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January 23, 1939: Robert Ronald Smith was born at home to Evelyn Lucille Smith and Carl D. Smith, in Wellman, Iowa, attended by the town physician. At the time, Carl worked in the Wellman Creamery, making butter. Almost immediately, I was known as Ronnie, and that continued until I was a freshman in college. Remaining Iowa relatives still call me Ronnie. We were surrounded by close relatives in Wellman, including Grandmother Smith, several of Carl's siblings, and many other relatives. The Smith family had been in the area since well before the turn of the century, having migrated from Ohio. The primary employer in Wellman was the turkey processing plant. Both Carl and Evelyn worked there when they met; Carl as a supervisor on the killing line, and Evelyn as a pin-feather plucker. Wellman was called the Turkey Capitol of the World then, and was known as a serious "party town". Note: The little tyke's photo was taken at about 9 months. |
| Dad, Ronnie, and Peggy - A nice shot showing small-town Wellman, Iowa in '39. Peggy, the black cocker spaniel was my "baby-sitter" as an infant. Historically, the National Socialist (Nazi) party was gaining strength in Germany, making WWII just over the horizon. At home, 2 of the biggest movies of all time were competing: Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind. Comic book heros Superman and Captain Marvel were born that year. | |
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Wartime - By the time these photos were taken, the world, and the U.S., were involved in WWII, both in Europe and against the Japanese in the Pacific. Carl went to work at the Ordnance plant in West Burlington Iowa, manufacturing munitions for the war effort. Initially, we lived in the federal trailer park for plant employees. Notice that those were really trailers, not mobile homes... tiny, poorly insulated, and "without facilities". (I still have the little rocking chair) Later, we moved to new government housing nearby. The second photo was taken when we lived in a small house in a field, one of many places we lived that were poor for adults but delightful for a young boy. |
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