August 14, 2025 (Part 2)

In her final recorded reflection, Loie speaks with raw honesty and grace about love, regret, and gratitude. She recalls moments of distance with her children and the ache of conversations left unsaid — then offers a tender apology, thanking her family for their forgiveness and patience. With humor and humility, she marvels at the improbable beauty of a life that “could have been a disaster” but instead became “a miracle of love.” As she reflects on the deep joy of “going out on a good note,” her words become a quiet benediction — gratitude over pride, happiness over achievement, and faith in the simple truth that “God is love, and there’s love in everything.”

August 14, 2025

In one of her most intimate recordings, Loie reflects on each of her four children — Pat, Rebecca, Beth, and Mark — tracing their childhoods, adventures, and the unique ways they shaped her life. She recalls sleepless nights with baby Pat, Rebecca’s daring climbs, Beth’s quiet leadership and rebellious faith, and Mark’s long journey toward purpose. Between laughter and tears, Loie celebrates their courage, independence, and compassion, seeing in each of them a reflection of the life she and Walt built together. The conversation closes with her deepest wish: that her family stay connected and keep saying yes to love.

August 13, 2025

Loie looks back on motherhood—raising four children through the turbulence of the 1950s and ’60s while building community around her. She reflects on trusting her kids to find their way, the friendships and “village” that shaped them, and the adventures of family life: from Camp Concordia summers and packed car trips to Florida, to living in a veteran trailer park while Walt earned his master’s. She shares stories of baby Pat’s sleepless nights, stroller walks along Lake Michigan, and the warmth of her own parents’ love. The conversation drifts through laughter, reflection, and gratitude for a life stitched together by family, faith, and adventure.

August 11, 2025

Loie reflects on the creation of Hilltop Neighborhood House and the ripple effect that followed — from a $30,000 dream to a thriving block of community care. She recalls how Walt’s “gospel of the hammer” led to free childcare, medical, and dental care for working families, and how neighbors, churches, and volunteers came together to build something lasting. The story flows into the founding of Neighbors’ Place for Women, where safety and belonging replaced fear and instability. Looking back, Loie calls it all “one little yes” — a life that grew from Barbara Cotton’s question into a movement of compassion.

August 9, 2025

This episode traces Loie’s memories from a harrowing fire in their Chicago high-rise to the formation of Project Neighbors after her and Walt’s years in Germany. She recalls the bravery of her children, the generosity of strangers, and the challenges of welcoming Black families into Valparaiso through the VBA experiment. The conversation weaves through heartbreaks, funerals, and triumphs — from Betty Ballard finally receiving her diploma, to the Cottons and Allens shaping the town’s history, to Walt’s vision that birthed Project Neighbors. Along the way, Loie reflects on resilience, community, and the movement that kept growing, one family and one house at a time.

August 8, 2025

Loie recalls the challenges and breakthroughs of Project Neighbors’ earliest years—when Barbara Cotton moved into Valparaiso and the neighborhood faced harassment, threats, and even cross burnings. She tells stories of students standing night watch with coffee urns and sleeping bags, a hidden toast to Barbara sealed inside the walls of her new home, and the deep lessons she learned about the difference between charity and true sharing. Loie also reflects on the families who followed Barbara—Betty Ballard, Gladys Allen, and others—how education became the key to opportunity, and how, in her words, “our whole life was a response.”

August 7, 2025

Loie recalls the turbulent years when her family moved from Valparaiso to Chicago, the founding of the Prince of Peace Volunteers, and the beginnings of Project Neighbors. She shares vivid memories of Camp Concordia’s experiments with interracial staffing and family camping, the chaos following Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, and the moment Barbara Cotton challenged Walt with the question that changed their lives: why her children couldn’t have the same safe future as his. From Chicago’s protests to “Barbara’s Boulevard” in Valpo, Loie traces how faith, activism, and community converged in the work that defined her family’s legacy.

August 6, 2025

This time, Loie revisits her early married life with Walt—starting with a wedding dress sewn from his World War II parachute and their first modest apartment in Valparaiso. She tells stories of teaching while raising young children, Walt’s knack for making deals and building furniture, and the family’s years as dorm parents at Valpo. From there, she traces how Walt’s restless energy sparked bold new ventures: Camp Concordia, the Interstate Peace Corps, and eventually the Prince of Peace Volunteers. Loie recalls the spirit of the 1960s, the mix of small-town family life with national movements for civil rights, and even marching in Washington with their children. Through humor and vivid memory, she shows how “one thing led to another” in a life of faith, activism, and community.