Father Campbell (Chapter 16)

Before I write about Campbell as a father, I must talk about his family.

All of his siblings moved to British Columbia, Canada in the early twenties. Campbell was not able to follow them there because Jeanette would never consider living anywhere but Chicago as all her relatives were there. She cared nothing for Campbell's family - was even scornful of them with their old-world Scottish ways and manners. She did, however, love Aunt Helen, and was forever grateful to her for rescuing and rehabilitating Campbell when he returned from overseas.

Even as a child I was acutely aware that my parents were poorly matched, indeed! I never saw any display of affection between them, and they never conversed in an amiable fashion. Father tried - I could see that, but there was never any fun or banter between them. Mother's family was the limit of her social life, and she had few women friends. She loved gossiping with her sisters and competing with them, and she totally enjoyed her position as the most affluent of them all. As children, we were given lavish Christmas' and on Christmas morning the living room would be so full of toys that it was impossible to walk through it. I cannot help but feel that she was compensating for her own deprived childhood. The Christmas that Irving was four years old, she bought an overstuffed bear for several hundred dollars that was mounted on wheels and it was under the tree with Irv's name on it. He took one look at it and screamed in fear and would not sit on it, refusing to go near it. Campbell told her to return it to the big department store where she had bought it, but she refused and gave it to one of her sister's children the same day. Mother could be very generous with her own family and with Florence Green, our beloved housekeeper and maid. She was always struggling with her Catholic faith and her new-found Christian Science, and found Campbell's relaxed Agnosticism very irritating.

Back in Scotland, Uncle Edward kept in touch with Campbell and his family regularly. Since he had no family of his own and was so fond of his nephew Campbell, he was very generous to us at Christmas and wrote frequently. All of his packages and letters came by surface mail in those days, and it was always a thrill for us all when one of his huge boxes arrived! We received tinned Dundee Cake, shortbread, and wonderful marmalades in beautiful tins and jars all decorated with scenes of the Highlands. Wonderful soft Scottish woolen Tams, mittens and Scarves were there also, along with sweaters in all our correct sizes. And books - there were always books included. When I was in first grade, my own little set of Beatrix Potter 's little pocket sized books in a little cardboard bookcase all covered with pictures of her characters - my favorite gift ever! Later, a complete set of Robert Louis Stevenson when I was older. When Martha was twelve, she received a two year subscription to The Tatler, which she reluctantly shared with me, and I received a gorgeous book of Elizabethan paper dolls. He sent Irv a hand held magnifying glass and a Harris tweed cap, which he loved. Uncle Edward seemed to know what kids liked! I dont remember the year that he sent us the complete works of Sir Walter Scott and Charles Dickens, but they were on our book shelves all the while I was growing up. I learned to read with those books as Campbell asked both Martha and I to read to him on cold winter evenings from Fair Maid of Perth or Great Expectations among others.

Later in his life, Uncle Edward met a lovely Norwegian lady named Thekla on a trip to North Africa. She was riding a camel as were the others in the travel group. He fell in love with her, and they were married and lived at Lignwood until he died on 1950. It was a very happy marriage, and after he died, Thekla sold Lignwood and went briefly back to Norway. She returned to Scotland later where she died in 1956, and is now buried beside Edward in the family plot in Perth.