Theme
Sports
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
Radio, Sock Hops, and Teenage Days
Barbara recalls listening to KSTT—1170 AM and WLS—890, cruising Rock Island's One-Ways with girlfriends, Maid Rite sandwiches, and Whitey’s ice cream, where her mother always chose a strawberry cone. Her teen memories include sock hops, poodle skirts, crinolines, cinch belts, saddle shoes, Capezios, and curling irons heated on the gas stove. She remembers ten-cent fries after McDonalds opened during junior high, lunchtime dancing at Coolidge Jr. High, homecoming floats, 4-H and the County Fair, baby-sitting, work at Turnstyle and the Hasty Tasty, ironing even pillowcases, pizza's growing popularity, televised basketball tournaments, and hearing about the first man going into space over the school intercom.
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 · 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.
Dee's Chapter · Teenage years through 1959
Circle Skirts, School Dances, and Teenage Confidence
Dee recalls crafts in the Peppy Steppers 4-H club, teenage fashions, and her lack of interest in food preparation, contrasted with Carol’s prizewinning baking. Though shy and unsuccessful at sports even after getting glasses, she loved school dances and a satin polka-dot dress bought at Kay Bee. She remembers her first crush on Merle Ericson, spending her socially difficult senior year with Carol and her friends, trying pizza at Frank’s, and graduating in 1959 with straight A’s in art.
Dee's Chapter
A Loving Toast to Bob
Dee celebrates Robert Ray Guild in a playful, affectionate poem recalling his homemade wine, snow igloo, marriage to his high school sweetheart, dancing with Sue, successful business, coast-to-coast travels, and welcoming home. She praises his helpfulness and loyalty while teasing him about golf, gardening, and pistachios, closing with a wish that he remarry and a toast in his honor.
Carol's Chapter · 1950s; recollection extends to the time of writing
Wrestling Heroes and Barbara's Teasing
Carol and her father loved Wrestling From Hollywood. She remembers Gorgeous George and Verne Gagne as heroes and Mad Dog Vershon as a villain, describing their appearance and behavior. Carol considers this wrestling more entertainment than sports, but Barbara insists that Carol still believes it is real.
Carol's Chapter · Carol's sixth grade
Blue and Gold and Belonging
Carol remembers feeling part of the 'in' crowd as a sixth-grade cheerleader. Her mother made her short blue satin circular skirt and long-sleeved gold satin blouse. Carol wishes she had a photograph of the outfit and reproduces two remembered school cheers under 'Coolidge Cheer.'
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
Friday-Night Games with a Dear Friend
Carol recalls doing almost everything with Lila Lambert (now Becker) from grade school through high school, including attending the same church and its Luther League youth program. Their friendship continued into the time of writing. They attended Friday-night football and basketball games to support the Moline Maroons, whose rivals included East Moline and Rock Island. Home games took place at Browning Field and Wharton Field House. Carol humorously describes basketball's popularity by saying someone had to die before a reserved seat became available.
Carol's Chapter
Moline Cheers and Chocolate Marshmallow Malts
Carol shares the school song cheering for Moline and recalls using Lila’s dad’s pick-up truck to attend pep rallies and football games. Afterward, they loaded friends into the back of the truck and went to Iowanna Dairy in Davenport for chocolate marshmallow malts.
Carol's Chapter
Dancing Together at the Turner’s Club
Carol recalls her parents' love of dancing early in their marriage. When her father first came to Moline as a single man, he joined the Turner’s Club to exercise and attend dances, which offered opportunities to meet girls. He became a tumbler, appeared in a Minstrel show there, and took Ethel to many dances over the years.
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 · Grade school and Junior High School years
A Special Glove and Trips with the Team
Robert recalls playing baseball in fifth and sixth grades and how special his new glove felt. As Junior High School football team manager, he enjoyed getting to know players and coaches and traveling to away games. His childhood games also included marbles, yo-yos, and a little hopscotch.
Bob's Chapter · 1950’s through the time of telling
Four Hours Away from the Phone
Robert began golfing while working at J. C. Penney’s in the 1950’s, playing in a league and with friends. Despite feeling his ability had not improved, he still enjoyed the game, the interesting people, and the great courses. His favorite benefit was four hours away from the phone, with no cell phones allowed.
Bob's Chapter · During his thirties and forties
More Fun Than Anybody at the Bowling Alley
Robert bowled for many years, usually on a team. He remembered his teams as unsuccessful but having more fun than anybody. His scores ranged from a best of 207 to a worst of 88.
Bob's Chapter · Childhood through adulthood, including the 90’s
A Lifetime of Cheering, from Wrestling to the Packers
Bob describes his lifelong enthusiasm for watching sports and reading the sports page first. Before his family had a TV, his father took them to Iris and Bill’s apartment to watch wrestling, with Argentine Aroca their favorite. During the 90’s, Bob and his son Steve regularly attended Milwaukee Bucks basketball games. After many years in Wisconsin, he describes passionate loyalty to the Green Bay Packers, complete with hats, T-shirts, and sweat shirts, win or lose.
Bob's Chapter
Favorite Pastimes on the Rock River
Bob says he has no particular hobby but enjoys reading, golf, fishing, boating, and woodworking. Living on the Rock River makes jet skiing, his current favorite activity, convenient. He wishes summers were longer and has become a skilled picture framer.
Bob's Chapter · 1975
A Long Flight North for Great Fishing
Bob recalls his best Canadian fishing trip, taken with a group of men in 1975. They sat on duffel bags aboard an old DC-9 and flew one thousand miles north of Minneapolis, almost to the Arctic Circle, where darkness did not arrive until midnight. Head winds left the plane low on fuel half an hour from its destination, requiring a turnaround and refueling at a small airport. They eventually landed on an island, using the entire runway, and enjoyed great fishing.
Bob's Chapter · Junior high and high school years
Rowdy Friends and Eighteen in a Rambler
Robert recalls a close group of rowdy friends whose clothing and behavior sometimes embarrassed the school. On a trip to an out-of-town football game, they used a borrowed hand-held siren and red flashing light while passing cars. Another night, eighteen youths crowded into a Nash Rambler station wagon amid beer drinking. Police arrested fifteen; Robert and two others ran away. The newspaper reported “15 Kids Arrested in Rambler for Drinking.” Robert also states that the group never got into big trouble.
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
Long Winter Rides Through the Big Woods
Bernard recalls eagerly awaiting Christmas and snow, and the transformed winter landscape of Ferry’s Woods. He describes approaching the woods by the Frys' farm and navigating a steep, winding sled run with Bob on their shared Christmas Flexible Flyer. They extended their rides onto a frozen creek until a log near a small pond stopped them; the long climb back in heavy winter clothing made this hard play.
Bernie's Chapter
A Shell Sign Toboggan and Happy, Tired Walks Home
A smaller, treeless ravine near the Vergain’s house offered safer sledding for girls and drew many children after heavy snow. Children used sleds, cardboard, boxes, and sometimes skis. The narrator's father made a toboggan from half of a metal Shell gas-station sign and attached a pulling rope. Its sharp-edged, rounded body carried three or more children in fast, spinning rides among other sledders and milkweed patches. Bernard remembers trudging home cold, wet, chafed, exhausted, and happy.
Bernie's Chapter · Age eleven; sixth grade
A Broken Arm and Left-Handed Palm Trees
Bernard broke his arm trying to play Crack The Whip before mastering ice skating. His father paid seventy-five dollars to have it set and unsuccessfully sought reimbursement from the fire department responsible for the Riverside Park pond. Bernard remembers his father’s sympathy and belief in letting children learn through mistakes. Unimpressed by the newspaper’s description of a fractured wrist, he nevertheless turned the injury to advantage by earning an A-plus for a three-dimensional Yucatan Peninsula map made with his left hand and decorated with green ricrac palm trees.
Iris's Chapter · 1948–2000
A Good Life in the Homes We Shared
Iris recalls marrying Bill on September 11, 1948, and beginning married life in cramped shared quarters during a postwar housing shortage. Their next home was a fifty-five-dollar-a-month upstairs apartment in Moline, where Daddy brought the kids for Monday-night wrestling, potato chips, and Pepsi. They bought a small East Moline house where Linda, Beth, Jeffrey, and Laurie were born, then built a home on 4th Street Court in 1957, where Kurt joined the family and the children grew up. Iris traces later homes in Roscoe, a northern summer place, the sale of their house in The Ledges, a newly built Arizona home, and their move to a three-level Rockton home in spring 2000, calling it a good life.
Iris's Chapter
Precious Spare Time Filled with Creativity and Play
Iris describes her love of designing Christmas trees, decorating their stores, and helping operate the stores' gift shops. Her many leisure pursuits include sports, bird watching, singing learned from Daddy, dancing, and recently begun ceramics. She crochets gifts, including an Afghan for every family member, and reads fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, fairy tales, and books about angels.
Iris's Chapter · Early in Bill and Iris’s marriage
Thanksgiving Potatoes and a Growing Friendship
At Thanksgiving dinner at the Moline house, Floyd challenged Bill to shoot potatoes tossed into the air with a four-ten shotgun. Bill, recently out of the service and fond of Skeet, met the challenge. They took turns shooting until the potatoes were gone. Bill felt that their previously unfriendly relationship improved afterward, and Floyd began visiting even when Bill was home.
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.