Janet Polley (Long)

I was born July 22, 1959, in Lincoln, Illinois.  I lived my whole life at 600 South Josephine in Atlanta, Illinois, being the middle of five children.

When I was a teenager, I had numerous jobs.  I babysat, walked beans, and detassled.  I also was a waitress at Country Aire and worked at the Atlanta Bowling Alley snack bar.

Country Aire Restaurant, Atlanta, Illinois

I graduated from Olympia High on a Friday in 1977 and started work at Country Companies on Monday.  I worked there from 1977-1979 when I went to work for State Farm.

My best friend Marcia Hieronymus asked me to go see the Beach Boys at the Illinois State Fair in August of 1978.  When it was the day to go see the Fair, I almost backed out but decided to go ahead and go.  A neighbor, Lisa Swearingen, and her boyfriend, Bob Polley, were at the fair along with Bob's brother, Rick.  Bob and Lisa introduced Rick and me.  Rick had a patch over his eye as he had stepped on a rake, and it had come up and hit him.  Rick and I had our first date on August 19, 1978 (the same day my cousin, Brenda Hunter, married Mike Fink.  I went to the wedding and skipped the reception).  We double-dated with Bob and Lisa and went to see the movie, "Foul Play."

The 1978 Movie Poster for "Foul Play"

I purchased a house at 607 Hamilton in Atlanta in 1979.  It was a two-bedroom, one-bath house with a single-car garage.

Rick and I got engaged on July 21, 1979, and were married November 3, 1979...just four months later.  We were married at Lincoln Christian Church.

In April 1984, we moved to 506 NE 4th street in Atlanta, Illinois.  This was a two-story, three-bedroom house with 1.5 baths.  I continued to do home daycare and sold Home Interiors in the evenings.  I quit selling Home Interiors and went to work for Wal-Mart in the evenings in the craft department.

In August 1989, we moved to Rural Route 1, Box 142, in Springfield, Illinois, and rented a three-bedroom, three-bath ranch with a two-car attached garage and a single-car detached garage.  I put a sign in the yard for daycare and was full within a couple of weeks.  I continued in-home daycare until 1996 when I went to work for State Farm as as temporary employee.