This is the story of Bonnie Jean McDaniel Leathers.
I was born on April 15, 1931 at our home in Kansas City, Kansas. I was the first child of my parents Ann Louise (Van Goethem) and Harold Leonard McDaniel. I attended Roosevelt Grade School. I had two siblings. Sister Shirley Ann and brother Harold Lee. My sister was 16 months younger than I was and my brother was five years younger. The principal was Maude Gray who also had taught my Dad, and my two Aunts. We lived about a block from the school so I could walk to school every day. I always went home for lunch as we did not have a cafeteria at school. My grandparents were Samuel John and Zenia. My grandfather was born in Ireland and came here when he was 18 years old. He was a butcher for the Jones Store Company. That is where he met my grandmother. My grandparents lived close also and when I started kindergarten I would leave school during class and go to my grandparents’ house so my grandfather would have to take me back to school. He worked for the Wonder Bread Bakery and had a delivery route so he went to work very early in the morning so he was home early in the day. My grandmother, Zenia had tuberculosis so she was bedfast for most of my young childhood. My grandmother was very tiny and petite. She had dark hair and wore a size 2 shoe. I was very ckose to my grandmother and grandfather McDaniel. My mothers parents were Joseph and Mary VanGoethem and my grandfather was born in Belgium and came here when he was 18 years old. My grandmother Mary was born in Belgium and came here when she was 6 years old. I was not as close to them as I was to my Dad’s parents. My sister and brother and I would hide in my grandfathers car when he was going out and jump up and say “we want candy” He would always act surprised to see us and he would give us all five cents and take us to the candy store and we each picked out five cents worth of candy. Then you could get a whole bag full for 5 cents. Those were the good old days.
