Simply Bev ...

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Chapter One

Beverly Rae Kimes was born in West Chicago, Illinois, August 17, 1939. She was the daughter of Raymond L. and Grace D. Parrin Kimes. Her middle name, Rae (after her father), would be of some help to her later on in life. She was nicknamed Fuzzy, for her lack of hair at birth ... and for sometime after.

Ray and Grace were married on November 25, 1937. Grace was a 1936 graduate of the Comptometer School, in Chicago. (The comptometer was a machine that was used, at that time, to keep company records for expenditures and sales.) She worked for Sears, Roebuck and Company at their headquarters, in Chicago until early 1939. At that time, pregnant with Beverly, she left her job and was given a glowing letter of recommendation from her boss. Typical of life back then, Grace stayed home to raise the family, and Ray went to work to support them. Grace did not re-enter the work force until the mid sixties, after both daughters were out on their own.

They lived in West Chicago for about two years, in a house with a backyard sandbox. On good days, Bev played in the sandbox. The house was close to the tracks of the Chicago Northwestern Railroad, her father's employer. When some of the trains passed, the engineers who knew Ray — and where he lived — would honk the train horn as a "hello" to Bev as she played.

Knowing that this was really not a desirable neighborhood for the family, and particularly for Bev, they started looking for other places to live. At the time, the search was somewhat hampered by Ray's earnings as a "fireman" for Chicago North Western. (His job was to shovel coal into the firebox of the locomotive.) The house search, however, would soon be changed by a stroke of good luck and Grace's brother, Howard, who was planning to relocate to California.

Since Howard and his wife, Vern, wanted to leave as soon as possible, a deal was struck between the two families. Howard and Vern packed up their things, and their two children, Jacquie and Bruce, and headed west. The Kimes family happily moved into Howard and Vern's former home at 515 South Hale Street. Once in California, Howard and Vern never returned to Wheaton for visits. (In later years, Bev did go to visit them; I accompanied her on a visit in the mid-eighties, which was the last time that she would make the trip.)

The house was sold as a "kit" through the Sears, Roebuck catalog (In the early 1900's, a vast array of things were sold this way; for example, the Sears Motor Buggy, a horseless carriage that Beverly would own later in her life.) There was a lot of painting and fixing that was needed to make the house a home. At the time, Ray was gone for days on runs with the railroad. While away, he sent many letters to Grace pleading with her not to work too hard and wait for him to return and help. In one letter, Ray said that due to lack of man power, he would be away a few days longer than expected; but this was good, because he was being paid $10.00 a day. As he put it, they "sure could use the extra money." In all his letters, he always asked, about "Snooky Pants," a nickname for Bev — but only used by him.

The repairs to the house were completed in a short time, and the family settled in for what would be a long time — 1942 to 1982. This was the only house that Bev lived in, until she went off to college in the Fall of 1957. Ray and Grace would continue to live there, until after his retirement from the railroad. Ray was an engineer at the time of his retirement and for many years prior. The reason he retired, as he put it, "I was just fed up with these new whippersnapper's telling me how to run my train." Ray and Grace retired to Eagle River, Wisconsin in 1982.

In the late 80's, Bev and I were out West on a summer vacation and, at Bev's request, we went to see 515. (The number was the only thing needed for the family to refer to their home.) There was a woman working outside, and Beverly got out of the car and approached her. As it turned out, she was quite friendly, and invited Bev and I inside to show Bev all the things that she and her husband had been doing to restore the house. They wanted it to appear as original as they could, as it has been back in the 1920's. This was a very happy day for Bev; not only did she get to revisit her childhood home, she also learned that someone caring now owned and lived at 515.

In March of 1942, Bev's sister, Sharon, was born; her nickname was "Muscles." In their early years, the girls didn't have too much in common. Sharon was a "tom boy," through and through. She preferred cars, trucks and toy gas stations. Beverly preferred dolls and other girly things.

On one occasion, Bev had just finished curtseying and seating her paper dolls, when Sharon snuck up from behind and blew them all down. To get even, Bev cut the strings on the car elevator of Sharon's service station.

Bev's favorite doll, Sparkle Plenty, which underwent many repairs by her father, was finally retired when she turned thirteen. The doll, along with many other childhood memories, were stored away in boxes and remained there till her death.

One of the favorite things for Bev, Sharon and their friends, were the ball games that they played in the back lot behind the house. Bev's father would do the pitching; her mom was the umpire. (There were many of these games when her father could be at home.)

There were summer vacation trips, during her growing-up years to various lakes: such as Lake Geneva in Illinois, or Lake Okauchee in Wisconsin. Bev made a footnote in her scrapbook, that said: "These visits were sexual summers, and always fun." By "sexual," Bev referred to interaction with boys, as in "flirting"; not to be interpreted as having sex. (Things were much different, in terms of meaning, back then.) They went to Lake Tomahawk, in Wisconsin, which Bev said, "... was no fun and left a lot to be desired."

On alternate vacation trips, Bev and Sharon would be allowed to take turns bringing a friend. Whenever Bev had a friend for the trip, they would pick on Sharon, until she moaned and complained to the point that she would have to be moved to the front seat, between her parents. Then, all was good in the back seat.

Bev spent one week in Minocqua, Wisconsin, with her friend, Myra Darrow and Myra's dad. On this trip, according to her diary, Bev appointed herself "Chief of Research Department of `Dreamboats' (exceptionally good looking boys)." She also made some trips to Williams Bay and Crystal Lake with her friend, Janet Heitzler and Janet's father.

All in all, Beverly and her family did have a lot of fun vacations. On one occasion, while Bev, Sharon and Janet were swimming in the lake, they decided to skinny dip. They removed and tied their bathing suits to the swimming dock, and when it was time to get out of the water, Sharon's suit was missing. (It seems that it had mysteriously floated away!) Sharon wouldn't come out of the water until dark. This incident did not amuse their mother — and having to buy another swimming suit — didn't either. The three-year age difference made Sharon, most often, the brunt of the pranks (which is understandable during their early years). This changed in their later years, however, and their relationship became very close.

The family's means of transportation in the early years, was an old 1937 Pontiac (which finally gave way to a Kaiser, in the early 50's.) This was the car that Beverly drove to take her driver's test for her license in 1956. It was also the one and only car in which she was involved in an accident. While stopping at the local gas station, she, "... gently motored into the gas pump."

In all, Bev didn't drive very much, until she arrived at Penn State and had to make her rounds to theaters. Later, when she arrived in New York City, her driving pretty much ceased, except for an occasional rental. She once told me, "Once, I was returning from the Hershey Pennsylvania Antique Car Meet, and made my way back to New York City by way of Philadelphia; I am a little geographically challenged." When we first met, she confessed, "I have a driver's license for identification purposes only, and I make a very good passenger. So, why should I drive?"

The Kaiser was replaced with a 1955 Ford Fairlane, in the late 50's. It was a turquoise and white color combination. A speedboat, built by Ray and son-in-law, Tom Sauer, was added. (Tom and Sharon had married in October 1959.) The speedboat added a lot more fun to the lake vacations; with boating, water skiing, and tubing.

One of many stories told about Bev's early years, was about a pet named, Sally Ann. Sally Ann was a chicken. When she was not around on a particular Sunday, Bev and Sharon were quite concerned, especially when Sunday dinner turned out to be chicken. Beverly asked her Mom, "This is not Sally Ann, is it Mom?" Her mother assured her that it was not, and that Sally Ann must have wandered off, and would most likely come back.

That night, Ray and Grace went out to a chicken farm to look for a replacement (which took quite some doing.) Eventually, they did find one that would pass as Sally Ann. The next morning, the girls discovered that their beloved chicken had returned home. Needless to say "new" Sally Ann died of old age. (The real truth came many years later.)

Another fond memory from Bev's diary: "One evening, Sharon and I went uptown to sell Christmas cards and had taken our dog, Tuffy, along with us. We were so overwhelmed with our success, that we returned home, leaving Tuffy tied to a parking meter." A speedy retreat was made to retrieve Tuffy, and thankfully, he was still tied to the meter.

Bev had attached the following note to a greeting card, sent about 1962, when she must have been away at college: "From Mr. Harry Chartterton of Wheaton — a kindly white-haired gentleman who never forgets a birthday, special occasion or any holiday. As a child, I used to sit hours with him, chatting and drinking Welch's grape juice."

Beverly was also in the Girl Scouts for a while. (I'm not sure exactly how long.) She told me that the reason she gave it up was, "I didn't like digging the trenches, much less using them."

One of Bev's favorite places to hang out in her teenage years, was the Lagoon, where she spent many happy hours. As she said in her scrapbook, "My two favorite things: skating and Pete Rolher." (Pete was her first puppy love.) In a later note, when she was in early high school, she said, "Dances. I dreaded and avoided them as much as possible, and dated as little as social connotations allowed; instead, I entered into a dream world, in which my romantic interest could not be filled by any high school boy."

Do not let these statements lead you to think that this girl was not popular, well liked and respected by her classmates and friends. Quite the contrary; as could be attested to by all the notes and well wishes from the teachers and students signing her yearbooks.

Beverly spent a lot of her teenage years babysitting, as did most female teenagers at this time. It was a good way to earn spending money, and the demand for this service was high. As she stated, "I spent a good deal of my time babysitting, not primarily because of maternal instincts, but because I liked the money."

During her high school years, Bev worked part-time at the Wheaton Theater. She spent "many hysterical hours" there as cashier or candy girl. "One of the best perks, was getting to see the movies without having to pay."

Like most teenage girls at the time, she had an all-consuming crush on James Dean. "Myra, Bonnie and I held séances to try to contact him. Cindy was a cynic; needless to say, no luck." Another one of her movie idols was Marlon Brando. She said, "I saw On The Water Front eight times and knew the dialogue by heart; and wrote it all down."

Other idols were General MacArthur and Nellie Fox of the White Sox. Bev attended quite a few of the White Sox games with her Mom and Aunt Olive. She saved a Jr. White Sox fan pennant (with a fan button attached), as well as three White Sox annuals with all the team's signature's on the back. Her note attached to the pennant said, " A White Sox fan forever, or as long as it takes." Beverly attached notes to everything she saved, including, "First prize that I ever won, for Pin the Tail on the Donkey, in February of 1945."

The Kimes family was Catholic; so both Beverly and Sharon would spend their first six years learning at Saint Michael's School in Wheaton, which was about two blocks behind their house. I don't have much information about these years. I can only assume that Bev did well there, because I found an Honor Certificate awarded to Beverly for having an excellent record of attendance and punctuality, dated June 9, 1947; signed by Sister M. Thonetta. One thing I do know, Bev told me both girls were very happy to move on to the public schools. Beverly entered Wheaton Jr. High in the Fall of 1951.

In 1952, Bev debuted in her first play, Why the Chimes Rang. She saved the script, and wrote on it: "My theatrical debut as a star, 8th grade Christmas Play. Had 102 lines. Everyone said I was great." In 1956, she appeared in the play, Gramercy Ghost, and wrote: "Had a small part, wasn't particularly impressing, but had a wonderful time."

In the late eighties, she had a brief appearance on a Broadway stage, in the play Dame Edna; she was summoned from the audience, by Dame Edna, to participate in a small skit.

In 1956, in her junior year, she wrote a term paper, Statehood for Alaska and Hawaii. She was given an `A', but more poignant, were the comments of the teacher on the front of the term paper: "Outstanding level of research." He asked to keep the paper to be used as an example for future classes. In the future, Bev's skills in research and writing would make her the most respected author in her field, and earn her many awards of recognition for her work.

In her high school years, Bev joined the National Thespian Society and the National Honor Society for Secondary Schools. In addition to her required studies, she was also involved in the GAA Club, and lettered in bowling. She said, "I wasn't an outstanding athlete, just persistent."

As for speech and choir, "... often corny but fun." The Fortune Guild: "My favorite. My beginning of interest in the theater."

She was also involved in: the Pep Club, Thespians, Library Assistant, Glee Club, F.T.A, Treasurer, Usher Club, Poetry Club, Dog Club, Student Court and Wecomi (the student newspaper).

At her graduation ceremony, she was seated in the first two rows, reserved for the "Brains and Brawn Masses" (as described by fellow student, Jerry Kissel.) She graduated with honors, held straight A's, made honor roll, received two gold stars from the National Thespians, and 100-point gold activity pin and 50 point silver activity pin from the National Honor Society.

After graduation, in her scrapbook along with her graduation papers and graduation photograph, she wrote: "Despite honors received, I never looked on my high school years as successful. I never hit the top. I was secretary, treasurer, had a small part, was a member, but I never lead, or had the lead; I look forward to college for these goals."

A famous quote says "Some succeed because they are destined to, but most succeed because they are determined to." Beverly certainly was determined. In her junior year of college, she made a caricature of a female on the run, with a caption of "Beverly, girl on the go." Using this, she would make personalized note pads for herself. She just refused to settle for good. Only the best would satisfy her to meet the goals she had set for herself at the conclusion of high school.

In the future, Beverly would attain many goals; in 2005 she received, a lifetime Achievement Award from IAMA, a Society that judges the works of automobile writers and authors. The society annually held banquets at Sardi's Restaurant in New York City, to honor and present awards to the winners. The I.A.M.A (International Automotive Media Awards) Society, was spearheaded by Walter and Elaine Hassner of Tucson, Arizona. They owned Aztex Corporation, which published. Rene Dreyfus, Biography, My Two Lives, as well as many other books on automotive subjects.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Simply Bev ...by James H. Cox Copyright © 2010 by James H. Cox. Excerpted by permission of iUniverse, Inc.. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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