"Jiggs meets Christine"

Christine and her convertible outside the Aldred family home, 1941

The years of 1940 and 1941 was a time of hope for the nation that better times might be coming.
"Jiggs" was working for Turkington Truck Company out of Anna-Jonesboro. It wasn't just the fact that he had a job, but it was a job that he loved. Driving the big rig all over the Southern Illinois area and later the state was a dream come true for a boy who felt trapped in an orphans home.
However, even more important than that was the care and acceptance he felt from his employer, "Turk", and his wife, Lucille.
Christine was enjoying the most wonderful time of her young life. Her father, "Nappy", owned his own produce company. Her mother, Essie, assisted him by working in the office and helping "Nappy" with the books. The business was so successful that Christine's parents had given her a little blue convertable....she loved zipping around the Pulaski-Mounds area. She was very well liked by all of her school friends and kept up with a busy social schedule.
On this particular day, "Jiggs" was scheduled to pick up a load of vegetables from the Aldred Produce Company in Pulaski. He was usually met either by "Nappy" or his attractive young wife, Mrs. Aldred. But, today, there was a young girl in the office. By "Jiggs" estimate of Mrs. Aldred's age, he thought the girl could not be much older than 12.
"Little girl, are one of your parents here?" "Jiggs" asked.
The "little girl" stood up as tall as she could, raised her chin, and indignantly told the cocky young trucker, "I will have you know that I am 17 years old!"
Oops.....