Theme
Loss
Barbara's Chapter
Christmas Goodies and Mom's Handmade Ornaments
Christmas was Mom's favorite holiday. She decorated every room and made cookies or candy daily from Thanksgiving onward, storing them on the tiny back porch beside her small bottles of Pepsi. Christmas Eve morning brought thin slices of fried cornmeal mush. In the evenings she made distinctive Christmas balls, which Barbara still hangs on her tree. Barbara misses Mom most at Christmas.
Barbara's Chapter · 1996
Merlin's Camper Visit and a Familiar Gesture
Retired 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.
Diana's Chapter · Childhood
Facing Surgery and Finding Pride in a New Leg
After diagnosing localized scleroderma and abandoning treatments, doctors decided to amputate Diana's left leg, apparently to save her life. Her mother's practical explanation initially excited her, but her father's angry response left her ashamed; older siblings later told her he cried after the surgery. Diana recalls terror during ether anesthesia, pain in the absent leg afterward, restraints, and her initial refusal to use crutches. A therapist-led tour of other patients prompted her to walk. After discharge, her father closely followed construction of her first prosthetic leg in Davenport and learned to adjust it. His fascination and pride became a distinctive source of bonding.
Diana's Chapter · Through January 28th, 1995, and afterward
Cherished Ornaments and the Comfort of White Birds
Diana remembers Lee's warmth, generosity, love of babies, and reverent annual unpacking of Mom's Christmas ornaments, especially the shamrock and gold fish ornaments she made him. Lee died of lung cancer on January 28th, 1995, Mom's birthday. Two hours before his death, Diana watched white birds fishing in the lake behind their home and felt Mom was coming to take Lee with her. White birds continued to bring Diana comfort in her grief.
Dee's Chapter · After retirement; strokes three years after retirement
Daddy’s Turn to Enjoy Life and His Last Concern
After years of providing for his children, Floyd bought a beloved motor scooter, a turquoise blue Comet, and a travel trailer, despite Ethel wanting nothing to do with them. Three years after retirement he suffered a series of strokes. He wanted to be baptized before dying and to see everyone. Delores recalls his insistence on seeing Iris’ husband Bill so he could ask Bill to take care of Ethel, a devotion she deeply admired.
Dee's Chapter
Pretty Bird, Fluffy, and the Attic Mice
Mom's green parakeet, Pretty Bird, perched on her shoulder while she washed dishes, chirping with the clanking dishes and repeating his name. Mom loved him, but he flew away when the front door was left open. The narrator also remembers Fluffy, a big white cat who chased mice, joking that he kept them from eating Barb. Barb feared the attic mice would climb into her bed, and she and Diana heard them at night. The narrator was more disturbed by mouse droppings found while searching boxes of hand-me-down clothes in the attic.
Dee's Chapter · Club began in 1945; continued 55 years later
Club Days, Secret Pals, and Midnight Friendship
Mom’s eight-player club met on the second Wednesday of each month, rotating homes to play 500. Alice Atchison recalled its names changing from the Pregnant Women’s Club to The Hot Flash Club. Mom prepared with meticulous cleaning and dessert making; prizes and annual Secret Pals added to the fun. After Daddy had his stroke, he mistook a Secret Pal card for evidence of a secret lover, a story Mom later told with amusement after his death. In her widowhood, Mom enjoyed supper, cards, and midnight snacks with Ruth, John Reichenberg, and Florence Britz. She also played Euchre through Friend’s Circle and the Community Center, preferring the Circle’s company.
Dee's Chapter · After Dad died
Pine Cones and Christmas Treasures
After Dad's death, Mom developed her craftwork, turning the basement into a hobby shop for pinecone wreaths and Nature Trees. Carol and the narrator took their children along to gather natural materials with her. The narrator still collects pine cones for the memories, despite Susy's restraint. Mom later made Christmas ornaments for family and friends, carefully providing one for everyone to choose during holiday visits. A newspaper featured her crafts and tree. The ornaments remain precious reminders of her generosity and love of hard work.
Dee's Chapter
Pudge's Memories of a Lovable Grampa
Delores remembers swinging on Grampa's leg and sitting on his lap. He called her “Pudge” for her dimpled cheeks; Bernie says she was his favorite, probably after Bob. She recalls his horseradish garden and his grinding radishes outdoors because of the smell. She also witnessed his sudden fatal heart attack in the hallway on a Sunday and remembers her panic as the ambulance took him away.
Dee's Chapter
Grampa's Hard Work and Courage
Grampa suffered a serious leg burn after falling into a vat of lye while working nights at a foundry. A newspaper article described a new treatment that healed the burn but left a terrible scar. Delores is unsure whether his cane use was connected. Her mother recalled his taking on the duties of judge, postman and coroner during a Swine Flu epidemic in their North Dakota hometown, apparently immune while many others died. After his wife died of tuberculosis when their daughter was eleven, he raised the daughter alone.
Dee's Chapter
Delores Remembers Her Parents' Love and Lessons
Delores thanks her mother and father for teaching her to work hard, play fair, and never give up. She credits their teachings as the foundation of her success and remembers their kindness, tender mercies, and love.
Carol's Chapter · 1881 onward
Gramps’s Helping Hands and Generous Heart
Carol 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.
Carol's Chapter
Remembering Fluffy, the Family's White Cat
Carol remembers Fluffy as a big, fluffy white cat and the only family pet she recalled apart from Daddy's later canaries. Mom said the old, sick cat went into the woods to die. Years later Virginia McFarland told Carol that Fluffy had distemper: Daddy could not bring himself to shoot him, so Dale did. Virginia also recalled sharing coffee with Mom and hearing Fluffy using the children's potty-chair.
Carol's Chapter · Childhood–1995
A Lifetime of Faith at Calvary
Carol recalls riding the Sunday school bus to Calvary Lutheran Church as a young child. Her father never attended church, but her mother joined after his death and worshipped with Carol every Sunday until she died. Carol participated extensively in church life through teaching, singing, office work, groups, and council service. She was baptized and confirmed there at fifteen on May 16, 1954, married her first husband Don Boney there, and recalls Chris's baptism and confirmation there. She describes over fifty years of membership before transferring to a church in North Port, Florida, in 1995.
Carol's Chapter · 1948–1998, with earlier childhood memories
Next-Door Friends and a Lifetime of Kindness
Carol 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.
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 · 1987 and earlier
Jeff’s Bear Hugs and Loving Humor
Carol remembers Iris and Bill’s son Jeffrey, who died July 7, 1987. She loved his sense of humor and the bear hugs he gave while teasingly calling her “Auntie Carol Mae.”
Carol's Chapter · Early years; after Daddy died
Friends Around the Card Table
Ethel and Floyd enjoyed Poker, Pinochle, Euchre, and 500 Rummy, while Floyd also played Cribbage with Grandpa. Friday poker nights included the McFarlands, Nickelsons, and Vergaines. They played Pinochle with Art and Eilene Cordingly and Ruth and John Reichenberg. After Floyd died, Ethel played cards almost nightly with Florence Britz.
Carol's Chapter · April 1945; throughout Mom and Dad's lives
Remembering Roosevelt and Getting Out the Vote
Ethel and Floyd were lifelong strong Democrats who admired Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman. They listened to Roosevelt's Fireside Chats and trusted that the war would be won. Ethel mourned Roosevelt's death in April 1945, and the family kept his picture in the living room for years. She worked with Virginia McFarland and Mrs. Welander to arrange rides and remind people to vote, stayed informed about candidates and issues, and never missed voting.
Carol's Chapter · April 1988
A Florida Visit and a Last Tender Touch
After a couple of years of severe abdominal pain and inconclusive tests, Mom visited Diana and Lee in Florida in April 1988. They helped her relax and took her on a cruise, but the pain continued. Diana persisted in seeking medical help until an x-ray revealed a large ovarian cyst wrapped around blood vessels. A complete hysterectomy found no cancer, but Mom could not recover and died of heart failure at seventy-seven on April 22, 1988, in Coral Springs, Florida. Carol cherishes the hand caresses they exchanged while Mom was on a respirator. Mom is buried beside Daddy at Riverside Cemetery in Moline, Illinois.
Carol's Chapter · 1996
Remembering Lee's Sparkling Eyes
Carol recalls the family's sadness when Lee died on January 28, 1996, Mom's birthday. She remembers his soft-spoken Southern manner, sparkling eyes, and big smile, and expresses her love for him.
Carol's Chapter · Christmas Eve, 1967–May 23, 1968
Caring for Daddy Through His Last Months
Daddy 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.
Carol's Chapter · 1944–1988
Chris, the Sunshine of Carol's Life
Carol recalls her 1965 marriage to Donald M. Boney, Chris's birth in 1967, and the joy her son brought her. After the 1972 divorce, she and Chris moved in with her Mom. She remembers Don as a supportive father, recounts his Navy Corpsman service and decorations, and records his death after years of cancer.
Bob's Chapter · Junior high school–1996
Dances, Sue, and a Life Together
Robert recalls his first dance in ninth grade, new clothes from Mom, bus travel with his date, and dances at Coolidge Junior High and the Moline swimming pool. Through his high school friend Bob Warner, he met Bob's sister Sue. They dated for six years and married in 1960. He describes thirty-six years of marriage until her death from cancer in 1996 and forty-three wonderful years together. He celebrates her organizing, friendships, their trips and regular nights out, her care for Steve and Brian, and her love for their four grandchildren.
Bernie's Chapter
Summer Baseball on Grampa's Philco Radio
Bernard remembers adoring Grampa Williams and following him as a toddler. His most vivid memories include Grampa's accident and death in his arms, but especially summer days when Grampa listened to baseball at the kitchen table while Mom ironed and listened too. Grampa meticulously recorded games and players on cardboard from Shredded Wheat boxes, saving every score card. The sounds of baseball broadcasts still bring Bernard an immediate, fond memory of Grampa.
Bernie's Chapter · When the narrator was twelve or thirteen
A Lost Friendship and a Lifelong Lesson
Bernard remembers Sonny Joiner as a giggling childhood friend living with his working mother. Although Bernard doubted accusations that Sonny watched girls bathing, he chased and punched Sonny after another accusation one late-fall evening. Sonny cried without resisting, and Bernard immediately stopped in remorse. A few days later, Sonny’s mother told Bernard that Sonny had undergone surgery that very day and had fresh stitches. Bernard says the lost friendship and her warning haunted him, and he never struck anyone again.
Bernie's Chapter · When the narrator was about eight and Bob about seven
A Frightening Summer Ride and a Childhood Misunderstanding
On a muggy summer night, the narrator's father took the boys and a .22 rifle to Harry Means's home on Campbell’s Island. Sent by Bobby to listen at the screendoor, the narrator overheard that they had to shoot someone and assumed a man would be killed and dumped in the river. The boys heard a rifle shot and waited terrified in the closed car. Much later, the narrator overheard Harry explaining that his hunting dog had been put down with Daddy's help. Embarrassment kept the narrator from telling the story until adulthood.
Bernie's Chapter · 1947 and later
Learning to Cross the Bridge
Bernard learned to drive on Dad's homemade tractor and, at eleven, during a 1947 trip with Dad and Bob to Grandpa Dan Guild's funeral in Brainerd. Required to drive half the way, he initially refused to cross bridges, leaving Dad to take over. On the return trip Dad refused to cross the last bridge for him, and Bernard drove across in terror while Bobby laughed. He recalls lasting nightmares about bridges and never learning to swim. By the time he paid twenty-five cents for a driver's license at the postal booth in Schlegal’s Drug Store in Highland, he had driven for over four years; his Driver's Ed teacher excused him from road practice.
Bernie's Chapter · Early seventies and an unspecified later summer after the narrator's father's death
A Mother's Steady View of Her Marriage
Bernard recalls that his father's authority in family decisions began to be questioned in the early seventies. After his father's death, some of the girls encouraged their mother to reinterpret her marriage through the women's rights movement. Bernard supports the movement but doubts that his mother adopted their interpretation. During a long summer visit to California, she told him that she had never questioned her husband's authority, that they each had their jobs, and that he was a good man who never hurt anyone—words she had also spoken in the hospital immediately after his death. Bernard likewise defends his father's decisions as consistent with the expectations of his time and emphasizes both parents' devotion to caring for the family.
Bernie's Chapter · 1947 and other undated visits
Minnesota Visits, Grandma's Sandwiches, and Northern Lights
Bernard recalls visiting Dan Guild's Minnesota grave, where aunt Myrtle seriously suggested digging him up. He remembers attending Dan's funeral at eleven in 1947, Grandma Olive's kindness over a fried egg sandwich, and visits with his father's relatives around Brainerd. His memories include attic sleeping, fresh warm milk at Uncle Clarence's farm, glowing swamp gas, brilliant Northern Lights in 1947, fishing, and mosquito bites.
Bernie's Chapter · Childhood, including age sixteen or seventeen, and later recollections
Quiet Kitchen Talks and the Supper Call
At sixteen or seventeen, Bernard treasured quiet kitchen conversations while his mother ate a small sandwich and drank her last coffee of the day. She spoke of missing Grampa, worrying about Diana, and Dad's hard work without complaining. Overheard parental discussions revealed a cooperative decision-making partnership. Bernard also remembers listening to radio serials beside Daddy until Mom's familiar supper call, her delicious meals, and Dad's singing and whistling. He could still recall Mom's earlier voice but remembered Dad's speaking voice chiefly from later telephone calls after moving to California.
Bernie's Chapter · Childhood through working life; dates not stated
A Lifetime of Gratitude for Hard Work and Equal Love
Bernard sent his parents money every payday and found motivation in making them proud through advertising honors and promotions. He recalls his mother's exhausting work as the children's needs grew, and Jesse McFarland's praise of her as a saint and an exceptionally hard worker. The children wished Jesse would marry Iris. Bernard acknowledges taking Dad's work for granted and honors Mom's honesty, neutrality, and equal love, regretting that he never fully told her what those lessons meant.
Bernie's Chapter · 1988 meeting; 1982 departure; 1993 death (dates as written)
Remembering Life and Travels with Larry
After recalling about sixteen years living with Rick, Bernard describes meeting Larry Savitz on a Caribbean cruise with Rick in 1988. Larry brought singing, friendships, sign language, dancing, parties, and cruises into Bernard’s life. Especially treasured were visits to Larry’s Uncle Irv’s beach-view condo in Aculpolco. Bernard also states that Larry returned to Philadelphia in 1982, contradicting the meeting date. Larry died there of AIDS in 1993, and Bernard remembers him with affection.
Iris's Chapter · 1940s
Gathered Around the Radio: Music and Wartime News
Iris recalls the constantly playing radio and the Moline Daily Dispatch as the family's main news sources, including news that might affect Uncle Lloyd in New Guinea. The family mourned President Roosevelt around the radio, but also enjoyed singing and dancing to popular songs and big bands. She recounts Bill's description of overseas propaganda broadcasts mixing favorite music with frightening, specific military information; she attributes that information to spies within the U.S. government. She remembers divided reactions to the August 6, 1945 bombing of Hiroshima, her father's approval, and Harry Truman's presidency.
Iris's Chapter
Dear Jeff: A Sister's Love That Remains
Beth writes to her deceased big brother Jeff about the family's anger, confusion, and enduring grief. She remembers his gentle strength, humor, faith, and belief in openly sharing love. Dreams of him bring comfort, and she hopes for a future family reunion beyond death.
History of the Guild Family · 1904–1907 and Floyd's youth
Dad's Beginnings and Family Resemblances
The family recounts Floyd Raymond Guild's farm birth, parents, inherited appearance, and full and half-siblings. They remember the infant death of Harold Herman and state that eight of Olive's ten children lived well into old age. The passage contains conflicting ages and dates for Olive and calls the Vosburg children both half-siblings and stepsiblings.
History of the Guild Family · 1884–1899
Olive and Clarence's Farm Years and a Sudden Loss
After marrying in St. Mathias, Olive and Clarence Vosburg traveled on horseback to a North Dakota farm, raised five children, and returned to Minnesota in 1898. In summer 1899, Clarence was crushed by a boulder while clearing a field. Myrtle's account, relayed by Orville, attributes the accident to a broken wedge pole and rejects other reported causes. Olive was left with five children.
History of the Guild Family · 1697
A Family's Loss at Lancaster
Jonathan and Joshua, grandsons of the original Jonathan and Grace Fairbanks, were killed in a raid in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, along with Jonathan's unnamed seven-year-old daughter. Joshua was fifteen. Jonathan's unnamed wife was taken captive with six other town women and later released through government negotiation, carrying memories of bodily and spiritual suffering.
History of the Guild Family · 1801 and later legends
Jason Fairbanks and the Legends After the Hanging
Jason Fairbanks, youngest son of Ebenezer Fairbanks, was hanged on September 1, 1801 for murdering Elizabeth Fales. The narrative recounts his physical impairment, intellectual pursuits, claims of innocence and a failed double suicide, escape to Canada, reported confession, recapture and trial. It calls him 'Jonathan' during the escape account without explanation. A storm interrupted the hanging, and subsequent legends claimed that friends revived him and that he escaped to South America; the narrator compares these tales to those about Elvis Presley.
History of the Guild Family · 1445–1904
Carrie’s Roots and a Treasured Lock of Red Hair
The family traces Carrie’s Fairbanks ancestry and Newton’s Guild ancestry, notes the neighboring family grave sections near Dedham’s old St. Paul Church, and recounts Carrie’s birth, marriage, children and death. A lock of her red hair passed from Belle to Barbara Guild Miller. Floyd was born after both grandparents had died.
History of the Guild Family · 1898–1909, with earlier family background
A Snowstorm, an Open Door, and a Growing Family
Drawing partly on Floyd’s accounts, the family recounts Dan and Bernal’s rented farm and Olive’s desperate appeal after Clarence Vosburg’s accidental death. Dan offered shelter in exchange for cooking and housekeeping, initially unaware of her two oldest daughters. Olive and Dan married in 1899 and had five children, two of whom died young. The account also recalls Carrie’s devout household and Bernal’s departure after Newton’s death to sell sewing machines, including his meeting with Belle Woodley.
History of the Guild Family · Perhaps about 1918
An Unexpected Inheritance and a Granary Home
An elderly bachelor left his wooded 160-acre property and operating sawmill to the poorest family in St. Mathias Township. The township elders chose the Dan Guild family. Floyd and Clarence saw a hopeful future, while Olive feared Dan would ruin their good fortune. Dan, Olive, Floyd, and Clarence made the windowless granary livable by sealing its open slat-work. Bessie had already left home to marry Ira Ringering, recently returned from World War I, and Pearl had died of diphtheria at 16 a year earlier.
History of the Guild Family · Around 1918
The Trees Stayed, but the Sons Left
Dan mortgaged the inherited land for $800 to buy eight dairy cows, but the herd failed to turn a profit. After a missed payment the bank foreclosed. Floyd and Clarence wanted to sell birch trees for pulp to pay the mortgage, but Dan refused to cut them. His sons left home, and the account says Dan lost the farm, land, trees, and cows for want of $200.
History of the Guild Family · 1917–1951 and later family visits
From the Old Farm to a New Start in Moline
Family 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.
History of the Guild Family · 1875 and later; most events undated
Sophrona's Children and the Love That Helped Edith Heal
Adah Sophrona Guild Beckman died of tuberculosis at 38, leaving eight surviving children after Samuel's fatal poisoning at two. Her widower Frank married Clara, who severely abused little Edith and was imprisoned after Frank discovered the abuse. The family concealed the imprisonment with a brain-tumor story. Frank later married Mary, whose love helped Edith recover. Edith became a tender mother, and her daughter Gerri supplied details. The account also recalls Adah's lost inheritance and Frank's later Wabedo Lake resort.
History of the Guild Family · About 1926–1968
Floyd and Ethel: Dancing, Work, and Seven Children
Floyd 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.
History of the Guild Family · 1916–after 1922
Loss and Growing Up Too Soon
Ralph 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.
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 · 1926–1965 and later
Uncle Lloyd’s Visits and Cocoa-Dunked Sandwiches
Lloyd moved to Moline, married and divorced, and later lived in Savannah, Illinois. His Army Signal Corps service included injuries during an amphibious landing in New Guinea, followed later by lung surgeries. The account says a 1965 surgery kept him from his father's funeral, although Ed's death is elsewhere dated 1953. Lloyd eventually disappeared from the family's lives, but his beloved visits left a lasting breakfast tradition of sandwiches dunked in cocoa.
History of the Guild Family · 1926–1953
Grampa’s Helping Hands at the House on 39th Street
Ed Williams became a permanent member of Ethel and Floyd's household around 1934, helping raise seven children and handling housework, gardening, and canning. He contributed earnings and savings toward enlarging the house. A severe acid burn at work ended his later employment, though treatment healed his leg. The family remembered his affection and help, alongside episodes when Floyd had to retrieve him after drinking. He died of a heart attack in 1953 and was buried without a headstone.
History of the Guild Family · 1925–1965
Dances, Seven Children, and Grampa’s Helping Hands
After moving to Moline, Ethel met Floyd through Mary Hill and married him in 1928. They raised seven children, while Ethel worked several jobs and survived goiter surgery. Ed became a permanent member of their household, contributing childcare, housework and money, despite drinking and a serious workplace injury. Lloyd served in the Army Signal Corps, suffered lasting injuries and eventually lost contact with the family, leaving fond memories and a cocoa-dunking breakfast tradition. The passage gives conflicting dates for Ed’s death and funeral.
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.
History of the Guild Family · After Floyd’s death–1988
Cards, Christmas Ornaments, and a Long-Awaited European Journey
Widowed Ethel maintained a full life of handcrafts, Christmas ornament making, evening cards and helping family members after divorces. She visited Diana in Florida annually. In 1979 Bernie fulfilled her dream of Europe with a visit to Carol, Charlie and Chris in Mainz and a family trip to Denmark. Ethel died during her 1988 Florida visit and was buried beside Floyd, with an incorrect birth year on her headstone that had never troubled her.