Recipes for Living Darl (Joe) and Francelia Reynolds

Joe and Francelia have lived at their present residence for 40 years and reflect back on former neighbors - Mrs. Wade, Aletha McIntire, the Hukills, Proudfoots, and Mr. Babb, who told about owning a pasture in what is now the 400 block on West Cass. The only neighbors left who were there in those days are the Goodrich’s and Fern Underwood. Not only has the personnel changed but busyness has crowded out the former lifestyle when neighbors knew and visited with one another.

Francelia was born to Raymond and Lela Nine in August, 1926. Her father farmed in Liberty township, north of Osceola. The family history goes back many years because Francelia's ancestors were the first settlers in Liberty township. In 1993 she sold the farm that was owned by her great-great grandfather, who had come from Illinois and had gotten the land from the government.

Francelia's great-grandfather, Matthew Kerr, was captured in the Civil War, and was in the infamous Andersonville prison. Of all the horrible accounts of prisoner-of-war confinements, there have been none to top it. The fact that many of the men died of starvation is made worse only by knowing that in this situation it was being done to their own people - brother against brother.

When Matthew Kerr realized that he had gangrene in his big toe, he cut it off with his pocket knife. Joe and Francelia have a letter that he wrote when he was released from prison and a pair of "knucks," now known as brass knuckles, which date back to Civil War times. Their grandsons expect to inherit them. Matthew came home by way of Maryland and when he arrived he married a local girl and homesteaded in Nebraska. The couple had a baby there and both the mother and child died. He brought the baby's body back to Iowa in a lumber wagon and buried her at Liberty. He married the woman Francelia was named after, Jane Trumbo.

According to Joe, Francelia is related to everybody from here to Indianola. Katie Morgan and Francelia had the same great-great grandparents. Francelia's grandfather was Don Kerr, a relative of Evah Hagie's first husband. Fred Harlan was a cousin. If Francelia is like some of her relatives, she can expect a long life. Her dad's mother lived to be 101. On her father’s side there are three sisters still living. One is 95, one 93, one 85, and two of them are still in their own homes.

There were three girls in the Raymond Nine family - Francelia, Mary Alice, and Sharon. It is interesting that two of the sisters married men with same last name. Mary Alice married Bob Adams of New Virginia, and Sharon married Kendall Adams of Osceola, but the fellows were not related. Mary Alice died of a brain aneurism after her three children were grown.

Joe recalls a sad story about Sharon’s pony. He was working for his father-in-law, bringing the calves up to the bam. Every time he got them corralled, the pony would chase them back to the pasture. Joe's patience ran out when this happened a third time. He picked up a rock intending to throw it at the pony to chase it away. Unfortunately it struck the pony right between the eyes and it dropped dead. He believes that if he were to remind Sharon of it even to this day, she would cry.

Francelia went to country school for eight years, and then transferred to Indianola. There was no transportation provided for the first year, and then her father and others pooled their money and bought a school bus to take them. She graduated from high school in Indianola in1943 and went to work in Des Moines. She had a night job with Bell Telephone Company for awhile. Because of the hours, she quit and went to work for Allied Mutual Insurance. She and a roommate lived in an apartment in a section that has now been renovated in the urban renewal program. In those days they had no reason to be fearful, and walked back and forth to work.

Joe was born in Warren County to Virgil and Osa Reynolds. Osa worked for Dr. Stroy and stayed with and cared for elderly people in their homes after she was old herself. She lived to be 96.

There were seven children in the family - five boys and two girls. They were Joe, Judd, Meeker, Burdette, Clyde, and sisters Pauline and Doris. Pauline died of polio when she was six years old. Doris lives in Osceola. Burdette died of cancer when he was 40, leaving six children, ages ranging from two to 12 years old. One of his boys, Kevin, lives here and he and his wife, Kim, are active in the United Methodist Church.

It is not hard to imagine that there were some pranks played by the children, but only one came to Joe's mind as he was telling his story. He was about 17 years old and Meeker, whom Joe claims was the usual instigator, was about 15. They had to go through their parents bedroom on their way to bed. On that 4th of July the boys had bought some large fire crackers. It occurred to Meeker that it would be fun to throw one under their dad’s and mother’s bed. They lit it and went on their way. It boomed. Joe's report was, "Dad was the maddest man you can imagine. He told us to come and get our punishment or we would get it the next day." However, the next day came and went and it was never mentioned again.

Joe didn't finish school but got his diploma by the GED equivalency program. He mentions with pride that his dad paid off the contract for 400 acres of land while raising six children. Everybody worked. They had six teams of horses and nobody got their arms caught in a com picker because they picked by hand. Joe had been deferred from the draft because he was farming with his dad, but he surprised everyone when he came home one day and announced that he had enlisted in the Navy.

Joe was sent to serve in the Philippine Islands but arrived there just as the war ended. Meeker was there, also, in the Army and one night Joe went to see him. He was arrested because he was out of uniform and was put into Bilbid prison, where Japanese generals were incarcerated. He considers it ridiculous for such rules to be enforced in a city that was completely torn up. He was detained just overnight.

Meeker married Gloria Black and was killed in 1952 in a tractor accident. Gloria died four years ago this September. Joe's oldest brother, Judd, married Amelia Tillotson. Of the five boys, only Clyde and Joe are still living. Clyde is in Seattle, Washington.

Joe and Francelia are not sure where they met but it might have been at Medora or Liberty which were the only places to go on a Saturday night. The grocery store at Medora has long since been gone, but it was a gathering place when people came to trade their farm produce for groceries. They also had basketball games which they played in an old Methodist church. Joe remembers that it was there that he saw Tom Trumbo for the last time. He was in uniform, was sent to France, and was killed three or four days before the war was over.

In those days Joe would buy three gallons of gas for 50¢ cents and could go see Francelia, if he hadn't spent the rest of his money on something else. Without telling anyone, they decided to be married in August 1946. They left early on a Saturday morning with "the devil after us." Just south of town they topped a hill and ran onto a herd of cattle. Joe’s ‘36 Ford had very poor brakes but they managed to get stopped just as they lightly hit one cow. They later received a letter from an attorney accusing them of killing the animal, but the case was dropped when it was discovered that the cattle had gotten into a cornfield and foundered.

However, their misfortune continued. They came to a T-intersection and went right on through the fence into a field. They simply opened the gate and got back on the highway, just as a patrolman came along. He asked if they were having trouble and they explained that they had no lights. He escorted them into town. Their intention was to be married in Kansas City but by the time they got there, cleaned up, and changed clothes, they were unable to find a minister who would perform the ceremony. They drove on to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. They got the preacher and his wife out of bed. She played the piano and in spite of wrinkled clothes and wilted flowers the marriage took place. Joe paid the minister $5, which he thinks may have been
his last $5; but in spite of less than ideal circumstances, the marriage "took." It has lasted 54 years.

Joe and Francelia lived in Des Moines for a few months before they bought a house in Indianola. They commuted to Des Moines where Francelia continued to work for the insurance company. Joe helped Burch Cracker Company roll dough for 85¢ an hour, then was with Concrete Materials for four years.

When Becky came along in 1950, Francelia quit working. Her father had two houses on his farm and they moved there. Joe and Francelia had another daughter, Sandra Kay, who was a full term baby but still-born. Renita was born in 1955.

In 1957 Joe ran the oil company for Phillips 66 and was the Sinclair jobber. He spent 13 or 14 years in both positions and then went to work for the Post Office. He was a city carrier for eight to ten years and finished his career as Postmaster at Weldon for over 12 years. In 1990 the government propositioned postmasters that they could retire with full pension and a buy-out. If that had not happened, Joe says he might still be there, but they offered too much money to turn down.

Francelia worked as receptionist in Dr. Rundle's dentist office until Ruth Audelhelm asked her to be a deputy in the County Treasurer's office. When Ruth retired, Francelia ran for treasurer and was elected to two terms. She was in that office a total of 20 years. Now both Joe and Francelia are retired and spend three months of each year in Mission, Texas, where they have bought a home. One of their hobbies has been to go to a large auction which is held the first night of each month. They are collectors of antiques, particularly Roseville and Hall Pottery.

Their other collection demonstrates that Joe has taken up a craft that is a rapidly dying art-repairing clocks. It started when Becky had a clock that wouldn't work. She checked on having it repaired and the price was exorbitant. Joe decided to look at it and take it apart. Nothing would be lost if he couldn't fix it. Five minutes of his time and a new part that cost $7 took care of the problem and from then on he has been in the business of not only fixing but collecting clocks. He thinks he has repaired 150 to 200 and they haven't counted how many they have. They have given each of the girls about 15 and it would not be too much of a stretch to say that what they have left comprises the nearest to being a clock museum of any collection in the area.

Both Becky and Renita graduated from Clarke Community Schools. Becky earned her degree from the University of Northwest Missouri and teaches fourth grade in the Rockwood School District in St. Louis. Son Benjamin is 17 years old. He will graduate this year and is interested in a career of overseas business. He is taking French and plans to go to France this coming summer. He plays a lot of tennis. Becky's second son, Jonathan, is 15 years old. He is very bright and from second grade through sixth was in gifted and talented classes. His summer activity is mowing lawns, baby sitting and other such jobs.

Renita lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She graduated from Iowa State University and is married to David Monkelin, who has his own business as a financial advisor. Renita is a pharmaceutical representative for Merck Drug Firm. They have one son, Joey, who is 14 years old. Renita responds to every volunteer opening not only for herself but for Joey as well. This summer (2000) he is working with children at an Outdoor Center associated with Game, Fish, and Parks Recreation. This has given him a wide range of opportunities including teaching children to bait their hooks and fish. Renita and Joey are at a fitness center early every morning, although with some protest from the latter.

When the girls graduated from college, Joe said, "You don’t owe us anything but don't forget where it came from." Of course, children don't have to receive honors for parents to be proud of them, but both girls have had them. Becky was nominated for the Rose Award which is based upon willingness to help with school projects, and at a special dinner pharmacists gave Renita an award for "Best Pharmaceutical Representative in South Dakota."

A significant member of Joe and Francelia’s family is their dog, Charlie. When their last dog died, they wanted no more, but Renita found this one who won their hearts. He is now three years old and they remark that he gets taken to the vet more than their girls were taken to the doctor. "He's our pride and joy, the most loveable dog we’ve ever had. We say, 'Give us a hug' and he puts his face under our chin and looks up at us." He is definitely a lap dog. Joe holds him, Joe’s sister holds him, Francelia holds him. Every time one of them sits down, Charlie is on their lap. When they have company, Charlie sits with them and looks from person to person, as though soaking in the conversation.

The Reynolds and Butterfields have been longtime friends and Don, who is a bail bondsman, gave Joe a memorable experience. He invited Joe to go with him to bring back a man who had jumped bail. Authorities had tracked him to a town in the western part of Kansas. There they picked up a policeman who warned them that the man was dangerous. They checked a local tavern and confirmed that he was there. The officer told Don and Joe that he would go in the front door and they should stand guard at the back door. But when the officer attempted to grab him, the fugitive kicked the officer’s feet out from under him and ran. Don and Joe managed to subdue him and get him in the car. Joe grabbed a pop bottle that he made believe was a gun. When they crossed a river, the man asked them to let him go and they would never see him again. However, they did successfully bring him back and the only aspect of it that still hangs over Joe’s head is that the police officer said, "The guy may be looking for the fellow that helped pick him up."

Several years ago Joe suffered a stroke. He was working in the basement when he had sensations that he recognized. He called Francelia who took him to the doctor. The doctor sent them on and Francelia broke all speed records getting him to Des Moines. In the waiting room was a lady who had obviously had a more severe stroke than Joe. As they were taking him for his MRI, the lady asked him about what happened to which Joe replied, "I nearly met my Maker this morning." She said, "Are you a religious man?" to which Joe replied, "When I’m having a stroke, you bet I am." He has recovered very well.

Joe has been Quartermaster of VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) for 22 years. He also is a member of the American Legion. He and Francelia enjoy retirement, playing bridge in their clubs, and taking their annual trip to Texas.