Looking back: The Knodles tell the way things were ‘back then’

If there has ever been anyone more loyal to their roots than Bob and Priscilla Knodle, I haven’t met them. For three hours one afternoon this week the three of us sat and talked over old times.

Both the Knodles believe they grew up in good times. There were 12 kids in the Knodle family, and Priscilla who was a Watson, said she worked in the cafeteria at Freeport High School all four years she attended there. A busy student, she sang in the choruses, often as soloist, and played violin and French horn in orchestra. During her early adult life, she worked at the W.T. Rawleigh Co. and will be remembered by patrons of Freeport Public Library as an employee there in her later years.

Bob was born on Shawnee Street. The Knodle kids all went to Aquin High School. And all the Knodle boys and a future brother-in-law, Les Snyder, worked at the gas stations of sibling Floyd “Chalky” Knodle, so labeled because of his blond hair and complexion. Bob said he got the name when it was necessary to distinguish between two Floyds on the team. In those days, nicknames, often quite explicit, were frequently tacked onto kids.

It was the gas station story that took me to the Knodles’ house in the first place, to continue in the series that erupted from the vastness of gas stations that have served Freeport over the years. But, needless to say, the conversation soon branched off into Bob’s favorite topic, growing up on Freeport’s “East Side.” The family lived in several locations when the East Side was predominately populated by Caucasian working-class families. Bob has a remarkable assortment of historic Freeport photos, information and memorabilia. He dotes on the stuff. Priscilla chimes in too, relishing those days as much as Bob.

Sibling Pride

Bob is proud of all his siblings. Five of the 12 are still living. It’s been a close-knit family. His brother, Faye “Tubby” Knodle, recently visited here. He is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel. Bob loves to talk about that brother’s accomplishments; but “Chalky” seems to be one he really looked up to. Chalky had two gas stations and later went into the bulk oil business delivering to all the City Services stations around the area. After retiring from that Chalky had a mail route picking up mail at area post offices. He owned the local racetrack for a while and supported a City Services stock car. Chalky was also well-known as a basketball referee at the YMCA.

“He was a heckuva catcher, too,” Bob said.

Chalky died at age 57, his last job being jailer for Stephenson County with his wife, the former Ellen Wardlow, serving as matron. “She worked the radio,” Bob said.

Bob laughs at some of the antics they got into. One brother “thought he could fly” and jumped off the barn roof with an umbrella when the hard truth of gravity struck. He was fortunately not seriously injured. Bob remembers roller skating in the basement of one of the houses they lived in. It had an outside cellar door allowing flocks of kids to congregate at the Knodle home. But what’s a few more?

Things He’ll Never Forget

Bob’s mind is like a steel trap recalling where everything was located along the East side of the Pecatonica River. Here’s betting he’d be happy to talk to anyone interested about those old times. It’s hard to keep up with him when he gets started. He talks about the Coca-Cola plant that operated there and several other long-gone industries, foundries, grocery stores, people. He knows exactly where each one was. One of his brother’s gas stations sat alongside the Harris grocery store. The pump was right in front of the adjacent house. Both he and Priscilla remember the East Side Dairy run by the legendary Roger Hill.

Fresh as ever in Bob’s mind are the carnivals and circuses that paid regular visits to Freeport. He remembers five blocks of adjoining vacant lots where the carnival’s rides and shows drew crowds from all over the region

When the circuses came to town to liven up Taylor Park and environs, Bob would get some job helping out to gain free admission. He was one of many kids who found that calling.

He loved to talk about the club houses the boys fixed up. One was a shed behind their home on East Stephenson Street where they’d gather for games of marbles and other things a group of boys might construe. He said they were very creative at devising marbles competition. They’d dig holes and vie for sinking them in the holes.

Bob remembers that one of the kid became a dentist in Freeport, Dr. Griffo. His dad ran a grocery store on Jackson Street “a couple doors away.” He was a smart kid, Bob said, and a sharpshooter at playing marbles. He was also a good athlete in high school, Bob added. “He’d win all the marbles and we’d have to go to his dad’s store the next day and buy more.”

Digging in the Dump

The Arcade factory, one of Freeport’s more famous industries, a maker of toys coveted today by collectors, was still going full tilt. It was a practice of the crew to dump defective toys and parts in a pile outside, and of course, it didn’t take long for the kids around there to discover that. Thus a favorite pastime kept the kids busy in a barn behind the Knoble home rigging the toys together with the parts they salvaged. Bob said that was one of the things that kept them out of trouble.

Playing ball in Taylor Park and vacant lots was also the fellows’ unfaltering commitment. There were some pretty good athletes that came out of that and local supporters of sports. Bob was one of them as was his brother, “Chalky.” Bob, in fact, became a Freeport Park District cop and as such was known all over town. He liked kids and guiding them into wholesome activities. Bob also had a security business during his working years.

A Promise Made

Tragedy struck the Knodles family more than once. Bob’s twin sister died of a ruptured appendix as a child, and his father was killed at age 61 in an explosion and fire at the W.T. Rawleigh plant where he worked in the “salad department.” Priscilla worked there at the time also, and was one of the first to hear of the tragedy.

Talking about that was an effort for Bob. He said his father’s last request was for the boys to promise to take care of their mother. Five of the families lived on Langdon Street with three of them taking turns having her live in their homes a month at a time.

Priscilla said her mother-in-law liked to come to their house for potato soup and coffee. She said her husband’s mother was a sweet woman, easy to take care of.

Priscilla also speaks of a special friend she had. She still talks to and writes to Betty Bechtold on occasion and remembers picnics and 4th of July celebrations they shared at Crane’s Grove, south of Freeport. “We drank water from the creek,” she said grinning.

An Appropriate Memorial

The recollections flow from one thing to another. But the traits that stand out most are the warmth, the fun, the humor, the close family ties that prevailed within the Knodle family. A final tribute to their parents is indicative of that. They placed a bench in their parents’ honor near the Lincoln statue – where else – in Taylor Park, in the old neighborhood, those familiar stomping grounds. It seems like just the kind of thing, straight from the heart, an appropriate tribute to the kind of values held by the Knodles and, perhaps, society in general during that period.