The Spiker Family Gathering Place

 When Ann was born:

Top News Headlines

• Feb 6 - The 20th Amendment goes into effect. Presidential term begins in January, not March.
• Feb 7 - Social-Democrat meeting in Berlin "As thousands cheer" Marxism is dead.
• Feb 10 - Delivery of the first singing telegram (Postal Telegram Company, NYC)
• Feb 10 - Hitler proclaims end of Marxism

President - Herbert C. Hoover
Vice President - Charles Curtis

 Top Songs for 1933 -- "Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' all the Time)"      "Easter Parade"

Hot Toys /Games --  "Duncan Yo-Yo"     "Mickey Mouse Dolls"

Average Costs throughout the US in 1933

• Bread dropped to $..07 p/loaf
• Milk dropped to about $0.41 p/gallon
• Eggs increased to $.52 p/dozen
• A Car would sell for $550
• Gasoline averaged $.18 p/gal
• The median home value $5759
• A US Postage Stamp was $0.03 each
• The average income was $1409 p/year
• DOW Avg: 100

Fun Facts, Interesting Tidbits & Puzzling Trivia

When Joseph William Wines and Wenoma Watson died within a few months of each other in 1935, they were survived by five young children who were divided among the neighbors to raise, as was the custom of the time.  Their twin daughters, Delane & Delene, were taken in and raised to maturity by Jacob and Gay Spiker as foster children.

• The foster twins, Delane and Delene, were almost always referred to by their nicknames, Ann and Boots. According to family lore, when the twins came to live with the Spiker family, they looked too small for the weight of such big names so Lynn gave them their "character" names.
   
• Delane was described as witty and chipper, boisterous and outgoing, always seeking adventure. The family lovingly referred to the energetic child as their "Little Orphan Annie".  Very soon, the nickname was shortened to "Ann".
   
• Delene, on the other hand, was more reserved, always fussing over her clothes and hair. She wanted to be everyone's best friend, never knew a stranger and, according to everyone, was "such a little sweetheart".  A popular newspaper comic strip character known as "America's Sweetheart" was called Boots. The sweetheart's moniker was passed along.
   
• Delene's children and grandchildren wrote a fun - and enlightening - poem about her life titled "Memory of our Mom & Granny." You can read the poem and Delene's Obituary at the bottom of the January 2019 edition of our newsletter.

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