Maybelline might have been named Evaline rather than Maybelline

People have asked me why I didn't put more pictures in my book so they could see the different family members as they went from children to old age.  Well I was only allowed 13 pictures and it was a hard choice as you can imagine.

 So I'm doing a picture-bio of the main characters - starting with Tom Lyle's youngest sister Eva.  Here she is with her brother Preston, my grandfather, on their Morganfield Farm in in 1908, dressed for church I bet.  Don't you love the big bow in her hair and the posing?   Eva and Preston were very close playmates all their lives and she once told me how they loved to roam the woods around the old homestead, exploring and seeking adventure.  When young Preston got in trouble and their father Sheriff TJ locked him in jail to teach him a lesson, it was Eva who snuck in dime novels to keep him busy while he learned his big lesson.

When the family moved off the farm and into their first little warehouse/office in Chicago -with an apartment upstairs - they all helped Tom Lyle get his little Maybelline company off the ground.  Fifteen year old Eva's job was to be the "go-for" girl. When anyone needed something it was Eva who ran down the block to get it.

She once told me how when the family wanted a milk shake she gladly took a quarter for 5 drinks and ran down the street to the soda fountain, where she quickly drank her shake before slowly making her way back home so the shakes wouldn't spill.  Sometimes the walk home took so long she got thirsty and sipped a little from each siplings drink.  By the time she returned, you can just hear the flack she got from her brothers and sister, however Eva was a spitfire with a sharp wit and had a darn good reason for sipping those drinks I'm sure.

I  love this picture of my grandfather Preston and auntie E, as my dad called her.  She and Preston remained devoted even when mmgrandmother was at her wits end with his endless trouble making.  When my grandmother kicked him out of the house Eva gladly welcomed him into hers and there was nothing I mean nothing she wouldn't do for her darling brother.

Look at those beautiful Maybelline eyes with a twinkle like no others.  This picture was taken in 1924 for her sweetheart Ches Haines whom she married Oct 11th of that year.  Auntie E once told me that it could have easily been her who concocted the ingredients that gave her brother Tom Lyle the idea for Maybelline.  She was serious when she said it made her a little jealous that her sister Mabel got the credit, but then laughed at the idea of Maybelline being called Evaline.  Not quite the impact Tom Lyle was going for I'm sure.

Here is my glamorous Auntie E at her daughter June's wedding in the late 1940's.  She seemed to get more gorgeous the older she got and that quick wit made her a star in the family.  Don't you just love that feather in her hat?

 Uncle Ches the father of the bride, on the left next to June and her new husband John Gary.

 Here is a picture of Eva with her daughter Marilyn, (Ditty) taken in 1966 at Tom Lyle's estate in Bel Air California.  Eva is 65 in this picture, a beautiful, elegant lady with all the style and glamour of anyone of Maybelline's models.  Tom Lyle is sitting on the floor with Miss Snoop E. Williams and Sparkie.  He once told me chuckling, that the E in Snoop's name stood for his sister Eva.  I wonder what he meant? 

Eva is a colorful character in The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It.  I think you will fall in love with her just like I did.  She was one of a kind.

 I recently had the pleasure of meeting up with my cousin Jerry Westhouse, Eva's grandson, while he was in California, visiting from Chicago. The love my grandfather, Preston had for his sister Eva, and my father had for Jerry's mother Marilyn, is still is alive and well in our generation. Maybe it's our history or Maybe it's Maybelline, but, no matter what we plan to keep the magic of the family story going as long as we're alive.



 Meet Jerry Westhouse

My Daredevil Maybelline Cousin, Jerry Westhouse...a real ...

I like to brag about my Maybelline family, when ever I get the chance... as you can see from the Blog Posts I've done featuring my cousin Jerry Westhouse, below. Jerry is an accomplished race car driver, who is still connected ...

clipped from Google - 10/2015

Maybelline Heir - RACE CAR DRIVER - Jerry Westhouse

Eva and Ches Haines, with their first grandchild, Jerry Westhouse, in the 1970's. Ches continued his love for beautiful automobiles until the end of his life and passed on his legacy to his grandson, Jerry. After the Maybelline ...

Honoring the men in the Maybelline family who served in the Armed Forces

This Memorial Day marked the 7th anniversary of my father's death. I honor him and the Heroes in the Maybelline Family.  

This is what Chicago looked like when my grandfather William Preston Williams joined the Navy in 1917.  He was just 18 years old with visions of being a War Hero.  Like so many boy's from the Lost Generation he imagined the war would quickly end and he'd return unscathed by the ravages of battle - only to be greatly disillusioned with a broken spirit.

This is what was going on in the Maybelline Family at the same time.  Tom Lyle introduced Maybelline to the public as Silent Film became popular and Silent Film Stars were seen on screen with heavily made up eyes.

Theda Bara "THE VAMP" - 1917.  This is what was going on in Hollywood when WW1 broke out.  Women began to be conscious of the their eyes and buy Maybelline.  An interesting fact -  Maybelline was sent in an unmarked package insuring the buyer her privacy since Maybelline was so frowned upon at the time.

1917 Maybelline became available through mail order. 

Scene from the Silent Film WINGS.  This is what Preston was heading into.  He was a rear gunner on one of those Flying Sticks in the sky.

My grandfather, Preston Williams, with his parents Susan and TJ.  His mother was grief stricken after already losing her first son, Pearl to TB and the thought of losing another son to War was too much for her.  TJ on the other hand was proud his son was fighting for his Country like so many Patriots that went before him in the Williams Family.  He also thought the Navy might straighten his wild card son up a bit. 
                                                                               

Preston would return from WWl, with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.  Here he is with his little sister Eva on the left, Frances Allen, Tom Lyle Williams Noel James Williams and Bennie Gibbs.

Mabel Williams on the left with her brother Preston, Helen, one of the first Maybelline models, Frances Allen Williams, Bennie Gibbs and Tom Lyle Williams in front of his new "PAGE "Convertible in Chicago. 

Tom Lyle enlisted as well but was denyed service because he was the sole supporter of his entire family according to his draft card in 1917.  Noel was married to Frances and also supported the family managing the Maybelline Company. He might have been too old for service at the time. 

Maybelline Ad during WW11, promoting War Bonds.

My father, Bill Williams, in the Philippines 

                        Maybelline Ad during WWll.

My Father's first cousin, Noel A. Williams,  joined the Navy right out of High School.

            Noel A. in his Navy uniform during WWll.

My father's first cousin - (on his mother Evelyn Boecher Williams side) - Bill Stroh, on the right.,during WWll.

I have done several posts about Bill Stroh and his 1965 Shelby, gt350 Mustang racing car.

Maybelline Family's unsung hero, from the Greatest Generation, my grandfather, Preston Williams.

             Evelyn, Billy and Preston Williams in Chicago, 1925.

On Nov. 26, 1923, though Preston and Evelyn were unprepared for a Child, their son William Preston Williams Jr., Billy, was born.  Preston was crazy about the child that brought sunshine back into his soul, and not since the Great War had he felt a desire to "make something of himself."

However, when the pressure of daily responsibilities became too oppressive for him he once again turned to alcohol for self medication as the torture of Post Traumatic Stress disorder clouded his thinking. 

Like so many men from the "Lost Generation" his fear of cheating death and survivors guilt caused great anxiety and a need to run away from those he loved the most.

Read more about Preston Williams and his struggle to survive in a changing world that he felt, "left him behind."  

Maybelline's profits grow during the Great Depression because of Advertising a quality product

Top picture, Billy, Preston and Evelyn, with Tom Lyle. Bottom picture, Tom Lyle and his son Tom Jr. Right, Tom Lyle, founder of The Maybelline Company, with his 1934 Packard.

Tom Lyle, brilliantly used top actresses, to advertise Maybelline in film magazines, during the golden age of the 1930's.

One of Maybelline's most popular stars, Betty Grable, highlights the joys of beautifully made-up eyes.  Grable was part of the Hollywood Star System Tom Lyle helped create. 

Read more about Tom Lyle Williams, sensational advertising techniques, that helped make some of the biggest Hollywood stars, and Maybelline, a household word, in......  The Maybelline Story.

Come see me at my Hilarious 1964 High School Blog called Saffrons Rule at saffronsrule.com