Marilyn

Biography

Timeline

1. 1952

   The McFarlands moved into town

   Carol was about fourteen. The town is not named.

   Carol's Chapter

2. Two years before the 1996 visit

   Death of Marilyn

   Merlin's wife had died two years previously.

   Barbara's Chapter

3. March of 1998

   Marilyn's beloved husband Bill passed away

   Carol's Chapter

4. As the girls were growing up

   An entire day of Toni home perms

   Mom and Virginia gave the girls Toni home perms. The narrator refused to attend school the following day because her hair was too curly.

   Dee's Chapter

5. When the narrator was about six or seven

   A frightening first memory of The Wizard of Oz

   Virginia drove the children to the movie. Frightened by the Wicked Witch, the narrator later slept between Virginia and Dale.

   Dee's Chapter

6. When Carol was about eight or nine years old

   Carol's scooter accident and treatment

   Carol cut her right knee on the sharp edge of her scooter. Barbara's double pneumonia kept Mom at home, so Virginia accompanied Carol while Mrs. Hannah drove to the doctor. Four clamps closed the wound. Afterward, the girls' discovery of supposed flesh proved to be a piece of strawberry.

   Carol's Chapter

7. third grade

   Three tonsil removals on the same day

   Dr. George Cook removed Carol’s, Marilyn’s, and Bob’s tonsils on the same day.

   Carol's Chapter

Stories mentioning Marilyn

• Merlin's Camper Visit and a Familiar GestureRetired steamship pilot Merlin visited Normal overnight with Dorothy after seeing Dee in Moline. His wife Marilyn had died two years earlier. During his visit he shared family stories, and Barbara noticed the finger-by-the-nose gesture that Dee had said resembled Daddy's.
• Early Morning Journeys and Friendship in the HospitalDiana traces the unexplained falls and progressive skin and leg changes that led Dr. Menton to refer her to Illinois Research Hospital in Chicago. Early morning family drives combined the comforting smell of coffee and cheese sandwiches with the fear of examinations and long waits. As illness interrupted school, Mrs. Lynch tutored her at home. Repeated hospital stays brought painful procedures and treatments, but also friendship with Loopy Gonzalez, hallway races, water-balloon mischief, Friday hamburgers, parties, special dresses, chapel services, and visits from family and friends. She also remembers homemade food and a church-donated basket from which she could open one present each day.
• Flour-Dusted Hands, Pretty Nails, and a Day of CurlsThe narrator remembers Mom’s full-time work at home, her habit of dusting off her hands after tasks, and her lasting pride in her appearance. Susy recalled how Mom displayed polished nails but concealed damaged ones. Mom taught the girls beauty tricks, and she and Virginia spent a whole day giving five girls home perms. The narrator refused school the next day because her hair was too curly, though she later loved curls.
• Jacks, Paper Dolls, and a Childhood Full of ImaginationDee remembers a happy childhood despite wartime film shortages and few toys. She recalls punishment for peeling airplane wallpaper, fear after The Wizard of Oz, Virginia’s ketchup prank, and endless games with Pat and neighborhood children. Paper dolls from Iris comforted her during an ear operation. Bicycle rides, a clubhouse, swings, and imaginative play filled the days, although large dogs frightened her and Hannah’s dog once bit her.
• Imaginations, Paper Dolls, and the Warmth of HomeCarol remembers childhood games with her sisters and neighborhood friends when store-bought toys were scarce. They played House on an army blanket, dressed in cast-off clothes, played in a canvas tent and a deserted trailer, and enjoyed paper dolls. Quiet play in the kitchen while Mom ironed and listened to the radio gave Carol a lasting sense of security. The children made newspaper kites, Kleenex flowers, and Kool-Aid stands, played street games, and sledded through steep wooded hills before warming themselves at the brass heat register.
• A Scooter Scar and a Strawberry LaughCarol fell from her scooter near the strawberry patch and badly cut her right knee. With Mom unable to leave Barbara, who had double pneumonia, Virginia arranged for Mrs. Hannah to drive them to the doctor. Carol received four clamps and retained a visible scar. Back home, her sisters, Marilyn, and Patty claimed to have found flesh from her leg, but Virginia identified it as strawberry—a mistake they still laughed about.
• Clothes Made with Care on Mom's Treadle MachineCarol remembers her mother's skill and industry in sewing childhood clothes on a White treadle sewing machine, including dresses, slips, pajamas, and coats. She especially loved an orange-and-white three-piece outfit made when she was in first or second grade. Her mother also sewed for Marilyn, Patty, and Iris' daughters and crocheted a baby dress for Linda. Virginia exchanged ironing for sewing for her girls. Mrs. Vandergeist sometimes helped with machine-made buttonholes, inspiring Carol's father to buy a button hole attachment. Carol does not remember her mother using flour sacks for clothing, although she notes that this was common in the Thirties and Forties. The family also wore hand-me-downs and used clothes from friends, with her mother reassuring her that they were fine to wear.
• Next-Door Friends and a Lifetime of KindnessCarol remembers the McFarlands as next-door neighbors and closest friends. She played daily with Marilyn and Patty and attended school with them through high school. Virginia and Carol's mother supported each other through hard times over coffee and cigarettes. Despite working outside the home, Virginia helped with housework, ironing, babysitting, and overnight stays, once washing the girls' hair outdoors with collected rainwater. The two women were charter members of a 500 Card Club founded in 1948 and belonged for over forty years. The McFarlands moved into town in 1952, and Pat later moved away when she married. Carol and Marilyn remained close. Carol recalls the losses of Dale in 1994, Virginia in 1996, and Marilyn's husband Bill in March 1998.
• Banana Curls, School Games, and a Love of ReadingCarol remembers starting kindergarten at Roosevelt Grade School in Moline in 1944, riding in Mrs. Hogland’s improvised station-wagon seating, and wearing clothes her mother made and carefully arranged banana curls. Kindergarten included naps, a plaster handprint she still kept, and Drop the Handkerchief. Later memories include learning to read with Dick, Jane, and Baby Sally, riding the school bus, having tonsils removed with Marilyn and Bob, and loving fourth-grade teacher Mrs. Grafton. In fourth grade she learned time and multiplication, discovered boys, and began wearing glasses. In fifth grade she won a reading contest with over sixty books and became an enthusiastic comic-book reader. The section heading says First to Sixth Grade, although the account begins with kindergarten.
• The Little House That Grew with the FamilyBernard remembers the small house on 39th Street that became the family's enduring home. He believes Mom secured the loan to move the children away from the river and railroad tracks. Dad gradually transformed the four-room house with a basement, furnace, well, enlarged kitchen, bedrooms, indoor plumbing, siding, garage, and work shed. Memories of moving day, Grampa's songs and knee rides, the McFarlands, and freedom to play convey the deep closeness of the family.

Referenced in

• Barbara's Chapter — CAPTAIN MERLIN RINGERING
• Diana's Chapter
• Dee's Chapter — DADDY
• Dee's Chapter — SICK DAYS
• Carol's Chapter — A FEW GAMES I REMEMBER
• Carol's Chapter — THE STRAWBERRY
• Carol's Chapter — A STITCH IN TIME
• Carol's Chapter — BEST NEIGHBORS. BEST FRIENDS.
• Carol's Chapter — GRADE SCHOOL
• Bernie's Chapter — THIRTY-TWO-O-NINE