Our new house was a delight and a distraction to all the Stewarts that first year. Campbell had put a great deal of thought into its construction anticipating that it would be our home for many, many years. I loved the basement - cozy and warm in the winter - and cool and pleasant in the summer. The huge coal furnace stood in the center, and behind it the coal bin, the laundry room, complete with clotheslines and a bathroom with a vanity sink, toilet, and shower, plus a dressing room. At the other end of the basement, a workbench the entire length of the wall, complete with all the tools needed to maintain a large household. Campbell put one of his old radios down on the bench so that Florence could enjoy music while she did the washing. Eric spent a great deal of time working at the bench, fixing something for the house, or building a model ship or plane.
Florence would set the dining room table promptly at six every evening while mother put the finishing touches to dinner. We each had our napkins in silver monogrammed napkin rings from Scotland. Mother sat at one end of the table, with Irv and Helen to her right and left, and father sat at the other end with Martha and me on either side. Father kept the conversation light and family and school oriented. Florence set places for herself and Eric at the kitchen table, but I noticed if I made a trip to the kitchen that Eric had taken his plate to the sunroom and was eating there. He would not sit at the same table with her as he was a racist. This was confirmed when we found KKK literature in his wastebasket. The KKK was a powerful force in the late twenties and early thirties in the country. When we mentioned this to Campbell, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "I've already spoken to him about using the word nigger...let me know if he does (again) and he will be out of here!"
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