Family Portraits are Priceless

around 1908

Seated front left to right - Elizabeth CURL BELL (1839-1933), Rilla Madge REASOR, mother Elizabeth Jane BELL REASOR (1863-1947), Standing from left to right - unknown boy, John Washington BELL (1839-1916), unknown boy, Vollie Forest REASOR, Lillie Belle LYTLE REASOR (1887-1985), Edgar Webster REASOR (1885-1953), Etta Gertrude Reasor HALL. 

around 1916

from left: Richard Sylvan "Bood" (1900-1967), Vollie Forrest (1895-1965), Etta Gertrude (1887-1965), Edgar Webster (1885-1953), Roscoe Craig (1883-1964), and their mother Elizabeth Jane BELL REASOR (1863-1947).

 1921

back from left - Richard Sylvan "Bood" (1900-1967), Edgar Webster REASOR (1885-1953), Lillie Bell LYTLE REAOSR (1887-1985), tucked back Elizabeth Jane BELL REASOR (1863-1947), Mary Alice BELL HAMMOND (1862-1927), Gladys Gwendolyn REAOSR LINTON SUDDARTH (1909-2000), Center from left - Gerald Lester REASOR (1914-1990), Glen Winford (1910-1984), skip to girls in front of Gladys are Opel Ruth Hall and Goldia Blanche REASOR GOLDMAN MILLER (1913-1998). front from left twins - Gordon Lloyd REASOR (1917-1999), Garland Lee REASOR (1917-2004). and their grandmother Elizabeth CRUL BELL (1839-1933).

around 1930

Children of Edgar Webster and Lillie Belle LYTLE REASOR

1942

front left to right - twin Gordon Lloyd REASOR (1917-1999), Gerald Lester REASOR (1914-1990),
Glen Winford (1910-1984) , twin Garland Lee REASOR (1917-2004), back left to right - Gladys Gwendolyn REAOSR LINTON SUDDARTH (1909-2000),  Lillie Belle LYTLE REASOR (1887-1985), Edgar Webster REASOR (1885-1953), Goldia Blanche REASOR GOLDMAN MILLER (1913-1998).

Ancestry Chain: RSC, BR, MRR, Garland Lee REASOR, Edgar Webster REASOR and Lillie Belle LYTLE, Daniel Breckenridge REASOR and Elizabeth Jane BELL, John Washington BELL and Elizabeth CURL.

Courtship and Marriage of Wanda Roberson & Lee Reasor

First Installment: The Childhood of Wanda Roberson Reasor

Second Installment:

Courtship and Marriage of 

Wanda Roberson & Lee Reasor

Garland Lee REASOR and Wanda Myrl ROBERSON 

While working in Madison, Indiana as a beautician I met Lee Reasor, the man who was to become a big part in my life. I almost got fired from my job because I wouldn't talk to the customers. I sewed some new clothes, completely by hand and spent my first Christmas away from home all alone. One day I was looking out the second floor window of the shop and saw this short young man walk over to a car. He was all alone, but stood there laughing. I recognized him and remembered that the Reasor boys from near Grantsburg worked in the State Hospital for the mentally ill. This was just before Christmas of 1939. I spent this my first Christmas away from home at the home of my boss' sister, the Chrismans who lived on a farm north of Madison. My boss was Ted Hamms, who was at least seven feet tall, big boned and masculine. I was lonely and miserable even though they were most kind to me.

Twin Reasor boys Gordon Lloyd and Garland Lee

After the holidays, I found enough nerve to call the hospital. This was really something because I was so shy--and I still to this day dislike making phone calls. I asked if they had a Reasor working there and the operator said yes--two Reasors-which would you like to speak with. I said, "It doesn't matter, either one." I talked to Lloyd and found out that they went to English for Christmas and that I could have gone with them if I'd called sooner. Anyway, we made arrangements for them to come down and visit me. Lloyd was dating Hazel East and Lee was involved with a girl named Margie (short and fat) but very sweet, Anyway, they both came to see me, I only had known them slightly from seeing them in town. Lloyd was quite a ladies man or flirt and had often fed we girls peanuts on the streets of English. I was five years younger than they, which didn't make any difference now, but when taking peanuts from him I was too young to know anything except to giggle. Lee and Lloyd were twins. We all three went to shows and out to eat a few times. Lee got me a date with one of his friends and we double dated one night. He was with Margie. I started fixing hazel's hair and some other girls from the hospital so the boys would bring them down. Lloyd was shorter than Lee and since I was quite tall, at lest three inches taller than Lloyd, it sort of worked out that I dated Lee. He quit seeing Margie (I think). At first he made it quite clear (in words) that he was not ready to get serious and I assured him that I was only eighteen and felt exactly the same way. However he tried to kiss me goodnight for several nights. I would get in the door and wouldn't let him. As dumb as I was about men, I sure played my cards right. Not getting what he wanted, kept him coming back. His car had an old fashioned horn that sounded like aw oo ga and I found myself listening for that sound.

Wanda Myrl Roberson

Lee and I were happy just to be together and I found it so comfortable not to feel pressured to talk all the time. He was the first boy I ever went with who made me feel this way. There was a big tree out in one of the fields at the hospital where we parked the car and spent hours together. He also tried parking in the cemetery, which I wouldn't stand for. We would drive around the hospital and listen to the inmates screaming and moaning, I'd get scared and sit close, Lee wasn't making very much money and we had seen all the shows in town so there wasn't much else to do. We went roller skating a lot and that was great fun. My favorite song to skate to was the Woody Woodpecker song. Lee informed me that he preferred brunettes and I was a blonde.

We went on a moonlight excursion on a steam boat up the Ohio River. This was neat. I spent days making a new green skirt, sewn by hand, to wear with a new plaid jacket I had bought. I even had a new turquoise colored hat to match. A hat was very important to finish out my outfit at that time.

I think I only worked in Madison about six months at $10 a week and I decided to move to New Albany, Indiana and work. Lee took me to the bus and I think I knew then that he was in love with me, only he was fighting it all the way. Marie, my sister, had gone to beauty college and was in New Albany so she and I lived together. I started working in the New Albany Beauty Shop in the Liberty Bank building. Hazel Roberson, my cousin, started working too and we managed the shop. It was one of a chain. We did assembly line type work. We advertised a fifty cent permanent which didn't even include a neck trim. We would curl the hair, comb it out and send them on their way all frizzed up. We started a ten cent neck trim and saved up enough to buy a ten dollar radio. Our most expensive permanent was $2.50 . We mixed our own solution. With the $2.50 job we included a little oil in the solution. Hazel would roll the curling rods from one side and me on the other. We could roll a head of hair in a very few minutes. Needless to say we didn't develop our talent very much, only became fast and expert in rolling perms.

Lee came to see me about every four weeks. He had joined the army and I loved the uniform. He gave me a little gold locket and my first wrist watch. He was always so good to me and although I went out with other boys, I managed to be free when he came into town.

Mom and Dad had moved to Louisville (Buechel), Kentucky, and built a new house. I decided to take the Kentucky state board and get a job over there. Lee and Lloyd took me to Lexington to take the state board. I had met Laverne Curtsinger and had lined Lloyd up with her. Lavern and I became best friends and double dated soldiers from Fort Knox. We would meet them at soft ball games and lots of places where we shouldn't have been. She was older and a little more worldly than I. We went into bars in big hotels once or twice on New Year's eve with our dates. We went to Service Club dances and met soldiers there. I had a better job and was living at home, no expenses except for bus fare, so I had some nice clothes. I bought my first long formal. It was lavender satin with a full circle skirt and I felt regal in it. Dad didn't like me going to Service Club even though one of the chaperons took us and brought us home. He really got mad and made me feel like a sinner wearing that long dress. But I went anyway and enjoyed wearing it.

Lee was still writing to me and my big moment was walking to the post office for the mail. He came to see me quite regularly and I found myself comparing every guy I went out with to him and when Laverne and I would talk seriously about the future, it always included Lee. I talked Dad into allowing me to accompany Laverne to Battle Creek, Michigan to see the boys. They were sure they were being sent over seas and we just had to see them once more. The war (World War II) was in full force and there was an urgency in our life. We felt the need to live each day at the fullest. We rode the bus and the boys had arranged for us to sleep at the visitor's center on base. We tried to spend every minute of that week-end together. I am sure that I realized how much I loved him after this week-end. We went back home wondering if we would ever see them again.

Lee and Lloyd managed to pass a test and get transferred to the Army Air Corps. In the month of March 1942, Lee came to see me. On the night of March 28th we were in the living room. Lee had never mentioned marriage except a few times he had asked me if I'd marry a staff sergeant. He was a corporal. I had visited him one day at Fort Knox where he was on assignment. His brother Gerald drove me down. I spent a few week-ends with him at his parents home. Our romance was mostly by mail and visits about every six weeks. As we sat there on the couch that night in front of the fireplace, he reached his hand into his pocket and said here--and gave me a diamond ring. Not a work about "will you marry me" just here. It was a beautiful ring and I was so thrilled to wear it. I kidded him later about forgetting to give me the magnifying glass but it was so dainty and I loved it.

Hazel Roberson and Joe Bye had gotten married and they invited Lee and I to spend a week-end with them. Hazel was sure it would help snare Lee for me, if we could see a happily married couple. This was on Easter Sunday week end and we went to sunrise service Easter Morning. It was this week end that we decided to get married on April 18th.

I had attended churches of almost all kinds and knew Lee was a Mormon. He told me the Joseph Smith story one night long before this April 18th. We were parked out by the barn at his home. I had attended the Free Methodist and Holiness mostly and couldn't believe that their shouting and going to the altar for saving and sanctifying was for me. Still when I heard this Mormon story, it was just a bunch of malarkey (hillbilly word for stuff). I was so confused and couldn't swallow it.

Lee and Wanda's wedding photo with 
Lloyd and Lavern on their right.

But since I didn't have anyone special to do the marriage ceremony, we went to the mission home in Louisville and arranged for a Mormon Elder to do it. It was to be at Dad's house on Saturday afternoon at 3:30. Lee was staying with Amzel and Russel and true to form I wasn't to see him on Saturday until the time of the wedding. I had bought a new suit. A pink silk dress, street length, with little blue bows printed on it. It has a navy blue princess-line coat, called a riding-cote. I wore navy slippers and a pink straw hat with a navy bow. I don't know why I didn't consider a white dress. Probably the expense for something I would wear once. I needed something that I could get lots of wear out of and I wore this outfit for several years and always felt well dressed in it. Lee wore a blue pin stripe suit.

We had asked Lloyd and Laverne to stand up for us in the ceremony. Now, Hazel, my cousin, had been my best friend for years, but Laverne was so much more involved in my present life. When Hazel came over that day I felt so terrible about not asking her to be a brides maid that I asked her to stand in too. Since she was alone, my brother Norman walked in with her. We rented two large candelabra and that was the decoration. I wore a gardenia corsage, my favorite flower. The ceremony was short. I had wanted Darlene Roberson Tellman to sing, but there was no piano so I bought a record of Bing Crosby singing, "I Love you Truly". We walked into the living room as it played.

My first glimpse of Lee was minutes before the ceremony when he came to my bedroom door. He was so white and nervous I couldn't believe it. When I was putting on my make-up I noticed the big clock ticking and I thought it was ticking my life away too fast. An unsure feeling came over me and I hid the clock in the closet so I couldn't hear it tick.

I know my father cried that morning. He always cried when his children were getting married. I had insisted that Lee ask for his permission and when he did Dad's answer was, "Do you want her tagging around after you all you life?" To me Dad had said, "You know he is going off to war, don't you come back here wagging a baby." We knew that Lee would be leaving but we wanted as much time being together as we could get before he went to war.

Lee was the only boy that I ever dated that Dad accepted graciously. I could go any place, stay out all hours and he didn't seem to mind. I resented this at the time and it made me so mad I thought about quitting Lee. Years later I was so happy that my father thought so much of him.

Wanda and Lee After the Wedding

We four, Lee and I, Lloyd and Laverne left right after the wedding. We tried to give the elder some money for performing the ceremony but he refused. This was very unbelievable to me at that time. We went down to a photographer studio and had pictures made, but none of just Lee and I. We four were in all of them. That shows how close we were to each other. They even went on our honeymoon with us. We drove to Paoli, Indiana and ate dinner at a little restaurant. We ate veal cutlets. Then Lloyd drove us up to Bloomington where we spent the night. After noon the next day we drove back to Lee's parent to visit and then on to Louisville to our first home, an apartment on Tyler Blvd. Lee was on leave from the army and since he was only drawing $28 a month, he got a job at Belknaps cutting and binding carpets. We had one large room for sleeping and living, a tiny kitchen and a shared bath in the hall. I had a wringer type washer so could do our laundry. It was great fun shopping and cooking for us. We took long walks in the evening and went to shows. We only lived here a few weeks.

Third Installment:  The Wandering Life of a War Bride

Lillie Belle LYTLE REASOR

Memories of Edgar and Lillie Lytle Reasor

written by Janet Kay Reasor Lehnhof in December 1988
My memories of Grandpa Edgar Reasor are tied to my memories of the farm in Crawford County. I can remember him standing in front of the kitchen windows and sharpening his razor on his long razor strap. Grandma was fixing breakfast on the big wood stove. Shiny cold linoleum covered the floor. The big table was against the wall and Sandi and I got to sit on the bench instead of a chair. Grandpa helped us ride on Betsy (Sandi says her name was Patsy) his horse and always took us out to visit the barn. We helped Grandma feed the chickens and gathered the eggs. I think I just got to watch Sandi gather the eggs. Daddy let us shoot a gun on one of our visits to the farm. I'm sure that is the only time in my life that I have shot one. After they moved to town Daddy helped Grandpa hang wallpaer in the front apartment. They used a big table and spread the paper with paste. It must have been on this visit that Grandpa yelled at Sandi and me to quit running and be quiet. The only other memory I have is of driving all night from Louisiana when Grandpa died. When we got to Grandma's we walked up onto the side porch, Aunt Gladys opened the door and saw it was Daddy. She called Grandma and shoved her into Daddy's arms. Cheryl and I went to the funeral home that night for the viewing. All my life I have remembered the image of Grandpa surrounded by more flowers than I knew existed. It was beautiful. Daddy took us up to see him and I can remember his handholding mine. Cheryl and I stayed with a baby-sitter during the funeral and so our first experience with death was a pleasant one. Grandma Lillie was a very special woman. I think her quiet strength and determination had a great effect on many people. My very most pleasant memory of Grandma was watching her brush out her hair at night and then braid it back up. I was so disappointed when she cut it off and had short curly hair like every one else. She used to sing the song "Five foot two, eyes of blue," and tell us that was her and her eyes would twinkle. From a very early age I sensed that Daddy was her favorite child. I don't know if he knows that, or if his brothers and sisters knew it, but he was. The cousins always made us feel a little like the 'rich kids' coming for a visit. Or maybe we made them think that of us. But Grandma always welcomed us with such pleasure. She always had a meal ready to eat. The meal always included canned peaches served in a bowl. We ate biscuits and gravy sitting on the bench against the wall and looking at her picture of peaches on the side wall. When dinner was over at noon, she threw a tablecloth over the table and we knew what we would have for supper that night. The highlight of our visits was to walk over to Patty's store for Grandma. It was usually to buy a loaf of bread or some bologna. But we somehow managed to get a little treat. I'm sure our children will remember the Green Bluff store in the same way. It was such a tiny little store, we always introduced ourselves as Wanda Roberson's girls and Patty would tell us how he used to be Wanda's school bus driver. The porch swing was the most entertaining toy Grandma had. in fact the only other playthings were a little red chair and two John Deere tractors. We also got to go up into the attic and play in the old clothes that were there. But the porch swing occupied most of our time. We tried hard not to hit the side of the house--but we usually did. I remember the morning glories that climbed up the porch post and bloomed in the morning. On one visit I went out into the back with Grandma and watched her catch a chicken, wring it's neck, pluck the feathers and then cook it for dinner. I couldn't eat any of that chicken and it was probably years before I ate chicken again. It was also a real novelty to go into town with Grandma. Everyone she passed said "Good afternoon, Mrs. Reasor." It so impressed me that everyone in English knew my grandmother. At that time we were still moving every year or so and never knew anyone. Grandpa and Grandma Reasor never visited us that I can remember. After Grandpa died Grandma came to visit. I remember her coming to Sacramento, California with Blanche Linton (our cousin), and probably she came other times. But she came to Denver the summer I graduated from high school and stayed several weeks. I sewed a blue wool dress and jacket for her. She was embroidering a quilt top that summer and when I got married a year later she sent me the top for a wedding present. It is the first quilt I hand quilted on my new oak quilt frames from Daddy. Both Mom and Daddy helped quilt it. But on this trip I got Grandma to write her life story. I am so glad that I encouraged her to write it. I am very thankful for the years we spent in Atlanta and the trips I was able to make to Kentucky and Indiana during that time period. My children all remember Great-Grandma Lillie. On our first visit to Indiana Lori was just two years old. After being in Grandma's house for an afternnon Grandma turned to Daddy and said, "You can see who runs this family," and pointed to Lori. Of course it was true at that time but I tried hard to rectify that point. On subsequent visits she would always want someone to sit right beside her and hold her hand. The girls were always willing to do that. In October of 1977 Mom and I made a special genealogy trip to Kentucky and Indiana. Much of the research we are still doing is in direct relationship to that trip. But those few days we spent in English were precious. I will not bore you with the long notes I wrote about that trip but I want to share some of the stories Grandma told us one evening when just the three of us were talking. They are a little disjointed but she aswered our questions and just talked. It was a special evening. Her father was a very good kind man. His right arm was paralyzed and he carried it in his pocket. He drove a team of horses. His wife thought he was hving dates and carrying on. They weren't happy. Grandma Lillie thought she resembled her father, they were all short and thin. A tree fell on his shoulder and cut "killed" a nerve. She was her daddy's pet. He died a year before she got married in January, she married in April. Edgar came over on the horse and she got up behind him and rode sideways behind him, just like riding a Honda. She held on tight. They ran horse races. They went to church Wednesday night and Sunday night at Union Chapel. He lived four and five miles away. She probably met him at a pie supper. The boys would bid on pies. They tried to find out who brought which pie. Hightest bid she could remember was $2.50. She usually took apple pie. They had several big apple trees. The boys would vote on the prettiest girl. The votes cost a dime or a penny. All the money was for the school. She planned on being a teacher but Edgar came along and she just got married. She said, "I think a woman has something to do with making a good man." When they got married they took a horse and buggy to Taswell then rode the train to English. The passenger train came twice a day, morning and night. They walked up to the court house up on the hill for a license then back down into the town to the Justice of the Peace. Edgar forgot to pay the Justice of the Peace and had to go back and pay him. They took the train back to Taswell, then the horse to her home. They spent the first two or three nights there. No one else was at the wedding except for one man. They didn't invite him he just came along. They had a big chivaree that night. People crawled under the house and shot guns off. After a couple of days they went to live with the Reasors. They lived there a year or two. Edgar's little sister Madge didn't like it when Lillie sat on Edgar's lap. She wouldn't let them get close at all. In 41 years of marriage Edgar was only gone two nights. He went on a horse to a meeting in Mifflin and came back before morning. "But he should have lived longer--he left me alone too long." Edgar said that Grandma Lytle was the meanest woman he ever met. Grandma Lytle talked to Lillie before she was married and told her getting married was as bad as dying. That making love with a man was the worse thing you could ever do. We asked her if she told her mother she was a liar, and she laughed and said no she couldn't ever talk to her mom like that. When her baby Gladys was born she had a doctor. She said if Edgar hadn't been there with her the whole time she would have just turned her face to the wall and sent the baby back before she got there. It was a long hard time but the other's weren't so bad. She had a midwife with Glen and couldn't remember about Goldia and Gerald. When the twins were born they sent all the kids to neighbors. She had Lee first and then the doctor told her there was anothr one. She thought, "Oh my goodness!" About ten minutes later Lloyd was born. Grandma Lillie had really bad sinus headaches. Two LDS elders were staying with them and invited her to a meeting. She said if she felt all right she would go. They gave her a blessing and she never had another headache. (Lillie cried as she told us this story.) The elders would walk through every six months. They would come and stay two or three weeks with them and with Carl Standiford. Edgar wouldn't let them ordain him to the priesthood. At this time, in 1977, there was a man at the senior citizen home that liked to come and visit with Lillie and just talk. She said, "He thinks I'm old enough to know all the answers but I've forgot most of them." In June of 1984 we were making a cross country trip. We planned on spending the first afternnon in English. A couple of days before we were to leave Aunt Gladys called and tried to persuade us not to come. She was afraid the visit would scare the small children. I really felt we should go anyway and we did. This is an entry from Mark's journal.he was five years old. He drew a picture of Grandma's house including a climbing tree and the porch swing. "June 23, 1984, We went to Grandma Lillie's house in English, Indiana. I holded Grandma's hand and watched her eat thru a straw. I found a railroad spike. She liked to hold my hand." My journal entry for the same day: We arrived in English about 3:45 and stayed with Grandma Lillie Reasor and Aunt Gladys for over an hour. She was much better today according to Aunt Gladys. For the past several days she had not roused at all but as soon as we walked in she smiled and wanted to know who we were. Grandma is in a hospital bed. She hasn't eaten anything for several months. Gladys gave her several drinks of 'Big Red' and ice cream stirred up like a float. That is all she will drink. She really has lost a lot of weight since I saw her in October. Of course, then she was still able to walk, and ate her meals at the kitchen table. It was only after she was 92 that Gladys moved in to help her. Today she wanted to hold everyone's hand. She would kiss their hand and pull them towards her when she wanted a kiss. I really think she did know who I was. After touching all the children she wanted to hold Hal's hands. She said, "I need to get to know this man." Bret was a little hesitant but everyone else was doing it so he did too. He went out and played and came back in and held her hand. She said, "What a pretty boy." When I told her we would have to leave she said, "Will I see you in the morning?" And she seemed very disappointed when I said no. I told her we loved her and she smiled. We all kissed her and then she looked at me and said, "I love you." That brought a few tears. What a special woman she was and is, kind, caring, and strong willed! I'm very glad we took this opportunity to visit and let my children meet their only living great-grandparent. In February of 1985 as Mom, Daddy, Bret, and I were driving to Grandma Lillie's funeral I pondered her life in respect to a speaking assignment I had the next week. The subject was to "Come unto Christ." And I thought what a perfect example her life was. As the church slowly grew in English she was able to participate in the programs of the church, but her entire life she exemplified a Christ like love and service to all she met. She wasn't caught up in the busy work of the gospel but in the real meaning of living like Christ and giving of oneself and your love. I loved, respected and admired this woman that we never called MaMa. She was always a little special to us because we called her a different name than all those Indiana cousins.

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Edgar Webster REASOR 1885-1953, Glenn and Gladys, Lillie Belle LYTEL REASOR 23 Feb 1887-18 Feb 1985

Garland Lee REASOR and Gordon Lloyd REASOR twins born 1917

Poem to Lillie Lytle Reasor on 80th birthday

written by granddaughter Lillie Linton Hammond on Lillie Reasor's 80th birthday, February 1967 In the hills of Crawford County in the year of '87 A little baby girl was born who came straight down from heaven. Her parents must've been so proud and felt so very well As they looked at her and beamed and smiled and named her Lillie Belle. She soon grew into a lady and at the age of twenty-one She met a man named Edgar who became her only one. They married in April and their happy life began And soon they had a baby girl named Gladys Gwendolin. Little Glen came next--in fact, the following year And thus their family grew and added to their cheer. Goldia Blanche was next in line to come into the world. But she was followed close behind by another boy named Gerald. Now we know four little children require a lot of care, But wait! It wasn't long until she gave birth to a pair. The twins were Lee and Lloyd and they really made a hit. Said Lillie, "When they come in twos, I think it's time to quit." The years passed quickly on the farm with much hard work & chores. The girls got married and the boys went off for other shores. Edgar and Lillie became grandparents before many years had passed And after that the grandchildren were coming pretty fast. Sorrow came to Lillie's life when Edgar passed away But she has peace an comfort knowing they'll meet again some day. So Lillie Belle, we think you're great and love you so much too. Just think of all that's happened, and so much because of you!

(twin) Gordan Lloyd REASOR 1917-1999, Goldia Blanche REASOR GOLDMAN MILLER 1913-1998, (twin) Garland Lee REASOR 1917-2004, mother Lillie Belle LYTEL REASOR 1887-1985, Gerald Lester REASOR 1914-1990, Gladys Gwendolyn REASOR LINTON SUDDARTH 1911-1993, Glenn Winford REASOR 1910-1984. 

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Talk given at Funeral of Lillie Reasor

Funeral Services for Lillie Lytle Reasor February 1985

Excerpt from talk given by son, Lloyd Reasor
Mom was 30 when I was born so I wouldn’t know of her as a young lady. But I have memories of her playing ball with us on Sunday afternoons. And how we would laugh at her, the four of us boys, and we would remind her that she threw like a girl, or that she swung the bat like a girl. I remember Lee and me standing at the corner of the stove as she prepared supper, cooking corn bread. And that she would clean off a spot on the stove and she would make corn cakes for us, just especially for us. I remember that she was such a good buddy that one time we killed a ground squirrel and cleaned it and talked her into cooking it. She fried it like a chicken. It wasn’t very big, but it was good. I’m sure more so because of the adventure.
She was always happy. She was never angry. Even in discipline we never saw her angry. We would get too rowdy on a winter day when we couldn’t get out of the house and she would call us to her and thump us on the head with a thimble. She seemed always to have a thimble on her finger. We would scream like we were being scalped. Then admit that, no, it really didn’t hurt and that we really enjoyed it, for we recognized it as an indication of her love for us. Sometimes when my twin brother and I would get into a fight, she would stop us and then she would make us kiss and make up. Can you imagine that? Having to kiss a boy on the lips, especially while you were still mad at him. She was a lot wiser than we gave her credit.
Mom’s only unhappiness, that I can think of, was when she was concerned for her family. I remember when Glenn was in the army in Texas and he had appendicitis. It was impossible to go there. I remember Dad saying, “Well, we will just trust in a higher power.” I remember that concern. I also remember her concern when a grandchild swallowed an open safety pin. But mostly I remember her and Dad together.
The memory pictures I have include their walks over the farm as they would plan the crops, or as they went to visit a neighbor. They left and returned in the wagon, sitting on the spring seat. Dad was so much heavier than Mom that his side of the seat was a lot lower so the seat tilted towards him and even if there had been room, she would be sitting right up next to him. I remember him sitting in the kitchen, between the stove and the table, drying the dishes as she washed, while they visited. They not only were lovers, they were good friends. They were always together. They were always sharing.
I asked her one day if she remembered the missionaries who taught her the gospel. She replied, “The elders didn’t teach me. Edgar did. They taught him, and he taught me.” They were baptized in 1909, back when the Mormon Church was not very popular. There wasn’t any place to attend church. But as they learned principles, they practiced them. I remember well the summer they found out about the Word of Wisdom; not to drink alcohol, and not to drink coffee, and that tobacco wasn’t good for you. Alcohol was not a problem. But I remember Dad had a sassafras or hickory twig in his mouth all summer. For not only did he smoke a pipe, he chewed tobacco. I remember the smell in the house as they roasted wheat, and oats, and barley, and any combinations of them trying to find a substitute for coffee;; because they learned that grain was good for mild drinks. It smelled terrible. It must have tasted as bad, because it worked, and they both quit drinking coffee. They didn’t have much church experience. I remember the missionaries coming to visit us on an evening. They would usually spend the night and the next day and that night, and then they would leave. Maybe the next summer we would see another pair of elders, and maybe not.

Ancestral Chain: CR / MRR /  Garland Lee REASOR 1917-2004, Lillie Belle LYTLE 1887-1985. 

The Places They Lived

The Places We have Lived

Lee and Wanda Reasor

Wanda Myrl ROBERSON and Garland Lee REASOR 

1- Apr 1942, lived in a furnished apartment in Louisville, Kentucky for about 5 weeks after marriage

2- June 1942, another furnished apartment in Louisville for two weeks during an extended furlough

3- July 1942, in San Antonio, Texas, Wanda had a garage apartment and I visited on week-ends
4- Chickasha, Oklahoma lived in a hotel room
5- Houston, Texas, a furnished apartment
6- Winter of 1942, Hondo, Texas we shared a motel with another couple
7- June 1943, Coral Gables, Florida, a furnished apartment.
8- Wayne, Michigan an upstairs apartment with the entry through the family’s living room, very dirty
9- 1943-44, Wayne, Michigan, an unfurnished house. We bought furniture and sold it when we left. Bought our sterling silverware here.
10- 1944-1945, Caribou, Maine, we lived in two connecting rooms in an old hotel
11- 1945, Manchester, New Hampshire, lived in a hotel

Garland Lee REASOR and twin brother Gordan Lloyd REASOR

12- December 1945, lived in a rented place in Buechel, Kentucky
13- Rented a different place in Buechel, Kentucky, bought the sewing machine
14- 1946, St Matthews, Kentucky, purchased our first home. Gathered used furniture and bought the dining room suite
15- 1947, had Rube (Reuben Roberson) build us a house on 1.3 acres in Fern Creek, Kentucky. The house was 24 x 30, one floor with basement and a cistern for water supply.
16- March 1951, returned to USAF and moved to Houston, Texas
17- 1951, San Antonio, Texas in a rented apartment
18- 1952, Topeka, Kansas, lived in a large two story rented house
19- 1952, Bellflower, California , Wanda shared a rented house with the family of a crew member, while I was in Japan
20- 1952, Bossier City, Louisiana rented a duplex
21- 1953, Bossier City, Louisiana, rented a house on Olive Street

22- 1954, Bossier City, Louisiana, bought a new house on Christy Street

23- 1955, Sacramento, California, rented an old two story house for month of December

24- 1956, Carmichael, California bought a beautiful new home on Stanton Circle

25- 1956-1957, Biloxi, Mississippi, rented both sides of a duplex in base housing

26- 1957, Merced, California lived for 2 months in a used trailer that we bought in Biloxi

27- 1957, Spokane, Washington purchase a new home because it was the only one we could find with a main floor family room

28- June 1959, Provo, Utah purchased a new home in Edgemont

29- Sept 1960, Orem, Utah had a new home built because the people in Provo would not accept our family

30- August 1962, San Antonio, Texas we rented a home in Red Horse Ridge outside the base

31- 1962-63, moved to base housing on Randolph AFB. Our only experience with on base housing.

32- Aug 1963, Aurora, Colorado, we bought a used expensive house

33- Jan 1966, back to Spokane, Washington in a rented house until our old house could be vacated

34- March 1966, Spokane, Washington moved into the house we bought in 1957

35- June 1976, Dunn Rovin, Greenbluff, Washington, moved into our new house we built from scratch

Greenbluff

eight additional grandchildren yet to be added

In the past 35 years we have lived in 35 different homes. My mother has lived in two homes in the past 55 years.

LDS Mission Kiribiti

36- 1982, Kiribiti, moved into a modernized native house on Moroni Community School campus
37- 1983 returned to our home on Greenbluff, Spokane, Washington

38- 1983 returned to our home on Greenbluff, Spokane, Washington

This completed Lee’s list but we need to include a couple more moves.

LDS Mission Nauvoo

39- 1989, Nauvoo, Illinois lived in a small restored pioneer home while serving mission
40- 1990, moved back to their beloved Greenbluff home

41- 2004, sold Greenbluff home and moved to Handy Road with daughter Cheryl

Dunn Roving

News of Roberson-Reasor Wedding and Shower

Wedding picture Apr 1942 - twins back left G. Lloyd REASOR and the groom G. Lee REASOR - front left M. Laverne CUSRTSINGER became REASOR and the bride Wanda M. ROBERSON REASOR.

Military Paper Work - REASOR

Edgar Webster REAOSR (1885-1953) registered for both WWI and WWII drafts.

Edgar Webster REASOR

World War I Draft Registration Card - 1917-1918 Record
"In 1918 when World War I was ended, Dad blew in a conk shell, people rang dinner bells, shot guns, hollered and made loud noises all through the country side, in the evening. We lived near Eckerty then. I guess I was 9 years old." (Memories of Gladys REASOR LINTON first child of Edgar and Lillie, Written 26 Sep 1976 )

Edgar Webster REASOR

World War II Draft Registration Card - 1942 Record

Garland Lee REASOR (1917-2004) began his U.S. Air force career in the army.

U.S.World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 Record

pictured: Garland Lee REAOSR (twin) and Gordon Lloyd REASOR (twin) in front of tent at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indianapolis, Indiana

Name: Garland L Reasor [Lee became an career Air Force Navigator]
Birth Year: 1917
Race: White, Citizen (White)
Nativity State or Country: Indiana
State of Residence: Indiana
County or City: Crawford
Enlistment Date: 21 Sep 1940
Enlistment State: Indiana
Enlistment City: Fort Benjamin Harrison

Branch: Signal Corps
Branch Code: Signal Corps
Grade: Private
Grade Code: Private
Term of Enlistment: Enlistment for the Philippine Department
Component: Regular Army (including Officers, Nurses, Warrant Officers, and Enlisted Men)
Source: Civil Life
Education: 4 years of high school
Civil Occupation: Farm hands, general farms
Marital Status: Single, without dependents
Height: 68
Weight: 149

Name: Gordon L Reasor [twin brother of Garland Lee REASOR] [Lloyd became a WWII Air Force Pilot]
Birth Year: 1917
Race: White, Citizen (White)
Nativity State or Country: Indiana
State of Residence: Indiana
County or City: Crawford
Enlistment Date: 21 Sep 1940
Enlistment State: Indiana
Enlistment City: Fort Benjamin Harrison
Branch: Signal Corps
Branch Code: Signal
Corps Grade: Private
Grade Code: Private
Term of Enlistment: Enlistment for the Panama Canal Department
Component: Regular Army (including Officers, Nurses, Warrant Officers, and Enlisted Men)
Source: Civil Life
Education: 4 years of high school
Civil Occupation: Farm hands, general farms
Marital Status: Single, without dependents
Height: 65
Weight: 133

The First Sixty Years Regarding Garland (Lee) Reasor
Military Service Pg 1-5

“…In September of 1940 I was 23 years old. I had worked as a farm hand most of the time since high school graduation and had been away from home most of that time also. I had worked three years in East Central Illinois on a large grain and cattle farm. Two years I had worked for the State Hospital at North Madison, Indiana as a farm tractor driver. This job was only possible because Reasor’s were dedicated Democrats and the Democrats were in office. Mchutt was governor. Lloyd and I drove our Model A ford to see the head democrat in Crawford County to get his endorsement for work. He lived on a mud road and it was winter time. While we were interviewing, the water on our 6 Brake line froze. We had to heat them with a wood torch before we could move the car.”

“Lloyd and I had both been hired at the hospital. Lloyd had quit and returned to Illinois to work. France had fallen to the Germans earlier in the year. I wrote to Lloyd suggesting that the U.S. would get involved and we should get in the Army and get Prepared.”

“The recruiter had promised that he would enlist us in the Army Air Corps. Lloyd immediately quit his job and came to Madison. The recruiter said he couldn’t get us in the Air Corps but could get the Signal Corp witch was the next best. We left Lloyd’s car parked on the street in Madison, took my car and went to Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indianapolis, Indiana to be inducted.”

“Mom and Dad were living on the farm but it did not occur to either of us to talk this action over with them. We did write them a letter after we were privates in the army earning $21.00 per month. After deductions were made for laundry, etc. the net was $15. To $18 per month.”

“We were accustomed to working from sun-up to sun-down. That changed immediately. We were housed in tents and the sergeant, after a few minutes drill, would say, “Go to your tents and wait.” we nearly went crazy with nothing to do.”

“We had [not] formed habit of using neither tobacco nor alcohol and that made us strange. Also, we actually volunteered for work assignments.”

“We did get time off several days later to go get Lloyd’s car off the street and take it home.
After some basic training we, with the 5th Infantry Division (the Red Diamond Division) were transferred to Fort Custer, Battle Creek, Michigan in December of 1940. Fort Custer was under construction. The buildings were incomplete and the mud was everywhere and deep.”

“Most of the personnel were much older than we. Many were the kind who got promoted, got into trouble, got busted back to private again and again.”

“Lloyd was promoted to corporal in a short time and I soon followed. Most of the corporals had 8-10 years of service.”

“Standard procedure of the times for most soldiers was to be broke the night of payday. Many owned their entire pay many times to Lloyds or I. They would pay their debts and start borrowing again. It was not usual to be offered $10 on pay day for $5 tonight. Even at $15. Per month we had nore money than we could spend.”

“Mostly what money that I spent was driving back and forth to the Louisville, New Albany area to see a girl I had been dating before I enlisted. Wanda Roberson had a great attraction for me. Many times I returned from a visit with her just in the nick of time reveille.”

“Lloyd’s initials were G.L. My initials were G.L. His first name was Gordon , mine Garland. In calling the roll, they first called Reasor G. We’d say which one. Then they tried G. L. Again we would question. For a while they used AS and GO but changed to Big Reasor and Little Reasor. Since we never missed a roll call, they finally just called Reasor and didn’t wait for a response. One morning I was ten minutes late and they didn’t miss me.”

“Battle Creek was a Seventh-day Adventist town. The Church provided many activities for the soldiers. We attended many of the activities and became very close friend[s] with the Langworthy family. Which included three lovely girls. We were at their home when Pearl harbor was bombed.”

“There was also a unit of the Church of Jesus Christ fo Latter-day Saints. I don’t recall how we found them but we did and became active in the Church. It was the first time we had been able to attend an organized branch. We received the Aaronic Priesthood and many blessings through the Church. We never went to the Seventh-Day Adventist meetings.”

‘The draft made a great change in the type of men in the Army. The new officers were ROTC college graduates and Many of the enlisted men were leaders in business and industry.”

“The Signal Corps job was to establish and maintain communications. The equipment was telephone and telegraph. Both had to be physically commect6ed by wire. The field pone was the kind you see on the TW show MASH. My assignment was installation The officer who used the phone always had the same pair of colored wires to his phone. Lloyd was a telegraph operator….”