The five years that our fractured family lived in Des Plaines saw all four Stewart "kids" grow to adulthood. Before I tell you their stories, I will tell you how their father, Campbell, fared in Joliet in the Shufelt home.
Father had found the ideal situation for himself with Mrs. Shufelt and her daughter Dorothy. As a handicapped person herself, Dorothy understood his physical limitations. She was educated, a lively conversationalist, and loved to read. She became the perfect companion for Campbell who needed and enjoyed the intellectual conversation that she provided. She also acted as a personal secretary to him - proof reading his typed letters and assisting him with all his legal papers. Ed Gregor, Campbell's friend and business manager had died of a terrible stomach ulcer. Campbell was 48 years-old when he moved into the Shufelt home, still a young and vigorous man and his health was good. Dorothy was in her late twenties. I must admit that I felt a twinge of jealousy when I saw Dorothy taking over the the duties of proof reading his letters and reading to father - my former "job". But, I quickly realized that father was in the best possible place - for him!
I visited father every three months or so - taking the bus from Des Plaines to Joliet, and occasionally stayed overnite. Mrs. Shufelt was most kind to me and encouraged my visits. She had a sofa bed in the living room where I slept and I always felt welcome there.
On one visit I attended a neighborhood picnic with Mrs. Shufelt, Dorothy, and father. It was at this picnic that I met Dew Dailey - a jolly woman a little older than father. She was the Principal of the local high school and Campbell enjoyed her robust humor and lively conversation. They all became good friends. Dew had a car and took great pleasure in driving Campbell into the loop in downtown Chicago where they would shop and dine and occasionally visit friends. Dorothy often accompanied them. He was saddened on one visit to hear of the death of Allan Brodie, his favorite newsie on State Street. He had died of pneumonia after suffering a severe chill selling papers in the bitter cold wind off Lake Michigan the past winter. Father made a point of remembering his old friend by looking up his family and giving them a remembrance in Allen's name.
Father had filed for divorce but the Illinois law stated that both parties had to agree to it, and mother was holding out for the last "farthing" from the Stewart Estate and hers as long as she was Mrs. Stewart. When Campbell heard that Eric had moved in with us, he simply said, "Of course, I expected that...let me know if he causes ANY trouble for any of you, especially Irv. Just go about your business, do your school work, enjoy your friends."
But father knew something that I did not know at the time...Cohabitation without Benefit of Clergy was ILLEGAL in Illinois and many surrounding states in the thirties. As ridiculous as that sounds now in the 21st Century, it was a fact of life in the thirties and forties.
Mother was holding out to get enough money to buy a hideaway in a remote area in Wisconsin....
To Be Continued...
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