A photograph taken in March 1959 of the William Lucas (1909-1972) family of Joliett, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, shortly after the birth of their 21st child. The picture was widely distributed via United Press International as a Telephoto and was credited to Pat Cahill, a U. P. I. staffer. It was said to be the first picture made of the entire William Lucas family.
Mrs. Lucas, the former Verna S. Carl, was 44 years old at the time, and had given birth to 21 children, 20 of whom were still alive and appear in the photo.
According to the caption which appeared with the photo in the Pottsville Republican and Herald, March 4, 1959, the family members are identified as follows:
Front Row: Barbara Lucas, 7; Cindy Lucas, 5; Bobby Lucas, 4; Joe Lucas, 9; Linda Lucas, 10; Janet Lucas, 11.
Second Row: Harold Lucas, 28; Lewis Lucas, 14; Jerry Lucas, 25; Verna S. [Carl] Lucas, mother, 44, holding John Lucas, 8 days; William Lucas, father, 49; Carol Ann Lucas, 13; Pauline Lucas, 18; Betty Lucas, 20.
Back Row: Henry Lucas, 15; William Lucas Jr., 16; Marion Lucas, 29; Grace Lucas, 27; Anna Mae Lucas, 21; Jean Lucas, 19; and Shirley Lucas, 23.
The story which went with the photo, also appeared in many newspapers. The version from the Allentown Morning Call, February 22, 1959, is presented below:
‘I DON’T WANT ANOTHER’
Schuylkill Resident, 44, Is Mother 21st Time
ASHLAND, Pennsylvania (UPI) — Mrs. Verna Lucas, 44, of nearby Joliett, who gave birth to her 21st child in 29 years, said Saturday the baby is her last.
The new arrival is a healthy, nine-pound, eight-ounce son. He hasn’t been named yet.
“When you get up to 21, it takes some thinking about what to call it,” the proud and happy mother said.
8 boys, 13 girls
The latest addition makes it eight boys and 13 girls, all born separately and all but one of them living. A daughter died 20 years ago at the age of nine months from pneumonia.
The beaming mother remarked she was “just as proud of this one as I was of my first.”
“I’ll give it all the love and affection that I have given to the others,” she said, “But I don’t think I want another one.”
Six Are Married
The father, William Lucas, 49, who operates an independent anthracite mine with his brother Frank Lucas, was just as proud.
“It’s wonderful,” he grinned.
The couple, married on April 25, 1929, lived in a farming section known as Deep Creek Valley in western Schuylkill County for a time and spent 13 years in a home near Ashland, before moving to Joliett, a pretty little community of about 50 families on the top of Broad Mountain, near here.
Six of the children are married and live in their own homes in this area. There are 13 grandchildren.
All the other children, except Jean Lucas, who has her own apartment, and Jerry Lucas, a sailor stationed at Key West Florida, live at the frame, twin house in Joliett.
The robust appearance of all the children give ample proof of Mrs. Lucas’ ability as a mother and homemaker. Seven of the children are in school. All attend the Lutheran Reformed Church regularly.
Lucas has an above-average income for the anthracite area, but admits it takes careful planning to support such a large family. The garden in the rear yard helps provide food.
Lucas’ farm experience, which enables him to butcher meat and prepare food for storage, and his wife’s careful planning and economics, help stretch the budget. Fuel is no problem because the big heater in the basement burns anthracite from the father’s mine.
The house, built about 25 years ago is newer that most homes in the anthracite belt and has all the modern conveniences Some “luxuries” — including a telephone — had to be skipped but all the children agreed they have “had everything we ever needed.”
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The photo shown here was available from Historic Images. News article is from Newspapers.com.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.