Lucile Hainline and Ted Hadley(mother and father) were married December 17, 1920. Both worked at the Harvey House at the Union Station in Wichita, Kansas. She as a pantry maid and he as a fry cook. She was 21 and he was 16(He told her he was 21).
Lucile and Frederick, January 1923 From the files of the Wichita Children's Home(The only source of my early life in the '20's):
October 15, 1927
Mrs Hadley called at the home asking us to assist her in the care of her two children. Mrs. Hadley works at the Coleman Lamp Company, has been there over a year and earning $18 a week. Present address, 320 West Third, where she has two little housekeeping rooms. Mrs Hadley takes her children to the Day Nursery but finds it is very hard to get up and look after the children in the morning take them to the nursery and then assume their care and responsibility after a hard days work. Mr Hadley is a deserter. He has been arrested twice for child desertation. The last time the father skipped out on his bond when he was to appear in court the latter part of September. Mr. Hadley, senior, and Mrs. Hadley were at the court house. The father of the children failed to appear and his present whereabouts is unknown. Mrs. Hadley appealed for a Mother's Pension. I have been advised by Mrs Hazzard, who is on the Pension board, that they could not grant her a pension in as much as she was earning $18 a week. In as much as these children have been cared for by the Central Day Nursery, the League for Social Work was asked to make a report on the case. Mrs. Lundstrum, detailed for that work, has been unable to locate the grandparents of these children as she desired. Since Mrs. Lundstrum could not give me any information, and the mother was very anxious to find out what could be done for her, I endeavored to investigate personally. I called upon Mrs. Charles Hainline, 1340 South Wichita, maternal grandmother. I find Mrs. Hainline in very poor health and cannot give assistance in the care of the children anymore, at least under her present physical condition. Her physician is Dr. H. H. Olsen. Mr. Hainline works for the Water Company. Some weeks he gets only two or three days work. They have one daughter and her husband living at home and one unmarried daughter. There is no room in the home for Mrs. Hadley and her children. Mrs. Hainline recommended the children be placed in the Children's Home in as much as they are not receiving the proper care by the mother when she is at work. She reports the mother is a quiet woman, recently united with the First Baptist Church and attends that church. She also reports this daughter, Mrs. Hadley, does not go out nights to her knowledge and her only object in placing the children in the Home is that they may receive better care than she can give them.I then called upon the paternal grandparents. I found Mrs. Hadley at home. Their address, 128 N. Sedgwick. Mrs Hadley is part Indian(half Charokee). She was very reticent about making remarks or giving information. Of course she does not think her son is entirly to blame in the family affaris. This grandmother has not seen the children for about two years. She has not seen her son for a year. He has been in town but has not made them a visit since last November. She does not know where he can be found. She thinks probably her husband will have to make good the forfeited bond.
Maternal Grandmother, Ida Viola Hainline, holding Freda, Frederick at right foreground.
I then called upon Mrs. Hadley(Lucile) at 320 west third, where I found her occupying two little dingy rooms in the back part of this unattractive rooming house. She is paying $4 a week. She had just brought her children from the day nursery. Mrs. Hadley looked very tired, said she had lost twenty pounds in the last few months, and she could not possibly keep on working and take care of the children. She was advised we would accept the children and she was instructed to take them to Dr. Millbank for examination.
November 30, 1927
Frederick was vaccinated for smallpox on this date. Freda was not vaccinated as she was ill.
December 12, 1927
Freda Hadley has been ill almost ever since she came to the home. When she entered she had a large swollen gland, a temperature of 102. We have given her ever attention. We found she had trouble with her urine, have had urinalysis taken each week and she has been treated for the trouble the analysis showed. Dr. Millbank was attending physician. The mother does not seem satisified. We ask permission to take her to Wesley Hospital. This the mother objected to and said she would take her home to her mother, that she would stay at home in the evenings with her and the mother would look after her during the day. Mrs. Hadley called for the child this afternoon and was told that, of course, she took her out at this time at her own responsibility. She was carrying a temperature of 104 this afternoon.
January 27, 1928
Mrs. Hadley has written a note to her remittance stating that she has moved to her mother's home, 1340 S. Wichita.
February 11, 1928
Mrs. Hadley called for Frederick. She is now living with her mother and the mother is in very good health, and can take care of both Frederick and Freda during the day while the mother is working. Mr. Hadley has been ordered to pay $10 a week for the support of the two children
SUMMARY
While it is impossible to remember much at such an early age there are certain events that stick in one's memory and when refreshed occasionaly will stick with you for a long time. Such was the evening in 1928 when mother(Mrs. Hadley), returned home late, one night, crying - soon a lot of policeman with blue uniforms on were sitting around the wooden round dinning room table talking to mother. I never learned until 20 years later that mother had been raped by a black man only a half block from where we were living at 1340 S. Wichita. And then there were memories from my stay at the Wichita Children's Home. One Sunday mother came to visit and brought me a box with six blocks in it. When she left some one in authority at the Home took the blocks from me and dumped them into a pile of other blocks noting that we should share them with all the children. I felt so hurt that "MY" blocks were taken away and I made such a fuss that punishment was due this un-ruley one. The punishment was to put me in a little blue dress and girls underwear and parade me in front of the other children. One Thanksgiving, at the Home, I was eating a peach and swallowed the seed. It was so big I was surprised I had done it, I tried to call it to the attention of those running the Home but no one would listen to me. Once, when not be-having as mother thought I should, she said to me, "If you don't be-have I'm going to call the nigger man to come get you." Years later when in college and I had to write a paper for some class, I chose this incident for the subject with the thought that I was now biased toward the blacks because of this early incident(the professor thought not and gave me a "C" for my effort). Of course I have no memories of "Lindy" crossing the ocean in '27 or of the '29 stock market crash - but I do remember mother washing clothes on a wash board after heating up water in a big double boiler in the front yard at 320 West Third(north west corner of Waco and Third), and of the Coleman nurse coming to see us whenever we had a scrape or illness that needed attention - she was our "family doctor." The only memories I have of my dad is one cold wintery nite(probably in '28) my mother was talking to him on the front porch at 1340 S. Wichita(grandmother Hainline would not let him the house), and he slipped down the icey front porch steps(some folks have glorious memories of their fathers - this is my only memory of him). Some ask "Didn't you miss not having a father?" - how can you miss something you never ever had?
To see the 1930s, go to:
http://fredly-lionsclub.blogspot.com/
