After we were settled in the bungalow, Campbell received a call from Ed Gregor, his partner and business manager. The construction of the Tudor was going well, the flooring was being laid, hardwood floors in the entire house except for the attic and basement of course. The team was right on schedule.
But Ed was worried...
People were gambling on the stock market and stocks were going up, prices were going up, and downtown people were saying that unless something was done to slow down the economic boom, it was sure to break and bring on a depression. Ed was right - the great CRASH was only a month or so away!
It troubled Campbell. It was now August and he would not be leaving for Chicago for more than a month. He was enjoying the reunion so much with his brother and sisters that he put it in the back of his mind! Jeanette was still occupied with shopping and collecting things from Chinatown for her new house. This kept her busy every day with Eric Hopf as her escort and driver.
We spent days at the beach - Campbell sitting on a tartan rug in his linen suit and Panama hat next to the lifeguard's stand. They enjoyed chatting with him, and when lunchtime came, we would all go to the fish and chips stand and bring back newspaper wrapped Fish and Chips and stone bottles of cold ginger beer. I had never tasted anything so good, before or since! The ginger beer was of course non-alchoholic, and we loved it!
Knowing that father was blind, the lifeguards took special care of us! Mother never came to the beach! Auntie Nan often took father and the four of us to beautiful Stanley Park in Vancouver, and that was a very special treat! Irv and I had a great time racing up and down all the winding paths. We loved looking at the tall Totem Poles, but the greatest thrill was to see the giant Kodiak bears in their cages! They had heads as big as bushel baskets - really fearsome creatures to us.
At teatime we would all wash hands and go up to the lovely cedar log tea room in the park to eat scones and tea and sandwiches and lemonade. Irv had gotten over his fear of bears, and I would hold his hand. He was seven, Helen was almost five, I was just about to turn Nine on August 15th, and Mart was 11 years-old.
When my birthday DID come on August 15th, Auntie Nan took me downtown, and because I was her namesake, she brought me into a jewelry store and bought me a little gold heart locket set with tiny pearls and a pink party dress. I was so thrilled. Later we went into a cake shop where she had me select the small individual cakes for my birthday TEA!
It was a lovely day!
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