Williams Family from Evansville, Indiana

Frequently Asked Questions

    How did Walter and Marie meet? 
    Why did they move to California in 1946?
    How did they get there?
    What route was taken?
    Where did they settle?
    Who else moved to California and when?
    Why did they settle first in El Monte?
    Did everyone in the family own rental property?
    Who in the family worked for Aerojet, the rocket company?
    Why are so many now in Rancho Cordova California?
    How did Harold and Beryl wind up in Corona California?
    Who are the twins in the family and are they identical?
    Why does Grandma Marie write so many letters?
    What cars has Grandpa Walter owned?
    What is Groundy Uppy and how does it relate to Burgo Soup?
    What other family recipes are there?
    What are some of the families favorite songs and who plays what instruments?
    How did Howard's Steven and Debbie and their families get to Montana?
    What is Craig (Harold's Son) and his wife Cara doing back in Indiana? Didn't the family try that once?
How did Walter and Marie meet?

A neighbor of Marie's parents, in Evansville, was a coworker of Walter's at the steel mill. He told Walter about Marie, who still lived at home, and introduced them. The rest is history.

Back to top

 

Why did they move to California in 1946?

Marie did not like raising the kids where it snowed. In Evansville it snowed enough to make things quite dirty since all home and companies heating was by coal. She had a cousin Lena who lived in El Monte California. Her letters in the winter were spoke of nice sunny weather. Their oldest child, Howard, also had asthma at that time and a drier climate was recommended. A distant relative Clyde Burns (who lived on the same street), and worked in movie westerns in the 30's and 40's, also told of the virtues of southern California. He wanted to move back to the coast and needed a ride. Walter (age 38) and Marie (35) decided to move with their three children ages 9, 6 and 3. Marie's sister Ruth and her husband Frank also wanted to go as did their mother Louise (Lula) (age 58). Howard and Harold's ages were the same as Jason and Aaron today.

Back to top

 

How did they get there?

Walter went first and drove the family car (1936 Chevrolet?) with Clyde Burns (about 60 at the time) along. Walter bought a house and half interest in Ajax Carpet Cleaning. Then Marie boxed up all the furniture for the moving van. Marie and her three children rode with Frank and Ruth in their 1935 Ford 2 door sedan. Grandma Lula and Ruth's dog Spotty rode along also. There were seven souls in the little, but reliable, black car.

Back to top

 

What route was taken?

Basically Interstate Route 66 which went from Chicago to Los Angeles and is now replaced with Freeways. They reached Route 66 at St. Louis Missouri. They took Route 66 west to the mountains just west of Alberquerque where the snow forced them to detour by a southern route. They entered California via Yuma and came to El Monte California through Palm Springs.

Back to top

 

Where did they settle?

For a few months Lula, Frank and Ruth lived with Walter and Marie in their small home on Fruitvale Ave. Then Ruth and Frank moved to Monrovia where Frank drove a milk truck for a small dairy named for the owner McShane. Lula married Clyde Burns and lived in a trailer in Hollywood where Clyde worked as a movie actor.

Back to top

 

Who else moved to California and when?

The next of the relatives to move west was Marie's brothers Neal and Earl. They were identical twins. They moved to Monrovia. Earl and his wife Ruth owned a court of small homes that were rented out. Earl got Swift and Company to transfer his accounting job to downtown Los Angeles. "Earl's Ruth" had given up a job as secretary and office manager in a law firm in Evansville. She tended the rentals and kept house. Neal and Lillian with son Bob also moved to Monrovia about 1947. Neal worked for Conrac building televisions sets which were just becoming available for industrial use. Earl's Ruth's brother Ray Banta and his wife moved out later as well as Clyde Burn's sister Flora.

Back to top

 

Why did they settle first in El Monte?

A cousin of Marie's (Lena and her husband Axel) lived in north end of El Monte. That small city was very rural at the time and a suburb of Los Angeles. We dont know why Lena moved there originally but it was a very nice place to live at the time. It would be difficult to think of a better place and many millions of people found that out in the 40s and 50s. There was light rail that could get you anywhere. Los Angeles was about 20 miles and 30 minutes away. Weather was wonderful year around.

Why did the whole family wind up in Monrovia at one point? The Bollingers and Leinenbachs found Monrovia to be even nicer that El Monte. It was several hundred feet higher in altitude and above much of the winter fog. The adjacent mountains were beautiful and the homes well kept. It was logical for the whole family to live in the same area.

Back to top

 

Did everyone in the family own rental property?

Yes, all did at sometime or other. Walter and Marie had a motel on Route 66 Valley Blvd in Bassett just east of the San Gabriel River in 1948. Earl and Ruth had a court on Foothill Blvd in Monrovia. Ruth and Frank had a trailer park in Palm Desert and Earl and Ruth in Hemet. Neal and Lillian had a trailer park in Hemet. Walter and Marie had a nice court of five homes in Monrovia that they bought from Ruth and Frank. Bob Bollinger bought a tract of 16 homes, with his Dad's help, and rented them until they sold.

Back to top

 

Who in the family worked for Aerojet , the rocket company?

Aerojet was one of the largest companies in the San Gabriel valley. Walter worked for them from 1950 to 1969 as expediter in Receiving. Bob Bollinger started as a design draftsman for them in 1955 and early in 1956 Howard Williams did the same. Ray Banta worked many years for Aerojet as a purchasing agent. Mention is made of their work in the 900 page book published in 1997 Aerojet: the Creative Company.

Back to top

 

Why are so many now in Rancho Cordova California?

In the 1960s Walter and Marie's children moved away from Monrovia and after several moves (Hemet and Chula Vista) they decided to be nearer the one child in California and a place from which they likely would not have to move. Howard and Marilee had moved to Rancho Cordova (Sacramento) in 1970 when all Aerojet rocket work was consolidated there. It got away from the smog and worked out well for everyone. Later Janet, Jerry and Mike Ragsdale moved to Rancho Cordova from the Northwest. In 1997 Jerry's mother also came to Rancho. Earl and Ruth and Ruth Bollinger remained in southern California (Hemet) living almost across the street from each other. Neal and Lillian lived in Hemet up to their death.

Back to top

 

How did Harold and Beryl wind up in Corona California?

After Harold finished his residency in Salt Lake City, he and Beryl and their young family yearned to return to southern California. They had lived in England and Panama Canal Zone and had endured what had seemed extremes of weather to native Californians. He had an opportunity to join a Radiology partnership in Corona and they have been there ever since.

Back to top

 

Who are the twins in the family and are they identical?

Walter and Bob were non identical twins. Neal and Earl were identical twins. Steven and Kevin (sons of Howard) are non identical twins.

Back to top

 

Why does Grandma Marie write so many letters?

She has kept in touch with her family for decades and kept the family in touch with each other by writing and circulating letters. She has spent a large part of her time doing that and the family appreciates it. Fortunately the advent of the internet and e-mail has taken a little of the burden off her shoulders in the past several years.

Back to top

 

What cars has Grandpa Walter owned?

The first was a Maxwell about 1924 model. Then a Model T Ford. Then a Model A Ford followed by a 1936 Chevrolet sedan. Then a 1948? Studebaker and a 1951 Plymouth. The largest car was a light green 1953 Chrysler V-8 four door sedan. Also a 1956 light green Chevrolet. The favorite of all was a 1966 white Chevrolet Impala with light blue interior. Then a brown 1974 Ford followed by the current 1978 Chevrolet Nova V-8 2 door yellow sedan.

Back to top

 

What is Groundy Uppy and how does it relate to Burgo Soup?

Grandma Marie never wastes anything- let alone food. The remains on a ham bone that cant be sliced into sandwich meat is ground up with cheese and pickles to make a sandwich spread adored by many in the family. Her cousins in Evansville made an old German recipe of vegetable beef stew which was served at family outings in parks. Rather than being cut up, the ingredients were ground up in a food grinder and then stewed for a consistent taste.

Back to top

 

What other family recipes are there?

The ones from the early days included roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy. This was a common occurance on Sunday noon meal after church. In California in the 50s canned beef from Argentina was a favorite for many reasons. First it wasn't allergenic for Walter. Second it was very good and Marie knew how to serve it many different tasty ways. Third it was relatively cheap and could be stored for a long time. Marie learned how to make cheap meats tasty. Beef hearts were cheap but very tough. So she ground them up (sound familiar) and put them into a gravy. Brains were also graound up and fried into patties. Yummm. There were also great hamburgers fried so that there were "cracklins" of tasty carbonized beef that everyone begged for before dinner. When pork chops were available they were made with a gravy using buttermilk as a base with tomatoes. This was called Hungarian pork chops. It was a family favorite for decades.

Back to top

 

What are some of the families favorite songs and who plays what instruments?

Janet Ragsdale and Beryl Williams are the only trained musicians. But the family loves music. Walter has always loved music and played harmonica and sang in a choir. Harold, Kevin and Howard play the guitar - Harold had some lessons. Marilee had lessons on the accordian from the same teacher that taught Myron Florin of Lawrence Welks orchestra. Debbie and Cliff have a piano as does Steve and Sandy so their children are exposed to music and several have done well.

Back to top

 

How did Howard's Steven and Debbie and their families get to Montana?

In the early 1970s Howard's children by his first marriage moved from Rancho Cordova to Montana to live with their mother during their high school years. Kevin moved back to California after years in the Army and Glenn moved to Portland after finishing college. Steven and Debbie married and are raising families in Montana where they love living.

Back to top

 

What is Craig (Harold's Son) and his wife Cara doing back in Indiana? Didnt the family try that once?

Craig graduated from Pharmacy school and the best available position was to teach at Purdue's School of Medicine in Indianapolis Indiana. Cara met Craig in UCSF Pharmacy school and after her doctorate was also completed she joined him in Indianapolis. She obtained a position with Eli Lilly in Indianapolis. So part of the family has come full circle in the migration. Harold and Beryl's son Rob has taken an even wider circle by getting his doctorate in chemistry at Northwestern in Chicago where he met and married Amy. They are moving on to jobs in the eastern Pennsylvania area next. 

Back to top