Everett Poland Sr 1911 - 1982

Everett Poland Sr was my paternal grandfather and I have been so surprised by the amazing life that my grandpa led as I discover more about him. 

Everett came into the world November 10, 1911 in Indianapolis, Indiana as the 6th child of Charles Alfonso Poland and Elizabeth Ellen Smith. One month after Everett was born, his father Charles took his own life leaving Elizabeth with 6 small children to rear on her own. So, Everett's childhood was difficult to say the least. Elizabeth was forced to send some of the children to different homes at one point, but they all came back together in the end. I have one photograph of my grandpa Everett when he was about 5 or 6.

  I used the photo colorization tool on My Heritage for this picture and just love the results!

Everett stayed close with his mother. He is found living with her up until he married when he was 30 years old. The Indiana Historical Society has a great description of Indianapolis during this time:

"Everything seemed new and exciting in the 1920s. Change often meant progress, including improvements in daily life. Many Hoosiers now had radios, flush toilets, cars, telephones, sewing machines and fancy stores jammed with enticing goods. But the changes also threatened traditional ways.

The “Roaring 20s” followed a decade of contradictions, beginning with a golden age of the arts and closing with “a war to end all wars.” The second decade of the 20th century truly encompassed both the best of times and the worst of times.

Hoosiers of the generation that grew up during the 1930s never forgot the worst economic depression in American history. There had been hard times before, all the way back to pioneer days. But the Great Depression of the 1930s was something different – for Indiana and for the country."

Everett worked as a painter in a paint shop and as a truck driver prior to enlisting in the Army in January of 1941 at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis. Everett served during World War II until September 3, 1943 when he was honorably discharged. After his Army service, Everett went to work driving oil delivery trucks for Indianapolis companies such as Sprout & Davis and Jackson Oil.

On April 4, 1943, Everett married my grandmother Kathryn Putnam.

 He and Grandma bought their home on Eagledale Drive just behind the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and very much enjoyed everything about racing. I have several vintage photos from early races. I'm including just a couple of examples (the original and a colorized version):

Besides racing, I also knew my grandpa loved to fish. I always heard him and dad talking about going fishing and that grandpa had his favorite spot that he wouldn't tell anyone where it was. When dad passed and I inherited all the family photos, I noticed there were many pictures of fish, but I didn't think much of it.

I didn't realize just how serious grandpa was about his fishing until I started doing research and found he had made the papers several times and even won awards!

Everett Poland Sr was a kind, loving, wonderful grandpa. I couldn't have asked for anything more. When my grandma Kathryn passed, grandpa continued her traditions she had for my visits which included putting out a small candy dish of dinner mints. Whenever I was about to leave for a visit he would run into the bathroom and shave real quick so that I would give him a kiss on his cheek before I left. He would puff out his cheek real big for me to kiss. I have many fond memories of my grandpa Everett. 

Miss you grandpa!