Moline, Illinois

Stories set here

A Christmas Eve Baby in a Wicker BasketAfter her mother began having contractions while trimming the Christmas tree, Carol was born on Christmas Eve 1938 in Moline. Her father named her Carol Mae for the season. She joined Iris, Bobby and Bernie at the family's apartment; the later births of Delores, Diana and Barbara made her the middle child. Remembered as a very small baby, she was carried on a pillow and kept in a wicker basket on a bedroom shelf beyond her brothers' reach.
A Roller-Skating Beginning and a Legacy of CareMary Hill arranged Ethel and Floyd's blind date, and they went roller-skating. They married in Moline on November 6, 1928, with Elva and Frank Melton standing up with them, then celebrated with dinner and a movie rather than a honeymoon. Carol remembers their independent household responsibilities, relentless work in the Forties, kindness to neighbors, and family values demonstrated through everyday actions.
Caring for Daddy Through His Last MonthsDaddy suffered a stroke on Christmas Eve, 1967. Not realizing its seriousness, the family went to Iris and Bill's while Mom stayed with him. After Mom called Iris to report that he was worse, Lee and Bob took him to the hospital. Following two weeks there, his agitation prompted a search for other care. The family rejected St. Anthony's Hospital in Rock Island because patients were smoking while Daddy struggled to breathe. Mom tried caring for him at home with help from the girls and daily visits from Virginia, but the burden became exhausting. He was eventually taken to East Moline State Hospital. He died at sixty-three on May 23, 1968, surrounded by Mom and all the children, and is buried next to Mom at Riverside Cemetery in Moline, Illinois.
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.
From the Old Farm to a New Start in MolineFamily memories follow Dan and Olive on the Falk property, the mysterious driveway inscription, Myrtle's minnow sales, and Bessie's diphtheria quarantine and marriage. After Dan lost the property, Clarence moved to Bessie's home and Floyd stayed with Uncle Bernie, learning horse care and practical jokes. Gus Falk helped Floyd move to Moline and find work in 1921. Relatives admired his success, and visits and reunions continued through his parents' later years. The passage preserves contradictory dates in Olive's calendar account and the boys' refusal to admit writing the inscription.
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.

Events here

November 6, 1928
Ethel and Floyd marry in Moline
Elva and Frank Melton stood up with them. The four went out for dinner and a movie after the wedding; Ethel and Floyd did not go on a honeymoon.
1921
Gus brings Floyd to Moline
Floyd rode in Gus's car after accepting his offer of help getting a John Deere job.
November 6, 1928
Floyd and Ethel's wedding
Married by a Justice of the Peace with Frank and Elva standing up for them. All went to a movie afterward.

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