MEDICAL Came down with Multiple Sclerosis, approximately 1948; confined to a wheel chair in the early 1950's as a result; developed kidney stones and pyelonephritis and had a kidney removed in 1960-1961; diedfrom complications in November 1961.
Note
Louise was a sports enthusiast - she loved all sorts of sports, baseball, basketball, ice hockey. But the sport she loved the most was horse racing. She loved to go to the race track - she loved River Downs near Cincinnati and spent many hours there. As a result of her love of horse racing - and probably to make a little extra money - Louise ran a book from the apartment above the Wooden Shoe Cafe in Norwood, Ohio. Every day she'd receive the scratch sheets from the various race tracks and she'd set up shop on the kitchen table. She'd have her scratch sheets, big green ledgers for keepingtracks of the bets placed and the races won, and a couple of telephones to take the calls from betters. It was a complete betting operation. And completely illegal! But it gave her extreme pleasure.
I was a little girl at the time - but I remember very well how I knew that mother was doing something that could get her in trouble and I knew that if I was looking out the window and saw police officers entering the cafe downstairs, I was to notify her so that she could get rid of the books and betting sheets. So one day I happened to be looking out the window and I did see a policeman walk in the door below the window so I quickly ran into the kitchen and grabbed the books from the table and shoved them into the cabinet where they were kept - hidden. I cleaned off the table of all the evidence before the knock on the door. When the knock came mother called for the officer to come in - which he did. He came over to the table and asked if mother was taking bets ... she said yes ... andhe proceeded to pull out a wad of cash and put money on a couple of ponies to win, place and show. He was the chief of police and he was there not to arrest my mother but to place his own bets!
My own love of horse racing came from my mother. She let me pick a horse in a race when I was about 6 years old. I remember the horse's name was Terry Mine (since that was my name I chose that one) and when it won, I collected $15 from my mother!
Note: Addie Louise Howser was born in Hamersville, Ohio. She was raised in the country on a farm but as soon as she was old enough she hopped on a bus and headed for the big city of Cincinnati. She becamea business owner long before it was popular for women to own their own business. She owned and operated the Wooden Shoe Cafe in Norwood, Ohio until she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Even when she was confined to a wheelchair she still kept her hand in the business that her husband now ran. The family lived in a large apartment above the cafe and she continued to keep an eye on it fromthere.
Sources
Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 21 September 2020), memorial page for Louise Addie Howser Behle (14 Jun 1914–11 Nov 1961), Find A Grave: Memorial #14223762, citing Saint John Cemetery, Fort Mitchell, Kenton County, Kentucky, USA.
Acknowledgments
This person was created through the import of Terri's Family Tree.ged on 22 February 2011.
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