Wilmette Public Library Local History Digital Collection

John Tuttle Miller (1921-2012) oral history

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Transcription: TRACK 1 RA: Would you like to tell us your name? JTM: My name is John T. Miller. And "T" stands for Tuttle. T-U-T-T-L-E. RA: I see. JTM: And I was born in Evanston Hospital and at that time our family lived at 106 Sixth Street in Wilmette which is the corner of Sixth and Isabella. RA: Oh, yes. JTM: And I have been in this area all my life except for years in college and the years in the Marine Corpse RA: And you didn't go to Northwestern? JTM: No, I went through the Wilmette school system. Started school in kindergarten at Laurel School and then went through third grade there. At fourth grade went over to, well, it was really Byron C. Stolp School and went through fourth through eighth grade there. And then went up to New Trier High School. RA: And what years were you at New Trier? JTM: I graduated from New Trier in 1939, but I have many happy memories of my early childhood in Wilmette even though my father died in 1929 when I was eight years old. We had a pony by the name of "Sunshine." We had a cart in the summertime and two different sleighs in the wintertime. And we delivered groceries for a grocery store called "Consumers." It was on Linden John T. Miller, cont. p. 2 Avenue. RA: Oh. JTM: Between Fourth and Fifth Street, right next to what was Terminal Hardware. RA: Oh, yes. Now was it a "True Consumer" store? JTM: It was like A&P or National. RA Oh. JTM: It was a chain called "Consumers." And then they moved over to Fourth Street and we continued to deliver groceries over there. We delivered for any delivery in Wilmette for ten cents, no matter where it was. My grandfather moved in from his farm in Iowa in 1929 when my father died, but we didn't really have a good place to keep this pony. We would stake the pony out in nice weather over in Northwestern University's practice field. We'd drive an iron stake into the ground and have a fifty or seventy-five foot rope and the pony would graze over there. Northwestern didn't mind. They weren't using that property. In fact, we had, as children we had high jumping pits over there, a baseball diamond and all that kind of thing. There were no fences at the time. RA: Was this before Dyche Stadium? JTM: Yes. We looked out our, we all slept on a sleeping porch in the back of the house. And one night we John T. Miller, cont. 3 looked out of our window. We could see across the fields to Northwestern. There was a big fire going on and before Dyche Stadium, they had wooden bleachers. And the story goes, I don't know if it's true or not, that the students wanted a new stadium so they set fire to the wooden bleachers. Well, the next morning we got up and our grandfather took us over there and we brought back all across the field all these timbers and we build a barn. And that was where we house Sunshine. And shortly after that my mother, in order to support the family after my father died, did substitute teaching in the Wilmette schools. And she had taught school after college graduation. Taught school in South Dakota near The Black Hills. So she had experience as a teacher, but she went to the College of Education for a refresher course. National College. And then started a nursery school, which she called Sunshine Corner, named after the pony.; Miller, John Tuttle, 1921-2012
, Interviewee; Adler, Rhea Saul, 1906-1990
, Interviewer
Media Type: Audio; Text
Item Type: Audiocassettes
Description: ABSTRACT
Interviewee: John Tuttle Miller
Interviewer: Rhea Adler
Date of interview: Winter, 1977

Early memories of Wilmette - Death of father 1929 - Laurel, Stolp, New Trier schooling Pony, Sunshine...Cart and sleigh, Delivery service for Consumer's Grocery Store, Grandfather moved in from farm in Iowa in 1929 Northwestern athletic field before Dyche Stadium - Fire in bleachers, Built barn for pony from lumber salvaged from fire Mother establishes Sunshine Corner after refresher course at National College of Education Manual training course from Lester, Pete Ball, Treasure chest Grinnell College - Marine Corps - First child was walking when he first came home - Back to Wilmette 1945 Buys a home from Robert M. Johnston (Johnston Brothers Real Estate) Blacksmith shop where Janaes Laundry is, Had pony sharp-shod there for ice shoes red hot iron pounded into pony hooves Building of Bahai Temple from tar paper covered foundation to present - Beauty of building and gardens Sports in school, Tenure of teachers longer then, More women than men, Pete Ball, Square dancing, East side/West side, Schools combined at junior high level help to break down barrier Marine Corps volunteer - finished Grinnell College Parris Island, N.C. for boot camp - Officer's training at Quantico, Va. , 2nd Lieutenant Commission - Marriage --Millers met at Grinnell. She a minister's daughter from Iowa Dated for three years prior to marriage - Then moved to Duneden, Florida - Assigned to amphibian/tractor battalion. Sent to California then to Guadacanal, Okinawa, Guam. Preparation to invade Japan. U.S. bombs Japan - Return to San Francisco via LST, relaxed, Home for Christmas to wife and daughter Jobs - Discussion of advertising field. Children, grandchildren History of Wilmette Presbyterian Church - Early church-Fire Florist-Sunday traffic - Electric cars - Gasoline cars Depression - Brick streets - WPA Wilmette Beach a fun place - Discussion of beach in 1930 s - Sand and water clear- No alewives -Toonerville trolley along Central Street, Evanston to forest preserve New Trier West/East, Locust, Highcrest Schools attended by children of Millers -Discussion of early No Man's Land-and its development
Date of Original: 1977
Subject(s): Oral histories
No Man's Land, Wilmette (Ill.)
Wilmette (Ill.)--History
Bahá'í Temple (Wilmette, Ill.)
Presbyterian Church
Wilmette (Ill.) -- Residents
Personal Name(s): Miller, John Tuttle
Local identifier: R 977.31 MI
Language of Item: English
Copyright Statement: Protected by copyright: Uses other than research or private study require the permission of the rightsholder(s). Responsibility for obtaining permissions and for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Copyright Date: 1977
Copyright Holder: Wilmette Public Library
Copyright Holder Contact Information: 1242 Wilmette Ave.
Wilmette, IL 60091
U.S.A.
Recommended Citation: Miller, John Tuttle, and Rhea Saul Adler. John T. Miller. Wilmette, Ill: Wilmette Public Library District, 1977.
Contact: Wilmette Public Library
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