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!

Longs and Maupins 1930 Census

4117 and 4115 Castleman (my husband is in the van)

My husband and I tried to find some of the places my dad lived in St. Louis a few weeks ago. My Aunt Mary remembers that the Roy Long family lived at Newstead and Forest Park (Click here for a street view of the area). Mother said the house they lived in was now a "bus shelter" so I didn't try to find it. (there is a bus shelter in that street view) Note 2015:  No Bus Shelter---either 4444 Forest Park or the parking lot across Newstead.
After the 1927 tornado that destroyed that house, they lived on 4115 Castleman. On the way there, we passed many sites that I'm sure my sister and cousins will recognize.

Missouri-Pacific Hospital where I had my tonsils taken out.

I believe this was a mortuary at one time---across the street from Mo-Pac Hospital

Compton Hill Reservoir Park---across from Mo-Pac Hospital

The most curious part of the 1930 census is not that Roy Long's family lived next door to the Maupins (4117 Castleman), but it's how the Maupins are described. The names Henry and Anna Maupin are correct, but their ages, country of origin are very wrong. Also, the census taker got the occupations wrong with the names---he has Henry Maupin as a shoes salesman, but he was a machinist at the railroad which in fact is what the census says my Aunt Maxine was. . .at 7 years old! He obviously had a problem writing across the page. Above is 4115 Castleman where Roy and Vivian Maupin Long lived with LeRoy, Norma, Maxine and Mary Long.

Part of the mystery is solved when I realized that Henry and Annie Reed Maupin were also counted in their house on Boyd in De Soto. I've known most of my life that Henry Maupin had homes in St. Louis and De Soto. They probably weren't in the Castleman house when the census-taker came by. The house on Castleman appears to have been rented, but the census taker asked someone else who lived in that house for information on them and it was just wrong.

4117 Castleman where Annie Reed and Henry Maupin lived in 1930.

Aunt Mary said after that house, the family moved back to De Soto and then lived at 1607 Theresa in the Grand Park Apartments near Wyman School, 3917 Shenandoah (Street view) and finally 3867 Flad after Ronnie was born (they needed extra rooms). I've already done two blogs about Flad. Click here for how it looks today. Click here for photos of it in 1940's.

They also had Albert Maupin, Walter Maupin (Vivian's brothers) and Vivian's nephews Junior McKay (Mattie Maupin's son)and Charles Maupin (Harry Maupin's son) living with them from time to time. Mary said there were daybeds in the dining room for extra sleeping (I can remember Charles Maupin sleeping on a daybed at my Grandparents' Wicker's flat in the dining room so it must have been fairly common) and she (Mary) slept in a baby crib in her parents' bedroom until Ronnie came along.

1927 Tornado in St. Louis

My dad, LeRoy Long, had pretty vivid memories of the 1927 tornado in St. Louis. The above photo is from a website. When my parents would tell a story, I'd grab a piece of paper and start writing. This is what I wrote:

"1927 Tornado---I was attending Stix School behind Jewish Hospital at Euclid and Forest Park when the tornado hit. The Polarway stables (they hauled ice and coal) had 2X4's sticking in. There was a Columbia Touring Car with a jump-seat up against the building. Kids had to stay at school until their parents came for them. I think it hit in September around 1:30PM. Somebody had hauled coal coming through a gang-way but the brick had buried him. Aunt Mary (Wassmund) was an infant sleeping with broken glass all over her. Grandma [Annie Reed Maupin] picked the glass off her."

His sister Norma Long Adams Rogers recalled that Uncle Albert Maupin had to get them at school. They were living in a house across from the firehouse near Forest Park (Expressway)---the only house Roy owned. Vivian and baby Mary went in the bathtub during the tornado---the house was destroyed. They had no insurance and couldn't rebuild the house.
Here's a video that discusses this tornado with movies and interviews.

Letter from Norma Long Rogers to LeRoy Long

The sketch was done by my daughter Rachel for her grandfather LeRoy Long---it is from a photo of his grandfather's barn (Thomas Long) where he played as a boy.

My mother asked many of us to write my dad, LeRoy Long on his 75th birthday. The following was from my Aunt Norma Long Rogers written in August 1993. (Double click to see it larger and then use the back arrow to come back to this page)

My dad used to say that eventhough he and Norma were only two years apart in age, they sure remembered things differently. He'd listen to her stories and just shake his head. To my knowledge, Mary Reiter Long was not a school teacher. Norma may have confused her with Thomas Long's first wife who may have been one.
Jep Long was Thomas Long's younger brother---their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren were and have remained friends. Web Long was Jeptha's grandson, though.
The Long-Wiley farmhouse that Norma remembers visiting with my dad is pictured below as it looks today. It is on Stone House Rd. outside of DeSoto, Missouri---just down the street from the Old Stone House that Thomas Long grew up in.
This was the site of the barn which my daughter drew. It blew down in a tornado a few years ago.


My mother was with me when I took this photo. She said, "Take a picture of where the barn used to be. Your dad had a lot of wonderful memories playing in that barn." Well, at least Dad and Norma agree on that.