My memories of life in the twenties - of the years 1925 to 1929 - are perhaps the most vivid of my childhood. Martha and I started school in 1926 exactly one year after moving into our new house in Sauganash. Father finished the beautiful Tudor, offered it to mother, but she refused saying that it would be too much work. Florence was relieved. So it was sold and Campbell and his team quickly moved on to other projects, at first building some bungalows in Sauganash and Irving Park.
The solid two and three bedroom brick houses were a very popular style house in Chicago in the 20"s. George Koester convinced him that the elegant Tudor style was what people wanted when moving to a suburb like Sauganash. The architect agreed, and being an Englishman, had many beautiful plans. So, the lots that Campbell had bought in Sauganash were disappearing fast with one new house after another! This kept Campbell very busy but he surrounded himself with knowledgeable and competent people who worked for and with him. Ed Gregor, his trusted business manager, was always at his side, and Campbell never put his name to anything until Ed had approved it. Campbell go up early in the morning, and the first thing he would do before breakfast, was to go into the sun room where he kept his radio and turn on the world news and the latest market returns. He was always involved and intensely interested in ALL the news. He also began investing in stocks, and did very well in the market.
Letters from Uncle Edward in Scotland arrived frequently as Uncle Edward was very interested in all of Campbell's acivities. I believe that it was about this time that uncle Edward set up a trust fund for Jeanette that she could collect from until the year 1945 as long as she remained Mrs. Stewart. I remember the checks coming about twice a year from the Bank of England, but I never knew the amount as mother never divulged it to us.
I remember how much Irv and I loved to go to the building sites with Ed and father. We were never allowed in the houses until all the floors were put in, and there were no open stairways. But, we loved the huge piles of sand and stones to play on. And watching the plasterers was such fun - I was always amazed at how FAST they worked! Also, the bricklayers. Martha never went along as she would sneeze and seemed to be allergic to something used in construction, although in those years we never used the word allergic.
Father often had meetings with Ed, Irv Keck, Uncle Gay, the architect, George Koester, and others whose names I didn't know. They would sit around our big oak dining room table, and I would curl up in a ball underneath it, sometimes with Irv, and we would just listen to them. I always loved the smell of uncle Gay's pipe, but not Mr.Koester's cigar! They would talk about everything - Prohibition, Coolidge, Al Smith, Al Capone - the need for more and more houses out of the inner city and into the outlying areas of Chicago. The word SUBURB had not been coined yet! I liked the droning of their voices. Campbell would always have his typwriter set up in front of him as he would take notes of anything he wanted to check out later. If Campbell sensed that we were under the table, he would tap his cane on the table, and say, "Nanny, Omink, go to bed!" "Omink" was his nickname for Irv!
In my next chapter, I want to tell you about Campbell - as a father.
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