Alice Druscella Walter
Henry Ley’s family immigrated from Dernau, Prussia near present day Bonn, Germany in 1842 as revolutions were breaking out across Europe. They would settle in Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin, where Henry was born July 5,1850.
By age 8 Henry's family moved to a farm near Jordon in Scott County, Minnesota, southwest of Minneapolis-St. Paul. By age 20 he was working on a bridge crew on the rail line between Duluth and St. Paul. After a few years he returned to Jordon and became a wagonmaker.
Alice Druscella Walter was born in April of 1859 near Belle Plaine just a few miles from Jordon. Her father was a doctor. As a young girl she would accompany him on his visits and drive his buggy. Maybe this was how Henry and Alice crossed paths.
Eventually Henry courted and then married Alice in 1876. She was 17 and he was 25. Wanting to be more than a wagonmaker Henry soon opened a general store in Jordan.
By age 8 Henry's family moved to a farm near Jordon in Scott County, Minnesota, southwest of Minneapolis-St. Paul. By age 20 he was working on a bridge crew on the rail line between Duluth and St. Paul. After a few years he returned to Jordon and became a wagonmaker.
Alice Druscella Walter was born in April of 1859 near Belle Plaine just a few miles from Jordon. Her father was a doctor. As a young girl she would accompany him on his visits and drive his buggy. Maybe this was how Henry and Alice crossed paths.
Eventually Henry courted and then married Alice in 1876. She was 17 and he was 25. Wanting to be more than a wagonmaker Henry soon opened a general store in Jordan.
Soon the St. Paul & Sioux City Railroad Company was expanding westward from Jordon. Since the railroad owned several miles on each side of the track they started small towns along the way.
Wayne, Nebraska, was founded in 1881 when the railroad was extended to that point in June, 1881. Henry saw a good opportunity and moved his family to the new town.
Henry started The German Store, It was a general store that he ran with his wife and young kids. He was the second merchant store in town. Alice also helped the store by traveling alone to St. Paul or Chicago to make large purchases. By 1888 they were the largest general merchandise store in town. Wayne now had over 1,100 residents and the Leys were doing pretty well.
In 1892 Henry changed careers and sold the store. He applied for a bank charter and it was approved for The State Bank of Wayne. The bank opened for business on the southwest corner of Second and Main Streets and operated at the same location for 94 years. After a fire in 1986 the bank changed locations rather than rebuild on the site. The bank has been owned by the family for its entire history, a rarity in this day and age when many community banks are one of a number of corporate-owned entities. Great-great-grandson MattLey now runs the bank.
Henry Ley (forefront)
Alice was very socially active in the community. She was always having get-togethers for cards or dinners. And she was always a booster for her husband and the town.
In 1899 Alice helped form the literary club in Wayne called the Minerva Club. She was selected to pick the club flower. Always a flower lover, she chose the pansy.
In 1899 Alice helped form the literary club in Wayne called the Minerva Club. She was selected to pick the club flower. Always a flower lover, she chose the pansy.
The club soon adopted the Bay View Course of Study. The Bay View course was a reading course adopted by many women’s reading clubs at the time. The magazine (about 50 pages) came out eight times a year and focused on one country. All of the articles were about the country’s history, painters and writers. Each issue had a list of topics to review and even how to run your meeting on the subject. One issue would even have a test included.
In September 1891, James Pile, a math professor from Fremont, and citizens of Wayne founded Nebraska Normal College. The school began with a four-person faculty and a student body of seven. Nearly two decades later, more than 1,000 students were attending the school each year.
In 1908 Henry, now Mayor, was a very active member of a group to get the state of Nebraska to purchase the school. On April 6, 1909 the state agreed and the school became Nebraska State Normal College. In 1960 it would become Wayne State College.
In 1908 Henry, now Mayor, was a very active member of a group to get the state of Nebraska to purchase the school. On April 6, 1909 the state agreed and the school became Nebraska State Normal College. In 1960 it would become Wayne State College.
Nebraska Normal College
In those early prosperous years the Leys spent a lot of time traveling. They already had a cottage on nearby Crystal Lake but Henry had a brother in Tacoma, Washington, and they start visiting the West Coast. Soon they were spending January through March in Long Beach, California, every year.
In 1908 Alice, a regular Euchre and Whist player, wanted to create a new card game for people to play while spending time indoors during the winter months. With her idea she headed to nearby Sioux City, Iowa, to see a printer for her card game.
By June 1909 her game was almost done. Then there is a short delay after a man made several attempts to steal the engraved plates for her game but failed. By November her new game called “Royalty” is about to go to market.
In 1908 Alice, a regular Euchre and Whist player, wanted to create a new card game for people to play while spending time indoors during the winter months. With her idea she headed to nearby Sioux City, Iowa, to see a printer for her card game.
By June 1909 her game was almost done. Then there is a short delay after a man made several attempts to steal the engraved plates for her game but failed. By November her new game called “Royalty” is about to go to market.
In December it goes on sale in Wayne for Christmas.
On New Year’s Eve, Alice hosts a large launch party for her game. The cards can be used to play two different games. One is called "Royalty" and one is called "Royalty 400". Sets of rules are included. The deck consisted of 57 cards in total; 4 Bouquet cards (or Aces), 4 Kings, 4 Queens, 4 Maids and 4 each of the ranks 2-11 plus the single Jack Frost card.
The cards are all flower themed - Violets, Roses, Carnations and Pansies.
They were all drawn by Alice.
They were all drawn by Alice.
The Encyclopedia of American Playing Cards has this listing for the deck..........
NS10 BOUQUET PLAYING CARDS, Alice D. Ley, Wayne, Nebraska, 1901. The suits in this unusual deck are Violets, Roses, Carnations and Pansies. The court cards are the reigning royalty of the day.
There are 3 errors here. The date should be 1909, the actual name is "Royalty" and the statement "the reigning royalty of the day" is also not true.
NS10 BOUQUET PLAYING CARDS, Alice D. Ley, Wayne, Nebraska, 1901. The suits in this unusual deck are Violets, Roses, Carnations and Pansies. The court cards are the reigning royalty of the day.
There are 3 errors here. The date should be 1909, the actual name is "Royalty" and the statement "the reigning royalty of the day" is also not true.
The article about her New Year's Eve launch party reveals that the people on the court cards (called Kings, Queens and Maidens) are all friends of her's from Wayne and not actual royalty.
Who these Wayne residents are I have not been able to uncover. Several look like fellow members of the Minerva Club. Henry's great-great-grandson Matt told me that none of the people appear to be his ancestors. The very small local historical society also had no information.
This deck, apparently only marketed in Wayne, is very rare. With the help of fellow collectors Glenn Currie and Toby Edwards the following pictures of the deck, and the rare box, can be shown here......
Who these Wayne residents are I have not been able to uncover. Several look like fellow members of the Minerva Club. Henry's great-great-grandson Matt told me that none of the people appear to be his ancestors. The very small local historical society also had no information.
This deck, apparently only marketed in Wayne, is very rare. With the help of fellow collectors Glenn Currie and Toby Edwards the following pictures of the deck, and the rare box, can be shown here......
Who printed the cards in Sioux City for her? There are no names on the box or rules to identify a printer. At the time there were at least eight large printers in Sioux City that could have done the work.
Over the next decade the card game is mentioned numerous times in the Wayne newspaper as being played by the locals. Also by other Wayne residents that have moved to the Long Beach area.
During this time Alice and Henry are still making annual trips to California among others. They are also supporting rooms for veterans in the local hospital and helping get a Carnegie library for the town.
In late 1924 Henry becomes very ill and is hospitalized. He gets an infection on a leg that becomes gangrene and they have to amputate it. It's too much for the 72 year old and he passes away. The new widow decides to stay in Long Beach, California, during her annual trip after the funeral. Her older son was already living there selling real estate and insurance and their young son was running the family bank in Wayne.
Over the next decade the card game is mentioned numerous times in the Wayne newspaper as being played by the locals. Also by other Wayne residents that have moved to the Long Beach area.
During this time Alice and Henry are still making annual trips to California among others. They are also supporting rooms for veterans in the local hospital and helping get a Carnegie library for the town.
In late 1924 Henry becomes very ill and is hospitalized. He gets an infection on a leg that becomes gangrene and they have to amputate it. It's too much for the 72 year old and he passes away. The new widow decides to stay in Long Beach, California, during her annual trip after the funeral. Her older son was already living there selling real estate and insurance and their young son was running the family bank in Wayne.
Alice (pictured on the left) first settles in Long Beach a block from the ocean. But, soon after moves south near San Diego on the beach in Encinitas where she finds the breeze keeps her ten degrees cooler than Long Beach. As usual, she stays involved in social activities.
Alice started a community center and school in an abandoned building she sees in Encinitas. Becoming interested in vitamins for nutrition for the aid of national defense, she had a women’s group at the center each study one vitamin and report on its benefit. The state heard about it and asked for some representatives to report their findings to them. She began taking vitamins regularly and promoted them for good health.
She also began studying birds and had a stuffed bird collection she displayed at the center.
Because the nearest hospital was 30 miles away in San Diego she also promoted a program to start one in Encinitas
In 1941 a visitor from Wayne wrote back home to the newspaper about Alice's lovely garden full of flowers. She stated Alice had spent two years creating a new colored canna lily that was variegated red and orange.
(I could not find any more information about this plant grown by her. But, it sounded very much like the one shown here.)
The day before Christmas 1945 Alice passes away in a hospital in San Diego. She was interned next to her oldest son in Escondido, California.