Rossville, Illinois

A Big Baby!



Our Grandpa Paul was born on May 10, 1923 in Rossville, Illinois.  Grandpa Paul weighed in at a scant 13 pounds when he was born!  He was the fourth boy born to William James and Lydia LaBounty.  Grandpa and his siblings were children of The Great Depression and were extemely poor, yet his childhood was reminiscent of Huckleberry Finn.



Grandpa, his brothers and sister and 2 cousins in the early 1930's.

 Grandpa's siblings in order of birth;

• Odes (pronounced like Otis) 1915, (US Army).
• The twins Don and Dale 1920, (USMC and US Army).
• Grandpa Paul 1923 (US Army).
• Dorris 1926, married to Don Roisland.
• The hound dog Sport.



The Rossville crew, with Grandpa's trusty hound "Sport".  Grandpa is top left, seen in his "hand-me-down" overalls.

Grandpa's childhood consisted of responsibility and adventure.  Most times, responsibility was mixed with adventure.  He can not recall an episode of boredom from his childhood.

They grew their own vegetables, raised chickens and had their own black and white milk cow.  Grandpa hated that cow.  Being the youngest boy, he had to milk the ornery old heifer daily.

At the age of 11, Grandpa began caddying at the local 9 hole golf course.  He was the smallest caddy and was fearless.  He never wore shoes and loved the water.  Nobody ever lost a ball.  He made $0.25 a round, plus a tip.  The money he made was given to his mother to pay for school clothes. 

He would collect broken clubs and make his own.  He made his own bikes.  Being poor provided its own forms of entertainment.

Grandpa loved his mother, and would do anything he could to help her.  He would regularly visit the town butcher and beg for soup bones, which his mother would make dinner with. 

Dinners were supplemented by something Grandpa Paul found that he was a natural at; Hunting, shooting and fishing.  As a boy he had a single shot .22 rifle and a single shot 12 gauge shotgun.  A true marksman, he honed his skill shooting bumble bees off of flowers and swallows when they dove onto the water.  A box of .22 short ammo cost $0.19, and every shot would put food on the table.  3 shotgun shells could be purchased for $0.05.  The food Grandpa would provide the family was squirrels, rabbits, pheasant, snapping turtles, soft shelled turtles, duck as well as catfish, crayfish (crawdads) and carp.  These skills would come in handy later in life in the jungles of the South Pacific, the streets of Salt Lake County, the mountains of Utah and as a competitive trap shooter.

I'm pretty sure he didn't eat these foxes, but I bet he made money on the hide.  Note the "R" with a B on his shirt.  That was his basket ball "letter" from Rossville High School.

Like most boys, Grandpa didn't like school.  He did enjoy sports.  Grandpa lettered in football and basketball. 



Rossville High School basketball team, 1940ish.  Grandpa is #3.  #9's nick name was "Tubby"?



Grandpa with his brother Don, wearing his football letter.

Shortly after the above photograph was taken, the two of them were off to war.  Don with the Marines, Grandpa with the Army.

Rossville War Memorial, Rossville, IL.

All 4 of the LaBounty brothers served in World War II in various capacities.  In the next entry to Our Grandpa Paul, the story of Grandpa's life in the Army will be told.