A Friendship is Born (Chapter 32)

The last years of our lives together as a family were eventful and happy. Campbell wanted his children to partake of all the cultural advantages of living in Chicago - and there were many. We would all pile into the Cadillac on Saturdays or Sunday afternoons and go downtown to the lake front where we could visit the great Field Museum of Natural History, the Adler Planetarium, and the Shedd Aquarium - all wonderful sources of exposure to the wonders of the world. Irv loved the magnificent Buckingham Fountain and occasionally got soaked as he played too close to it. He loved the great Lincoln Park Zoo and never tired if seeing Bushman the Gorilla. Martha and I enjoyed the Art Institute and strolling down Michigan Avenue to look in all the elegant store windows.

When the Century of Progress - the great Chicago World's Fair of 1933/34 - came, Martha and I were 13 and 15 years old and we spent many happy hours there with our young uncle Eugene Beck viewing all it's wonders! Irv never liked the "Loop" - the downtown business area of the city - so Campbell did not take him or Helen on trips there, but Martha and I loved it. We loved the glittering marquees on the theater fronts, the shops, and elegant hotels and restaurants. After father had conducted his business downtown, we often followed it with a "treat", lunch at a favorite restaurant or hotel, all within walking distance of the many theaters. For a special treat when I was twelve and Martha was fourteen, Campbell took us to a matinee performance of the great Katherine Cornell in The Barretts of Wimpole Street, a thrilling live theater experience. Another memorable theater experience was a live performance of La Argentina, the greatest Spanish Flamenco dancer of that day. Campbell really enjoyed that, and even though he could not see the swirling red ruffles of her skirts, he loved the sound of her castanets and the guitars. When we got home, Martha and I spent the next few weeks stamping our feet on the kitchen floor, strumming her Ukelele and wailing away in a vain attempt at Flamenco much to Florence's chagrin!

Campbell had many friends downtown. He knew the Loop and had the map of it's streets in his head so that he could be dropped off anywhere downtown and not be lost. One early evening Father, Martha, and I were standing on a corner of State Street waiting for Eric to come with the car and take us home. A newsman nearby was hawking his papers, shouting the headlines, "Get your Daily News here - read all about it!" He had his papers on a portable stand right on the corner. After a few minutes, Campbell said, "Nannie, Martha take me to that newsman." We did, and the man said, "Paper sir?" Campbell replied, "Yes, indeed, and you sir are from Glasgow!" The man staggered back, "How did ya know?" Campbell replied, "I have been listening to you, and I think you worked in the shipyards - I recognize the language "O the Clyde." The man stared at father as though he'd seen a ghost. He said, "All true, and you sir are a Scot, right?" Father replied, "Right you are," and, putting out his hand said, "Campbell Stewart." The man grasped his hand and said, "Alan Brodie from Glasgow." They both laughed heartily and a friendship was born on the spot that was to last many years.