KAREN BONIKOWSKI answers some of LINDA TIEZZI WALDERA questions

I have pix of aunts playing ball tho I gave most to the appropriate cousins.

I used to get to grill onions as well as pickles after church on Sunday.  I guess the lord blessed me for my holiness and/or Uncle Peanuts liked me best.

Embedded forever in my memory is the day I water-ballooned Aunt Anne.  Was aiming for Donnie Bell.  His mom worked at the Villa and his dad, Harry, always played the fiddle when the Uncles made music. 

GARY BONIKOWSKI continuing on WATER BALLOONS

You are darn tootin that I was totally innocent. I have no memory of that activity. Talk about a couple of girls trying to blame a guy for their bad deeds! Sheesh!! What I do remember is that whenever it was time to do the dishes at your house, you always seemed to have to go to the bathroom. Poor Marcia got stuck with the dishes. Typical older sister trick.

LINDA TIEZZI WALDERA has QUESTIONS regarding SOFTBALL/BASEBALL PLAYING by ORIGINAL 13

How many of the ORIGINAL 13, our aunts and uncles/parents/grandparents were involved in baseball or softball as young adults? What positions did they play, for what team, and where? I know many did and of course we know that most all of them were die-hard CUB fans. Aunt Elda is still a walking encyclopedia of Cubbie information. 

LINDA TIEZZI WALDERA has a couple of QUESTIONS for SHERRY LAIBLE

Sherry, did your mother have one of the Cushmann motor scooters? I can't remember who owned them. Also,what kind of job did your mom have before she got married and what position did she play in baseball/softball, for which team, where and for how long?

LINDA TIEZZI WALDERA back at GARY BONIKOWSKI with more WATER BALLOONS

Are you saying that I came up with the water balloon idea, actually launched them, and you were totally innocent???

SHERRY LIABLE WHITE on AUNT MACKIE & UNCLE BUD

Virginia Marie Tiezzi and Elwood "Bud" Laible met at the Bridge Villa.  Bud's mother, Rosalie, loved how they could all sit around one big table to have a meal.  Virginia and Bud were married a few blocks from there at the Madison Avenue Methodist Church in Peoria.  Nina and Bill Gray stood up for them at their ceremony. Eugene and Hazel Catteau held a reception at their home.  Virginia and Bud lived near Elda and Nelson Graves until the Laible's moved to Washburn on a farm that Bud's family had lived on.  Bud named the land Tiezzi Landa Park and there were a few family gatherings with homemade food. 

GARY BONIKOWSKI begs to differ with LINDA TIEZZI WALDERA regarding WATER BALLOONS

You were throwing water balloons out the front windows onto people and it was Gary who got you in trouble?!?! I think NOT. I think that you should look in the mirror to see who got you in trouble. 

LINDA TIEZZI WALDERA responds to NANCY KELLERSTRASS post about AUNT ELLA & UNCLE TROY

There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Uncle Troy and Aunt Ella were crazy over you and Angie. I know they loved being with you. Uncle Troy "Mr. Pepsi" was a generous man, that's why he fit perfectly into the Tiezzi Family. 

The memories I have of Aunt Ella go back futher .. when she was helping to run the New Bridge Villa. She opened up that dining room to the whole family on numerous occasions and we just had a ball being there. I remember that Karen and I used to stand at the grill in the kitchen frying dill pickle slices. Those were the only thing that Aunt Ella would let us touch out of the cooler. The catfish ready to fry, the big buckets of potato salad and cole slaw were "off limits". We thought those fried dill pickle slices were delicious and used to take orders, pretending we ran the place. Of course that only held our attention so long and either we got distracted or were kicked out after awhile and then we would head upstairs to Aunt Ella and Uncle Peanut's flat and would manage to get into more mischief than appreciated. Let's just say the one time we threw water balloons out the front windows on people passing by didn't go over very well with the more mature elders. I think it was Gary who got us into that trouble. Anyway, the New Bridge Villa was a GREAT place for the Tiezzi clan to hang out on a Sunday during the winter months. 

NANCY KELLERSTRASS on AUNT ELLA & UNCLE TROY

Aunt Ella and Uncle Troy had a lot to do with my upbringing.
When I was little Angie and I spent nearly every weekend with them.  So, it might be 
difficult to tell a story about  Uncle Troy without talking about Aunt Ella too but I will try.

Uncle Troy and Aunt Ella used to come pick up Angie and I to go to the Dairy Queen for a ten center ice cream cone nearly every week night during the summer.  We would eat our ice cream cones, then we would all go see Willard at the Pepsi plant.  It was so much fun to go see Willard.  He washed the Pepsi trucks in the evenings.  We got to run and play on all the Pepsi trucks while Uncle Troy talked to Willard.  

Uncle Troy used to always tell me...Don't get married until you are 25 and I will buy you a Dairy Queen to run when you are older.  I laugh now when I think of this.  But I did what he told me.  I didn't  have a serious boyfriend until I was 25 because of what he said.  He was a really special influence in my life and will always be missed.

I loved spending time with Aunt Ella and Uncle Troy growing up.  We used to always go watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade at their house because they had a color TV and we did not.  Uncle Troy would always let me pick a team when watching football.  We would bet a quarter on the game.  It was always fun....lots of love and good memories.

HELP! What we are looking for!

With the cookbook coming for the Tiezzi Reunion this summer, the authors/editors would like for all the cousins to share some favorite stories, memories, thoughts, whatever you'd like, about the Tiezzi 13/Spouses.  We have a deadline and it will be here before we know it.  MARCH 1ST is the DEADLINE.  So, take a look at our first entry which comes from Nancy Kellerstrass about Aunt Ella and Uncle Troy.  Think of your own stories and post them as comments under any post you see on this blog.  It won't show up as a comment but will alert me that someone wants to comment.  What I will do is grab your story and post it in a regular post,  just like Nancy's.  To do this look at the bottom of any post and click on No comments, enter your story in the box, then Comment as:  Anonymous, click Publish and follow the last instruction.  That's it!  I'll be notified there is an anonymous comment waiting to be published and I will go in, grab & post it.  Let's Go!
PS  BE SURE TO STATE YOUR NAME IN THE COMMENT SINCE ALL I WILL SEE IS AN "ANONYMOUS" poster.  We need to know who is submitting the story : )