Up until about the 1960's no sexual innuendo was attached to girls walking arm in arm, hand in hand, or arms around the waist. Girls often danced together because there were fewer men at socials or men were not as interested in dancing as women. There was little thought of lesbian, [although there were lesbians; they just didn't "come out." --Bert]. Close interaction was all part of being young and friends. In fact, most young girls had probably never heard of "that word" or the concept. [Sexuality, and particularly homosexuality, was well hidden in those days. --Bert].

Larue, a generation later, didn't know what the word meant until she was 44 years old and studying the Greek plays at Arizona State University. The professor (a friend of Albert Einstein) and the other students were discussing a lesbian relationship between characters in the play. Larue was lost so raised her hand and asked what that word meant. One could have heard a pin drop. Suddenly everyone in the room who had been acting so sophisticated was frozen in embarrassment and shock. Even Herr Professor Dr. Parker. After the couple of seconds it took for the class to return to normal, a couple of boys (men??) made some snide remarks about the "old lady." The professor told Larue to go home and look up the word in a dictionary. Even this tried and true man couldn't summon the courage to skirt his embarrassment and give Larue an explanation. So goes the world. Larue went home and looked up the word. I guess now even little children know all the words and concepts concerning homosexuality.

Another comment by Bert (2004): I learned of homosexuals at about 10 years old when we visited some women friends of Mom's (Dot's) who were not married but living together and obviously much closer than just "friends." I figured whatever works, and moved on. Pop (Ed) was famous for his quote, " 'To each his own', said the farmer as he kissed his cow.", which I heard from a young age.

Larue and Walter Jr. are the same age. Larue and Arleigh became very close friends as Larue grew older. The whereabouts of those still living are unknown. According to present (1998) knowledge, only Roger, Walter and Iola are still living. Maybe Arleigh died young from kidney infection when her third child as on the way. It was so early in the pregnancy that the child was lost, too. Walter Jr. went to Europe during WWII. He was in the Army and only there about 2 weeks when his arm was shattered by a sniper's bullet. He was sent home and discharged. Larue saw him only once after he returned home. His nerves had been so shattered that he seldom went out. Roger came home from European WWII service, married, and had one daughter. 

They kept in touch with Larue for only a year or two. Iola married an Army 1st Lt. in about 1942. He went overseas to Europe and was gone for three years. It was very difficult for Iola. He came home a Major. They had two or three children. One boy was drowned while the family was at a church picnic. Later, when Arleigh died, they took Arleigh's son and reared him. Arleigh's oldest child, a daughter with health problems, born long before Arleigh married her son's father, was reared by  Arleigh's father Walter. Lucille married when Larue was very young. She had four or five children.  She divorced her husband when she discovered he "bothered" their oldest daughter. Very sad. As mentioned on another page, Marion married late in life and had no children. Ada never married and retired from the Army Nurse  Corps. Two reasons why Larue lost track of that family were they were all so much older than she and also Larue moved to a far out Chicago suburb (Palatine) and then went to Phoenix away from all of the relatives except her parents after she married.