journey to the grandparents
Ethel, eight, and Lloyd, ten, stayed four or five months while Agnes was in a sanitarium with tuberculosis.
History of the Guild Familyabout 1921
Ethel and Lloyd stay with their grandparents
A four- or five-month stay while Agnes suffered tuberculosis in a sanitarium. Ethel was ten and Lloyd nine; they were terrified during the train journey.
History of the Guild Family1922
Eleven-year-old Ethel takes on family care
Her father’s heavy drinking left her largely caring for herself, Lloyd and eventually Ed.
History of the Guild Family1922, after Agnes’ death
Ed and the children move into a boarding house
Mrs. Howe helped Ed raise the children. As he drank heavily, eleven-year-old Ethel increasingly cared for the family.
History of the Guild Family1925
Grandpa Williams and family move to Moline
Grandpa Williams, Mom and Lloyd moved to Moline.
Carol's Chapter1925
Ethel, Ed and Lloyd move to Moline
Ethel was fourteen.
History of the Guild Family1926
Ethel moves to Moline with her father and brother
Ethel was 15.
History of the Guild FamilyWorld War II
Lloyd’s World War II service
Was stationed in the Philippines and mailed Mom “Victory” letters from overseas. Carol remembers him coming home in uniform with gifts and photographs.
Carol's Chapterafter Agnes’ death
Ed moves his children to a boarding house
Mrs. Howe helped Ed raise the children.
History of the Guild Familydate not given
Ethel and Lloyd complete tenth grade
Attended Catholic school. Ethel qualified for college but Ed said girls did not need further education.
History of the Guild FamilyAbout a year during the Great Depression of the Thirties
WPA work during Floyd's John Deere layoff
Lloyd helped Floyd obtain work driving a gravel truck on a WPA road-building project.
History of the Guild FamilyEthel was 14, though she thought she was 16
Ethel and Lloyd complete tenth grade
Attended Catholic school. Ethel received a college eligibility certificate, but Ed Williams said girls did not need an education.
History of the Guild Familydate not given
Lutheran baptism and confirmation
Both were baptized and confirmed in the Lutheran church.
History of the Guild Family
Stories mentioning Lloyd
- Gramps’s Helping Hands and Generous HeartCarol recounts Edward Williams’s birth, marriage to Agnes Tomitum, and family losses. After Agnes died of tuberculosis, he raised Mom and Lloyd alone and moved with them to Moline in 1925. Despite arguments with Daddy over drinking, Gramps was a valued family helper. He contributed two thousand dollars for a house addition, worked in the garden, helped with canning and childcare, and paid for Mom’s false teeth and occasional dresses. Mom’s “good” dresses for 500 Club meetings were cotton housedresses costing two dollars and seventy-nine cents in J. C. Penney’s basement.
- Lloyd’s Wartime Letters and KeepsakesAlthough the family saw little of Lloyd, Carol remembers his return from World War II in uniform. He brought Mom two fringed rayon “sweetheart” pillowcases embroidered with colorful flowers, which she kept unused in her cedar chest. Photographs of naked natives from the Philippines, where he was stationed, remained in the strongbox. He also sent “Victory” letters on thin stationery that folded into its own envelope.
- Mom's Kitchen, Backyard Roasts, and a Special Sunday DinnerCarol recalls homemade meals, sweets, Friday-night treats, and bedtime snacks, including Lloyd teaching the children to dunk peanut butter sandwiches into cocoa. She remembers coloring margarine and refusing ten cents to eat liver. After the move to 39th Street, Mom raised chickens, Bob had a pig, and Grandpa Williams raised rabbits. Watching a chicken being killed terrified Carol, though chicken dinners and competing for the wishbone were memorable. Daddy prepared backyard wiener roasts. Restaurant meals never occurred and dinner invitations were rare, making a Sunday ham dinner with Ruth and Tom Johnson especially memorable.
- Red Hair, Handmade Knickers and North Dakota SnowEthel's early life in Newburg included a comfortable home, her Norwegian immigrant mother's skilled sewing, and harsh winters. Agnes made her knickers from a catalog picture, making her the first girl in school to wear them. Ethel remembered tunneling through snow to the barn, skiing over fences to school and learning to walk on tiny snowshoes.
- A Frightened Train Ride to Grandma's QuiltsWhile Agnes was in a sanitarium, Ethel and Lloyd traveled fearfully by train to spend four or five months with Michael and Millisa Lehman in Astoria. Lizzie was remembered for her quilts and Michael for strict discipline. Ethel did not question the difference between her father's surname and theirs; Mary later told her the unspecified “bigamy” story after Iris' birth in 1930.
- Loss and Growing Up Too SoonRalph died of double pneumonia despite a snowstorm sleigh journey to hospital and a blood transfusion. Agnes died in 1922 after tuberculosis and complications from swine flu. Ed moved Ethel and Lloyd to a boarding house run by Mrs. Howe. As he began drinking heavily, eleven-year-old Ethel took on care for herself, Lloyd and her father. Ed continued managing a diner and dance hall; Ethel recalled being caught by him kissing a dance partner in a car.
- Floyd and Ethel: Dancing, Work, and Seven ChildrenFloyd and Ethel met on a roller-skating blind date, courted through dancing and picnics, and married in Moline in 1928 with Frank Melton and Elva as attendants. They raised seven children. The passage says Floyd worked his entire life for John Deere, while also recording a roughly year-long Depression layoff when Lloyd helped him obtain WPA truck-driving work. Remembered as hardworking, playful, outspoken, and devoted to family, Floyd died of acute kidney failure in 1968 after an earlier severe stroke and is buried beside Ethel.
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