Ellis and Maddux Family Home, California

After the death of my great grandfather, Dr. Frank Ellis, in 1932, the family was terribly impacted because they not only lost Doc, but also lost their livlihood and their home at the Old Soldier's Home in Leavenworth KS. To make matters much worse for the family, my grandfather, Vincent Maddux was shot in the head during a robbery at the bus station where he worked as a driver. Vince survived but because his vision was ruined from the injury, he was no longer able to work as a bus driver. The family lost so much that year. Frank died in September 1932 and Vince was shot in January of 1933. The family lost their breadwinners. As my grandfather slowly recovered, the women made plans to move to California. They drove from Kansas to California to find a house and, when Laura received a settlement on Dr. Ellis' small insurance policy, they bought this house in Monterey Park. They drove back to Kansas, packed their belongings, loaded a truck, hired a driver for the truck, packed the two kids, two ladies and two dogs into the car and set off back to California. Grandpa rode with the truck driver so, again, the ladies were travelling on their own. After arriving back in California, Grandpa had to fight for Workers Compensation benefits from Kansas City, MO. The bus company denied his claim for benefits because his injury was caused by a robber. The Workers Comp system was very new in 1933 so he appealed the ruling and the case wound its way to the State Supreme Court who found in favor of Grandpa. He was awarded $3000 in compensation for losing most of his eye sight and all of his ability to work as a bus driver. Vince was always a bit of a gambler so he opened a billiard parlor and made his living serving the patrons beer and pickled eggs. Women were not allowed in such establishments. More on this subject later.