Chapter 2 – Carrie
Saturday June 17, 1899 – Thursday December 23, 1965
Supplementary documents such as marriage license applications, census records, etc., can be found on the Carrie page.
Kathryn Mae Nissley was born on Saturday June 17, 1899, but other than on her birth certificate, she was rarely referred to as Kathryn again.
On the 1900 census document her name was recorded as “Carrie”, and it was as “Carrie” that she was known ever after.
Carrie was a mere two years of age by the time she made her first appearance in the local newspaper. The occasion was “a large carpet rag party” held at the Richland residence of Mrs. Ephraim Brubaker on August 19, 1901. Both Carrie and her mother Maggie attended, as well her aunts Annie and Ida Nissley. “A sumptuous supper with all the delicacies of the season was prepared by the hostess and two daughters, Misses Cora and Lizzie.”
Carrie attended school in Richland and learned to play both the piano and the organ, and in 1908 her sister Amy was born. In 1911 at the age of 12 Carrie gave a recital in a Grace United Evangelical Sunday school program. There are other reports of her attending parties and participating in church activities during this period. In 1917 she was baptized into the church of the Brethren at a stream on the farm of Ephraim Erb near Krumstown along with 22 others.
The 1920 census shows that at age 20 she was still living at home and had a job as an operative at the shoe factory. Is it significant that her name is listed for the first (and only) time in the census as Kathryn instead of Carrie? Is that an indication of some tension at home, or am I reading too much into it?
In any event the following year on June 22, 1921, after she had just turned 22, Carrie Nissley gave birth to a son, Leon S. Nissley; it is not recorded who the the father was.
Then in September 1926 there is a short news item reporting that Miss Carrie Nissley returned to her home in Richland after spending the day in Lebanon, PA, shopping. So all seemed to be well. The 1930 census shows Carrie living on her own with her eight year old son Leon in the Borough of Richland and lists her occupation as saleslady in a general store, so presumably she had moved out of her parents’ house. And in August of 1930 Miss Carrie Nissley vacationed for a week in in Ocean Grove, NJ, in the company of her cousin Miss Annie Royer.
Now things begin to get interesting.
There was a fellow by the name of Milton Daniel Miran Batdorff who was born in 1875, and who married one Nora May Hollinger (born in 1876) in 1898. The couple appear to have been childless, and on March 21, 1933, Nora May died of heart disease.
Four months later in July the recently widowed Mr. Batdorff took a vacation with Mr. and Mrs. Henry Nissley and daughter, Carrie, and son, Leon. The way the article is phrased one might be forgiven for not understanding just who Carrie and Leon are the daughter and son of.
Less than six months after the death of Nora May Batdorff, the local newspaper reported on September 12 that “Miss Carrie Nissley, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Nissley, and M.D.M. Batdorff, cashier of the Richland National Bank, were married on Saturday by the Rev. Michael Kurtz, of the Church of the Brethren. After the ceremony they left for a motor tour through New England.”
Shortly thereafter Carrie’s son Leon took Milton’s last name.
Given the difference in their ages (Carrie was 34, Milton was 58), the speed with which they wed after the death of Milton’s first wife, and Leon’s adoption of Milton’s last name, is it wrong to speculate that perhaps Milton was Leon’s father? We can never know for sure.
Alas, their married life was relatively brief, as on October 24, 1938, Milton Daniel Miron Batdorff passed away and was buried in the Richland Cemetery. Notice that his gravestone left room for both Carrie and Leon, although only Carrie was to take advantage of it, yet one more clue as to the child’s parentage.
Then along came Raymond.
Raymond D. Layser was born on December 19, 1898, making him a mere six months older than Carrie. However, on June 3, 1916, he married the former Florence Shanaman, and in August of the following year their first child, Pauline Mae, was born. Their second daughter, Marion, was born in September of 1924. His wife died on March 22, 1937.
Raymond, though, took more than two years before he re-married. On October 14, 1939 to be exact. He was 41 and Carrie was 40; he listed his occupation as some sort of cutter and Carrie was now an insurance agent.
But Carrie was not only an insurance agent by this time, as newspaper reports show that she was now dealing in real estate, and Raymond soon became Richland’s constable.
On August 23, 1941, Carrie’s son Leon married a woman named Daisy and they moved into a home in Womelsdorf.
In December 1941 Carrie and Raymond announced the birth of a daughter, Darlene, just days before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.
The following year Carrie became a grandmother as her son Leon and his wife Daisy had a child, the first of two.
In 1943 Carrie helped her parents celebrate their golden wedding anniversary.
During this period Carrie was active in her church, playing the piano and organ as accompanist, and Raymond was active in Richland civic activities such as the Lions Club and the Borough Council. Carrie’s son Leon completed 20 months of intensive training at Hondo Army Air Field, Texas, and was commissioned as a flight officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps.
In July 1946 Carrie’s mother, Maggie Nissley, 76, died in in her home in Richland following “a lingering illness of complication”, as the newspaper put it in those days. My guess is that it was cancer, as that was the period when nobody wanted to mention the big C.
Two months later Carrie and Raymond gave over their home on the corner of Linden and Poplar Streets for the wedding of Raymond’s younger daughter Marion to Peter Phillippy. “The home was tastefully decorated with gladiolas, baby’s breath and greens. Miss Elinor Brandt of Lebanon sang ‘I Love You Truly’, ‘O Promise Me’ and ‘The Lord’s Prayer.’ Accompanied by Miss Margaret Klopp of Richland who also gave a 15-minute recital preceding the ceremony.”
In July 1947 Carrie and Raymond registered a Fictitious Name of “Richland Motor Service” the location of which was to be in Richland and would deal in repairing of motor cars, retailing gas, oil, etc. The Laysers bought a property on South Race Street to house their new business, the lot directly across the street from Skippy’s Luncheonette.
Everything seemed to be coming up roses for Carrie and Raymond Layser.
Except for one tiny little blip. In September Daisy Batdorff filed suit for divorce from Carrie’s son Leon on the grounds of indignities; the couple had been married since August 1941 and had been separated since July 5, 1946. Perhaps Leon’s extended absences in the Army might have had something to do with it.
The following March a brief item appeared in the paper. Earl Phillips was appointed constable of Richland Borough to serve out the unexpired term of Raymond D. Layser who had resigned. The item did not mention the reason for the resignation, but it soon became clear.
Raymond Layser was ill.
The following year there was a notice that the title to the Layser Garage building on South Race Street had been sold.
On September 9, 1949, Raymond D. Layser was admitted to the Good Samaritan Hospital in Lebanon, PA. At the following meeting of the Lions Club Raymond Layser was listed as on the sick list and flowers were sent to his hospital room.
On September 30, 1949, Raymond D. Layser died in the Harrisburg General Hospital “following an illness of complications” as the newspaper put it. He was 51. And Carrie was a widow for the second time. Their daughter Darlene was eight years old.
The 1950 census shows Carrie still living on Linden and Poplar with her daughter Darlene and her son Leon and her son’s new wife Lucille, who was born in New Mexico. Did he perhaps meet her while stationed in Texas?
There are several notices published in early 1950 showing Carrie selling off assets of the estate of her late husband who apparently still owned a farm or at least a part interest in one.
Throughout the decade of the 50s, Carrie continued to participate in church activities as piano and organ accompanist, and she expanded her horizons by joining the Farm Women’s Society of Lebanon County and taking a very active part in that, occasionally hosting meetings at her home.
Her son Leon continued to advance in his Army career; by 1952 he was a Lieutenant, and according to news clippings, his new wife seemed to be traveling with him. By 1953 Lt. Leon Batdorff was stationed in Puerto Rico and Carrie and her daughter Darlene began taking regular flights to visit him.
In April 1953 the first Girl Scout Troop was organized in Richland. Two of the charter members were Carrie’s daughter Darlene and Darlene’s friend and classmate Diane Weiss.
By 1955 Leon had been promoted to captain, Darlene spent two full years in Puerto Rico living with her half-brother and his wife and attending school there, while Carrie continued to visit frequently. The reports that made their way into the paper showed that although Darlene sometimes struggled a bit, she was consistently making the honor roll.
After the all the ups and downs of the previous couple of decades, life seemed to have finally settled down for Carrie. Meanwhile, her insurance and real estate business was thriving; she turned out to be a shrewd businesswoman at a time when that was a relative rarity. She collected rents on her properties and handled insurance transactions and had plenty of time to enjoy her life.
There was another blip when on December 6, 1954, her father Henry Nissley passed away. She was named executor of his estate which was estimated to be worth about $15,000 (or roughly $174,000 in 2024 dollars adjusted for inflation).
During this decade Carrie continued to be active in civic affairs as she joined the Richland Lions Aides, a women’s companion group to the Lions Club.
Shrewd businesswoman Carrie picked up a garage property on South Race Street at a sheriff’s sale in May of 1956 for under a grand. This was the lot next to Skippy’s Luncheonette and she would shortly be renting it out to an up and coming kitchen making business.
In July 1957 Major Peter R. Phillippy, the husband of Carrie’s step-daughter Marion from her marriage to Raymond Layser, set a record of 638 miles per hour flying an F-84F Thunderstreak for the Air National Guard.
Back in Richland after her sojourn in Puerto Rico, Darlene was featured in the cast of one of the three high school plays put on at the Neptune Theatre on March 18, 1958.
The title of the play she appeared in?
Sound familiar? I wrote about seeing that performance a couple of years ago. One of the students in charge of Properties was Darlene’s friend Diane Weiss.
On Sunday June 28, 1959, Carrie Layser’s home once again was the site of a wedding. This time her daughter Darlene married Paul Mease in a double ring ceremony officiated by Rev. Ray A. Kurtz of the Richland Church of the Brethren. “Mrs. Ann Layser was the organist for the ceremony. The home was decorated with flowers, palms and candles. The bride…wore a ballerina-length dress of white French voile with a scoop neckline, a veil of illusion held by a band of white velvet, and white gloves. She carried a white Bible and an orchid.”
On November 16, 1959, Darlene Mease gave birth to a daughter in the Lebanon Sanatorium, yet another grandchild for Carrie. Darlene’s husband was in the Air Force and was stationed at Long Island, NY, so for the time being she was living with her mother. A frequent visitor was her longtime friend from school Diane Weiss.
On April 14, 1960, the front page of the Lebanon Daily News was emblazoned with the news of the fire that destroyed Rich Maid Kitchens and Skippy’s Luncheonette. There was a brief mention of Mrs. Carrie Batdorff Layser as the owner of the property, that property that she had bought at a sheriff’s sale just a few years previously and had now rented out to the Rich Maid Kitchens crew. This was the biggest story to hit Richland, perhaps ever, up until that time, and would remain so, until Carrie would become the lead figure in an even bigger story five years later.
After Darlene’s friend Diane was wed in July 1962, she would sometimes be accompanied by her new husband, Dennis Sites, when she came to visit.
In July 1963 members of the Farm Society met in Carrie’s home and made plans to attend the World’s Fair in August the following year in New York City.
When Darlene moved out to live with her husband, she was worried about her mother living alone in that big house, but Carrie said she’d be fine.
In December 1964 Carrie was one of seven members of the Richland Church of the Brethren to be honored for their many devoted years of service in directing and participating in musical activities of the church on Sunday mornings.
On Thursday afternoon December 23, 1965, Carrie drove herself and her friend Bessie Krumbine to visit a mutual friend in nearby Newmanstown. They returned to Richland about 7:00 PM and chatted a bit in front of Bessie’s home at 11 Poplar Street. Then Carrie drove off to return to her home on the corner of Linden and Poplar Streets to spend a quiet evening at home alone.
Supplementary documents such as marriage license applications, census records, etc., can be found on the Carrie page.
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