CHAPTER VI
JOHN A. WORTS FAMILY
PETER
The first born child of John and Lena was my father, Peter.
The records at St. John the Baptist Church state that he
was born April 13, 1884, but he always celebrated his
birthday on April 14th. He was baptized on April 15, 1884
as Peter Wirtz. He was named after his maternal grandfather
and sponsor, Peter Wagner. His other sponsor was his
paternal grandmother, Katherine Wirtz.
He grew up on the farm at a time when labor saving devices
were few and farming required a great deal of physical
effort. His boyhood was harsh and austere, especially after
his father's accident. His only escape from the hardwork of
farming and the abusive behavior of his father, was with a
dog he loved and raised called, Gyp. He trained the dog to
herd the cows and to accompany him hunting game. They were
constant companions.
Peter attended a one room school, off and on, until the
fourth grade. The school was located on the southeast
corner of Lily Lake Road and Route 120. It was razed in the
1950's and is now the site of a firehouse. The school
teacher was a man and a harsh disciplinarian. One form of
punishment he concocted was to have a student place his or
her finger on a hot stove for any behavior he did not find
acceptable. My father had lost the tip of his middle finger
in a farming accident and when the injury healed, he was
left with some semblance of a fingernail growing on the
inside of the finger stub. When he was ordered to place his
finger on the stove, he would always do so with his middle
finger. A burn would be thwarted because of the insulation
provided by the malformed fingernail. The schoolmaster
could never understand why my father did not cry out during
this punishment. It was probably in this school that Peter
initially acquired some understanding of the English
language because at home, only German was spoken. After his
father's accident, his schooling ended as he was needed to
work the farm.
When the family left the farm and moved to Chicago, Peter
was about 15 years old. He did not like the city
environment and despite the rigor of farm life, he wished
to return. Being the new kid of the block at 51st Street
and Lowe Avenue, he was repeatedly set upon by the boys
already living there. Many of them were Irish and looked
upon Peter as a country hick. After one such incident in
which he was pretty well roughed up, he returned home only
to receive a chastisement from his father that he had
better learn to take care of himself. Peter was a very
strong young man, perhaps because of the hard work on the
farm, and at the next encounter with the boys he decided to
stand his ground and take on the ringleader whom he
thoroughly trounced. They became good friends and my father
went on to become an outstanding club boxer for the Irish
athletic club known as the Morgan A.C. 's. The club later
became the renowned Reagan Colts. After defeating a
professional boxer in the ring, he was strongly urged by
the club to turn pro, he never did for by this time he was
married and my mother would have no part of boxing.
Peter met my mother, Gertrude Hentsch, through her father
when they were both employed by the Tuttle Brick Company.
Peter's father and brother, Mike, also worked for the
company. Peter and Gertrude were married on June 20, 1904
at Visitation Church on Chicago's southside. Peter's
cousin, Teddy Wagner, was best man and his sister, Maudie
was bridesmaid to my mother.
Their first child, Edwin, was born prematurely and died
shortly after birth in February, 1905. Sometime afterward,
they moved to McHenry. where three of their children were
born; Bernard, Richard and Marie. Somewhere in the vicinity
of McHenry, Peter began farming at a place known as Skunk's
Misery. It was here that Richard was born. The land was of
poor quality and not at all profitable to farm, so Peter
moved to Augustburg which is now part of the town of
McHenry. He then became employed by his uncle, Mike Worts,
at the brewery. In 1916 or 1917, he moved back to Chicago
and worked for a while as a special policeman for Armour
and Company.
In 1922, the last child was born to Peter and Gertrude, me.
At that time, the family lived in a third floor apartment
at 7019 South Par-nell Avenue. Peter was now employed by
the Borden Dairy Company in a supervisory capacity and was
doing quite well. In 1925, he purchased a home at 8316
South Peoria Street. He also owned a lot at 96th and
Leavitt Streets in the Beverly community. Things were going
quite well, but then, in 1929, the roof caved in with the
onset of the Great Depression.
All of the family's savings were lost with the closing of
the banks. Borden Dairy closed, purportedly for remodeling,
and all employees were laid off. When the plant reopened,
none of the former employees were called back. My father,
being 44 or 45 years old at the time, could not find
employment anywhere. He was desperate and, at one time, he
was reduced to cleaning and frying fish on Friday nights in
a neighborhood saloon for just a few dollars. If it were
not for the fact that two of his children, Richard and
Marie, were employed and helping out, foreclosure of his
home and property would have occurred.
Finally, 1933, Peter found employment as a janitor at
Chicago's Century of Progress world fair. He often said it
was the best job he ever had. The fair was of two years
duration and he had an opportunity to meet a lot of people
from many different places. He was stationed at the twin
Skyride Towers which were about 600 feet in height and
connected by cable cars at the 200 feet level spanning a
lagoon below. One evening, during an especially violent
storm, my father was marooned at the top of the west tower.
Gale-like winds caused the tower to sway and rendered the
elevators inoperable. He was in phone contact with the
ground and they suggested he make his descent on an exposed
ladder and catwalk. He chose to ride out the storm where he
was and afterwards had full confidence the structure could
withstand anything nature had to offer.
Another interesting anecdote about the Skyride Tower
evolved from an experience he had with his false teeth. On
one particularly nice day he was gazing out of an open
window atop the tower taking in a panoramic view of the
city when he violently sneezed. Out went his false teeth,
plummeting to the ground six hundred feet below. He boarded
the next elevator going down to ground level and began
searching for his teeth. Luckily, he found them intact at
the base of the tower. He often claimed afterward that he
owned the most durable set of false teeth in the world and
only paid $13.50 for them at the Boston Dentist
Association.
After the Century of Progress closed he worked at odd jobs
until in either 1935 or 1936 he found employment at the
Vitality Feed Mill located at 87th Street and Stewart
Avenue. His job there consisted of filling, shouldering,
carrying and stacking one hundred pound sacks of feed to a
height of twenty-five feet. This was an extremely physical
job and even demanding for a young man let alone a person
of my father's age who, by that time, was in his fifties.
As time passed, he rose to foreman and the physical demands
were not as great. He retired at age 67 and he and my
mother lived in quiet retirement in the Peoria Street home.
On February 9, 1962, Peter fell victim to a massive heart
attack. He had walked to a Walgreen drug store a half a
mile away to buy some medicine for my mother. He had his
hand outstretched, waiting for his change, when he suddenly
toppled over backwards. He never knew if he was receiving
the correct change or not. Funeral services were held in
St. Kilian's Church and burial in St. Mary's Cemetery in
Evergreen Park, a southwestern suburb of Chicago. Despite
suggestions that he be buried in the McHenry area where he
spent his youth, my mother would not consider it.
All his life, he worked hard and, despite some bad breaks,
he normally maintained a cheery outlook. I remember during
some of the bleak days he would sing a song in German,''der
draussen ist ales so praetig, un mit mir ist nicht so wohl
.'' When I asked him what it meant, he replied, "outside
everything is so bright, but with me it is not so well.''
Even though he lacked virtually any formal education, he
always used a common sense approach to matters. With all of
his ruggedness, he was kind to his children, however, he
did insist on courtesy and respect. He was devoted to his
wife and held her in the highest regard. He often remarked
how lucky he was that an educated woman like my mother
would have a dumb farmer like himself for a husband.
On February 26, 1963, one year and a few weeks later,
Gertrude passed away. She never really got over the shock
of her husband's sudden death. We all believe that she did
not want to live any longer without him and died of a
broken heart. I will never forget her words when I informed
her of her husband's death. She said, "his work is now
over. ' My mother lies in peace beside my father in St.
Mary's Cemetery.
My mother was a quiet person who detested violence,
drinking and unmannerly people. She graduated from St.
Margaret's grammar school and received higher education
math the Longwood Girls Academy on Chicago's far south
side. She played the piano well and liked good music,
especially classical. She enjoyed reading and spoke very
well both in English and German. One of her highest hopes
was that her children would seek a college education. We
all disappointed her for not one of us even graduated from
high school.
Gertrude's grandparents came from the German speaking area
of France known as Alsace-Lorraine. Their name was
Folschweiler and they were in this country prior to 1871
because of my mother's aunt, Anna, remembered fleeing to
the Lake Michigan beaches, as a small girl, to escape the
Chicago fire of 1871. Anna's father, Peter, worked in a
lumber yard located at what is now Polk and Calark streets
in downtown Chicago. Gertrude never knew her real father.
Her mother, Mary, married George Hentsch who was a very
fine stepfather. Mary died in April, 1895 while only in her
early thirties. She is buried in Oak Woods Cemetery in
Chicago. Anna, (Auntie Ann), married Casper Gleich in her
later years, lived to 97 years of age, and is buried next
to her husband in St. Mary's Cemetery, Evergreen Park,
Illinois. Anna's brother, Peter, lies in St. Boniface
Cemetery on Chicago's northside in the same plot that my
mother's first child, the baby Edwin, lies. My mother had
no brothers or sisters.
Peter and Elizebeth Folschweiler were born in
Alsace-Lorraine located in what is now France. They are
buried in St. Boniface Cemetery in Chicago. Peter
originally purchased Lot #100 and transferred it to Anna in
1901.
Peter, Elizebeth, Peter J., Josephine and Edwin Worts are
interred there.
Anna married her sister Elizebeth's husband, George Weller
after she died and raised her two children, Liddy and
Sarah. Liddy had two children, George and Ralph. George
died as a youth and Liddy was living with Ralph, a retired
farmer in the early 1970's. Anna is buried beside Caspar in
St. Mary's Cemetery in Evergreen Park, Illinois.
George Hentsch was Gertrude's step father. She never knew
her real father.
As mentioned earlier, the first child born to Peter and
Gertrude, was named Edwin, but did not survive beyond a few
weeks. On April 3, 1906 another son, christened Peter
Bernard, was born. As of this writing, he is 82 years old
and still hale and hearty. He is known as Barney, his
nickname, by almost everyone. I believe it was in the
1950's that he had his name legally changed to "Worth." On
May 5, 1928, Barney married Mary Connelly, of Chicago. he
worked in a variety of occupations over the years which
included truck driver, streetcar motorman, bartender, and
policeman. As a policeman, Barney apprehended an armed
killer who was being widely sought and considered highly
dangerous by the authorities. An article describing the
capture appeared in Chicago newspapers. Barney was more
like our father than either the other brother, Richard, or
myself. He was rugged and like our father, could handle
himself well in rough situations.
Barney and Mary spent most of their life in the Chicago
area. In 1971 they retired, sold their home in Chicago, and
moved to Iron River, Michigan. There, Barney who is still
very alert, keeps himself busy cutting and splitting his
own firewood. While they had no children of their own, they
legally adopted a baby boy, named Larry, and raised another
boy, Tim Mchanus, whose mother died when he was an infant
and his father in ill health.
The second child was named Richard Michael and he was born
on August 12, 1907. Dick, as he was more commonly known,
was not as rugged as Barney and as a youth he was rather
frail. He was more inclined to stay indoors, while Barney
preferred the outdoors. Perhaps Dick's dislike for cold
weather stemmed from an incident when he was a small boy on
the farm. On a very cold day, he was sent outside to fetch
some water from the well pump. For some unknown reason, he
placed his tongue on the pump handle and it was immediately
frozen to the metal upon contact. After a series of odd
sounding yells, my mother was alerted and she rescued him
after a sufficient application of hot water freed his
tongue.
When the family moved to Chicago, Dick attended Parker High
School for a short time and then became employed by the
Rock Island Railroad. He worked in the accounting
department office at 71st Street and Stewart Avenue which
was later moved downtown. This was the only job he ever
had. His term of employment spanned almost fifty years.
In 1941, Richard married Rosella Mauer. They resided on the
third floor of an apartment building on the northwest
corner of 70th Street and Emerald Avenue for a number of
years and later moved to 2825 West 71st Street, where
Rosella, (Babe), lives today.
Dick was the tallest of Peter's three boys, standing 6
feet, two inches. As a youth he had blond, curly hair which
darkened somewhat as he grew older. As a slim, agile man he
was a good baseball player. He played both soft and hard
ball and was a key player at first base for the Rock Island
Rockets. Dick continued playing softball well into his
thirties. He, like Barney, was an avid White Sox fan and
attended many of their games at Comiskey Park. As a matter
of fact, he liked all sports. He was also an excellent
bowler and maintained a consistent league average of close
to 190.
Dick was usually mild mannered and sensible. He was frugal,
but not what one could consider as being "tight." He always
paid his way and was never looking for something for
nothing. One thing that could upset him was for someone to
mispronounce the name as "Warts." In his later years Dick
loved to go fishing in northern Wisconsin with myself and a
mutual friend, Bob Shanley. With gourmet delight, Dick
relished nothing more than to have a couple of cold beers
with limburger cheese on rye bread with a slice of raw
onion.
In March of 1969, Dick suffered a massive heart attack. He
was considered clinically dead, but miraculously recovered.
After a long period of recuperation, he returned to work.
Unfortunately, on November 23, 1970, he succumbed to
another deadly heart attack. Richard Worts was laid to rest
in St. Mary's Cemetery not more than fifty feet from the
graves of his mother and father. Dick and Babe had no
children.
Marie Ellen, the only girl, was born in McHenry on December
13, 1910. She was attending Parker School when the family
moved to the Peoria Street address. At the time, she was
not well and spent much of her time in the house, probably
looking after me. Finally, the doctor told my mother to get
her a pair of roller skates and get her outside of the
house. Following this advice led not only to her recovery,
but also to my learning how to skate.
When she was 19 or 20, Marie was employed at Western
Electric and later took a job at the Capitol Theater as a
switchboard operator. It was there she met John Roche who
was to become her husband on June 17, 1939. Prior to
meeting John, (he was called "Rocky" by most people that
knew him), several young men asked her for a date, but she
would not consider going out with any of them. She
preferred going to a movie with her mother or reading a
good book. She also had several neighborhood girl friends
with whom she associated. Marie was a very attractive young
lady. She had dark hair and beautiful soft brown eyes. Like
her mother, she was a quiet, easy going person with
virtually the same likes and dislikes.
Initially, Rocky and Marie lived in an apartment in a
building at 83rd and Peoria Streets. Then, in 1943 they
moved into their own home at 10616 South Kedzie Avenue in
Chicago. It was in this location that they resided for the
rest of their lives. Rocky was a hard working man and for a
long time held two full-time jobs. He learned the art of
metal polishing and buffing at the International Silver
Company and later was employed in the silverware department
of Mandel Brothers department store in downtown Chicago. In
the evenings, he was a bartender and worked at various
cocktail lounges. He was one of the fastest and best in the
business.
Marie and Rocky had five children, the eldest being John,
of whom I am godfather, Richard, Judith, Mary and Daniel.
The family was overwhelmingly saddened when, after a
lengthy illness, Marie passed away on September 13, 1973.
Rocky left Mandel Brothers and quit tending bar. He
continued to do silverware restoration at home and had a
job as a school janitor which he always said was like being
semi-retired. As time passed, Rocky also became ill and
passed away on January 2, 1981. Both are interred in St.
Mary's Cemetery in Evergreen Park only a short distance
from the resting place of Marie's parents and her brother,
Dick.
On July 6, 1922, the last child was born of Peter and
Gertrude. He was named Robert Edward. I will not bear the
burden of writing about myself, I will leave that to
others. However, I will list some facts about myself just
for the record:
- When born, family lived at 7019 South Parnell Ave. in
Chicago.
- Family moved to 8316 South Peoria Street on July 6, 1925.
- Graduated from St. Kilian grammar school in 1936.
- Attended Calumet High School for three years.
- Worked at Weil-McLain Co. in 1938
- Worked for John Guldan Plumbing full-time 1939 to 1943.
(part time to 1973)
- Married to Rita C. Weier on May 15, 1943
- Entered U.S. Army Air Force as Air Cadet in July, 1943.
- Received medical discharge from Air Force in October,
1943.
- Employed at Illinois Bell Telephone Co. on February 21,
1944.
- Son Peter badly burned, April, 1950
- Bought lot in Worth, Illinois and broke ground to build
new house.
- Moved into new house, 7249 W. 108th P1. Worth, IL, April
1955.
- Separated from Rita in 1959 and divorced.
- Married to Barbara J. Dunnam, November 19, 1960. Moved
back to Worth home.
- Purchased Marion Lake, Mich. property June 1966.
- Visit Wirtz family in Germany, May 1978.
- Retired from Illinois Bell, June 1981.
Three children were born of my marriage to Rita. Carol Ann
was born on July 20, 1944, Peter Jacob on August 18, 1946
and Mary Ellen on December 5, 1952. With Barbara, two
children were born,
Cynthia Louise on January 3, 1962 and Melanie Lynn on
October 8, 1963.
I am, or was, 6 feet one inch in height and generally weigh
between 175 and 185 pounds. I had blond hair which darkened
as I grew older and has now turned white again. My son,
Peter, is the only one to carry on the name of Worts of
John A. Worts' offspring. Peter has two sons, Waco Waylon
Worts and Levi Coulter Worts. Perhaps, they will carry on
the family name.
BARBARA (MAUDIE)
The second child born to John and Lena was a daughter named
Barbara. She was born on December 12, 1886 and was baptized
at St. John the Baptist Church in Johnsburg. The records
show her sponsors to be Mathias Wirtz and Barbara Wagner.
Although christened Barbara, she was more affectionately
known by everyone as Maude, Maudie or, by her nephews and
nieces, Aunt Maudie. How or when this nickname came into
being is unknown to me.
Aunt Maudie grew up on the farm and came to Chicago with
her family in 1900. Later, when her father took over the
operation of the Buffalo House, the family moved back to
Volo. She met Henry Block, of McHenry, and in 1911 they
were married. Henry, or "Uncle Hop" as he was known within
the family, was employed by the Borden Dairy in McHenry and
later was transferred to the Borden plant in Chicago. On
October 7, 1921, their only child, a daughter named
Mildred, was born. Like so many of the Worts family in
those days, they moved between Chicago and McHenry from
time to time. In any case, Henry was employed at the Borden
Dairy in Chicago when it was closed for renovations in
1930. He, like so many others, was not called back when the
dairy reopened.
The Henry Block family lived at 69th and Dorchester Avenue
in Chicago until 1941. Uncle Hop suffered a heart attack
and the family moved back to Volo and lived in the home of
John A. It was hoped that the country living would help him
regain his health. Almost one year later, on August 14,
1942, Henry Block suffered a fatal attack. He was only 61
years of age as of his birthday on June 18th. Uncle Hop was
laid to rest in St. Mary's Cemetery in McHenry.
Sometime later, Aunt Maudie married Ernie Loomis. He
remodeled and modernized the John A. Worts home quite
extensively. They lived there until Aunt Maudie passed away
on June 18, 1967. She was laid to rest in St. Peter's
Cemetery in Volo. Ernie died several years later.
Uncle Hop and Aunt Maudie were mild mannered, gentle
people. Aunt Maudie was much like her mother in that
respect. She always treated me very kindly and most always
addressed me as "Bobby." I can remember her as always being
nervous when riding in an automobile. The story was often
told of one instance in which she was riding in a car being
driven by her brother, Mike. They were on their way back to
Chicago from Volo when she became inordinately upset with
his driving. Mike slammed on the brakes and told her to get
out and walk. Of course he only went a short distance
before he turned around and picked up his distraught
sister. Needless to say, there were no further comments
from Aunt Maudie the rest of the way home. An interesting
sidenote is that she learned how to drive a car when she
was in her seventies. However, Cousin Earl says that he was
always on ''pins and needles" when riding with her.
Uncle Hop and Aunt Maudie were family oriented people and
always welcomed a family get-together. I still have the
pleasant memory of my father breaking out his home brew at
a family function during the Prohibition era and after a
couple, Uncle Hop would break out into song. In short
order, the others would join him, "du, du, liegst mir im
herzen........... ," and old German folksong. How pleasant
and simple those days were. It is remarkable that despite
unemployment and the struggle to survive during the Great
Depression, everyone maintained a positive attitude.
One other clear recollection I have of those days is Cousin
Mildred's dog, Tippy. It was jet black with fur as sleeek
as a seal. It looked like a Labrador Retriever except that
it was much smaller. Whenever Uncle Hop extinguished a
cigarette, the dog would eagerly eat the butt. It relished
cigarette butts, which apparently produced no health hazard
since Tippy lived to the age of fourteen years.
Mildred and her husband, Harold Lindsay, lived in the
Mchenry area for many years. They now reside in Morton,
Illinois and are the parents of three children; Linda,
Gregory, and Teresa.
MICHAEL
On May 27, 1889, the third child was born to John and Lena.
He was baptized and named Michael Wirtz at St. John the
Baptist Church. His sponsors are recorded as Michael Wagner
and Maria Wirtz. His early childhood was spent on the farm
at Lily Lake. He went with the family when they moved to
Chicago in 1900 and was with them when they returned to
Volo in 1906. He became deeply interested in automobiles,
and after being married to Margaret Steindorfer on November
22, 1914, he took up residence in McHenry. He was employed
at the Overton Garage in McHenry and learned the trade of
an automobile mechanic even though he only attended five
years of grammar school.
Along about 1916 or 1917, Michael and his wife moved to
Chicago. He started his own business in a garage and
automobile repair at 69th Street and Stoney Island Avenue.
The business thrived and he was doing quite well even after
the Great Depression set in. At one time he employed his
brother Peter and Henry Block, his brother-in-law, as both
were unemployed at the time. "Uncle Mike" was always a
favorite with all of his nieces and nephews. Although he
had no children of his own, he loved kids. He enjoyed
taking us for a drive in his big Haynes touring car. We
were always thrilled when he would suddenly disengage the
muffler on the exhaust system and the engine would roar
loudly. He was in the habit of giving his nieces and
nephews a quarter, which in those days was a lot of money.
Shock and sorrow permeated the family when, on the evening
of August 29, 1932, Uncle Mike was killed and his wife
seriously injured after being struck by an automobile while
walking across Stoney Island Avenue. He had parked his car
in his shop and was crossing the street to get to his
apartment at 6947 5. Cornell Avenue. The auto was driven by
a Frank Vetter, twenty-two years of age, who was held for
manslaughter. The victims were taken to Jackson Park
Hospital where Michael was pronounced dead. He was waked in
the home of his sister, Clara, and his body was taken to
St. Mary's Cemetery in McHenry for burial. He was only 43
years of age.
It was ironic that earlier the same evening Uncle Mike had
been to our home visiting my father who was recovering from
injuries he incurred the week before after being struck by
an automobile at 79th Street and Stoney Island Avenue. My
father had been with Mike to Indiana to retrieve a disabled
automobile. Uncle Mike had dropped my father off to take a
street car home while Mike towed the car the rest of the
way to his garage. My father was hit as he ran for the
street car. Uncle Mike witnessed the incident and was quite
shaken by it for he did not expect my father to survive the
impact. After visiting with my father, Uncle Mike and Aunt
Maggie went out for the evening with my brother Barney and
his wife, Mary. About an hour after driving Barney and Mary
to their apartment, Uncle Mike was killed.
Aunt Maggie completed her recovery at our home after being
discharged from the Jackson Park Hospital. Witnesses stated
that her life was saved by Uncle Mike who attempted to
shove her aside and thereby bore the brunt of the impact
himself. Years later, she was married to Roy Montgomery,
the son of Agnes Worts.
AGNES CLARA
On November 5, 1892, a fourth child was born to John and
Lena. She too was born on the farm at Lily Lake. She was
christened Agnes Clara Wirtz and was the first of the
family to be baptized at St. Peter's Church in Volo.
Although her first name was Agnes, she was always known as,
or preferred to be called, Clara. She grew up on the farm
and was the first of the family to obtain a grammar school
education. After her father moved back to the Lily Lake
area, Clara found employment in the Riverside Hotel in
McHenry. In McHenry, she met Theordore Bickler who was
employed at the Borden Dairy there. They were married on
Clara's twenty first birthday.
When her husband was transferred to Borden's southside
location in Chicago, they moved to 71st Street and Lowe
Avenue, which was close to the Borden Dairy. They lived
there for quite some time and later at other locations in
the same vicinity. Her husband died in January of 1958 and
then Clara and her daughter lived in a home on 85th Street
west of Western Avenue in Chicago. Later, they moved to an
apartment in the suburb of Mount Prospect.
Theodore and Clara had two children, a daughter, Evelyn,
born May 15, 1916, and a son, Clifford, born June 7, 1920.
Evelyn was married and divorced. She had two children, a
son Michael, and a daughter, Gail. Evelyn was a sweet,
conscientious girl and worked hard all of her life to raise
her two children and support her widowed mother. On May 25,
1979, Evelyn suffered a sudden and fatal heart attack. Her
untimely death was a terrible shock to everyone, but most
of all, to her children and her mother. She was laid to
rest in St. Mary's Cemetery in McHenry.
Cousin Cliff married Juliet Brosius. They also had two
children, Janet and Michael. Cliff was a fun guy and
probably the only nephew most like uncle Mike, whom he
idolized. During World War II, Cliff became a bombardier in
the United States 8th Air Force based in England. Her
participated in more than 35 bombing missions over Europe
from 1943 to the end of the war. He was in the lead bomber
on the disastrous mission over Schweinfurt, Germany in
which the Americans suffered heavy losses. Cliff said he
was lucky to have survived. Although he never suffered a
scratch personally, he told me of one occasion where after
returning from a mission he found a spent bullet imbedded
in his parachute upon which he was sitting during the
entire mission.
A terrible tragedy occurred when on January 5, 1981,
Cliff's son, Michael succumbed to injuries he suffered in
an automobile mishap that occurred during the holiday
season. At the time of his death, Michael was a United
States Air Force jet fighter pilot and was a veteran of the
Viet Nam War. After suddenly becoming ill on an airplane
while returning from a business trip, Cliff passed away on
June 5, 1984, only two days from his 64th birthday. Both
father and son are interred in the family plot in St.
Mary's Cemetery in McHenry.
After Evelyn's death, Clara lived for a while with her
cousin, Tillie Wagner, in McHenry. Then she lived with
Cliff and his family in Fort Wayne, Indiana. However, she
longed to be back in the area where she spent her youth,
and entered a senior citizens home in McHenry. On August
26, 1983, Agnes Clara Worts passed away at the age of
ninety and a half years. She is interred next to her
husband in St. Mary's Cemetery in McHenry.
Aunt Clara had a good sense of humor, was feisty, and
perhaps more outgoing than her sisters. Throughout her life
she underwent serious surgery on a number of occasions, but
always managed to recover and come back strong. She
laughingly remarked that her abdomen looked like a bunch of
zippers. Even in her last years, Aunt Clara had an
excellent memory and provided me with a great deal of
information in regards to the family genealogy. She loved
to relate funny, and sometimes not so funny, stories about
Volo and McHenry. She liked to comment that while her
father was often mean and a horsethief, she said prayers
for him nevertheless mainly because he needed all the
prayers he could get. She spoke of how she and her cousin,
Tillie Wagner, looked forward to going to dances in
Johnsburg when they were young ladies, "because it was
about the only fun thing you could do in those days." She
told also of the annual Worts picnics which also attracted
people other than family members. Sometimes, with the beer
flowing like water, the boys would get a bit rowdy, or
fresh, but all the girls would have to say is that they
would call her brother Peter and things would usually
return to normal very quickly.
ANNA and HELENA
As mentioned earlier, these twin girls died shortly after
birth in 1894. They are buried in unmarked graves in St.
Peter's Cemetery in Volo. Because of the lack of proper
medical attention it was not unusual for infants or young
children to succumb to disease in those days.
LAURA
On November 22, 1899, the last girl was born to John and
Lena. While Laura was still a very young child, her father
moved to Chicago and then back to Volo when she was about
seven or eight years of age. Laura attended St. Mary's
grammar school in McHenry, but never showed any liking for
it. Aunt Clara said Laura quit attending school when she
was in either the sixth or seventh grade. After again
moving back to Chicago with her mother and father, Laura
met the man who was to become her husband. He was Paul Wray
and had just returned from France as a soldier during the
First World War. They were married on July 31, 1919.
During their life, Paul and Laura lived at various places
in the Chicago area and for a short period of time lived in
Arizona. While their children were young, they lived in
Volo in the home of her father. Three children were born of
their marriage; Lloyd on April 5, 1920, Earl on March 30,
1924, and Maydelle on May 17, 1930.
Lloyd married Irene Pilk on March 4, 1945 and was the
father of four children; Paul, Jane, Carol, and Christine.
Lloyd died of an apparent heart attack during his sleep on
November 2, 1983. May-delle married Peter Visak on
September 1 , 1951 and became the mother of seven children;
Lawrence, Lori, Judith, Gerard, twins Debra and David, and
Jennifer. Earl never married.
Aunt Laura was the shortest, but the prettiest, of John and
Lena's daughters. She, like her sister Clara, had a sense
of humor. Whenever the two would get together, there was
always a great deal of kidding and laughter as they would
recall events of their younger days in Volo and McHenry.
One time she exclaimed to my wife that she wondered why I
was spending so much time researching the Worts family when
none of them were polished individuals, but rather, a bunch
of roughnecks.
Laura became a widow when Paul died on December 30, 1966.
As time passed, she was beset with health problems until
she passed away on February 6, 1977. Both she and her
husband are buried in the family plot in St. Mary's in
McHenry. Not enough can be said for Aunt Laura 5 son, Earl,
who stayed with her and cared for her all during the time
she was a widow.
WILLIAM (WILLIE)
The last child born to John and Lena was Willie. He was
born on November 26, 1901 after the family moved from Lily
Lake to Chicago. But, Willie was destined to have his life
cut short for on Christmas Eve, 1912, when the family was
living in McHenry, he fell through the ice while skating on
the frozen-over mill pond. He was in the lead of a trio of
boys and reached a spot on the pond known as the "channel"
where the undercurrent apparently had not allowed the ice
to form to a safe thickness and he plunged through into the
icy
water below. His companions tried their best to save him
while other skaters sought the help of the fire department.
His unconscious body was recovered with the use of a fire
ladder and brought to the office of Dr. D. G. Wells where
he was pronounced dead. He received the new ice skates for
Christmas.
Willie had purchased a "Happy Hooligan" doll that, when
squeezed, it's head would turn and it's arms would bring
two cymbals together. (Happy Hooligan was a popular
newspaper comic strip character at that time). The doll was
to have been placed on the family Christmas tree. The doll
came into the possession of my father and every year it was
placed on our Christmas tree whereupon my father would
relate to me the sad story of Willie Worts. That doll is
now the treasured possession of my nephew, John Roche.