Wedding photo: Caroline Maddock Hart          Caroline Maddock Hart, Carolyn Hart Crawford                                      Nan-king October1907                                       daughter of (CMH-Left), Cathy Crawford                                                                                   daughter of (CHC)                                                                                     

                                  

Carolyn Hart Crawford: December,   Carolyn Hart  Dr. Edgerton Hart  Helen Hart            Helen Hart                                                                                                         1908-August, 2006                                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                  

HELEN HART REYNOLDS

 

       Helen Hart Reynolds was born in Wuhu, China on Oct. 7, 1910 to Edgerton and Caroline Hart.   As Methodist missionaries, Edgerton was a doctor at the Wuhu hospital and Caroline was a nurse.   Edgerton came down with Typhus fever and passed away when Helen was only three years old.   Helen returned to the United States with her mother and other siblings in 1914.

 

      The family then traveled to Chicago, Illinois where Caroline’s brother lived.  Caroline’s brother assisted the family until they could afford to buy a small home.  In 1922, the family moved to Carmel, New York where they lived until 1925.  While in Carmel, the Hart family became close friends with the MacClellan family (Mr. MacClellan would later become the President of MacMurray College.)  The Hart and the MacClellan families would later both relocate to Jacksonville, Illinois. Helen attended MacMurray College and graduated in 1931.  After graduation, Helen and her mother moved to Chicago, Illinois.  At this stage in both their lives, Helen and her mother became very close.  Helen enrolled in some post-graduate courses at the University of Chicago to ascertain teaching credentials.  At the University

of Chicago she met her husband to be Stanley (Stan) Reynolds.  They were married in 1937.  Helen taught art history and French for a short time in Chicago.

 

     In 1938, Helen & Stan traveled to Redlands, California to meet Stan’s parents.  They would subsequently live with them from 1939 to 1940.  During World War II, Helen and Stan lived in Silver Spring, Maryland.  Stan was employed by the U.S. Navy, and was working in Washington, D.C., and Helen was taking care of the home front.  After the war, Helen and Stan returned to Redlands, California where they lived for a short time.  Stan was employed by Radio Station KPRO in Riverside, California.  They then moved to Brawley, California where Stan was involved with the installation of more radio station locations for KPRO, and Helen was occupied in volunteer work for the community.  Helen loved the desert, but hated the cockroaches and other insects.

 

     Their next move was to Riverside, California where they lived for a few years before finally settling in Corona, California.  Helen continued her volunteer work with the Red Cross in Riverside and Corona.   She was a life time member of the Corona Women’s Club, and served for several years as their president.    Helen was honored many times for the endless hours spent helping her community.  In 1965, Helen became actively involved in a successful political campaign to elect John Tunney to the United States House of Representatives for California’s 38th district.    Tunney

later became a United States Senator.    Stan was now back working for the Navy, and was transferred to the Naval Air Weapons Station in China Lake, California.  Helen and Stan rented out their home in Corona and moved to China Lake where they lived on the base.  Helen at age 60 + learned to fly a Cessna 150 aircraft and acquired a pilot’s license while living at China Lake.  Helen was very proud of this accomplishment.

 

      Helen and Stan would now purchase property in the high desert community of Landers, California.  Their intention was to construct a second “get away” home.  Helen quickly became a master carpenter working alongside husband Stan in the early construction stages.  Many weekends, plus vacation hours, were spent in this endeavor.  Helen became a real desert rat, enjoying the wildlife and solitude of the new home site which was located on a rocky hillside.  Helen was interested in astronomy, and the clear desert skies provided ample opportunity to indulge in one of her favorite pastimes-star gazing.

 

     After Stan’s retirement in 1975, Helen and Stan move back to their home in Corona, California.  Helen continued her volunteer work in the community and the Red Cross.  With Stan’s passing in November of 1988, Helen sold their home in Corona and moved to the retirement community, “Plymouth village” in Redlands, California.  Helen purchased a comfortable two bedroom home there.  Here she lived and enjoyed the quiet life and made many friends.  She was active in this new retirement community, and became a member of several committees.  As a member of one of the social committees, she was responsible for scheduling all of the entertainment for the complex, a position she held for several years.

 

     Helen’s last “hurrah” was her 95th birthday party at Plymouth Village where many family members and friends joined her for champagne & cake.

 

     Helen Hart Reynolds passed away on March 22nd, 2006.    She supported “The Caroline Maddock Hart Nursing Scholarship Fund” at MacMurray College and donated a very generous amount to that fund.

 

     Helen was a very special person and much loved by all who knew her. 

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1st / 2nd  & 3rd Generation of Crawford's, Eikelmann's and Green's with family's surroundingthe matriarch Carolyn Hart Crawford.

More to be added at a later date