In the 1920 census when Lee was only 7, his father was a self-employed farmer and the family lived on a farm at Notch, Wyoming. Lee had two brothers sharing the home, Don B. Jr., 10, and John B., 5.
The advent of the depression in 1929 likely impacted the Crouse livelihood of farming and their way of life, by the 1930 census, his parents were living in Des Moines, Iowa rooming with a family. Lee’s father, Don, was working as a manager for a telephone company. None of the sons were present and Don and Sarah had a baby daughter named Dorothy Mary Crouse aged 11 months.
By the early 1930’s, Lee had made his way to Peoria, Illinois and enrolled at Bradley University in their Horology watchmaker and jeweler program from which he graduated in May of 1933.
After graduation, Lee appears to have followed his father who had moved to Herrin, Illinois. It is unclear where Lee first worked when he moved to this area; however, he became employed at Bainbridge Jewelry on the square in Marion where he worked for many years.
Lee met a waitress named Ruby working at the Marion Eat Shop at 200 W. Main Street, only two blocks away from where he worked. On September 28, 1940, he was married at Herrin, Illinois to Ruby Hobbs. Ruby was born December 1, 1920 in Pelos, Alabama, the daughter of Edward Hobbs (1888-1962) and Annie E. Smith (1894-1957).
Around 1948-49, Lee branched out and opened his own business. His first location was located in a small store front at 103 S. Market next-door to the South Side Tavern owned by Sam Barbaro and behind the Alexander Department Store. By this time, Lee and Ruby had purchased a permanent home at 508 E. Thorn St. and had two sons, Gerald and Randy Crouse.
Between 1952 and 1955, Lee moved his business to 205 N. Market Street and was located between Bill’s Liquor Store and Kimmel Auto Supply on the south side and Carl Sorgen’s photography studio to the north.
According to their son Randy Crouse, “In their “spare time” for a few years in the 1950’s, they leased some old closed businesses on the Northwest corner of Moeller’s crossroads east of Marion. They named their business the “Wagon Wheel” and were successful until the building owner cancelled the lease. In retrospect, I don’t see how our parents managed all this. The business was a restaurant, gas station, grocery, dance hall and 8 cabin motel. I believe most of those buildings burned in 1960.”
On December 17, 1963, the entire 200 block of N. Market on the east side was decimated by fire and all businesses were a total loss, including Crouse Jewelry. Ironically, if Lee had remained at his S. Market location, it would have burned anyway, only months earlier in May when the Cox Hardware/ Goss fire destroyed that entire block of buildings.
After the fire, in 1964, Lee purchased Morgan Jewelry (920 Main St.) on the north side (west corner) of the square in Mt. Vernon, Illinois and commuted back and forth to work each day to operate his business while still living in Marion.
On December 31, 1965, Lee, 53, while at work, was stricken by chest pains. His wife, Ruby, took him to Marion to the family doctor. After examination, he was admitted to the Marion Memorial Hospital where he died a few hours later of a heart attack at 12:40 p.m.
Mr. Crouse was a member of the Holy Name Society of St. Joseph Catholic Church and the Marion Elks Lodge.
Besides his wife, Ruby, he was survived by his two sons, Gerald Michael Crouse and Randall Lee Crouse; his father and stepmother, Don B. and Cora Crouse of Herrin; two brothers, Don B. Crouse Jr. of Oaktown, Ind., and John B. Crouse of Sacramento, Calif.; and one sister, Mrs. Jim (Dorothy) Glore of St. Louis, Mo.
Funeral services were held at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Marion of which he was a member. Father John Cedilot officiated and burial was in Rose Hill Cemetery.
Ruby later moved from the Thorn Street family home to an apartment in Shawnee Village on W. Boulevard. She passed away March 19, 2002.
Sam’s Notes: Marion’s Eat Shop at 200 W. Main was located on the northwest corner of W. Main and N. Van Buren and would later belong to Dr. Alonzo Baker.
Thanks to Randy Crouse for the use of his family photo’s of S. Market and the Eat Shop. The N. Market photo is courtesy of Thomas Wimberly.
(Extracted from Mt. Vernon Register, December 1965; notes from Randall Crouse; Federal Census Records; Marion City Directories; compiled by Sam Lattuca on 01/11/2014)