LARVALBUG LENS, February, 2015
The gathering of three young couples shown above took place at the home of John and Evelyn (Val's parents) in the Ingall's Park neighborhood of Joliet, IL, in 1957. At left are Carol, with ring, who would soon be married to Ev's brother, Rich. Looking on intently are Charlie, Ev and Rich's brother, and his new wife, directly behind him, Donna. The man to the right is a friend from Chicago who went by the nickname "Babe" and his girlfriend is behind him (we don't recall her name). Babe often joined members of Ev's family on fishing trips, especially to Millington, a small town on the Fox River. A curious coincidence about the three couples is that they all married outside the state of IL to get around the state-imposed age limit for the young ladies. Carol was sixteen when she, in spite of her grandmother's offer to pay for a car and college if she would continue her education, eloped with Rich. She had her son, Ricky, a year later, in 1958. This was the same year that Val, as well as Donna's first boy, Billy, were also born. Charlie and Donna had also eloped, and Ev recalls when Charlie walked into their parents' house and informed his father that he was married. Ev was visiting and her father was holding her pet schnauzer on his lap. She thinks the dog was the only thing that kept him relatively calm when he heard the news. Carol, Rich, Donna and Charlie are all deceased. No more is known about Babe and his wife.