Joe was born and raised on a farm in Illinois. He was the last child in the family, preceded by two brothers and one sister. They all eventually left the farm. Joe did not want to spend his life plowing and looking at the back end of a horse. His education ended, we think, after grade school. That was not uncommon during that period of time. Few people went to high school and fewer yet went to college. That didn't mean people were totally uneducated and here is what I am talking about, final exam to pass grade school 1895 Salina Kansas. You may find this beyond your ability as many well educated people have found.
Joe packed up and headed to the nearest big city and initially stayed with his sister until he could establish himself. We believe he was about 16 at the time. He lied about his age and got a job on the Chevrolet assembly line. While there he met Joyce's aunt Betty at a political rally held in her neighborhood. Joe was not political at all, but in those days rallies were a place to get free beer and a lunch. Joe and Betty were later married.
Joe was "a man of all seasons". He loved driving fast and had his own midget race car.
Joe built the car and he traveled the circuit with others to race on weekends. He still worked at Chevrolet and maintained his own race car. Joe is sitting in his car in the picture. On the left is the Alton giant, the tallest man in the world at the time.
Eventually Joe left Chevrolet and went into business for himself. He owned a restaurant until World War Two started and rationing made it difficult to stay open and then there was a letter of greetings from our U.S. uncle Sam to join a small world war. Joe was inducted into the army. He was much older than the others in basic training and his barracks mates called him "Pappy." The company was nearing the end of training and were getting the host of shots for overseas duty when Joe came down with Meningitis, followed by even more ailments. He was finally given a medical discharge after months in army hospitals and he was sent home. His wife Betty always said Joe fought the battle of Fort Bliss and lost.
At that point Joe opened a liquor store and ran it for a period of time during the war and afterward. After one too many times being robbed at gun point, Joe decided it was time to sell out the store. His older brother John convinced Joe to move back to Illinois and work for him at his Pontiac dealership. We are not sure how long he worked there. Joe worked at the Pontiac dealership until John acquired a property on the edge of town that had several motel cabins and a bowling alley. He decided Joe was the right guy to buy it from him and run his own business. Joe was up for the idea. The bowling alley also had a small snack bar that Betty ran. It was not a large bowling alley and when another larger one opened in town, Joe and Betty knew they had to do something to hang on. They decided to put a bar in the place, but they had no license, so they had to hunt down down a failing bar to purchase the license. They found a small bar that was in a broken-down building and had few customers. They had to buy the business and then transfer the license. They did and afterward the bowling alley began to thrive with the bar in it!
A major part of their success was Joe and Betty were fun to be around and were both really good people. It took friendly, good people to attract the bowling leagues there and keep them there. Joe was a guy who, as the saying goes: "never met a stranger." Anywhere he was he had his hand out to shake another's hand and he introduced himself, "Hi my name is Joe." That worked no matter where he went. Joe and Betty worked hard and played hard. Betty could whip up a party faster than anyone else, and party they did. They ran the bowling alley until they retired from work and sold the business. They bought a big RV and traveled the south lands. They finally sold the RV and lived in Florida for the remainder of their lives.
Joe packed up and headed to the nearest big city and initially stayed with his sister until he could establish himself. We believe he was about 16 at the time. He lied about his age and got a job on the Chevrolet assembly line. While there he met Joyce's aunt Betty at a political rally held in her neighborhood. Joe was not political at all, but in those days rallies were a place to get free beer and a lunch. Joe and Betty were later married.
Joe was "a man of all seasons". He loved driving fast and had his own midget race car.
Eventually Joe left Chevrolet and went into business for himself. He owned a restaurant until World War Two started and rationing made it difficult to stay open and then there was a letter of greetings from our U.S. uncle Sam to join a small world war. Joe was inducted into the army. He was much older than the others in basic training and his barracks mates called him "Pappy." The company was nearing the end of training and were getting the host of shots for overseas duty when Joe came down with Meningitis, followed by even more ailments. He was finally given a medical discharge after months in army hospitals and he was sent home. His wife Betty always said Joe fought the battle of Fort Bliss and lost.
At that point Joe opened a liquor store and ran it for a period of time during the war and afterward. After one too many times being robbed at gun point, Joe decided it was time to sell out the store. His older brother John convinced Joe to move back to Illinois and work for him at his Pontiac dealership. We are not sure how long he worked there. Joe worked at the Pontiac dealership until John acquired a property on the edge of town that had several motel cabins and a bowling alley. He decided Joe was the right guy to buy it from him and run his own business. Joe was up for the idea. The bowling alley also had a small snack bar that Betty ran. It was not a large bowling alley and when another larger one opened in town, Joe and Betty knew they had to do something to hang on. They decided to put a bar in the place, but they had no license, so they had to hunt down down a failing bar to purchase the license. They found a small bar that was in a broken-down building and had few customers. They had to buy the business and then transfer the license. They did and afterward the bowling alley began to thrive with the bar in it!
A major part of their success was Joe and Betty were fun to be around and were both really good people. It took friendly, good people to attract the bowling leagues there and keep them there. Joe was a guy who, as the saying goes: "never met a stranger." Anywhere he was he had his hand out to shake another's hand and he introduced himself, "Hi my name is Joe." That worked no matter where he went. Joe and Betty worked hard and played hard. Betty could whip up a party faster than anyone else, and party they did. They ran the bowling alley until they retired from work and sold the business. They bought a big RV and traveled the south lands. They finally sold the RV and lived in Florida for the remainder of their lives.
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