Gillis family explained

The Gillis family was an American family of eight who traveled the world in a covered wagon in the 1960s. The family consisted of father Leon Gillis (1920–2010[1]), mother Iyone Gillis (1923–2015[2]), and their six children: Lee Ann, Janet, Susie, Barbara, Allen, and George.[3]

In 1961–62, starting from their home in Virginia, Leon led the family on a coast-to-coast covered wagon journey, in the "Last Wagon West." In 1963–64, the Gillis family took their wagon to Europe, traveling from France, to a Dutch visit with Freddy Heineken, through Minsk to Moscow, living by dint of their wits and the generosity of strangers. These journeys were covered in various local media[4] as well as Newsweek,[5] Life magazine,[6] Soviet Life,[7] the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant,[8] and on network television from prime time news to The Ed Sullivan Show, the Today Show, and the television program To Tell the Truth,[9] [10] and Soviet film Beloved (Любимая).[11]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Leon Hilton Gillis. horne funeral service. 14 July 2014. dead. https://archive.today/20140717182514/http://hornefuneralservice.com/horne1/obituaries/show_obit.php?offset=8&id=1336. 17 July 2014.
  2. News: Gillis, Iyone Koland . Roanoke Times . 29 November 2015 . 9 April 2023.
  3. News: West in a Wagon . Kevin . Kittredge . Roanoke Times . June 20, 1993 . Virginia Tech Libraries.
  4. Web site: Gillis family traveled the old-fashioned way - Roanoke.com . www.roanoke.com . 2 February 2022 . https://archive.today/20120908191051/http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/266214/ . 8 September 2012 . dead.
  5. Web site: Newsweek. 1 January 1962. Newsweek. 27 September 2016. Google Books.
  6. Web site: LIFE. 6 November 1964. Time Inc. 27 September 2016. Google Books.
  7. Web site: Soviet Life. 1 January 1965. Embassy of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics in the USA. 27 September 2016. Google Books.
  8. Web site: 1964 October 23 TASS, anonymous photographer. Leon Gillis family in covered wagon in USSR. 18 April 2010. 27 September 2016.
  9. Web site: Christiansburg woman wants to preserve family story - Roanoke.com . www.roanoke.com . 2 February 2022 . https://archive.today/20130201163624/http://www.roanoke.com/columnists/casey/wb/280995/ . 1 February 2013 . dead.
  10. I traveled cross-country in a covered wagon! . . CBS . February 11, 1963 . YouTube.
  11. Web site: Любимая (1965, романтический фильм, полная версия) . YouTube . 2011-06-02 . 2016-09-27.

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