UlysAnnie album, page 10

Grandchildren: BACK: Velma, June, Wathada holding Russell, Oma Dell, Morris, Buck, Betty. FRONT: Carl Ray, Clint, Ronnie, Shelby, Mary Gail, Bob, Velda, Bobbie, Beverly, Chuckie, Jeannie.

Oma Dell is Ruby's daughter. Velma, June, Betty, and Bobbie are Irene's. Wathada, Morris, Bob, and Ronnie are Cleffie's. Buck and Beverly are Evalee's. Carl, Velda, and Mary are Vernell's. Jeannie, Clint, and Chuckie are Olan's. Shelby is Bernice's. Russell is Lowell's. (The only ones missing are Elvin's.) This would have been 1951.

Xmas 1950 at Ulys and Annie's farm in Michigan.

Charles and Evalee, Beverly and Buck, Ulys & Annie

Xmas 1950. Jack Barnett, Charles Jones, Lester Burford, Ray Leatherwood, Jay Bridges, Olan Hicks, Lowell Hicks. (Five sons-in-law and two sons.)

Annie and Elvin HIcks

Ulysses

BACK: Bernice, Annie, Ulys, Jay holding Russell, Lester (? with his head cut off), Cleffie, Wathada.

FRONT: Morris, Lowell, Shelby, Ronnie, Bobby. This would have been 1951.

Elvin's kids: Junior, Jeannie, Jimmy. Morris Burford (holding the puppy).

Bernice and Cleffie

Pictures

Remember this old Statler Brothers song?

PICTURES

Here's a picture that we took in Cincinnati

The time we saw that big league baseball game

Here's a picture that we took in Printer's Alley

Down in Nashville when we met old what's his name

Here's one of me in my old '60 Chevy

The one that let us down in Baltimore

Here's the best one that I've ever seen of Betty

And can you believe the dresses that you wore

Here's a picture that we took at graduation

I'm so glad you talked me out of quittin' school

Here I am when I worked at the filling station

And here's one of Ernie actin' like a fool

Here's the last one that we ever took of Daddy

We tried hard to make him smile but never did

And here's one I caught of you when you weren't ready

And here I am when I was just a kid

Oh sweetheart it's so much fun to be reminded

Of how we used to look and what we used to do

And each time we make a memory I'm reminded

I can't picture me with no one else but you

Here's a pose of you that looked so sweet and lovely

That's the way I pictured you right from the start

And here's a picture of you being close beside me

That's the picture that I carry in my heart

Oh sweetheart it's so much fun to be reminded

Of how we used to look and what we used to do

And each time we make a memory I'm reminded

I can't picture me with no one else but you

--Songwriters: D. Reid / L. Dewitt

 

UlysAnnie album, page 9

Ruby, Cleffie, Annie, Evalee, Vernell, Bernice

Xmas 1950

Charles, Jack, Buck, Morris, Oma Dell, Elaine, Wathada.

This was probably taken the same day as the picture above. 

Ulys & Annie in front of their house on Empire Avenue in Benton Harbor. This is the house they lived in when I was growing up. Bernice and Cindy lived in the upstairs, which was converted into a tiny apartment with a kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom.

Ulysses Fillmore Hicks

(This seems like the 'official' portrait to me -- this is how I remember him.)

Ulys & Annie in the snow

Ulys & Annie 1948

Ulys & Annie

Annie Hicks

(not sure when this was taken, but I'm guessing this is one of the last pictures of her)

UlysAnnie album, page 8

Boyle Lake Fish Fry, summer 1950

BACK: Barbara holding Chuckie, Ulys, Annie, Jay? behind Bernice?, Evalee, Cleffie, Olan, Vernell, Lester, Ray behind Wathada, Charles, Lowell, Elaine (and Russell). MIDDLE: Carl Ray, Jeannie, Shelby?, Velda. FRONT: Ronnie, Bobby, Mary Gail, Beverly, Morris, Buck

Burfords' & Jones'

LEFT: Evalee, Wathada, Beverly. CENTER: Lester. RIGHT: Cleffie, Ronnie, Buck, Morris

(Looks like they were at a cemetery.)

Evalee. (This picture is out of sequence in the timeline -- because of the constraints of trying to coordinate vertical vs horizontal photos/slots in the photo album.)

Here's what Annie wrote:

  When we came to Michigan, we worked on a farm in 1941 and 1942.  In the fall of ’42 we got jobs in the shops and the children went to school at Bridgman, and we drove to Benton Harbor to work.   In the summer of 1943, we rented an apartment at 120 Sixth Street in Benton Harbor and stayed there six years.  In the meantime, in 1945 we bought a 20 acre farm about 20 miles south of Benton Harbor.  We rented the farm out for three years, then we moved on it and Ulys quit working in the shop but I kept working till 1953.  Ulys worked in the shop till 1948.  He got so disabled that we sold the farm and bought a house in Benton Harbor at 602 Empire.  He didn’t work any more, but I worked about two years more.  We bought the house in Benton Harbor the fall of 1951.

Wathada wrote:

  Grandpa and Grandma Hicks had bought a little fruit farm (just 20 acres) between Buchanan and Baroda, Michigan. They both worked in factories in Benton Harbor and they wanted Daddy to run the farm for them.  Daddy also got a job in a factory in Benton Harbor, and did the farming too.  He took a one month leave of absence from the factory every summer during harvest time.  

["Daddy" being Lester Burford]

UlysAnnie album, page 7

 

Irene, Ruby holding Evalee, Elvin, Cleffie

Elvin, Cleffie

Olan, Lowell, Vernell

Vernell, Cleffie, Olan, Ulys, Lowell, Annie, Irene, Ruby, Bernice, Evalee

(One of very few photos of Ulys and Annie with all nine of their children)

Vernell, Elvin, Evalee, Cleffie

Sylvia Arnold and Cleffie Hicks

Sylvia was a cousin -- the daughter of Annie's brother Marlie

UlysAnnie album, page 6

Ruby, Irene, Cleffie

Ulys (center), Annie behind Ulys. Clockwise from Annie: Irene, Cleffie, Evalee, Elvin, Ruby

Lowell

Olan 

Back: Evalee, Vernell. Front: Olan, Oma Dell, Lowell, Bernice

(I don't think I have any childhood pictures of Bernice smiling. She must have not liked having her picture taken. She always looks mad.)

Elvin and Evalee

Cleffie and Irene Barnett

Irene was the daughter of Luvena Barnett, who was married to Earl - a half-brother of Jack and Doc Barnett (Ruby and Irene's husbands) -- I guess you'd say she was a 'shirttail' cousin.

UlysAnnie album, page 5

 

Ruby, Irene, Cleffie, Elvin, Evalee (They had been eating watermelon.)

Bernice, Lowell, Oma Dell, Lowell (Oma Dell was the daughter of Ulys & Annie’s oldest daughter Ruby. Annie gave birth to Bernice and Lowell after this first grandchild was born.)

Ulysses and his sister Charlotte (‘Tot’)

Cleffie, Elvin, Evalee holding Olan, neighbor Mildred Rogers, Vernell, Irene, 1928

Labor Day picnic 1950: Wathada, Morris, Bobby, Ronnie, Evalee, Lester, Charles, Buck (Beverly is hidden behind Lester) Cleffie took the picture. Below it is a nearly identical photo that includes Cleffie, taken by Evalee.

Irene and Ruby, 1912