Interesting Facts About E.V. Powell, and Marie W. Sperry Powell

E.V. Powell ~ 1922-2008

All of these interesting facts were taken from a booklet that Steph gave to her Dad titled "Dad, Share Your Life With Me," and most of these facts are from a time before dad was married.   

1. Dad was born September 12, 1922

2. Dad was born in the front room of his home on Jackson Street, in Linneus, Missouri, Linn County by Dr. Carrico and Aunt Kate Russell, a black freed slave of our family.

3. Dad's brothers and sisters:  Vera Eunice, Leona Myrtle, William Bradley II, Mariam Virginia, Francis Stone, Raymond Alonzo, Gerald Lewis, Nina Flo and dad.

4. Dad's mother was Marian Rebecca Stone Powell.

5. Dad's father was Alonzo Everett Powell.  His dad was a rural mail carrier and farmer.

6. Before dad was 20 years old he lived in Linneus, Missouri, Satanta, Kansas, Sublette, Kansas, New Palestine, Indiana, Fort Robinson, Arkansas, Fort Ord, Colorado, Fort Lewis, Washington and Juneau, Alaska.

7. Warren G. Harding was the President when dad was born.

8. Dad's first Presidential vote was cast for F.D.R.

9. Dad shook hands and shared Missouri stories with Harry Truman - 1948.  This along with Miriam Moore (Opera singer from Linneus, Missouri) were the most famous people dad ever met, as well as some Hollywood and stage people in the Army, as dad helped introduce them when they visited for performances for the troops.

10. Dad used to sled on a "Silver Racer" sled when he could take it away from older siblings.

11. When dad was stationed in Alaska, while skating on a flooded tennis court, he ran into and knocked down General Simon B. Buckner.

12. Dad's father died when our dad wad was 8 years old.

13. Dad's favorite meal was ham and eggs, with biscuits and gravy, pie and coffee.

14. Dad's favorite subjects in school were English, Music and later Typing.

15. Dad's biggest problem in grade school was .....keeping his mouth shut.  

16. Dad attended 4 high schools in 3 states from 9th-12th grade.   

17. Dad had a dog (Old Pete) a terrier.  He died at  22 years old, the day after dad returned home after being away for 7 years. (Army, etc.)

18. Dad had the lead in every grade school play and sung in every state  contest.

19. Dad's memories of Sundays were always going to Sunday School and Church, ice cream in the afternoon and swimming in Locust Creek, as well as walking in the woods with friends.

20. Dad's favorite radio program was "Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy!" 

21. Dad attended Jordon Conservatory, Frankfort Wesleyan, Butler University, and Garrett Seminary.

22. In 1941, dad and his brother Gerald hitchhiked home from Arkansas to Missouri to see their mom, while they were in the Army because they didn't have any money.

23. Some of dad's chores were bringing in firewood, carrying water, helping wash clothes, cutting and splitting wood, milking and feeding animals and plowing.

24. The chore that dad hated most was cleaning out the chicken house.

25. Dad's dream as a child was to get into the entertainment business as a singer/actor.  Dad had a beautiful tenor voice.

26. Dad's worst childhood fear was being alone.

27. Dad;s favorite singing group or band was Glen Miller.

28. Dad played a tuba and a trombone in high school.

29. Dad walked 5 miles each way to and from school as a child.

30. When asked what was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, dad said, "Your mother, who I met in 1944 - Hot Springs, Arkansas at a football game." 

31. Dad lived in Indiana for the bulk of his adult life.

32. After dad was married, he became a United Methodist minister and shared his love of God with the communities of Kirklin, IN, Waugh IN, Mulberry, IN, Otterbein, IN, Churubusco, IN and Lagrange IN.

33.  Dad and mom had 5 daughters. (Linda, Jean, Stephanie, Kim and Kristi).

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Most of these interesting facts came from a booklet that Steph gave to her mon titled ""Mom, Share Your Life With me," and most of the facts are from a time before she was married.

 Marie W. Sperry Powell ~ 1927 - Present

1.  Mom was born February 22, 1927.

2.  Mom was born in the tourist town of Eureka Springs, Arkansas which was known for its natural springs.

3.  Mom's mother was Elgie E. Amos Sperry.

4.  Mom had a brother, Floyd P. Sperry and a half-sister named Bonnie Pierce.

5.  Mom's father was Floyd Perrin Sperry who was a traveling minister, mostly serving in a mission in California.

6.  Mom had cadet nurses training at the Leo & Levi School of Nursing in Hot Springs Arkansas, after graduating from high school.

7.  Mom loved to write poems (many are listed on her page in this blog). 

8.  Mom loved to play in the woods where she lived with her brother when she was a little girl.

9.  Mom has always felt a close connection to nature.  She loved working in her gardens which were always filled with beautiful flowers and plants where ever she lived.

10. When mom needed scolding, she would be swatted with a peach tree branch.

11. Calvin Coolidge was the President when mom was born in 1927.

12. Mom's brother died at the age of 7 from a drowning accident in a well.  Mom was 5 years old.  She remembers sneaking into the living room and placing a few toys under his pillow.  In those days,  the deceased were kept in their home before burial. 

13.  Mom's best friend was June Wire, a Nazarene minister's daughter.

14.  Mom began reading at 5 years old.  

15.  The biggest problem mom remembers while attending school was getting trouble for talking.  (Both Mom and Dad had this problem...now, I know where I get it...Ha!).  Mom got paddled once at school for talking during class.

16.  Walking was a favorite past-time for Mom and her friends.  She said because everyone was so poor, taking walks and talking was what everyone did when she was young.
17.  Mom loved school.  She when 8 years without missing a day of school.
18.  The kids teased mom because of her flannel bloomers which her mom made by hand. 

19.  Mom's favorite time of year was springtime. She loved flowers, trees, woods, squirrels and birds.  She loved picking wild berries.
20.  Mom's chores as a child were drying dishes, feeding chickens, collecting eggs and carrying water.
21.  Her least favorite chore was pulling weeds and picking up rocks from the strawberry patch.
22.  Mom did not like being called Sperry which was a nickname (her last name) that people sometimes called her instead of her first name, Marie.
23.  Mom's favorte thing, other than walking in the woods, was reading.  
24.  Mom's favorite books were by auther, Jean Stratton Porter.
25.  Mom spent a lot of time in church, attending the Nazarene church with her best friend, June Wire, whose father was the minister.  Mom taught Bible School at age 14.
25.  One of mom's biggest fear as a child was lightening storms.
26.  Mom's favorite Bible verse is John 3:16. For God so loved tthe world that he gave his only begotten son..... 
27.  One of mom's favorite songs that she sang with her brother was singing these lyrics:  "Jelly cake, jelly cake, makes you have a belly ache."  

28.  One of the dances mom did as a youth was square dancing.
29.  One of mom's saddest memory as a teenager was World War II and losing many classmates.
30.  Mom's memories of her father are few, but wherever he was he sent postcards.  Our sister, Kristi, has the large collection of postcards that he sent to mom.
31.  Mom's least favorite subject in school was math.
32.  Mom married our father and moved to Indiana where she spent the rest of her life and where she currently resides at Wesley Manor.
33.  Mom and dad had 5 daughters. (Linda, Jean, Stephanie, Kim and Kristi).