My Trip to Carbondale, Illinois

Campus Lake; I could not find swimming place

For my fifth and sixth grades we lived in Carbondale, Illinois.  My dad's first job after graduating from the University of Denver with a Masters in Library Science was at the library in Carbondale at Southern Illinois University.  We lived there for two years, 1967-1969, arriving just before school started and then returning to Utah just before school started again.  We moved from Hyrum, Utah to Carbondale, a 24-hour drive.  Mom drove the car and I remember that some how we found ourselves in East St, Louis and mom was worried about all the traffic, and the people of African American descent.  We were coming from Washington and Utah and were use to just a few people of color instead of just about everyone.  

Upon arriving at Carbondale we moved into a home on S. Emerald Lane.  We attended Parrish Elementary School.  We arrived in the late summer and were not use to the humidity.  We would try to beat the heat at Campus Lake.  I remember they had lifeguards, and a swimming skills test to see if you could go to the raft were you could dive or jump into the water.

The camper was parked in the back

this and following pictures are Parrish School and playground

Shopping center at Emerald and Main.  

I attended Parrish Elementary School for fifth grade.  I remember my teacher was elderly.  I was in a play at the school and pretended to be pirate who lost his neck bone.  It was a Halloween play.  The bus would take us a long way around to get to the school.  However if you were willing to jump a creek it was really a very short distance to the school; Over the creek and through a park.  Sunset road goes over the creek now; but when we lived there it did not and you had to go all the way around.

A short walk to the end of our street was a shopping center where there was a Krogers and a Woolworths.  There was also a McDonalds.  The place where we spent a considerable amount of time was a slot car racing track.  In fact they had two or three.   We never participated for lack of funds but we would often go and watch.  Sometimes the races would go for a long time.  One time someone was ready to win when he crashed his car.  

On time shortly before we moved, a bunch of community kids were playing.  We pretended we had a rope and were stretching it across the rode.  There was no rope but we were pretending.  We got some cars to come to a screeching halt.  One time an older kid acted all official and said there was a hazard ahead.  

Our second year in Carbondale we moved to Evergreen Terrace, married student housing.  However the apartment wasn't ready on time; so we lived for a couple weeks in the high-rise apartments.  

 Evergreen Terrace was a housing complex which was being built.  There was a basketball playing place.  When we first moved there the grass hadn't yet taken so the basketball hoops were in the middle of a mud field.  Bob and Dan McKess also moved into the complex.  We played a lot of basketball.   Dan was so into basketball he would hang from the Jungle gym trying to get taller.  Bob was in fifth grade and Dan in fourth so they were younger than me as I was in sixth.

We had plenty of neighborhood kids for playing.  One local became part of our Boy Scout Troop.  One African American boy we called Speedy Gonzalez because he was so fast.  We would play football at the park next door.  They also had a baseball field.  My mom was swinging there and somehow fell with her fingers caught in the chain, which caused her arthritic pain after that.  The swing is no longer there.  

our apartment on the bottom floor.

basketball courts

our door

We were next to the Evergreen Park, which also had the Carbondale Lake.

On the other side of the housing with Williams Field.  It was a nice ball diamond when we were there and hosted the little league all-star game which I watched.  I kid named Travelstead form my sixth grade class played and made some incredible catches in the outfield.  

It was on the other side of Evergreen Terrace that I asked a kid to shoot me in the finger with a bee bee gun.  I wanted to know how it felt.  I stood back a ways and held up my thumb.  I didn't think he would actually hit me, but he did.  It hurt pretty good, but didn't break my skin.  

Another time a kid was playing with a copperhead snake by the lake.  I didn't venture close and thought he was stupid playing with a poisonous snake.  

Still another time my brother organized a big baseball game against other kids in our area.  We both recruited different local players.  Weldon got my sister's fiancé, Clyde, to umpire.  It was a very competitive game.  We played on the diamond which was next to our house through a gate dividing the park and the apartment complex.  (the diamond before the lake pictures.)

Weldon, Charlie and I attended Unity Point School, which was a K-8.  I was in sixth grade.  Weldon was in eighth and played on the basketball team.  The basketball games were pretty fun, and I remember the cheer, "U.P. up and away."  Us boys thought that was funny.  Carbondale has a system were everyone plays in a big single-elimination tournament.  Weldon played in the middle school tourney.  To a lesser extent they also had a sixth grade tourney.  I was on the team but never played.  Bob McKess did play.

Unity Point

This photo shows expansion to the north of the school.  Use to be we had black top with baskets and then grassy area there.  They have extended the school and move baskets forward closer to the road.

I played minor league Little League baseball both years we lived in Carbondale and the diamonds were by Lewis School and our church.  I played catcher both years.  The first year we had two African American boys pitching.  They were pretty good.  Our teams was probably in the middle of the pack in terms of record.  I  pitched one inning, walking the first three and then striking out the next three.  Nobody scored.  One game we were ahead of the other team but our pitcher lost his control and the other teams was scoring with walks.  Finally a very large player form the other team was on third.  He was a slow runner.  I let the ball go pass, ran to the back stop and grabbed it and returned to home to tag him out sliding into home.  We won the game.  However my coach did not like the move very much.  I think he thought it was poor sportsmanship to take advantage of the slower runner.  

The second year McKess boys' father coached.  He had lots of players form Evergreen Terrace area.  We were very good.  We did not lose any games.  Again I played catcher.  We only had one competitive game all year and this was the championship game.  For the most part everybody played half a game.  We had a large team.  The only game I played the full game was the championship game.  I caught the first half and then played first base the second half.  One of our players had been moved up to majors so we had less players.

The diamonds are still there.  I remember accessing the diamonds from Lewis Road.  However now the access if from the road by our old church. I did not see the snack shack.  This is were I drank my first Coca-cola.  It may have been psychosomatic but it gave me an upset tummy; so I never was a fan of Coke.

second year diamond

first year diamond

t-ball diamond

We attended the Carbondale Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Our church building is still there, however it is a different denomination now.  It didn't have the big walkway thing on the front but instead had a tall steeple.  The chapel was to the left of the entrance and classrooms and a cultural hall to the right.  To the left of the building, when we attended church there was a swampy area.  It attracted lots of fireflies in the firefly season.  One time while we were there swimming a Patterson girl fell into one of the swampy ponds.  I was next to her and quickly pulled her out.  

Our branch was part of the Carbondale District, so this must have also housed the district offices.  I sang a solo of "I Wonder When He Comes Again" for Primary and for a primary district meeting.  Steve Nielsen was the Branch President.  (I and his daughter Cindy us to pass notes.  We also had our first church dance although very young.) I was ordained a deacon the Sunday before we moved back to Hyrum, Utah.  Mom served both in the primary for a time and as the relief society president for a time.  

Where we use to attend church

I attended the Carbondale Ward while I was there.  The ward is part of the Cape Girardeau Stake.  (Cape Girardeau was part of the Carbondale District when we lived there.). The church building is on the other side of town, on the old high way 13 which goes to Murphysboro.  It was Father's Day and they served the men pie.  I had banana cream.  The primary kids also sang.  It was fun.  However nobody form the old days.  It had been over 50 years.  A few people knew the Childers who were by Blazer Scout leaders.  

primary singing

Carbondale Ward

And advantage to living in Evergreen Terrace is we were close to the Southern Illinois University campus.  The football stadium and baseball field were just up the street from us.  We would attend both as we could get there on our bikes.  The football team was never very good, but the baseball team was very good.  They actually played in the college world series during this time and took second behind Southern California.  The basketball team was also good during this time.  Our dad worked in the Morris Library.

Itchy Jones Stadium was first used in 2014.  It was built over the top of the Abe Martin Field which was the field we visited.  

Recently renamed Banterra, this building was there when we lived there and was call SIU Arena.

Saluki Stadium was first used in 2010.It took the place of McAndrew Stadium after 73 seasons

Another interesting place in Carbondale is Crab Orchard lake.  This is a very large lake with lots of boaters and fishermen.  Sail boating was big when we lived there and my father took us once.

Giant City State Park is next to Carbondale.  We went their several times, once with a school field trip.  The state park has steep cliffs and narrow trails.  We must have visited in Autumn because I remember walking along leaf-covered trails.

During our two years in Carbondale we saw much of the town.  We sold light bulbs for scouts and visited many in the town; right in town and also the outskirts. We lived in Carbondale when both Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King were shot and murdered.  

Darn that Blue Spruce is Big

This is the Blue Spruce we planted at our home 45-50 years ago.  When we put in our sewer line, the line went through the roots on one side of the tree, and consequently it leaned for a while.  However it seems to have straitened nicely.  It is now over running the yard at our old house as well as the neighbors.  When we lived there there wasn't a fence dividing the properties in front, it started level with the front of the house.  I haven't lived in this house since marrying in 1983.  My mom sold it to my sister in about 1985 and moved to a condo in Logan.  My sister subsequently sold the house and they moved to Idaho.  The circular driveway use to be more complete, but it did extend beyond the property line and was cut back for sewer lines as well.

Our Hyrum House

Charlie visited our old Hyrum house, 587 East 100 South Hyrum, Utah.  It is currently vacant and for sale.  He got some very interesting pictures, so here is a tour of our home.  We lived in this home from 1963-1967, left for two years, and then returned for 1968 until 1984, after I had graduated from graduate school.  Mom moved to the condo when Charlie and Dianna were still at home, but I had already moved out.

This is the view from the front.  We put in a sprinkler system, a circular driveway, and made the existing driveway larger.  There is siding on the home now, but otherwise it looks much the same.  The cement porch was laid by the builders.  We had bigger shrubberies out front.  We had a basket by the garage, which is to the left.

This shows the original driveway, the crumbly part, and shows the addition.  It shows the neighbor's property, but the big tree is still there.  The garage and house are just to the right of this photo.  You can see that we extended and widened the driveway.  We helped dad put in the forms, lay the gravel, and then the cement truck came and poured the cement.  There was also a chain link fence we put in, mixing the cement by hand for the posts, between the properties, but that is no longer there.

Going through the front door is the living room.  When we purchased it had wood floor.  My dad took this out and put in carpet, and for a long time he kept the wood.  I do not think this is the original wood.  Up the stairs (no pictures) there are three bedrooms.  The bath is the first door to the right, next to the master suite which has its own door to the bathroom.  The two smaller bedrooms are to the left.  There is a landing at the top of the stairs, with doors to all the bedrooms and the bathroom.  The bathroom at that time had a tub only, no shower.  The doors in this picture are the coat closet and the broom closet.  There is also a linen closet upstairs.  We did not have a fan on the light.  The bannister looks to be the original.

This is looking down the stairs from the upstairs to the living room.

The kitchen is on the main level as well.  Of course the counters and linoleum are different, but I think the cabinets may be the same.  The configuration is the same, with the dining room being to the left.  There was also a door to the garage off the dining room.

This picture shows both the kitchen and the living room and you can see how the wall works between the two room.

Going down from the living room is he family room.  My dad and mom put a lot of work into this room.  They put in a gas fireplace, with a fake log.  We did not have a wood insert.  The put in a deep red carpet and had a darker paneling which went to the ceiling.  Ny dad bricked a planter box.  When we originally moved in there was a post in the middle of the room.  The planter box replaced the post and it had a steal decorative bar going to the ceiling to help provide support.  There is no support beam now. 

Originally this was one big room.  My dad put in a hall to seperate the room from the bathroom/laundry room.  He also put in a sewing room, office space.  The sewing room is behind the wall to the right and it has built in cabinets.  If you look from the outside you can see that a window looks into the sewing room, and the other window into the family room.  There is also a window to the back on the wall behind the photographer.  The mantel above the fireplace is an addition of my father's.  He did not get the three supports quite right and the mantel rests on the two outside supports, while there is a space between the middle support and the mantel.

This is part of the basement.  This area is behind the furnace, and dad built a fruit cellar here.  We would fill the shelves with canned fruits and beans from the garden.  It would also be the overflow from kitchen storage such as cans and cereal boxes.  Dad had a couple big wooden boxes he had made and in those we stored sleeping bags.  There was also a big bin with flour and us boys use to have to go down and fill the bin for the kitchen using the sifter.  The are below is also close to the furnace, on the other side, and below the stairs between the family room and the living room.  When I was growing up, this was my place to go when I was sad.  You could watch the fire to the furnace, and have a pity party for a while.

These two pictures are of what was the boy's room when we lived there.  Me and my two brothers shared the room with a twin bed and a bunk bed.  We worked hard on the lodge pole pine walls.  Each board had to be handed to meet my father's strict standards.  We also put in the ceiling over the furnace ducts.  My dad also made built in drawers, desk and closets for us.  The shelves above the desk are the ones my father put in.  The windows became a safety entry which we used if we locked ourselves out of the house.  They can no longer be used in that manner as you will see from the outside.

This is the big area that you come to as you go down the stairs.  My dad built all these cabinets.  However he built a fold up ping-pong table here first, that would fold up and then roll into the wall where about half of the cabinets were.  My dad sold the ping pong table.  We had the hardest time getting it out of the basement because it was built in the basement.   He then added the additional cabinets where the ping-pong table would store.  The other thing that is missing from the basement is my dad's office.  It was to the left as you came down the stairs, opposite the furnace and storage area.  It was all lined with shelves, and my dad collected lots of books, mostly LDS Church related books.

This is inside the garage.  I don't remember my dad improving the garage alot.  It was a single car garage, and we would store stuff along each wall.  We didn't park vehicles in it very much but the garage was used as a work area for wood projects or car mechanics.  My dad had a lot of tools.

The outside is the saddest part of all.  Yes they have a big yard, but the garden is pretty much gone.  They only tree still growing is the old plum trees that were there when we moved in, and they are still in very bad shape.  Gone are the raspberries, strawberries, and other fruit trees, as well as most of the garden space.  He had bill a culvert from the front to the garden in the back.  The back yard had a big lillac bush, and chain link fences on both sides.  It did not have a back porch off the kitchen, and there was no exit from the kitchen to the back.  You had to go through the garage.  Instead we had hauled very nice rock for a rock and bush garden.  The rock came from Porcupine.  We also made a flat rock side walk which went from the back patio to the back door going into the garage.  The rock garden was inside this sidewalk.  We put the cover up over the patio behind the family room.  However in that day, there were cement stairs which came up to ground level rather than the sunken porch. 

These two pictures tell on my younger sister.  That is her writing on the wall.  I think this is from the fruit storage area in the basement.  Mike was an old boyfriend my brother Charlie did not like.  I am pretty sure Charlie chased him off.  (This was after my dad had left and moved to Salt Lake.)