Jean Little Reynard

Jean Little Reynard
(Mrs. Ralph Reynard)

Liberty School, 1934/5	Liberty School, 1938 eighth grade graduates	1938

The following are girlhood memories of Jean (nee Little) Reynard:

WALNUT KNOB FARM MEMORIES

Joe invented a plow hitch in the late 20's that was used on the farm for over 30 years. It made the plow easier to align with other vehicles. Joe kept a Delco engine going for electric lights and other uses. He was adept at such things as using an extra long belt on the tractor to saw wood. John Amey was amazed when he helped Joe to saw wood for the Range Line Presbyterian Church. According to the history of the church, Joe and Eleanor donated a Delco engine to the church until August 1946 when the church was wired for electricity. A wheel was used to take the husks off the black walnuts we gathered every fall. When Joan had her legs in a cast, Joe fixed a wagon with tricycle wheels so that Joan could steer and also push with her toes.

We always had a car, but Mike remembered once Eleanor drove a horse and buggy over to the neighbors when littlev.htm was a small baby. When Eleanor stopped to open and close the gate, the horse bolted, but Cecil Sutton caught the horse and no harm was done. Mike was on the farm when the first threshing machine was brought home. Joe was afraid to drive it across the bridge by the end of the lane and drove it through the ditch instead.

Verle recalls a time when he was quite small and climbed to the top of the silo. He was afraid to climb down. Mother did not like heights, but there was no alternative and she managed to get both of them down safely.

There are not many pictures of our beautiful Shetland pony, Goldie. Her name came from the gold color although she had white stockings. We would get on by climbing the fence by the house. Verle and Jean have the same memories of what happened then. Goldie would go down the lane and as far as the curve in the road and no further. She would put her head down, we would slide off and she would trot home to the barn. We only used the saddle for special occasions. Jean has a picture of her on Goldie and Lois has one of her and cousin Jim, but that seems to be all.

Jean remembers one day that she and Joan were quarreling around supper time so that Daddy heard our angry exchange. Daddy said we could not leave the kitchen until we had kissed and made up. We were in the kitchen a long time after everyone else had eaten and left. Signs of affection were not easily exchanged in those days.

When Verle was 12, he and Mike fished in a bayou off the Kankakee River and Verle caught a large northern pike. When Daddy and Uncle Jesse saw it, they determined to see if more fish could be obtained in an easier manner. The time they picked was when Verle was away at 4-H camp, but Mike reported that several fish were obtained by draining the bayou.

One incident that excited the whole area was when Dillinger broke out of the Crown Point jail. On that day, a shipment of cattle were expected by Joe at the Brown Ranch in Shelby. Verle was riding one horse and leading three more, with Sheriff's cars looking for Dillinger, as it had been rumored that he had gone south from Crown Point. Uncle Doc (Seth Little) was a county deputy at the time and therefore had to leave the cattle drive to assist in the search for the criminal. Aunt Florence remembered this years later also. Uncle Doc had a most hearty laugh that we all enjoyed.

Sometime the cattle were sent to market via the train that crossed the Kankakee River and ran along the edge of the farm until it stopped on Range Line Road. We kept the cattle for a year or more to fatten up before sending to market. The train was to have been extended much farther north but it was abandoned before many years. We did entertain some hoboes that stopped. They were fed on the back porch.

A succession of hired men helped farm. One of the first families had a lot of girls. Then Wilsons, who had several children including Paul, Russell, James and Dorothy. Miles McFadden worked for both Joe and Verle for 6 or 7 years. Eleanor hired Uncle Melvin Osburn with the idea of sending Verle to Purdue University. The war prevented that from happening, as exemptions to the draft were given for farm work but not for attending college. The tradition of attending Purdue was a strong one as Joe, his brothers and sister [all went to Purdue.] Grandfather James H. had graduated in 1890 and Aunt Hester had copied his graduation speech entitled "Why Young Men Leave the Farm." Grandpa's brother, Jesse was also a graduate who played on a football team at Purdue. One game he fell on the ball -- it burst and there was no replacement, so the game was cancelled.

Liberty School was built in 1920 with a water pump in the front yard and outhouses in the back yard for boys and girls. The school had two rooms with 4 grades in each room. "Old Man Winkler" was the driver of the first bus used by Verle. It was horse driven and even after a motor one was obtained, the horse bus was used in muddy or inclement weather. Then Mr. Karlson had a car used as a bus for a long time until finally John Amey and then Fred Dilley were our bus drivers. Liberty School closed in 1939 after Jean graduated from eighth grade with seven in her class and Laureva Sloan (later Amey) as the teacher. There were usually 4 to 6 in a class as there were many changes each year in tenant farmer families. Verle lived with Grandma Little in 1938 to help out there and take 7 and 8th grade in West Creek schools.

[A handwritten note attatched to this account states "There's a little story about Laureva Sloan (Amey). John Amey drove a school bus and we teased John and Laureva because they were interested in each other -- and they did get married. Laureva taught school for many years and passed away in 2007.]

On Christmas Eve, we children looked for special places to hang our stockings for Santa to fill. Chairs and doorknobs were our usual places. One year Verle decided to hide his stocking. I was worried for him, but Santa found his stocking under the kitchen table and it was filled. We could look forward to finding an orange in the toe every year. Christmas Day was always spent at Grandma Little's along with all the other relatives. Grandma had we 10 grandchildren perform if we had learned any songs or recitations at school. Then we could eat and wait for Santa to arrive. Santa always wore a big fur coat and big black boots. One year it was snowing so heavily that we did not know if we could get to Grandma's. Daddy drove a back way, not going through Lowell. We cut across Range Line by Ellis' and used all back roads. Our visit was short that year.

Uncle Jesse was a member of the Lake Prairie Church and invited them to a "bee" tree party every year in the woods across the dike. Wagons would be used for transportation and all would share in the honey. In 1948 the Range Line Sunday School held a masked party in those same woods with prizes given for various categories. Lois got the prize for the best costume. She was stuffed with pillows and wore an old overcoat of Grandpa Little's, plus a German helmut. Eleanor was the winner for them not knowing who she was for the longest time. She wore a pair of Mr. Stark's overalls, Daddy's sheepskin coat, Verle's cowboy boots and Jean's army cap. Since she never dressed in pants except to pick berries -- it is no wonder that no one knew her.

When Uncle Jim drove by the farm -- usually on Sunday afternoon to check on his property across the dike -- we knew he loved popcorn and that he would stop on the return trip. We would get busy making a big batch. After Daddy died, Uncle Jim included us in a lot of trips to the Dunes and other places. One of his favorite sayings was, "Hold On To Your Hat" whenever we would come to big bumps or cross railroad tracks.

It would be impossible to write down all of our memories of things no longer feasible. The Saturday night ritual of catching a chicken, chopping off its head, scalding, plucking feathers and preparing ready to fry on Sunday was one of these things. Others include soap making with lye, beating rugs outdoors, preparing big meals for threshers and other big events, putting up ice in winter, riding bikes out to Range Line for the mail, trading eggs in Lowell for groceries, taking part in all Church activities, being involved in 4-H club when we arrived at the ripe old age of ten, visiting relatives in West Creek and Gardner, and too many more things to name.

Typed by Jean Reynard, Aug. 1994

Memories of Jean Little Reynard

Jean Little's Liberty School teachers and classmates:

First Grade

Second Grade (1931/2)

Third Grade (1932/3)

Bob Fleener

Marvin Fleener

Fourth Grade (1933/4)

Delbert Solomon

Fifth Grade (1934/5)

Sixth Grade (1935/6)

Seventh Grade (1936/7)

Eighth Grade (1937/8)

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Notes on 8th grade

Class Colors

Class Motto

Class Flowers

Classs Party

Thunderbird Trail

The County Chairman

Commencement Exercises

Program

Presents

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Program of Center School

(Three of my former classmates graduating: Marvin Fleener, Bob Fleener, and Dorothy Wilson)

Class Roll -- Dorothy Carlson, Marvin Fleener, Robert Fleener, Dorothy Jean Homefelt, Shirley Keithley, Ann Ross, Nancy Lou Spindler, Mex Tolemy, Gerald Woodke, Edna Wornhoff

Program

Last updated on January 18, 2012.

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