Jan

Feb 13, 20236 min read

Grandma Revis • Tale 2 • Photos/Places

1935-1975

Lucille Bernice Oswald Revis 1914-2010

So many Tales to tell

So many images to share

Today's page is Part 2 of at least 3

Tale Number One

Early years, from 1914 to 1935

Tale Number Two

Photos and places from 1935 to 1975

Tale Number Three

Photos and places from 1975 to 2010

Tales Numbered Four and More

Letters from Lucille

I have over two hundred pages of her handwritten letters that I will share.

Homes 1940-2010

1940

Blue Mound

The US Census shows Lucille as a homemaker and Ez working road construction for the W.P.A. Daughters Lily (4 years old) and Kathleen (1 year old) were also listed.

The Decatur directory shows Ez as a laborer for CBQ Company and Lucille at the family home in Blue Mound. Ez's sister Winnie Revis Kunzman lived only a few houses away with her family.

1941

Oreana

Ez was listed as a millwright for ADM in the 1941 Decatur directory. His draft card showed the family's residence as Oreana.

1942

Lucille's brother Albert was lost at sea during the Battle of Guadalcanal. His Tale is told in WWII Revis and Oswald.

1942-1946

1045 N. 35th Street

They lived one house from the corner. We have a few photos of their time there. Next door was Ez's sister, Winnie Revis Kunzman. Daughter Lily and niece Barbara Jean wrote a play, put it inside a coffee can, and buried it on the shared property line in the back yard, just before you came to the outhouses (no longer there). Ez put the basement in this house. Water came from a hand pumped well behind the house.

Kate, Jim, and Lily at their front door 1045 N. 35th Street

Lily and Jim are at the water pump in the back yard with their dog, Prince Albert.

Cousins sitting on Winnie Revis Kunzman's porch at 1049 N. 35th Street.

1948

Rural Delivery 8, Decatur

Listed in the Decatur directory. Ez was a laborer at Houdaille-Hershey Corporation. That company had been secret partner in The Manhattan Project.

1950

Lucille had a strong love for all of her children. Photo from around 1950.

Back row: Lily, Jim

Front row: Mike, Kate, Phil

1951

Rural Niantic

The family is listed in the Decatur directory with Ez working for ADM.

1952

Boody

Lucille and Lily grabbed their shotguns to protect a battered woman.

See Growing Up in the 1940s.

1955

Boody

I think that most of the photos from this time period are taken at the Boody house property. One shows the corn ready to harvest. The census lists the family as tenants of the house and not the farm.

Mike, Lucille, Jim

Phil at Boody house

1957 Chevy Bel Air

4 door with post

1957

In the kitchen with her first three grandchildren.

Jerry, Mike, and Janet

Standing left to right: Phil, Kate, Jim, Mike

Sitting: Ez, Lucille

1958 Christmas

With the grandkids: Janet, Terri, Jerry, Mike

Whole family (Jim took the photo so I Photoshopped him in the back.)

Left corner: Fredy, Jan, Lily, Phil

Sitting in front: Ez, Mike, Lucille, Terri, young Mike

Right, in back: Betty, Jim, Kate

Right, in middle: Jess, Jerry

1959

Rural Delivery 4, Decatur

The Decatur directory lists Lucille on her own, with no mention of Ez.

She was working at the Hi-Flier kite company, pasting kites together. Lily told the Tale of her dad bringing a woman home from the bar one night and Lucille woke up the next day to find her sleeping on the couch. Must've been in the late 1950s.

1962

The pic of Lucille was from her son Phil's wedding.

Lucille and kids

The group photo was taken around 1962.

Standing:

Jim, Lucille, Phil

Seated:

Lily, Mike, Kate

Elwin house

1732 Heritage Dr

Just before they divorced, Lucille and Ez built a brand new ranch house in Elwin. I remember visiting the building site and going down into the freshly poured basement. I can still recall that smell of concrete and fresh lumber. There was a tractor in the back yard that my brother started up -- much to his surprise and shock! He wasn't even 10 at the time.

1963

After the divorce

Lucille set her goal to be an LPN and started her studies. She was very serious about doing her best as a student and -- just as in high school --made above average grades.

1965 Graduation

1963ish

She moved to an upstairs apartment in town with son Mike. It was in a big house that had been split up into many small apartments, maybe near Millikin. On the north side of an east/west street. The front door was in the middle of the porch, then there were steep stairs with another door at the top, leading into small living room with a little b/w TV where we would watch Johnny Quest. Next to that was a little kitchen with a breakfast nook. The refrigerator was a crazy looking old machine with a hat on top!

Lucille's apartment house looked similar to this.

1965ish

Moore Street

She rented a house with her son Mike but he was deployed with the Air Force some of the time that she lived there. She was pretty shocked at my attempt to help her dust mop its hardwood floors. I didn't know that you kept the mop on the floor and slowly gathered the dust. I was sweeping it like a broom and she quickly stopped me in my tracks. I actually was a little frightened. Mike had a big reel to reel audio system on a wall mounted shelf that we were not to touch. He moved out when he married in 1967.

I remember the Moore Street house as being a one story on the south side of the street with the driveway on the right. It had a substantial porch and the stairs came up the middle. Similar to these houses. I could be wrong on some details. It was sixty years ago. LOL

1970s

Decatur Memorial Hospital

Lucille with her co-workers in the DMH break room. I wonder if one of them is her good friend Sam. Lucille spoke often of her co-worker, Virginia Samuels.

1970 or so

980 North Moffet Lane. Not sure of what year she bought this house, but it is here that she was finally able to set down roots after moving an average of once every 3 years. It was a little 400 square foot house with an enclosed front porch. It sat on a huge lot. Three acres. Not real wide but it went way back, sloping into the woods near Stevens Creek.

The property had plenty of room for a big vegetable garden. Also many black raspberry bushes. She would can pints and pints of Black Raspberry Jelly. Rural King carries a brand made in southern Illinois (Miller's) that tastes very close to hers. It takes me back to that warm Grandma love.

One of her winter pastimes on Moffet Lane was to feed the many squirrels. She would make peanut butter sandwiches and put them out on the bird feeder.

Speaking of peanuts, here is her Peanut Brittle recipe.

1973

Lucille's first great-grandchild earned her a nice article in the Decatur newspaper. I just noticed that she was the only one with an address listed.

Salem Baptist Church

She was a dedicated member.

Took her family to the revivals.

Baked many cookies for the congregation. They still talk about her cookies. She was disappointed with the church leaders during her later years because they did not buy a bus that could pick up disabled parishioners and guests. She had given them money for it and never saw them obtain one.

Interesting story about one of the revivals. One time she gathered up as many of her children and grandchildren as would come. One of the older grandsons said afterward, "I'll never go again. The preacher made me feel like we were all going to hell."

Nicknames:

Lucille called most everyone "Hound Dog" if they were up to mischief. She called her two girls "Lily B" and "Kay A", and me "Jenny Wren". Her co-worker was "Sam". Any other nicknames that I don't know about? Let me know!

When her granddaughter Melissa was named, Lucille knew that she would never call her that. She told Melissa's mom, "I'm gonna call her Missy Jo."

If you haven't read the first installment of Lucille's Tale, you can catch up at Grandma Revis • Tale 1 • The Early Years.

My goal in all of the Dead Family Tales is to present stories that would have been told around a kitchen table or campfire during family gatherings.

A new Dead Family Tale is posted every Monday.

Come and visit again!