LUCILLE BALL(S)

July 6, 1955

Binghamton (NY) Press, July 6, 1955

By Muriel Kappeler

LUCILLE BALL washes dishes at 1009 Catherine Street, West Corners, and plays with a rattle at 328 Front Street, Vestal. 

No, the famous red-headed ball of fire, star of the “I Love Lucy” television program is not losing her mind, nor Is she in the Triple Cities area. 

You could have fooled an excited nurse at Wilson Hospital though. About a year ago, the nurse was told to come down and take care of Lucille Ball. “Good heavens Is Lucille Ball here?” she explained speeding down the corridors. “This I’ve got to see.” What she found in the hospital room was a very sick Lucille Ball, infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Mark L. Ball of 328 Front Street, Vestal. The baby was hospitalized with an attack of spinal meningitis. 

“We came pretty close to not having a Lucille Ball in our family,” her mother recalled grimly. “But everything is just fine now and the baby is wonderful." 

The blue-eyed, brown haired child, who is now 18 months old, was named, not after the Hollywood bombshell whose wacky antics delight millions, but after a great-grandmother on her father’s side of the family. Great-grandmother Lucille was, according to family records, a nurse during the Civil War. 

"Friends have asked us if we named her after the TV actress,” her mother said, “or if Lucille Ball was related to us. But we actually named her after her great-grandmother and Miss Ball is no relation." 

Over in West Corners, Lucille Ball washes the dishes regularly. Called Lucky by her friends, this Lucille Ball is 14, and an eighth grader at Jennie F. Snapp Junior High School. 

Last year. Lucky, whose hair is a flaming red just like the TV comedienne’s, was captain of the cheerleaders in school and played basketball. 

Her gray-blue eyes sparkle with enthusiasm when she talks about her favorite records, her sports activities and her family. She was named after her aunt, Mrs. Paul Vroman of Day Hollow Road, Endicott. 

"Her father,” Lucky’s mother recalled, “was teasing me just after she was born. We had selected the name, Lucille and he suggested calling her ‘Lucky’ because I always give people nicknames. I agreed because I didn’t want to call her Lucy." 

Lucille mentioned that her friends In school alternate between calling her Lucky and Lucy. Fascinated friends, who comment on the red hair she and the TV star share, have sent in Lucky’s name to the TV program "The Name’s the Same.” But so far, their efforts have been in vain. 

When she is introduced to members of the younger generation, whose sense of humor always bubbles up. Lucky has learned to grin when they say: 

“There’s Lucille Ball, I wonder where Desi is.”

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FOOTNOTES FROM THE FUTURE

“The Name’s the Same” was a TV panel / quiz show where guests who have the same name as famous persons, fictional characters, or things, are quizzed by celebrity panelists who try to determine their name.  It aired from December 1951 to October 1955 on ABC TV.  It was hosted by Robert Q. Lewis.   

Binghamton, New York, is located approximately 225 miles south east of Jamestown, New York, Lucille Ball’s birthplace.  Considering the proximity, it is reasonable to assume Ball descendants might be found in the area.