When my aunt Elizabeth Frances nee Spudich, Millick died (Chicago, Cook, IL) in April 2002, I was given all the slide pictures her husband John Millick (formerly of Mt. Olive, IL) had taken. My aunt went by her second name of Frances rather than Elizabeth. As a child I had attended Mt. Olive's (I believe) Centennial. We dressed up in old fashioned clothes and men grew mustaches. I didn't want to toss the slides from the centennial, so I sent them to Mt. Olive's library and asked them to get them to the right person (either a historical society - Benld or Mt. Olive). I never received a reply, I could only hope they kept the slides. This was in 2002.

        My cousin in Washington state has worked on the family genealogy in the past. His name is Nick C. Spudich and his father was Rudolph Spudich of Benld, IL. I did take pictures of the headstones at Benld City Cemetery in 2005. There are a lot of Spudich family buried there. My grandfather, Nickolas Spudich of Benld, IL. had a brother (I believe) John who lived down the road - Staunton, IL. As a child I remember we took back roads to their home. My aunt Barbara Spudich of Staunton didn't have a gray hair on her head - not a one. I remember people remarking about that as she didn't color her hair either. I guess she was just lucky.

        My mother, Ann Dolores nee Spudich, lived on the corner of (?) 1st street and (?) Dorsey - right across from the old school which is now torn down. The railroad tracks were behind their house (west). Mom said they would go out to the tracks and pick up the pieces of coal that fell from the trains and use them to heat their house. The house is also torn down and now has a nice modular type on the property. Benld had a bakery that made "heavely" tasting bread! There was a fellow who lived down the street (west side of first street and north of the Spudich house - maybe three house down) who had a collection of model T's. I was down there one time with my young daughter, and was delighted to see the old cars. Mom said grandpa had pigs which he butched for their meals. In the spring, they'd rent an incubator, keep it in their living room to hatch the baby chicks - their future Sunday meals. They had lighted candles on the Christmas tree. At one time, grandpa had a tavern which he didn't have for very long. Mom said she was about five or six years old at the time. She couldn't remember the name of the tavern. Mom said as a child, she'd help her dad at home make beer. She'd stand on a stool and swish the mixture. She couldn't remember the formula which is forever lost in time. Since there were nine children to feed, they went through food fast - never enough to go around. They didn't have shoes for summer months but had them for winter. It was painful for my mother at times to talk about her childhood.

        The last of the children to pass away was Mary C. nee Spudich (Frank Ragan) of St. James, MO. She was 96 and died 05/SEPT/2006. No one knows what happened to the older brother, Andrew or Henry Spudich. He left the household to make it on his own. Things were pretty rough to survive at the time. Lean years. They were a poor family as most others also were.

Children of Nicholas and Anna nee: Dobrinich (sp?) Spudich: Benld, IL.

1. Nicholas b. 25/May/1907 - 16/MAR/1989

2. Henry Andrew b. 22/NOV/1909 - RIP ?

3. Mary b. 15/AUG/1910 - 5/SEPT/2006

4. Ann b. 22/AUG/1912 - 13/NOV/1986

5. Evelyn b. 12/JUL/1914 - 1943

6. John b. 14/MAY/1916 - to look up

7. Madge b. 18/AUG/1918 - 6/MAY/2005

8. Elizabeth Frances b. 19/JAN/1921 - 25/APR/2002

9. Rudolph b 31/MAR/1923 - 26/JAN/1986

PS.
        My mother Ann's real name was Anne, but changed it because she didn't like being called Annie. Most didn't have a middle name and used their Confirmation name - as my mother did. When I asked my mom for her mother's birthday date, she said they usually said they were born in the spring/summer/winter/fall -- and the year. They didn't use "month".

        It's wonderful there is a Gillespie/Benld web site to share family pictures and stories to reach this newer generation. Our relatives had old fashioned values which I crave and wish the younger ones could read about. It's like your faith (values) - you learn to rely on it your whole life to get you through the turbulent times.

        As a young child, I remember going with my parents to visit John and Barbara Spudich in Sawyerville for the afternoon. They were friendly and welcoming - everything you could wish for in family. I recall hearing a comment made about Barbara not having a gray hair on her head - and she didn't color it! My parents didn't have much gray hair as they aged, and I don't either. This one particular summer visit, we stayed outdoors while our parents chatted with the John and Barbara Spudich family. There were chickens in a fenced in area of the back yard. It could have been Barbara or one of her daughters - who gave us cookies to eat. They were very good. Us kids came up with the idea of feeding the chickens with the cookies. Of course, the cookies were gone quickly.

        In a box somewhere, I have pictues of the house in Benld. I need to find them and put them on the web site. The Nick and Anna Dobrinich Spudich house has been razed and replaced with (I believe) a modular. The house was long and it had stucco siding. Now remember, these are my memories. I was a child and not always observant of things, and now it's hard to remember. The house was on a corner lot from the old school across the street. A newer school has now replaced the former one. In front of the house, a few steps took you to the front porch that had painted gray wooden boards. This was our pretend sailing ship. At one time the porch had a swing. I loved that swing.

        When we arrived at the Benld Spudich house, you came in off the side street (I think it's Dorsey Street), There was a one-car detached garage with a dirt floor. I recall there being long-wide single boards on the floor for the tires of the car to drive on. Then you followed the concrete path past an old outhouse (later used for storage), then you passed under grandpa's long arbor, adorned with concord grapes for wine making. Sitting benches were on both sides of the arbor for you to escape the summers heat. Within a few steps, you passed the old water pump. It was never in use when I was there. Then you go up about four or five steps into an enclosed back porch. This was the entry most often used. From the back porch, you entered the very large kitchen. Mom said they didn't always have this kitchen. There was another building detatched from the house where cooking was done - so as to not heat up the main house. From the kitchen there was a tiny bathroom with a closet, and lav, but no bathtub. Showers were taken in the basement. You'd have to go back outside and enter through a door next to the steps. Inside the bathroom on the back of the door, were two, long and threatening leather razor strops. Never used on us. In the kitchen, the windows had white sheers - that allowed for the most light to enter. In that room I remember a Singer treadle sewing machine. On another wall there was a "Hoosier Cabinet". From the kitchen, another doorway led you to the diningroom. This room is where Uncle Nick would read newspapers by the window. There was a twin bed on the inside wall, a buffet, long table and chairs. If you slept in that room, you had to ask Uncle Nick to stop the clock from tick-tocking, if you weren't used to the noise. Next, go straight to the small bedroom in the front of the house. I remember there were wide wooden blinds on the windows with curtains, a small closet armoire, a full bed, end table, and I can't remember what else. Going through the next doorway - lead you to the living room which also serverd as a bedroom for company. This room had a sofa, desk and chair, and a cloth chair that folded out for a bed. The room had the same wide wooden blinds and either curtains or drapes . The next room, today we'd call it the master bedroom. This was Uncle Nick's room. There was a dresser, large armoire and full bed. These four rooms (diningroom, two front rooms and the larger bedroom) - formed a square. From the street infront of the house, there were two ribbons of concrete running along the length of the south side of the house. Aunt Francie (Spudich) Millick had us children pull weeds out of the concrete on one of our visits. There was an open ditch on two sides of the property for water run-off from the street. To the back of the house - the family had a large garden - I only remember seeing tomato and green pepper plants. In the basement where you showered - you had to keep an eye open for spiders! The basement was partially dug out - a crawl space was under half the length of the house - I'd never seen that before.

        Was this Uncle Joe a brother to John and Nick Spudich? I'm not sure I remember a Joe. Mom said when she was growing up as a child, her dad (Nick) had a tavern for awhile. Mom was about five at the time. I don't know the tavern's name. Sometimes you'd call the house in Benld and Uncle Nick would answer the phone with, "Duffy's Tavern". Grandpa didn't have the tavern too long - mom said he gave out too much credit and couldn't collect to pay his bills. Mom used to help her dad make beer for home use. She'd stand on a chair and stir the brew with a long wooden (?) paddle. She couldn't remember the formula for beer making in her adult years.

Born : 1886 in Croatia

Died : 1956
      in Benld, Macoupin Co., IL.

Born : 1888 in Croatia

Died : 1979
      in Benld, Macoupin Co., IL.

See : Anna Spudich's Funeral Card

Ann received her nickname "Skinny" from her brother Nick Spudich.
She was skinny as a child, and the nickname stuck with her into her adult years.

 
George & Ann (nee Spudich) Dec were the parents of four children :
      Nancy Ann Georgene Dec
      Daniel George Joseph Dec
      Kathleen Ruth Ann Dec
      Dennis James Michael Dec
                 
                  1956       Daniel & Kathleen
                  First Communion
                  Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church
                  Hammond (Hessville), Indiana 46323

and the grandparents of five children :
      Lisa Kay Coleman
      Jill Erin Coleman
      Matthew David Dec
      Kristin Eileen Dec
      Alison Dec

Marriage of 54 years with no children.

John Henry Millick (Millich)
Son of Anna Millick
Nickname : Johnny
Born : August 23, 1914 in Mt. Olive, Macoupin County, IL, USA
Died : October 30, 2000 in Chicago, Illinois, USA
      One brother: Anthony "Tony" (Nellie) Millick
           Tony is deceased - no children.

Both Spudich and Millick are Croatian names.
I was told - Millick used to be Millich.