Leonard and Frances Reinke, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of Leonard and Frances Reinke
REINKE FAMILY
Our family consists of myself, Frances Reinke, my husband Leonard Reinke and our dog, Brandy-Bear, two chameleons, two hermit crabs, hundreds of tropical fish and two turtles. Brandy Bear is a toy collie puppy. Her mother was Screwball, the best dog a family could have ever had for six years. Screwball passed away the summer of 1975 -- everyone in our neighborhood loved that dog, so we around Cedar Trail in Ogden Dunes are still very much saddened by the loss of Screwball.
I am the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ted Kasperek of East Gary, Indiana. My late grandparents were Mr. and Mrs. Zowal of East Gary and Mr. and Mrs. Kasperek of Gary, Indiana.
I attended Columbus grade school and East Gary Edison High School. Academically I was fourth in my graduating class. I received the Betty Crocker award, the American Legion Award, and The Miss Edisonian award upon graduation in 1959. I also was fortunate enough to attend Hoosier Girls' State during the summer of 1958 -- this experience was one of the most rewarding in my life. I only wish every girl could have the opportunity to attend Hoosier Girl's State. I was the senior class treasurer and also a member of the yearbook and newspaper and various clubs and organizations. The Future Teachers of America was one of the best clubs I belonged to and membership in the FTA, I'm sure, guided me along into my present position of biology and anatomy teacher at Gavit High School in Hammond, Indiana where I have taught for 12 years. I am also a part-time instructor at St. Joe's Calumet College, East Chicago. My teachers throughout my grade school and high school education were mostly terrific and I feel very fortunate to have grown up in the small town of East Gary. I must also praise the teachers I had at Indiana University where I received a B.S. in Education, biology, 1963, the University of Michigan where I received an M.A. in counseling and guidance, 1965 and at Notre Dame University where I received a specialist degree in geology, 1972. Also I attended the following Universities during various summers with grants from the National Science Foundation; Catholic University of Puerto Rico, Montana State University, Ball State University, Butler University and Argonne National Lab in Illinois.
In 1975, my first book, AUTUMN RAIN, a tragic love story was published. I am presently working on two more books, KELLY GREEN and YOU DID WHAT WITH YOUR CLOTHES? I have always been interested in writing and I do hope that eventually I will become a best seller author.
In 1969 on June 21, my husband Leonard and I were married at St. Francis Xaviere church in East Gary. We lived in East Gary for 3 years and in October of 1971 we bought our present house in Ogden Dunes. Our home has lots of history connected with it since it was built by Samuel Reck in 1923 when he first began the development of Ogden Dunes. Our home was the first year round home to be constructed between Gary and Michigan City north of U.S. 12. We have pictures of the home in 1923 when it was surrounded only by sand dunes. We purchased the house from Mr. and Mrs. Charles Reeman who had lived in it for twenty-five years and are now retired in Lyons, Colorado.
We love living in Ogden Dunes. We are fortunate enough to see the beauty of Lake Michigan from almost every window in our home. Next year we hope to build an additional bedroom.
My husband, Leonard, attended St. Mark's grade school and Lew Wallace High School and graduated from Bishop Noll Institute in 1959. He lived in Glen Park until we were married. He attended St. Joes Calumet College and hopes to finish work on his degree in the very near future. He is employed by Ironworker's Local #395 in Hammond, Indiana. He attended the Ironworkers school at Purdue University to become an Ironworker Journeyman. We have been very fortunate to have travelled throughout the U.S.A. and around the world. Travelling is our first love and we anticipate seeing much more of this world before we leave it.
We plan on remaining in Porter County for the rest of our years.
Source: American Revolution Bicentennial Committee of Porter County. 1976. A Biographical History of Porter County, Indiana. Valparaiso, Indiana: American Revolution Bicentennial Committee of Porter County, Inc. 180 p.
Page(s) in Source: 148-149
This biography has been transcribed exactly as it was originally published in the source. Please note that we do not provide photocopies or digital scans of biographies appearing on this website.
Biography transcribed by Steven R. Shook