Ronnie Long

 These photos are in no particular order from my grandmother Vivian Maupin's photo album.  My Uncle Ron was the "baby of the family---20 years younger than my father and 8 years younger than his closest sibling.  Actually, he was as close to me and cousins Steve and Bob as he was to his siblings and as adults we did "hang" more as peers.  He was not just adorable, and the youngest but he was born with both legs deformed and spent months of his childhood at Shriner's Hospital with his legs in traction. So, as my mother would say, "Ron was spoiled".

My grandparents look older than they really were.  Grandma was 38 and Grandpa was 43 when Ron was born.  There had been miscarriages between Ron and his closest sibling Mary.

For more about Uncle Ron, click here.

Important Houses in LeRoy's Life

Reed Home, 12932 Hencher Rd. De Soto, Missouri

 

Several years ago, Dave and I drove to DeSoto, Missouri with a list of addresses of where my ancestor's lived.  I had addresses for both sides of Dad's family for my great grandparents and my great great grandparents.  First, I found the beautiful stone house of my great-great grandparents Reed a little outside of town.  Then we located their home in De Soto as well as the home of my great grandparents Maupin.  Click here for more photos in De Soto. (The Long side of the family were mostly farmers and didn't live in town)

When I went to the address for my grandparents and my dad in 1920, I couldn't find the house anywhere.  It was now the parking lot for the De Soto Public Library. 710 South Main.  Dad wasn't much of a reader, so this is a form of "poetic justice" that his home when he was a year old is the parking lot of a library.

One of the stories my father often talked about was surviving the 1927 tornado in St. Louis while he was in elementary school.  He would tell about walking home from Stix School (9 years old) in the utter destruction.  My aunt said their home was totally destroyed and they never owned another house but only rented. For more, click here.

Several years ago Dave had to go for some cognitive testing through Barnes at 4444 Forest Park Avenue.  There wasn't much of a waiting room, so I walked around the neighborhood. There were several beautiful old homes across Forest Park Avenue from where we were but our side of the street there were none---just new buildings, Barnes hospital and parking lots/garages.  Then, I realized where I was standing---in the path of the 1927 tornado---it was as clear as day when I knew what I was looking at.  There were old homes (dating before 1927) on either side of the path.  I walked several blocks in either direction and my hypothesis was correct.

So, I knew Dad had lived near there.  I called Mom and she said he lived on the corner of Forest Park and Newstead and thought a bus shelter was there.  There was no bus shelter, but another parking lot.

My brother and sister recently asked me some questions about Dad's railroad work experience which sent me to Ancestry.com to find some documents.  As usual, when I started out looking for one thing, I found another--Dad's World War II draft registration in 1940.  He and Mom were married September 1940, so I was surprised to see her name on it---they were newlyweds and living at 3626 Botanical Ave. near the Botanical Gardens.

So, I googled it and was so surprised at what a cute house it was even though they probably lived upstairs.

When I clicked through, that was 3634 Botanical, Mom and Dad's first home was. ... you guessed it, another parking lot. My sister Jane wrote me,"Empty space, filled with living spirit."  She nailed it!

Letter from Garner

While cleaning out my husband's desk, I found a letter which his uncle wrote shortly after my father-in-law's death (Grover) in 2003.

Dear Harry, Dave, Tom:

It was probably in 1943 that Grover became a distinct figure for me, as opposed to "generic older brother" (of which I had four at the time).  I remember looking at a photograph (probably from a letter to Mother) of a strikingly handsome young man in khaki U.S. Army uniform with the three chevrons up, three rockers down and the diamond of a master sergeant.  To a fifteen-year-old West Virginia kid, this was truly impressive.

After the war (1946?), Mother wanted to visit Riverside, California relatives (Charlie and Carrie Smith), so Mother, Grover, Lowell and I headed west in the 1942 Chevy. (I wanted to take Father's new Olds--Hydramatic shift!- but was overruled.)  At age 18, I had a license but little experience, so after a close call or so Grover took permanent possession of the steering wheel.

DeSoto High School Photo

Several years ago while at a Long Reunion in DeSoto (Click here for more about it), David Long pictured at the end of Row 5, brought this photo which I photographed.  I posted it on a genealogy page and someone wanted me to identify the people. . . .so here they are!

Row 1:  M Aylesworth, Hazel Bailey, T. Baldwin, Bill Bayer, Maria Bays, Don Becker, Hardin Bell, E. Berry
Row 2: Eddie Bittick, Bogg. . . ., Elvin Bowen, H. Burgess, Herb Cole, Ester Cook, Wanda Cox, B Crockett, John Dawes
Row 3: J Doebbert, B. Duffner, Ken Elders, Ron Evans, Clara Freer, Clara Goff, Don Holdin, M. Hardin, E Hastings
Row 4: D Hellwig, Don Hoard, Ken Hulkey, Geo Hughes, Rob Hulsey, E. Huskey, Lois Juenger, M. Keller, Lila Kelley
Row 5:  N Klaus, K Koch, M Koch, D Landayt, Jack Lasley, Edith Lasley, Jack Lewis, Clyde Long, David Long
Row 6:  E Lebbers, Jos Lufebors, Paul Lyon, Wm Martin, Alf McKee, R. McKinney, Mae Moore, Oscar Mudd, F Nixon
Row 7 ????, M Politte, F Powers, E Reynolds, J.H. Reynolds, M Rohlfing, A Schleff Jr, H. Scott, Betty Sheets
Row 8 ????, M Spiller, Steinm. . . ., R Sullivan, A Vanden, Al Vaughn, Lloyd Wiley, C Wilson, Ros Wilson

And, I am guessing that "F Nixon" in row 6 is related to our esteemed governor Jay Nixon.

The "Williams" Kids

Macy Alice Williams is pictured above with her second husband George Henry Hall and four of her children: Clara Belle Hall , Ruth Agnes Hall, Obie Palmer Hall and James Wesley Wicker, my grandfather. Macy had a hard life bearing two children after the deaths of her husbands (John B. Wicker and George H. Hall), and yet she is remembered as a good Christian woman. Her granddaughter Kay said, "Dad (Macy's step-son and son-in-law) said he never knew a woman as good as she was." I think her children are evidence to character.
Here are the children here, too. As you can see, Clara and Obie were more serious even as children and Ruth is almost always smiling just as she was an adult. Grandpa. . . .looks like he's not really fond of having his photo made. These photos were probably made in and around Hornersville, Missouri.
I love this photo of them---Grandpa is maybe 10 years old but driving a car. He later became a car mechanic and drove earth-movers during the Depression, so it is fitting that he's driving a car.
This next grouping of photos were made around 1948 in Memphis, based on the little girl Michelle. L-R: Clara Hall Stephens, Wesley Wicker, Ruth Hall Ezell and Ray Ezell with his daughter Michelle. Ray was actually Clara, Wes and Ruth's half brother. Macy's third marriage was to James Ezell who had a son Everette by another marriage. Ruth Hall married Everette Ezell. . . I will try to connect the dots---Ray's half-brother and half-sister were married.
Here are: Dot (Ruth and Everette's daughter), Clara, Ruth; in the front row is Georgia Hall Endicott (another sister) and my grandmother Vennie Watson Wicker, Wes's wife.
This is the only photo I have with all six siblings: Wes Wicker, Ray Ezell, Obie Hall, (they all had different fathers); Ruth Hall Ezell, Georgia Hall Endicott, Clara Hall Stephens
After my grandfather died some of them still managed to get together with my mother who was one year younger than uncle Ray, and 3 years younger than her aunt Georgia. Here are Georgia, Ray and Ruth in the Smoky Mountains near where Ray lived.
This was probably in the late 1970's. L-R Nelda Hayes Wicker Ezell, Georgia Hall Endicott, Ruth Hall Ezell, Louise Wicker Long (my mom) with my dad and Ray in the background.
They also met at my Mother and Dad's house in 1983: Ruth, Ray, Nelda and Georgia
Beginning in the left corner and going clockwise: Rachel Morgan Twenter, Ray Ezell, Georgia Hall Endicott, Ruth Hall Ezell, Nelda Hays Wicker Ezell, me, Louise Wicker Long with Leah Morgan Warren and then Rebecca Morgan Lewis. The little girls are my daughters.

Nelda, Ray's wife, was first married to my grandfather's cousin Peck Wicker, of barbecue fame. Click here for more about Peck and his barbecue stand. So, Nelda was related to my mother and grandfather twice through marriage!

Although it's hard to tell, Georgia, Wes and Ray were the giants in the family---5'4" ,and at 5'1.5" I am a true Williams!

Uncle Ron

Dad only had one brother---20 years younger than he was. (There had been another boy named Milton but he died shortly as a baby. ) For more photos of Dad and Ron, click here.
Often Ron is that little blip in the corner of the family photos. Mary was 10 years older, Maxine was 14 years older, Norma was 17 years older.
Although he was an "only child" for much of his childhood, he was soon blessed with many nieces and nephews. Bob, Steve and I were actually closer to Ron in age than any of his siblings.
Ron is in the middle with his father Roy behind him. His nephews Bob and Steve are on either side. Ron was only 8 years older than Bob, Steve and myself. Visiting our Long grandparents was always fun because Ron had toys and games for us to play with.
We often viewed him as an older brother. Here are Ron, Steve Adams and Roy Long. I do recall a few things about his teen years. One memory was of him building and racing in the soap box derby. The other thing I recall was shopping with my mother trying to find clothes that he wanted---a button down collar shirt and pants with a buckle in the back. I think it was the first time I was aware that boys had clothing preferences and style.
I wasn't as close to Ron as Steve or Bob was in those years: in part because I was a girl, but also Ron had health issues. I didn't (and don't) handle hospitals and sick people well, so my mother shielded me from a lot of Ron's health problems. He was often in the hospital having orthopedic surgery on his feet. Ron was born with two club feet so a large portion of his childhood was spent in Shriner's Hospital having surgery to correct this birth defect. He is probably in his teens in the above photo. I do recall that his mother (my grandmother) died shortly after this surgery.

While I don't remember much about this time of Ron's life, I do remember going to the Shriner's Circus every year to support the Shriner's work in helping children with orthopedic problems. I also remember hearing that he was like the poster boy for Shriner's Hospital one year---he appeared in the newspaper (above) and he was one of two children to ride in the back of a convertible in the parade.
I was probably closest to Ron when I was in my late teens and early 20's and he was in his late 20's. He and his wife Rose were wonderful mentors and friends to all of us nieces and nephews often entertaining us. But, more importantly, Ron was the first in our family to go to college inspiring all of the rest of us to continue in our education.

Norma, Maxine and Mary

My father had three sisters Mary (1927), Maxine (1923-1997) and Norma (1920-2010). The little boy at the bottom of this photo is their youngest brother Ron. Based on Ron's age, I'm guessing this photo was made around 1940.
I've found some new photos of them this past month. The photo above was from a cousin at a family reunion. Roy Long (their father) is pictured with Mary and Maxine.
This photo and all of the rest were in my Aunt Norma's photos. Norma is on the back of the horse; Maxine is the blond girl in the middle. I'm not sure who the boys are---probably cousins.
The photo above is Norma. It looks like it was made in St. Louis and is graduation---8th grade?
For more about Norma in her later years, click here.
I love this photo because Norma is not posed and my own mother, Louise, is in the background. I can just hear their laughter. The boy on the right is probably one of their Maupin/McKay cousins.
Norma is on the far right in the photo above and I'm pretty sure that is Maxine on the left.
Maxine looks like she is still a school girl in this photo.
I don't know if the young man is a cousin or a friend, but that's Maxine on the right.
I think that necklace is back in style, but I don't know when this photo was taken either.
Although the other photos seem to be of Maxine before she was married, this one is on her wedding day--1942.
Aunt Mary is pictured above with their mother Vivian Maupin Long. The little boy is Ron, the youngest in the family.
The photo of Mary above is probably with Maxine's son Michael who was born in 1948, but it could be Steve, who was born in 1945.

My three aunts have always been an important part of my life. We often lived in the same community so we visited frequently. As an older teen, my mother's ultimate warning was always, "Don't do anything that your aunts would disapprove of." I still smile at that, thinking of the times I would have gladly disappointed my mother, but my aunts. . .NEVER.