An Old Extended Family

Visiting on the phone with my sister Carol brought back a memory I had forgotten. A lady in our home town, Lillian Revord, recently turned 100. There was a reception at the Methodist church in Munising in her honor. My sister attended and met several members of that family that brought back this memory. Lillian is the mother and mother-in-law of the characters in this writing.

When I was 8 we moved from 802 W. Superior St. to 820 W. Superior St. Just a few houses, but we moved from a house my mom and dad were renting to an upstairs apartment. A young couple, Bill and Dolly Revord recently purchased the home and were renting out the upstairs to help offset the expenses of having the house. We lived in this apartment from 1952 until 1961.

I do not remember the year, but Bill and Dolly suffered a catastrophe. Dolly was diagnosed with Tuberculosis (TB). This was a much feared disease and we were tested every year at school for TB. It meant you were isolated and spent quite a bit of time in a sanatorium. I forget the name of the one in the Upper Peninsula, but Dolly was confined there for a year. Bill and Dolly had three young children at the time, Jackie, Iris and Sheila were there names, a son Billy was added, but I think Dolly was home when Billy was born. The tragedy was that it turned out Dolly did not have TB, it was a missed diagnosis.

Why Dolly was confined Bill had the role of raising the small girls. Jackie was about two years younger than I so these were kids probably ranging in age from 4 to 10? My mother became their surrogate mom. Every day my mother would go downstairs and get breakfast for Bill and the kids. Bill worked for the power company, which meant his day started early. Mother saw the girls off to school, made lunch and dinner for them and baby sat when Bill would go to Marquette to visit Dolly.

I had a case of jealousy. My mother was supposed to pay attention to me, yet she doted on those kids. I voiced my troubles once and a while, mother was patient with her youngest son and pointed out that I was old enough to take care many of my needs and they were just little kids. It still did not diminish my feelings, but I wasn't consumed by those feelings either, it just irritated me from time to time.

I am sure my folks got a break in the rent, or something for all that mom did. She really took care of two households for about a year. Bill was a good man, he cleaned his home, he took over care on weekends, and in general was a positive person in the kid's lives. There came a time about 1960 where their family was just too big, I was a junior in high school which meant that Jackie was entering high school, they needed space. So we had to move, but still I spent nine wonderful years in that apartment and a total of 16 years in that great neighborhood.

In a few later years Bill apparently had a stroke and passed away leaving a young family. It was a real sad time, he was a good provider, a good husband and a good father. Dolly picked up and raised her family and they went on. Jackie later married a classmate of hers, the young Ruhmor kid. Jackie ended up contracting cancer and passed away in her thirties. Dolly worked jobs for many years in Munising and I saw her quite often when I came back home for vacation or visits. I remember one time years ago when I saw Dolly in Munising she pulled out pictures of the kids. They were all grown and her nest was empty, but her heart was full.

The girls were gorgeous, young Bill was the spitting image of his dad. Dolly never missed a time to tell me how much she loved my mom and dad. The end of this little essay is that when Carol attended Lillian Revord's reception at the Methodist church two of Dolly's kids were there. Carol talked with Iris who now lives in Greendale, WI a suburb of Milwaukee, she also met Billy. Carol new of them, however had never met them as adults. Both kids remember my mom and dad, and even asked of my whereabouts. What really hit home with both Carol and I was their mutual love of my mother. Iris recalled the devotion mom had to taking care of those kids, making breakfast, and Iris especially talked about the wonderful "twice baked" potatoes mom would make. Her point was all the work it takes to make those dishes didn't deter mom from making delicious meals for the family. Billy didn't have such deep memories, except he definitely remembered mom's care.

I had forgotten about that period in my life. It wasn't a low point, just an event that slipped away. However it is an example of the love and care both my parents exhibited for their neighbors and others.