Throughout the Quilt-Along, Hazel will refer to lots of different people. I’ll try to explain who they are as they pop up, if I know who they are or can find out, but you’ll see lots of folks over and over again, and these people are mostly family, so in this post, I’m providing a “reference chart” of sorts, so you can figure out more easily who some of these people are, or look back where they’re all in one place if I cause you to get confused later!
Hazel: our main character, author of the Diary
Vern Hyde: Hazel’s father, a farmer and mechanic who served in WWII.
Mildred Rector Hyde: Hazel’s mother, a housewife and homemaker, mother of three, who also worked outside the home periodically, and helped on the farm. (Busy woman!)
Donald: Hazel’s oldest younger brother, the Hyde family’s middle child, also known as Buck.
Larry: Hazel and Donald’s younger brother, baby of the family, also known as Puz.
Dale: So far, the love of Hazel’s young life. We’ll see what happens . . . Dale has a brother named Damon, who she also mentions occasionally.
Mary Ann: Mary Ann Teter, one of Hazel’s best friends during sophomore year.
Opal: Opal Smith, Hazel’s classmate during high school, and her only female classmate senior year.
Ruby: Mildred’s youngest sister. She lived close by, so visited often.
Roy: Ruby’s husband.
Babs (Barbara): Ruby and Roy’s daughter, their only child. Mildred’s niece.
Vern, Jo, & Peggy: Vern was Mildred’s youngest brother. Josephine was his wife, and Peggy was their daughter. A son arrived much later on, named Roger.
Finis & Doris, Johnny & Billy, (and Ronnie): Finis was Mildred’s oldest brother. Doris was his wife. They had 2 sons, Johnny & Billy. A third son came along later in the diary, Ronnie.
Maureen & Mickey, & Jerry: Maureen was Vern’s sister. She lived in Kansas City with her husband, Mickey, and they had one son named Jerry.
Charlotte, George, & Georgie (and Beverly): Charlotte was Vern’s other sister. She and her husband, George, also lived in Kansas City with their son, Georgie. Their daughter, Beverly, came along later.
Roland: Vern’s only brother, younger than Vern.
Dave & Ruth: The Jones’, closest neighbors of the Hydes. Mildred also had a sister named Ruth, who married Dave’s brother, Ralph, so there were two Ruth Jones’s in the family.
Shirley Jones: Mildred’s niece, the daughter of the second Ruth Jones, Mildred’s sister.
I think that’s enough to get you started. It’s like being introduced to a room full of people you’ve never met before, isn’t it? I’m never sure how I’ll remember everyone, and usually can’t! But I’ll give more info, and have lots of stories, on most of these people as we go through the year, so stay tuned . . .
