Theme
Education
Barbara's Chapter
Daddy’s Lap, Garden, and Backyard Workshop
Barbara warmly remembers curling up in Daddy's lap and describes his old-time remedies, including cigarette smoke for earaches, hot lemonade with booze, Samon Salve, and an overpowering experiment with menthol crystals in a furnace-connected vaporizer. Family activities included drag races, wrestling, golf, gathering nuts and grapes, and working hard in the garden and orchard. She recalls reading in an apple tree, his embarrassment-inducing old cars, his objections to girls attending college, Friday grocery and library trips, Christmas gifts, singing, trading, and inventive repairs. She also remembers helping him adjust and repair the television and his name for homes south of Coal Town Road: “Frogtown.”
Barbara's Chapter · When Daddy was a child and sixteen years old
Gus Falk Opens a Door to Moline
Daddy spent much of each summer with a nearby Minnesota family. Their grandfather Gus Falk, who lived in Moline and worked at John Deere, visited to hunt and fish and took a liking to him. Following Falk's promise of work at Deere, Daddy quit school at sixteen and went with him to Moline. Minnesota relatives thereafter called Daddy the rich relative.
Barbara's Chapter · 1963 onward; described as thirty-three years of memories
Barbara’s Years of Family, Learning and Quilting
Barbara left for Western Illinois University in 1963, met Norman Miller and married him in 1965. They moved to the Bloomington-Normal area that year and had Matthew, Jennifer and Amy in quick succession. After taking ten years off to raise the children, Barbara completed her Art degree in 1979. Norman found enjoyable work at State Farm Insurance, while Barbara devoted years to children's activities, worked in university Admissions and at an art center, and later found creative satisfaction in quilting.
Diana's Chapter · Childhood, beginning at age three
Early Morning Journeys and Friendship in the Hospital
Diana 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.
Diana's Chapter · Childhood and later reflections
Learning to Ride and Growing Up as One of the Kids
Following medical advice, Diana's mother treated her like the other children. Her parents offered special companionship when she could not join her sisters at the swimming pool. By experimenting with balancing and rolling a bicycle, Diana unexpectedly taught herself to pedal, an accomplishment she still recalls and shares with clients when discussing fear. Looking back, she credits steady love and practical parenting with helping her cope. She recognizes both anxiety and achievement in her drive to overachieve at school and closes with affectionate humor about her own resilience.
Diana's Chapter · Childhood through college, with later reflections
A Car for College and a Family That Always Helped
Diana recalls demanding study habits, family gardening and tomato sales, and her anxious departure for college. Iris and Bill’s gift of a car made nursing school feasible. During an earlier John Deere & Company strike, Iris brought groceries when the family lacked money. Diana describes her scholarship, difficult college years, friendship with Martha Kawada, and graduation. Memories of planting a flower garden and helping haul water from the water works lead to gratitude for the family’s enduring support and resourcefulness.
Diana's Chapter · 1926 onward
Lee's Many Talents and a Scooter Ride into the Family
Diana traces Lee's childhood near his extended family, work in his grandfather's grocery store, school achievements, Naval service, ministry, teaching, and successful insurance business. After his first marriage failed, Diana met him three years after his divorce. Her father initially regarded Lee suspiciously, but a bold scooter ride with Diana became a memorable turning point. Lee and her father remained friends, and Lee took him to the hospital when he had a stroke. Lee also formed a close bond with Mom and managed his best friend Sy Fox's campaign.
Diana's Chapter · 1990–1995 and afterward
Kelly’s Courage and a Mother’s Pride
Kelly earned her Masters in Rehabilitation Mental Health Counseling in 1990. After being treated and cured of Hodgkin’s disease in 1995, she developed an interest in Traditional Chinese Medicine and earned a degree in it. Diana praises her daughter’s courage, compassion, determination, and tender heart.
Dee's Chapter · Mom's senior years, after Daddy died
Tuesday and Saturday with Mom
The narrator recalls Mom's busy senior years, her pride in getting seven children through school, and her family, friends, card parties, and crafts. Carol and the narrator stayed in Moline, married, had a child each, and worked at the Moline Dispatch and a beauty salon respectively. After Daddy died, the narrator cared for Mom on Tuesdays and Carol on Saturdays; both followed similar routines of errands and lunches paid for by Mom. The narrator humorously insists Mom's light auburn hair was natural. Mom traveled to visit children from California to Florida and to Germany after Charlie's transfer. Family contributions included clothes from Bob's boutique and goods from Iris and Bill's Ben Franklin store. The narrative closes with gratitude for Mom's care, strength, and devotion, including keeping ten people fed and dressed.
Dee's Chapter · Childhood through later reflection; calendar years not stated
Learning to Hear and Accept Herself
Delores describes her congenital left-ear deformity, hearing loss, early speech lessons, and a year at a special school where she felt accepted after being called stupid at regular school. Dr. Williamson reconstructed her ear at about eleven, partially restoring hearing, but missed schooling led to repeating a grade. At twelve, her first hearing aid revealed family voices, birds, and insects so vividly that she cried. Her father called her “Sputnik” because of the aid's modern technology. Later, Diana helped her understand that her impairment did not mean she was stupid and encouraged greater self-acceptance.
Dee's Chapter · 1959 and beauty school afterward
A Scholarship Hidden in a Desk Drawer
During her senior year, Dee entered an essay contest about becoming a beautician with Diana’s help. Only after graduation did she discover the notice awarding her a three-hundred-dollar scholarship to Hurley’s Beauty School. She enrolled and credits Diana with the essay and her rewarding career. Her first patron insisted on old-fashioned pin curls rather than rollers; despite Dee’s frustration, the patron liked the result enough to book another appointment.
Dee's Chapter · Thirty-five years of hairdressing through the time of writing
Dee Finds Her Calling Behind the Salon Chair
After graduating from Hurley’s, Dee began at the Powder Puff Beauty Salon in Moline, wearing the legally required white uniform and shoes and shampooing hair while building a clientele. Her first paycheck bought a red synthetic turtleneck at The New York Store that she still wears. After marrying Ernie, she opened the immediately successful Dee’s Beauty Salon in Coal Valley. Her career brought joy and lifelong friendships, including loyal customer Faye Swears.
Dee's Chapter
To Barb, with Love: Braids, Laughter, and Kindness
Dee's affectionate poem celebrates Barbara from her braided-hair childhood and shared fright with Diana over attic mice through marriage to Norman, homemaking, parenting, studying, and world travel. It recalls whaling in Alaska and admiration of Monet in France, and praises Barbara's hospitality, giggle, flowers, quilts, and caring resemblance to their mother.
Dee's Chapter
To Diana, with Love: Games, Dreams, and Caring
Dee's affectionate poem celebrates Diana's talkativeness and recalls shared mischief, puddles, mud pies, May baskets, hollyhock dolls, and dandelion games. It praises Diana's academic dedication, recalls her bringing home a cat to debone after driving from Wesleyan, and describes her meeting Lee in Chicago. The poem closes by honoring Diana's sensitivity and the caring conversations Dee treasures.
Carol's Chapter
Making the Best Better with Biscuits and Sewing
Carol began cooking and sewing when she joined 4-H, supported by her mother's guidance. She frequently appeared in newspaper photographs and entered food and clothing projects at the Rock Island County Fair. Carol and Diana won trips to the Illinois State Fair for demonstrations on baking powder biscuits and coffee-cake, respectively. Carol practiced until her family was tired of biscuits and presented her demonstration on WOC-TV, ending with a joke about a bride's biscuits being as hard as stepping stones.
Carol's Chapter · 1944–1951
Banana Curls, School Games, and a Love of Reading
Carol 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.
Carol's Chapter · 1951–1954
Woodland Walks, Taffy Apples, and Junior High Days
Carol recalled seventh through ninth grade at Coolidge Junior High School. She often walked through a slightly frightening wooded shortcut and stopped at King’s Apple Orchard for a taffy apple on her way home. She earned good grades without much studying and was a favorite of her Home Economics teacher, Mrs. McManus. Her social life included slumber parties, pin curls, record shopping in soundproof listening booths, and jukebox sock hops. She bought her first seamed nylons for her first dance, attended football and basketball games, and played intramural sports.
Carol's Chapter · 1954–1957; remembrance of 1996
High School Rides, Beautiful Papers and a Beloved Sister-in-Law
Carol recalls Bob driving the girls to high school and picking up Sue Warner, who later became his wife and Carol's beloved sister-in-law. Sue died on Carol's birthday in 1996. After school, the girls met their father at the A&P Store for the ride home. Carol describes her courses, clubs, satisfactory A’s and B’s, enjoyment of research and Bernie's elaborate term-paper covers. Nursing was financially out of reach, but she later felt glad she had not pursued it. She also remembers relatively minor classroom discipline problems.
Carol's Chapter
A Green Chevy and a Ticket to Freedom
Carol recalls intimidating tenth-grade driving instructors who also taught Industrial Arts. Only four of about fifteen students finished and received permits, and her leg shook during parallel parking. Her father opposed the children getting licenses because he needed his car for work and could not afford another car or repairs after a wreck. After graduating and getting a job, Carol lived with Iris and Bill and saved all her earnings for three months. Her father then helped her find a green 1948 Chevy for three hundred dollars, which she used to obtain her license. She and her sisters drove it for years, cruising with friends even after it lost one of its gears. Carol remembers gasoline costing about twenty-five cents a gallon and the car representing freedom.
Carol's Chapter · 1954–1958; later reflections undated
A Gold Tassel and a School That Still Feels Like Home
Carol recalls entering high school timidly in fall 1954 and graduating boldly in 1957 in the top fourth of her class. She still treasures her gold graduation tassel and drives past the former school when returning to Moline, mourning its conversion into an architectural firm while retaining a sense of belonging. Ironically, the new Moline High School was completed in 1958 within walking distance of her childhood home.
Carol's Chapter · 1931–1986
Charlie's Path from Kansas to a Career of Service
Carol recounts Charlie's birth in Troy, Kansas, his place as the oldest of six children, and his mother's family connection to Amelia Earhart. After high school, Charlie served four years in the Air Force, including a year in Korea. He then used the GI Bill to earn a geology degree at the University of Kansas and worked twenty-seven years as a Department of Defense ammunition inspector before retiring in 1986.
Carol's Chapter · Before July 1978
Happy Years in the Rhine River Valley
Carol remembers life in Ingelheim as the happiest time of her life. She and Charlie worked at neighboring military units, while Chris attended school, learned German, and enjoyed sports. Her memories include skiing, castles, the Fasching Parade, wine festivals, weekend markets, European vacations, and visits and touring with Mom and Bernie.
Carol's Chapter · Childhood–1999
Chris: Backyard Friendships, Soccer, and a Life in Music
Carol's determination to live in the Coolidge school district placed Chris near three boys who became lifelong friends. His enthusiasm for soccer led to memorable football kicks and the captaincy of Moline Senior High School's first soccer team. At Northern Illinois University, he turned toward guitar and a college band while earning his degree. He later released a CD, founded a record company, supported local musicians, wrote music journalism, and compiled a family recipe book presented at the 1999 reunion.
Bob's Chapter · 1942–1955, with later educational reflections
From Kindergarten Tears to a Published Sketch
Robert recalls crying on his first day of kindergarten until Iris came for him, attending several schools after a move, and graduating in 1955. He remembers junior high plays, working on scenery and props, taking art classes, and having a log cabin sketch published in Illinois Junior Historian. He reports good grades and continued learning through classes, workshops, seminars, and the school of “hard knocks.”
Bob's Chapter
Bob's Reflections on Time and Connection
Bob regrets not spending more time with and helping his parents or getting to know them better, not going to college, and not writing or calling often enough. He also regrets taking five years to finish his memories.
Bernie's Chapter
Railroad Treasures and Childhood Days by the River
In a sequence of childhood memories, the narrator recalls locomotives, Grampa's walks to kindergarten, gathering fallen coal for Mommy's stove, and finding treasures near the foundry. He remembers his fifth birthday, first-grade lessons, a printing prize, and a teacher locking out Arnold for lateness. Life in a big white house includes celebrations, baby Carol's arrival while Mommy is sick, Mommy returning with Baby Delores, games with Bobby and Iris, penny treats, a tavern visit, May baskets, and the fascination of a river the children are forbidden to approach.
Bernie's Chapter
The Farm Boy Puppet That Never Came Home
After skipping fourth grade, Bernard entered Miss Carlson's classroom. The former nun devoted the semester to making papier-mâché marionettes for a planned show rather than teaching lessons, and took some pupils flying without permission. Bernard spent months crafting a carefully jointed farm boy puppet, with overalls and a red shirt made by his mother. Miss Carlson was fired and never returned; the children imagined she had been taken to jail. The school confiscated the puppets, and Bernard remained angry that his was never returned.
Bernie's Chapter
Barefoot Summers and Toughing Out School
Bernard recalls being a good student despite never liking school. His parents' insistence that education offered a better life helped him persevere, but he eagerly awaited summer vacations and wished they would never end. He jokes that, if he were in charge, children would run barefoot until age ten before starting school.
Bernie's Chapter · High school; twelfth grade
Finding a Life in Art
Bernard credits high school with starting him toward art. He felt no more talented than the rest of his family but thought he enjoyed art more, deciding in twelfth grade to make it his life work.
Bernie's Chapter · High school and classmates’ later careers
Improvised Lines and Memorable Classmates
Bernard enjoyed building sets and performing in school productions. In Cuckoos on the Hearth, nearly the whole cast improvised, alarming Miss Rosenberg and upsetting the one actress who knew her lines. He also recalls the theatrical and musical talents of Herman Zimmerman, later a Star Trek production designer, and names classmates Maynard Swanson, Don Swenson, and Stan Leech as later holders of public office.
Bernie's Chapter
The Lasting Value of Being a Gentleman
Bernard wonders whether going directly to college might have led him to architecture. He reflects that being nice to his teachers brought more attention and better academic achievement, echoing his mother's advice: “It doesn’t cost you a dime to be a gentleman.”
Bernie's Chapter
High School Honors, Art, and a Touch of Rebellion
Bernard recalls academic and artistic successes, including a poetry prize, an art award, six plays, and graduating in the top 10 of 300 just after turning seventeen. Frank disputes his reported I.Q. of 149. Alongside these achievements, Bernard remembers pretending to be a “Hood,” buying a switchblade, and keeping misbehavior from his parents. High school introduced him to differences in wealth; he also remembers struggling in PE and being relieved that he was too young for the Korean War draft.
Bernie's Chapter
A Mother's Lessons in Equality
Bernard recalls discriminatory songs and limericks performed by his grandfather and father. His mother repeatedly countered them, out of his father's hearing, by teaching that no person was better than another. He believes her teaching, his own experiences of discrimination, and his liberal education helped him reject prejudice. He also recalls Dale McFarland's complaints about black workers at Farmall and abuse directed at Swedes and Belgians in Moline, ending with a hope that prejudice would end with his generation.
Bernie's Chapter · At age sixteen, with reflections fifty-some years later
Bernie Boy Learns to See Beauty
Selected by the Women’s Club of Illinois, Bernard attended a week of art classes at Robert Allerton Park. Robert Raushenberger used an ordinary rock to demonstrate how beauty emerges through observation and association, giving Bernard a lifelong way of seeing. Bernard also made two close friends and spent several nights exploring the estate’s trails, statues, architecture, gardens, and sunrises with them. When his father returned, he noticed Bernard’s weight loss and asked whether he had been fed. Bernard remembers the week as an exhilarating immersion in beauty and reflects on how much that awareness has meant throughout his life.
Bernie's Chapter
Selling Shoes and Saving for Art School
Bernard saved his shoe-sales salary and substantial bonuses at J. C. Penny’s to fund art school. He humorously describes his sales technique of praising both the shoes and customers’ feet. Once he had enough for tuition and a little rent, he felt ready to leave familiar meals behind; the passage ends before stating his destination.
Bernie's Chapter
A First Friend and a Little Hope at Art School
On a hot July Monday, Bernie begins figure-drawing classes at Ray Vogue in Chicago. Overwhelmed by the nude model and anxious about fitting in, he meets Byron, an Army veteran studying on the GI Bill. During a cigarette break, Byron's openness and encouragement leave Bernie both unsettled and smitten. With tuition paid but only a week of rent money remaining, Bernie needs a part-time job. By day's end, a new friendship and the discovery that he can draw as well as his classmates give him hope.
Bernie's Chapter
Bertie’s Welcome and a New Direction in Advertising
Recently widowed Bertie Davis offered Bernie room and board near his job, reducing his commute and providing excellent meals. At her daughter’s home, Bertie introduced him to Brandy Alexanders and her son-in-law Tom Brown introduced him to advertising strategy through Life magazine. The lesson inspired Bernie to become an art director. Afterward, he drove Brown’s vintage MG at 110 miles per hour while both were intoxicated.
Bernie's Chapter · During the narrator’s two years at Ray Vogue
Finding Belonging in Art and Returning Home
Bernie enjoyed movies, galleries, beach outings, and cooking lessons with Byron while returning home whenever possible on the Rock Island Rocket and later in his Vauxhall. Art school, Art Institute visits, and parties organized by Byron brought him an accepting circle of friends. Their open conversations and diverse community helped him shed feelings of inferiority and embrace liberal ideas. He also credited his family’s love and closeness with his enduring sense of protection.
Bernie's Chapter · September 1954 and five years in the Chicago office
A First Layout and a Warm Welcome at FCB
After deciding he had had enough art school, Bernard crossed the street to Foote Cone and Belding and was hired despite his slight portfolio and lack of advertising knowledge. Six months later, he won approval from a difficult Armour Chemicals client on his first assignment. He recalls five happy years in the Chicago office, an award in his first year, and pioneering television work with an animated Dial commercial called “Mr. Oops.”
Bernie's Chapter · 1983 onward
A Shared Home, Art, and Lively Arguments
Larry introduced Bernard to Frank, who moved in with him in 1983 after art school. Bernard describes Frank’s large family, love of reading and computers, writing talent, and studies toward a Bachelor of Science degree and web design. Their shared interests, humor, and candid arguments make them intellectually well matched.
History of the Guild Family · School years–1988
Brownie’s Dancing Days and a Lifetime of Mothering
Despite grief at home and being refused a college education, Ethel found happiness in friends, dancing, and work. Mary Hill introduced her to Floyd, whom she married in 1928. Together they raised seven children, while Ethel survived a serious goiter and worked several jobs. In widowhood she enjoyed crafts, cards, grandchildren, and travel, including a cherished 1979 European holiday funded by Bernie. She died during a visit to Diana in 1988, remembered for her unqualified love.
History of the Guild Family · 1909–1925
Red Hair, Snowshoes, and a Mother’s Handmade Knickers
Ethel’s early life in Newburg combined material comfort and her Norwegian mother’s skilled sewing with severe winters. Ralph’s death and Agnes’ tuberculosis disrupted the family, sending Ethel and Lloyd on a frightening train journey to their grandparents in Astoria. After Agnes died, Ed’s grief and drinking left young Ethel caring for her family. Friends and dancing brought happiness, but her father refused her wish to attend college and sent her to work.