Mother could not have visitors until the day after our new little baby brother was born, and then no one under age 12, so Irv and Helen had to stay home with Florence. Uncle Gay (mother's oldest brother) came to take father, Martha and I to the hospital. We were so excited! Mother was sitting up when we came in and father bent down to kiss her - he was all smiles and concern saying, "Janet dear - how are you - we are all SO happy!" The nurse came in carrying our new little baby brother. I was SO amazed - he was SO tiny, actually a little over 6 pounds! I had never seen a newborn baby before and the nurse let me hold him - a thrilling moment for me! Martha held him too, and I remember her saying, "Hello, I'm your big sister!"
Campbell was beaming!
The nurse then gave the baby to mother and left coming back almost immediately with a cart with papers on it, and said, "Time to get Birth Certificate information!" Martha and I listened as our parents answered all the questions...Names of parents - Campbell and Jeanette Stewart - places of birth, present address, other children, etc...and then the baby's name, and Campbell said, "Donald James Stewart." And so it was done and the nurse said that they would receive a copy in the mail and left. Uncle Gay came in then and there were smiles and congratulations all around.
When we arrived home a couple of hours later there was a brand new English pram delivered from Marshall Fields in the front hall - ready to surprise mother when we brought her home in a few more days - a gift from Campbell. I ran upstairs to use the bathroom and passed by Eric's room - it was empty of all his belongings - just the empty bed and dresser remained. When I went to use the toilet in our lovely lavender tile bathroom he had dumped the contents of his bedside ash tray into the toilet and had not flushed them down and the stubs of his OLD GOLDS were floating in the water! He was gone!
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Confused (Chapter 35)
Eric had left a note taped to the large tropical fish tank in the sunroom. He wrote that he was leaving to help his father, Adolph Hopf, dismantle his Watch and Clock Shop. Mr. Hopf was going out of business after being in the same location, Elston Avenue in Chicago, for twenty years. He had started his business in 1914, but could not survive the present year (1934) when the Depression peaked. He still owned the spacious Two Flat where he and Gerta lived with their little four year old, Irene, born when Gerta was in her late forties. The upstairs flat was rented and provided income for them, so Eric moved back into the heated front porch that overlooked the street. His father was tired and glad to have him back to help in the maintenance of the large building. Eric's reasons for leaving the very comfortable life at the Steward home in Sauganash were not solely the welfare of his father, but too many people were suspicious of his relationship with Mrs. Stewart! Our dear, young twenty six year old uncle Eugene Beck stepped right up and offered his services to Campbell! Like many other young men of that era, he was unemployed and needed a job desperately. He was a good driver and knew the City, and in no time he had moved into Eric's old room, and Martha and I were delighted! Florence too!
Campbell had proudly written each of his siblings in British Columbia to tell them of the birth of their new little nephew. He wrote Uncle Edward in Scotland. who was delighted. He sent a lovely pram shawl in the hunting Stewart Tartan and a silver cup with the initials DJS engraved on the side. Aunt Nan, who was in London at the time with her daughter (my cousin) Ann, responded with a telegram stating that on their way back home they would stop in Chicago to see the new member of the family! That would be in October and this was already the first of September.
I had just had my 14th birthday when we received the news of Auntie Nan's upcoming visit. For reasons I did not understand, I was feeling anxious and occasionally had acute panic attacks. I told no one about this - not even Florence. There was something in the atmosphere of our home that was not right. Mother had converted Irv's bedroom into a nursery where she put a changing table, rocking chair, crib, and a new single bed. She moved Irv into the master bedroom with Campbell, and no longer slept there, but spent all her time in the nursery with the baby - night and much of the day! She would have uncle Gene drive her to the market to get groceries and she would visit the Hopf's at least every other day! Gerta Hopf loved seeing the baby as did Mr. Hopf and of course, Eric was always there!
Martha and I had put all our fears and doubts about Eric and mother out of our minds when he moved out so abruptly, but now we could not understand why she did not share the baby more with us. She never gave him to Campbell to hold, but when she was in the living room she would have the elegant pram that Campbell had given her set up and keep little Donald in it!
Martha had started classes at North Park Academy and I was to start my first year there in High School in September. But I begged my parents to allow me to start in February, or even the following September, as I was not well and the anxiety attacks persisted. I feel, in retrospect, that we, Martha, Irv, Helen, and I were badly neglected in those months. Twelve year-old Irv began biting his nails down to the quick, and one day a police officer came to the door with nine year-old Helen, and informed Campbell, who had answered the door, that she had been caught shoplifting in Dietrich's Store. She had taken a pack of colored pencils!
I was very confused...I loved the baby and I did many little chores for mother in regard to the baby, such as hang out all the diapers on the clothesline, and warming his bottle on cold mornings. I was confused that there was not more JOY in our household! And, it was into this atmosphere that Auntie Nan arrived, fresh from her trip to Lignwood and London with her daughter, my cousin Ann!
Campbell had proudly written each of his siblings in British Columbia to tell them of the birth of their new little nephew. He wrote Uncle Edward in Scotland. who was delighted. He sent a lovely pram shawl in the hunting Stewart Tartan and a silver cup with the initials DJS engraved on the side. Aunt Nan, who was in London at the time with her daughter (my cousin) Ann, responded with a telegram stating that on their way back home they would stop in Chicago to see the new member of the family! That would be in October and this was already the first of September.
I had just had my 14th birthday when we received the news of Auntie Nan's upcoming visit. For reasons I did not understand, I was feeling anxious and occasionally had acute panic attacks. I told no one about this - not even Florence. There was something in the atmosphere of our home that was not right. Mother had converted Irv's bedroom into a nursery where she put a changing table, rocking chair, crib, and a new single bed. She moved Irv into the master bedroom with Campbell, and no longer slept there, but spent all her time in the nursery with the baby - night and much of the day! She would have uncle Gene drive her to the market to get groceries and she would visit the Hopf's at least every other day! Gerta Hopf loved seeing the baby as did Mr. Hopf and of course, Eric was always there!
Martha and I had put all our fears and doubts about Eric and mother out of our minds when he moved out so abruptly, but now we could not understand why she did not share the baby more with us. She never gave him to Campbell to hold, but when she was in the living room she would have the elegant pram that Campbell had given her set up and keep little Donald in it!
Martha had started classes at North Park Academy and I was to start my first year there in High School in September. But I begged my parents to allow me to start in February, or even the following September, as I was not well and the anxiety attacks persisted. I feel, in retrospect, that we, Martha, Irv, Helen, and I were badly neglected in those months. Twelve year-old Irv began biting his nails down to the quick, and one day a police officer came to the door with nine year-old Helen, and informed Campbell, who had answered the door, that she had been caught shoplifting in Dietrich's Store. She had taken a pack of colored pencils!
I was very confused...I loved the baby and I did many little chores for mother in regard to the baby, such as hang out all the diapers on the clothesline, and warming his bottle on cold mornings. I was confused that there was not more JOY in our household! And, it was into this atmosphere that Auntie Nan arrived, fresh from her trip to Lignwood and London with her daughter, my cousin Ann!
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
A Visit by Auntie Nan (Chapter 36)
We heard her voice first in the front hall - that lilting theater trained voice with the cultivated Edinburgh accent - followed by the fragrance of Yardleys English Lavender as she swept into the room hugging each one of us in turn, "Martha, Nannie dear, Irving and Helen - dear little Helen!" Then, peering into the pram, "And this is Donald James!" She reached in to pick him up but mother restrained her, saying "He's just been fed!" Three month old Donald just smiled.
I looked at my cousin Anne Ferguson - about twenty at the time. She looked sixteen. A quiet, plain-faced girl with a winning, warm smile - I loved her on sight! Campbell was so excited that he got up from his chair, putting out his arms to hug his sister, not sure of her location in the room as she was going from one to another of us, finally hugging him...
"Cambie, so wonderful to see you!"
Florence was putting the finishing touches to dinner in the kitchen. The dining room was set with our best linen and silver. Martha and I had helped earlier, making the waldorf salad to accompany Florence's wonderful chicken pie - the two chicken version that we all loved! No one made a more delicious chicken pie! Irv and Uncle Eugene had made peach ice cream in the ice gream freezer that had to be filled with chopped ice and hand-cranked by them both taking turns turning the handle!
A wonderful dinner indeed!
And a great reunion filled with stories and reminiscence. After dinner mother excused herself to take Donald up to the nursery where she stayed! We four children took Auntie Nan and Ann on a tour of the house from top to bottom, and they were ecstatic in their approval. Aunt Nan stopped in the nursery to say goodnight to mother. She made a date with her for the following day to take her to the lovely tea room at the Edgewater Beach Hotel where she was staying. They served a genuine English/Scottish Tea in the Tea Room accompanied by a Violin-Cello-Piano ensemble that played current romantic melodies while an occasional couple got up and danced on the small dance floor. The Tea Dance was a daily tradition at the Edgewater Beach in the 20's and early 30's.
Uncle Eugene offered to take Ann, Martha and me to the opening matinee of Cleopatra with Claudette Colbert at the Chicago Theater while mother and Auntie Nan were at tea, and Ann was thrilled as this was her first trip to Chicago. So the following day we did as planned and it was a happy day!
Father could not join any of us as he was closing on a house that he had just completed for a Chicago judge - his last house that he built - and he and Ed Gregor were committed to that event. But driving home after leaving Ann and Auntie Nan at their hotel, mother was very quiet and would not talk to us. When we arrived home, Florence was in the living room gently rocking Donald who was sound asleep. Irv, Helen, and father were just finishing supper and Uncle Gene, Martha, and I joined them. Mother picked up Donald from the pram and went up to the nursery without a word to anyone...
I looked at my cousin Anne Ferguson - about twenty at the time. She looked sixteen. A quiet, plain-faced girl with a winning, warm smile - I loved her on sight! Campbell was so excited that he got up from his chair, putting out his arms to hug his sister, not sure of her location in the room as she was going from one to another of us, finally hugging him...
"Cambie, so wonderful to see you!"
Florence was putting the finishing touches to dinner in the kitchen. The dining room was set with our best linen and silver. Martha and I had helped earlier, making the waldorf salad to accompany Florence's wonderful chicken pie - the two chicken version that we all loved! No one made a more delicious chicken pie! Irv and Uncle Eugene had made peach ice cream in the ice gream freezer that had to be filled with chopped ice and hand-cranked by them both taking turns turning the handle!
A wonderful dinner indeed!
And a great reunion filled with stories and reminiscence. After dinner mother excused herself to take Donald up to the nursery where she stayed! We four children took Auntie Nan and Ann on a tour of the house from top to bottom, and they were ecstatic in their approval. Aunt Nan stopped in the nursery to say goodnight to mother. She made a date with her for the following day to take her to the lovely tea room at the Edgewater Beach Hotel where she was staying. They served a genuine English/Scottish Tea in the Tea Room accompanied by a Violin-Cello-Piano ensemble that played current romantic melodies while an occasional couple got up and danced on the small dance floor. The Tea Dance was a daily tradition at the Edgewater Beach in the 20's and early 30's.
Uncle Eugene offered to take Ann, Martha and me to the opening matinee of Cleopatra with Claudette Colbert at the Chicago Theater while mother and Auntie Nan were at tea, and Ann was thrilled as this was her first trip to Chicago. So the following day we did as planned and it was a happy day!
Father could not join any of us as he was closing on a house that he had just completed for a Chicago judge - his last house that he built - and he and Ed Gregor were committed to that event. But driving home after leaving Ann and Auntie Nan at their hotel, mother was very quiet and would not talk to us. When we arrived home, Florence was in the living room gently rocking Donald who was sound asleep. Irv, Helen, and father were just finishing supper and Uncle Gene, Martha, and I joined them. Mother picked up Donald from the pram and went up to the nursery without a word to anyone...
Monday, January 28, 2013
Chapter 37
Father met with his sister Nan on the day after her tea with Jeanette. They had lunch at her hotel and spent several hours together. Her train was to leave early the next morning for her trip home to British Columbia. So Campbell said goodbye to his sister and niece. When he returned home we were all in the living room and I noticed that he seemed to be very sad, and assumed it was because he had said goodbye to them.
But he was more than sad, he was very morose, almost angry! As usual, mother was up in the nursery with the baby and when Campbell came upstairs and knocked on the door, she told him to go away. He was grim faced when he went into the kitchen to talk to Florence. I heard him questioning her, but could not make out what it was all about. I heard him ask her, "Did you know?" I did not know what was going on as I did not hear the rest of the conversation. Finally Martha and I went to bed as the two younger children were already asleep. Gene had gone out for the evening, and after making his safety rounds for the evening, father came upstairs. He knocked once more on the nursery door, but got no answer and went into the master bedroom where he slipped into his bed alongside the other twin bed where Irv lay sound asleep.
But he was more than sad, he was very morose, almost angry! As usual, mother was up in the nursery with the baby and when Campbell came upstairs and knocked on the door, she told him to go away. He was grim faced when he went into the kitchen to talk to Florence. I heard him questioning her, but could not make out what it was all about. I heard him ask her, "Did you know?" I did not know what was going on as I did not hear the rest of the conversation. Finally Martha and I went to bed as the two younger children were already asleep. Gene had gone out for the evening, and after making his safety rounds for the evening, father came upstairs. He knocked once more on the nursery door, but got no answer and went into the master bedroom where he slipped into his bed alongside the other twin bed where Irv lay sound asleep.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Chapter 38
It was Saturday morning, so Martha did not have school. We had awakened at the sound of our parents angry voices coming from the nursery. We stared at each other in disbelief when we heard father say, "Well, you'll just have to marry Hopf and give that child his rightful name!"
Then Martha and I knew what all the anger was about!
What we had never really been sure about was suddenly clarified for us...but where does our family go from here? Twelve year old Irv was standing out in the hall and had heard. He was crying and cried out through the door, "Why dont you all-shut-up!" Helen, back in her Bo-Peep bedroom was still sleeping. Father came out and gathered up Irv and brought him back to the master bedroom they now shared, talking to him all the way, trying to console him. Mother came out carrying Donald and went downstairs for breakfast.
A month later I looked out the window one morning and saw a large FOR SALE sign on our front lawn. I should not have been surprised. The week before Florence gave notice that she would be with us just two more weeks - after 8 1/2 years!
I was stunned and speechless. Uncle Gay came over one afternoon to say that he had found a house for Jeanette in Des Plaines that she could rent. It had two bedrooms and a sleeping porch. Des Plaines is a suburban town on the N.W. edge of Chicago, and ten minutes from our beloved Sauganash. Our lovely Tudor House sold just ten days after it was put up for sale. We had to leave it in just one month! Even though father had filed for divorce, my parents were still living together, but Ed Gregor had found just the right place for father! It was a room in a home of a friend of his in Joliet just outside Chicago. He would get all his meals and care that he required. His room was on the first floor with a private bath. The older woman who owned it was a friend of Ed's mother. She was widowed and had a 28 year-old daughter who had suffered Polio as a ten year-old and was permanently disabled on crutches - Mrs. Shufelt and her daughter Dorothy.
The day the car arrived to take Campbell to his new home, Martha and I had done his packing for him. All that he had on the curb for the large car picking him up was his typewriter, radio, a metal cashbox to hold all his personal papers, a garment bag containing his tweeds, and a suitcase holding all his underwear and shirts - also his shoes in a hanging shoebag and his white cane. All his worldly goods after an 18 year marriage all fit neatly in the back of Ed's car!
Mother was in the house when he left with Ed. His three daughters kissed him and gave him big hugs. He said to Martha and me, "Girls, the family pictures from Scotland - dont let her throw them out - remember they are YOUR family!" We all said, "We will, and we will come and see you!" I looked over at Irv standing on the curb. He didn't move in his father's direction - just stood there and said not a word with tears in his eyes.
Then Martha and I knew what all the anger was about!
What we had never really been sure about was suddenly clarified for us...but where does our family go from here? Twelve year old Irv was standing out in the hall and had heard. He was crying and cried out through the door, "Why dont you all-shut-up!" Helen, back in her Bo-Peep bedroom was still sleeping. Father came out and gathered up Irv and brought him back to the master bedroom they now shared, talking to him all the way, trying to console him. Mother came out carrying Donald and went downstairs for breakfast.
A month later I looked out the window one morning and saw a large FOR SALE sign on our front lawn. I should not have been surprised. The week before Florence gave notice that she would be with us just two more weeks - after 8 1/2 years!
I was stunned and speechless. Uncle Gay came over one afternoon to say that he had found a house for Jeanette in Des Plaines that she could rent. It had two bedrooms and a sleeping porch. Des Plaines is a suburban town on the N.W. edge of Chicago, and ten minutes from our beloved Sauganash. Our lovely Tudor House sold just ten days after it was put up for sale. We had to leave it in just one month! Even though father had filed for divorce, my parents were still living together, but Ed Gregor had found just the right place for father! It was a room in a home of a friend of his in Joliet just outside Chicago. He would get all his meals and care that he required. His room was on the first floor with a private bath. The older woman who owned it was a friend of Ed's mother. She was widowed and had a 28 year-old daughter who had suffered Polio as a ten year-old and was permanently disabled on crutches - Mrs. Shufelt and her daughter Dorothy.
The day the car arrived to take Campbell to his new home, Martha and I had done his packing for him. All that he had on the curb for the large car picking him up was his typewriter, radio, a metal cashbox to hold all his personal papers, a garment bag containing his tweeds, and a suitcase holding all his underwear and shirts - also his shoes in a hanging shoebag and his white cane. All his worldly goods after an 18 year marriage all fit neatly in the back of Ed's car!
Mother was in the house when he left with Ed. His three daughters kissed him and gave him big hugs. He said to Martha and me, "Girls, the family pictures from Scotland - dont let her throw them out - remember they are YOUR family!" We all said, "We will, and we will come and see you!" I looked over at Irv standing on the curb. He didn't move in his father's direction - just stood there and said not a word with tears in his eyes.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Chapter 39
When Ed's car pulled away carrying our father to his new home, we all called out as loudly as we could, "Goodbye dad!" "Bye" "Bye dad".
We did not wave or run after the car because we all knew that he could not see us. Living with a blind father had taught us all many things. Martha was sixteen, I was fourteen, Irving was twelve, and Helen - nine years old.
For the first time in my life, I felt a deep and abiding resentment toward the two who had brought this separation about. I knew nothing then about human frailty or weakness, but just felt a lot of adolescent anger! When the car was out of sight, we all turned to go into the lovely home that Campbell had built for his family and which was now sold. Irv dashed ahead and instead of leaping into the living room in his usual manner and landing in front of the console radio on the floor, he headed straight for the red leather wing chair which was Campbell's throne all the years we were together as a family! This was father's chair as far back as we could all remember. Now Irv claimed it and none of us questioned it. He curled up in it and stayed there till suppertime - his face still streaked with tears.
Florence had left us two weeks earlier. Campbell had given her a check for three months salary and a wonderful letter of recommendation which I had proof read to him through tears as Florence's departure was one of the most wrenching losses of all. She had been my friend and confidente for eight and a half years. I think she loved Irv and I most of all because we loved her back and really needed her! She would cook special things for Irv and once said to me, "Nannie, when you grow up I'll come and work for you - for nothing!" I used to enjoy helping her dry dishes hang up clothes, do the pesky dusting, setting the table and peeling potatoes. She would talk to me about the current jazz and "Blues" music of the day and we would sing the "Saint Louis Blues" together among other songs! Martha never really warmed to her and once at age 14 she went with her friend Mary Jane into the kitchen and slyly asked, "Florence, what tribe are you from?" Florence just laughed and replied, "I dunno Honey - what tribe are YOU from?" I gave her daughter my precious doll house when she (Florence) left, and she cried when uncle Gay delivered it to her tenement apartment on the South Side. Florence Green - I have never forgotten her!
Florence knew that Eric Hopf had fathered Donald and wisely and with great self control had never divulged that knowledge to anyone. She was too devoted to Campbell to hurt him and she feared Eric because, as I have mentioned before, his KKK connections. I saw Florence only once more when I was twenty, and Donald was six years old, when she visited mother briefly just before she and Eric fled to Wisconsin. She had aged and had been working for a family on the North Shore. She had donated the doll house to her daughter Mary's school on the South Side of Chicago - it was too dangerous to have it in her tenement apartment because of robbery - someone would eventually have broken in to steal it! I hugged her and we cried as we said goodbye - Florence - my dear childhood friend!
Two weeks after father's departure, we were all packed for our move to the house in Des Plaines. Uncle Gay came over and announced that he had a truck and the next day was coming over to pick up father's red wing chair to bring to him in Joliet - and who would like to come along?
We did not wave or run after the car because we all knew that he could not see us. Living with a blind father had taught us all many things. Martha was sixteen, I was fourteen, Irving was twelve, and Helen - nine years old.
For the first time in my life, I felt a deep and abiding resentment toward the two who had brought this separation about. I knew nothing then about human frailty or weakness, but just felt a lot of adolescent anger! When the car was out of sight, we all turned to go into the lovely home that Campbell had built for his family and which was now sold. Irv dashed ahead and instead of leaping into the living room in his usual manner and landing in front of the console radio on the floor, he headed straight for the red leather wing chair which was Campbell's throne all the years we were together as a family! This was father's chair as far back as we could all remember. Now Irv claimed it and none of us questioned it. He curled up in it and stayed there till suppertime - his face still streaked with tears.
Florence had left us two weeks earlier. Campbell had given her a check for three months salary and a wonderful letter of recommendation which I had proof read to him through tears as Florence's departure was one of the most wrenching losses of all. She had been my friend and confidente for eight and a half years. I think she loved Irv and I most of all because we loved her back and really needed her! She would cook special things for Irv and once said to me, "Nannie, when you grow up I'll come and work for you - for nothing!" I used to enjoy helping her dry dishes hang up clothes, do the pesky dusting, setting the table and peeling potatoes. She would talk to me about the current jazz and "Blues" music of the day and we would sing the "Saint Louis Blues" together among other songs! Martha never really warmed to her and once at age 14 she went with her friend Mary Jane into the kitchen and slyly asked, "Florence, what tribe are you from?" Florence just laughed and replied, "I dunno Honey - what tribe are YOU from?" I gave her daughter my precious doll house when she (Florence) left, and she cried when uncle Gay delivered it to her tenement apartment on the South Side. Florence Green - I have never forgotten her!
Florence knew that Eric Hopf had fathered Donald and wisely and with great self control had never divulged that knowledge to anyone. She was too devoted to Campbell to hurt him and she feared Eric because, as I have mentioned before, his KKK connections. I saw Florence only once more when I was twenty, and Donald was six years old, when she visited mother briefly just before she and Eric fled to Wisconsin. She had aged and had been working for a family on the North Shore. She had donated the doll house to her daughter Mary's school on the South Side of Chicago - it was too dangerous to have it in her tenement apartment because of robbery - someone would eventually have broken in to steal it! I hugged her and we cried as we said goodbye - Florence - my dear childhood friend!
Two weeks after father's departure, we were all packed for our move to the house in Des Plaines. Uncle Gay came over and announced that he had a truck and the next day was coming over to pick up father's red wing chair to bring to him in Joliet - and who would like to come along?
Friday, January 25, 2013
The Red Chair (Chapter 40)
Irving and I both leaped at the opportunity to accompany Uncle Gay when he announced that he would be bringing Campbell his Red Wing Chair. Martha was already on her way to British Columbia by train as Auntie Nan had invited her to come and live with her, finish high school, and serve as bridesmaid at our cousin Ann's wedding which was to take place in six months. I would love to have gone with her, but mother said no. She needed me as her "Mother's helper", and I was to start high school in the fall.
Mother was glad to be rid of 16 year-old Martha, whose unflinching adolescent appraisal of all the events leading up to father's departure, and the loss of our home, she found to be too much of an irritation. She knew that Martha despised Eric, and so did not fit in with her plans. Nine year-old Helen did not care one way or another, and was busy packing up her dolls and toys, giving some away to her little neighbors and friends.
It was a lovely spring day in 1935, just before Irv's 13th birthday in April, when Irv and Uncle Gay strapped the red chair securely in the truck. Mrs. Shufelt called to invite us to lunch when we arrived, so off we went. Irv preferred riding in the back with the chair, and when I looked out the window from the cab in front, he was huddled next to the chair holding on to one of the legs to keep it from slipping. I was so happy to be seeing father! He had been gone two weeks, and I wanted to see where he lived. In the back of my mind, I entertained the thought that maybe there was a place for me there, and maybe Irv! An hour and a half later, we pulled up to a large frame house in Joliet, Illinois. The woman who answered the door was a plump, kindly lady in her late 50's who reminded me of Gerta Hopf, and who introduced herself as Mrs. Shufelt. She ushered us into the living room, and there was father already up from his chair and reaching out to Irv and to me for hugs. In moments like this, he lapsed into his Scottish dialect, saying as we hugged him, "AH - my own "bairn" - Irv, Nannie!" - rolling his "R's" characteristically!
Uncle Gay grasped his hand slapping him on the back, and said, "Campbell, we've got your chair! Great to see you, old man!" A young woman was seated in a chair close to the fireplace. She did not get up, but remained seated. I glanced down at her shriveled limbs and noted the two large crutches with the metal cuffs by her side. Her eyes were large and sad and her face beautiful. She smiled and said after a moment, "Hello, I'm Dorothy." Mrs Shufelt was cheerful and hospitable as she said, "We've got just the place for his chair," and indicated a space in a sunny spot near the bay window beside a luxuriant fern. It was lovely and I noted how clean her curtains were. In fact, the whole house radiated cleanliness and care. I noted, too, the ceiling to floor bookcases filled with books. Campbell was in his element and a good place. Irv and Uncle Gay went out to the truck and carefully untied the chair and carried it in, placing it in the chosen spot. I felt a wrenching psychic pain when I saw the chair there. I looked over at Irv, and I knew that he was experiencing the same feeling. When father sat down in the chair I had to look away.
Mrs. Shufelt and Dorothy had prepared a nice lunch for us. We had delicious hot soup and egg salad sandwiches, homemade cookies and coffee or tea. I was glad to have the opportunity to observe Dorothy and Mrs. Shufelt at close range at the table. Dorothy was a bookeeper and kept books for a couple of small businesses in Joliet. She loved to read and also worked part time in a library. Mrs. Shufelt was widowed and rented her three large bedrooms upstairs to students at the local junior college. She and Dorothy lived downstairs on the main floor. They had a large bedroom in the rear with its own bath, and two lovely twin beds, plus a small added on balcony.
Campbell's room was originally a library or large office and had its own bath with a shower that Campbell loved. His room was perfect for him! He had a comfy twin bed with a fresh white candlewick bedspread and two big pillows, a large window that faced the street, a wardrobe, his typewriter all set up on its own table, and his radio beside his bed where he could listen to it at night if he wished. Plus, his new personal telephone.
I could plainly see that there was no place for Irv or me to live with father there. He was getting all his needs met and Dorothy and her mother were devoted to him and thoroughly enjoyed his company. I was glad for him, but I knew I had to go back to live in Des Plaines with mother and eventually Eric as I knew she would move him into the house at the earliest opportunity. After our tour of the house, Campbell invited Irv and me into his room. He questioned us about how things were going at home and then took out two typewritten folded pieces of paper, and said, "I want you both to have these. On them is written my new telephone number and address. Keep them where you can always get them. If you ever need me in any way, don't hesitate to call or write. I will be here for you - just an hour and a half away by car or bus. Reverse the charges if you call. And write to me as often as you can. I have NOT moved to British Columbia near my family because I want to be near you - my children - and available to you. Be good to your mother - she will have problems of her own. Let me know how you do at school. I will be supporting our two residences, and there will be enough money sent to your mother to take care of you. I am no longer building houses and am almost retired. I have had a few financial reverses recently that have hit fairly hard, but I am still investing in the market. I will be OK, but I am about to lose my best friend and partner - Ed Gregor as he is terminally ill.
And so we returned to Chicago and prepared to move to a new life in Des Plaines...
Mother was glad to be rid of 16 year-old Martha, whose unflinching adolescent appraisal of all the events leading up to father's departure, and the loss of our home, she found to be too much of an irritation. She knew that Martha despised Eric, and so did not fit in with her plans. Nine year-old Helen did not care one way or another, and was busy packing up her dolls and toys, giving some away to her little neighbors and friends.
It was a lovely spring day in 1935, just before Irv's 13th birthday in April, when Irv and Uncle Gay strapped the red chair securely in the truck. Mrs. Shufelt called to invite us to lunch when we arrived, so off we went. Irv preferred riding in the back with the chair, and when I looked out the window from the cab in front, he was huddled next to the chair holding on to one of the legs to keep it from slipping. I was so happy to be seeing father! He had been gone two weeks, and I wanted to see where he lived. In the back of my mind, I entertained the thought that maybe there was a place for me there, and maybe Irv! An hour and a half later, we pulled up to a large frame house in Joliet, Illinois. The woman who answered the door was a plump, kindly lady in her late 50's who reminded me of Gerta Hopf, and who introduced herself as Mrs. Shufelt. She ushered us into the living room, and there was father already up from his chair and reaching out to Irv and to me for hugs. In moments like this, he lapsed into his Scottish dialect, saying as we hugged him, "AH - my own "bairn" - Irv, Nannie!" - rolling his "R's" characteristically!
Uncle Gay grasped his hand slapping him on the back, and said, "Campbell, we've got your chair! Great to see you, old man!" A young woman was seated in a chair close to the fireplace. She did not get up, but remained seated. I glanced down at her shriveled limbs and noted the two large crutches with the metal cuffs by her side. Her eyes were large and sad and her face beautiful. She smiled and said after a moment, "Hello, I'm Dorothy." Mrs Shufelt was cheerful and hospitable as she said, "We've got just the place for his chair," and indicated a space in a sunny spot near the bay window beside a luxuriant fern. It was lovely and I noted how clean her curtains were. In fact, the whole house radiated cleanliness and care. I noted, too, the ceiling to floor bookcases filled with books. Campbell was in his element and a good place. Irv and Uncle Gay went out to the truck and carefully untied the chair and carried it in, placing it in the chosen spot. I felt a wrenching psychic pain when I saw the chair there. I looked over at Irv, and I knew that he was experiencing the same feeling. When father sat down in the chair I had to look away.
Mrs. Shufelt and Dorothy had prepared a nice lunch for us. We had delicious hot soup and egg salad sandwiches, homemade cookies and coffee or tea. I was glad to have the opportunity to observe Dorothy and Mrs. Shufelt at close range at the table. Dorothy was a bookeeper and kept books for a couple of small businesses in Joliet. She loved to read and also worked part time in a library. Mrs. Shufelt was widowed and rented her three large bedrooms upstairs to students at the local junior college. She and Dorothy lived downstairs on the main floor. They had a large bedroom in the rear with its own bath, and two lovely twin beds, plus a small added on balcony.
Campbell's room was originally a library or large office and had its own bath with a shower that Campbell loved. His room was perfect for him! He had a comfy twin bed with a fresh white candlewick bedspread and two big pillows, a large window that faced the street, a wardrobe, his typewriter all set up on its own table, and his radio beside his bed where he could listen to it at night if he wished. Plus, his new personal telephone.
I could plainly see that there was no place for Irv or me to live with father there. He was getting all his needs met and Dorothy and her mother were devoted to him and thoroughly enjoyed his company. I was glad for him, but I knew I had to go back to live in Des Plaines with mother and eventually Eric as I knew she would move him into the house at the earliest opportunity. After our tour of the house, Campbell invited Irv and me into his room. He questioned us about how things were going at home and then took out two typewritten folded pieces of paper, and said, "I want you both to have these. On them is written my new telephone number and address. Keep them where you can always get them. If you ever need me in any way, don't hesitate to call or write. I will be here for you - just an hour and a half away by car or bus. Reverse the charges if you call. And write to me as often as you can. I have NOT moved to British Columbia near my family because I want to be near you - my children - and available to you. Be good to your mother - she will have problems of her own. Let me know how you do at school. I will be supporting our two residences, and there will be enough money sent to your mother to take care of you. I am no longer building houses and am almost retired. I have had a few financial reverses recently that have hit fairly hard, but I am still investing in the market. I will be OK, but I am about to lose my best friend and partner - Ed Gregor as he is terminally ill.
And so we returned to Chicago and prepared to move to a new life in Des Plaines...
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Moving Day (Chapter 41)
Moving Day was a beautiful day in May, 1935...
Two large moving vans pulled up, one in the driveway, the other in front of the house. Campbell had already given the now "old" Cadillac to uncle Henry. "Hank" Konefes was married to one of mother's older sisters, Aunt Emma. They had four children - the same ages as the Stewart kids. Hank was unemployed and needed transportation for his children and to look for a job. Uncle Gene had found a job in a Royal Blue Store in the pharmacy deptartment, and had moved back home with grandpa and Grandma Beck.
Unemployment was at an all time high, President Franklin Roosevelt was doing everything in his power to calm the people with his "Fireside Chats" assuring them that they had "Nothing to fear but FEAR itself!" His NEW DEAL passed the most significant legislation in history - all designed to put people back to work in the shortest time. He was the best possible president for that very painful period in America!
The week before moving day, we had celebrated Irving's 13th birthday. Martha was in B.C., so I baked his cake (no cake mixes in those days!). Helen and I frosted it and decorated it with candles. We sorely missed Florence! Mother was busy with baby Donald and all the packing. We invited Irv's closest friends - Bobby Rossberg, Richard Wood, Terry Ennis, and George and Bobby Koester. Father had sent him a wonderful tool box from Sears - his first one! Mother gave him a hunting knife which he proudly wore on his belt. I gave him a brand new Boy Scout handbook which he loved to read - but would not join the Scouts as he "would have to wear that monkey suit!" Helen gave him a checker game - the only game that he would play!
After they had consumed all the ice cream and cake, they all went out to the garage to help Irv collect all his tools and pack them in his new toolbox all the while asking, no, demanding to know WHY we were moving away! They were going to miss him - sorely! He was the one that they all tried to emulate, from his jacknife tucked into the top of his "hightops" to his racing across the empty lots to wherever he wanted to go. He had a bicycle but rarely rode it! He was the Huck Finn of the neighborhood and they hated to see him move away! Bobby Rossberg loved the cooing sound of Irv's pigeons in the coop that Campbell had built into the garage. So Irv gave Bobby his large bag of corn and assured him that if he sprinkled the corn all around the Rossberg garage, the pigeons would all come there to roost. So Bobby lugged the bag of corn home to entice them there. I hoped that Irv was right!
Moving day dawned bright and clear as only a day in May could be! The vans had pulled up early and men were already carrying out the heavy pieces of furniture putting some things in one van and some in the other, which puzzled me. Uncle Gay was there and Uncle Hank Konefes. Irv's friends were all there again, leaning on their bicycles and watching the whole event. I was going out the back gate to say goodbye to Mrs. DaCosta who lived over on Kirkwood when I spotted a bushel basket at the rear along with numerous boxes of trash. The bushel basket had a rug thrown over it. I pulled off the rug and there they were! All the family photographs from Scotland! My cousin Bill Ferguson in his Mountie uniform on top! I pulled them out, looking at each one in horror - my grandmother and grandfather! Auntie Nan's wedding! Lignwood - our family home - dear Aunt Helen - the four Annes - they were all there waiting for the garbage truck! I found a clean box, wrapped each one in newspaper and carefully packed it in the box. I labeled it "Nanny-PRIVATE" and carried it into Uncle Gay's truck where I knew I would ride to the new house!
One by one - friends and neighbors came to say goodbye. All my school friends from eighth grade. I was especially touched when Mrs. Ford, my 8th grade teacher, came as she lived four blocks away. She gave me a hug and said to me, "Good luck, Nancy....you will be successful in whatever you do!" The movers were now taking up the carpeting from the living room, dining room, hallway, and part of the upstairs. Mother was going to have it cleaned and laid in the rented house in Des Plaines. The two vans were ready to go! I heard mother say that one was going to Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Hopf's two-flat in Chicago, and the other to 582 Greenview Avenue, in Des Plaines. At least half of our furniture was going to the Hopf's!!
The vans left and all that remained were Uncle Hank Konefes in the Cadillac and Uncle Gay's truck - also a car that I did not know - parked a little way down the street. In the front seat sat Eric Hopf at the wheel, mother beside him, holding Donald, and Helen peering from the back seat. Irv and I were to ride with Uncle Gay. The psychic PAIN came back again when I saw mother and Eric in that strange car. Uncle Gay was to lock up the house after they pulled away. I turned to him and asked if I could go in alone and say goodbye to MY HOUSE! I did.
Two large moving vans pulled up, one in the driveway, the other in front of the house. Campbell had already given the now "old" Cadillac to uncle Henry. "Hank" Konefes was married to one of mother's older sisters, Aunt Emma. They had four children - the same ages as the Stewart kids. Hank was unemployed and needed transportation for his children and to look for a job. Uncle Gene had found a job in a Royal Blue Store in the pharmacy deptartment, and had moved back home with grandpa and Grandma Beck.
Unemployment was at an all time high, President Franklin Roosevelt was doing everything in his power to calm the people with his "Fireside Chats" assuring them that they had "Nothing to fear but FEAR itself!" His NEW DEAL passed the most significant legislation in history - all designed to put people back to work in the shortest time. He was the best possible president for that very painful period in America!
The week before moving day, we had celebrated Irving's 13th birthday. Martha was in B.C., so I baked his cake (no cake mixes in those days!). Helen and I frosted it and decorated it with candles. We sorely missed Florence! Mother was busy with baby Donald and all the packing. We invited Irv's closest friends - Bobby Rossberg, Richard Wood, Terry Ennis, and George and Bobby Koester. Father had sent him a wonderful tool box from Sears - his first one! Mother gave him a hunting knife which he proudly wore on his belt. I gave him a brand new Boy Scout handbook which he loved to read - but would not join the Scouts as he "would have to wear that monkey suit!" Helen gave him a checker game - the only game that he would play!
After they had consumed all the ice cream and cake, they all went out to the garage to help Irv collect all his tools and pack them in his new toolbox all the while asking, no, demanding to know WHY we were moving away! They were going to miss him - sorely! He was the one that they all tried to emulate, from his jacknife tucked into the top of his "hightops" to his racing across the empty lots to wherever he wanted to go. He had a bicycle but rarely rode it! He was the Huck Finn of the neighborhood and they hated to see him move away! Bobby Rossberg loved the cooing sound of Irv's pigeons in the coop that Campbell had built into the garage. So Irv gave Bobby his large bag of corn and assured him that if he sprinkled the corn all around the Rossberg garage, the pigeons would all come there to roost. So Bobby lugged the bag of corn home to entice them there. I hoped that Irv was right!
Moving day dawned bright and clear as only a day in May could be! The vans had pulled up early and men were already carrying out the heavy pieces of furniture putting some things in one van and some in the other, which puzzled me. Uncle Gay was there and Uncle Hank Konefes. Irv's friends were all there again, leaning on their bicycles and watching the whole event. I was going out the back gate to say goodbye to Mrs. DaCosta who lived over on Kirkwood when I spotted a bushel basket at the rear along with numerous boxes of trash. The bushel basket had a rug thrown over it. I pulled off the rug and there they were! All the family photographs from Scotland! My cousin Bill Ferguson in his Mountie uniform on top! I pulled them out, looking at each one in horror - my grandmother and grandfather! Auntie Nan's wedding! Lignwood - our family home - dear Aunt Helen - the four Annes - they were all there waiting for the garbage truck! I found a clean box, wrapped each one in newspaper and carefully packed it in the box. I labeled it "Nanny-PRIVATE" and carried it into Uncle Gay's truck where I knew I would ride to the new house!
One by one - friends and neighbors came to say goodbye. All my school friends from eighth grade. I was especially touched when Mrs. Ford, my 8th grade teacher, came as she lived four blocks away. She gave me a hug and said to me, "Good luck, Nancy....you will be successful in whatever you do!" The movers were now taking up the carpeting from the living room, dining room, hallway, and part of the upstairs. Mother was going to have it cleaned and laid in the rented house in Des Plaines. The two vans were ready to go! I heard mother say that one was going to Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Hopf's two-flat in Chicago, and the other to 582 Greenview Avenue, in Des Plaines. At least half of our furniture was going to the Hopf's!!
The vans left and all that remained were Uncle Hank Konefes in the Cadillac and Uncle Gay's truck - also a car that I did not know - parked a little way down the street. In the front seat sat Eric Hopf at the wheel, mother beside him, holding Donald, and Helen peering from the back seat. Irv and I were to ride with Uncle Gay. The psychic PAIN came back again when I saw mother and Eric in that strange car. Uncle Gay was to lock up the house after they pulled away. I turned to him and asked if I could go in alone and say goodbye to MY HOUSE! I did.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Chapter 42
Our new rented house was located on the far edge of the city of Des Plaines and on the city busline. It was a mile from the High School, and I felt a thrill of excitement when I looked at the newly built Maine Township High School. It was already an established high school and had been in existence for a dozen years or more, but this was the newly built version with the beautiful tower. It served the suburban Chicago towns of Park Ridge and Des Plaines. It was considered to be one of the ten most outstanding high schools in the entire country and I was SO excited at the prospect of starting there in just three months! A generation later, Hillary Clinton would attend this same school along with Harrison Ford and other distinguished alumni! This first summer in the rented house was spent just getting used to the new area and environment in which we lived. It was a happy place for Irv! Just a half mile down the road lived a young truck farmer named Donnie Wendt. He grew vegetables and raised horses which he loved. He only had four (horses) and they would come right up to the cyclone fence which separated our two properties and eat sugar lumps and carrots right out of our hands! Needless to say, Irv spent most of his time there and he and Donnie became good friends. Our house was adequate. There were two bedrooms upstairs. The front one was the nursery and mother and Donald slept there. The other room was larger and became the bedroom for the three girls - Martha and I had our twin beds and Helen her Bo-Peep bed which she was rapidly outgrowing! We all shared a large walk in closet where we kept our chests of drawers. Since Martha was, for the time being, in British Columbia staying with Auntie Nan, we had plenty of room! Irv slept in the three season porch on the front of the house - his bed covered with colorful Hudson Bay blankets from Canada. We were in the house just a month when Irv came back from Donnie Wendt's one day to find that the other end of the porch had a new bed there - Eric Hopf had finally moved in with us!
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
The Kitchen (Chapter 43)
The kitchen in the Des Plaines house was a large farmhouse type kitchen with the pantry and the family bathroom at one end. There was no dining room - all meals were eaten at the large kitchen table. The living room was a double room with curious pillars separating it. The front door opened into it from the sleeping porch where Irv and Eric had their beds - a far cry from the elegant roomy Tudor house we had just left! I understood now why our large Gothic oak dining room furniture and many other pieces were sent in the other truck to Hopf's flat - there was no room for them here! A cyclone fence surrounded the property with a front gate and tall, untrimmed bushes hid the house. The three acre yard (large!) was full of apple trees which I loved. But there were large Elm trees and several large Maples too! There was a gravel driveway leading to a garage / barn with a loft, and behind that a chicken coop, but no chickens! It was a quiet, secluded location and I was to understand the reason for this choice later. However it was in the city bus line that went straight downtown several times a day and every morning took me right to the main entrance of Maine Township High School. Campbell was sending generous monthly checks for support and for rent and had filed for divorce. He was going to leave everything else up to the judge and lawyers. But mother had no intention of divorcing him, not yet, and did not for ten more years.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Chapter 44
The fund set up by uncle Edward in the middle twenties was for Jeanette Marguerite Stewart only (See chapter 15). It was a kind of insurance in case something happened to Campbell who had returned from the war BLIND. I remember that checks came about twice a year and they were endorsed by mother and hers alone. All I remember of them is the impressive BANK of ENGLAND logo on the envelopes. She never divulged the amounts of money. But I knew that they were hers as long as she was Mrs. Stewart and would expire in 1945. Campbell had already received his share of the family fortune from Uncle Edward who was executor and I have described that in earlier chapters. So, she had no intention of changing her name to Hopf - not until 1945. This was 1935 when we moved to Des Plaines! So now Eric was living with us in this house out on the north edge of Des Plaines! He was sharing a sleeping porch with Campbell's teen age son, had no job, and became once again - mother's chauffeur - this time with his own old car! He did not have to contribute any money as mother was taken care of. He had been living in Hopf's two flat occasionally fixing watches for his father and helping him in the maintenance of the building. They had furnished the upstairs flat with the furniture from the Tudor house we just left and so got more money in rent from it. The Hopf's - old Gerta whom I loved! - were thrilled to see their grandson when mother and Eric came to the two flat for one of their frequent visits. Once Gerta took me aside and whispered to me, "How is your papa - is he all right?" She cared about Campbell. I told her about his comfortable place in the Shufelt home and she smiled and was relieved to hear it. I loved seeing Gerta. She was a wonderful German cook and had a kind and generous heart. Old Adolf, Eric's father - not so much. I could see where Eric acquired many of his prejudices as Adolf disliked Jews and Blacks, and let everybody know it! Appalling!
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Chapter 45 (Des Plaines)
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...
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...
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Chapter 46 (A Mixed Bag)
We were a strange "mixed bag" of a family that lived in that frame farmhouse with the large wooded yard out on the edge of Des Plaines. Mother, still Mrs. Stewart, Eric Hopf, her live in lover, and father of her youngest child, baby Donald; Nancy, age 15 and designated "mother's helper"; Irving, age 13, who shared a sleeping porch with Eric with whom he had a "guarded" relationship. And, last but not least, ten year-old Helen, a follower who always managed to do whatever was expedient for Helen. Martha, age 17, was for the moment in Vancouver, B.C. staying with our Auntie Nan.
We all had one thing in common - we ALL LOVED baby DONALD!
I believe that mother was a little frightened by the fact that she no longer had Florence to cook and clean for her - no longer had Campbell's steadying presence in the living room sitting in his red leather wing chair - no longer had her spacious, comfortable house. She had enough money to provide us with food, clothing and shelter - but suddenly she was on her own, and she had to make the best of what she had now and that included Eric Hopf!
As a result, mother became bossy and militant. One Saturday morning when she was assigning us all our tasks for the day, she announced, "I'm the captain of this ship!" I remember smiling to myself and thinking, "Yes, you've buttered your bread and now you have to lie in it!"
But I loved my mother AND baby brother Donald. Eric would NEVER call him Donald because Campbell had given him that name, and chose to call him "Bud" or "Buddy". However, he did call him "Don" or "Donald" later when he and mother were finally married.
I took care of baby Donald when mother and Eric went food shopping as they both preferred the butcher shops and ethnic delis of Chicago. Also, they went out for fish every Friday night to a tavern on the outskirts of Des Plaines. Mother's younger brother Harry was a part owner of the establishment. I am grateful to say that no one in our family (father, mother, or indeed Eric) ever had a problem with drinking to excess - it just didn't happen!
I loved taking care of baby Donald when they were gone and I was grateful that mother trusted me with him. Irv continued to spend most of his time at Donnie Wendt's little farm. At the same time, Irv met the Voightlander brothers, Vensel and Chuck, who also lived in Des Plaines. Irv walked to school every day with them and spent a lot of time at their home. The three of them became lifetime friends.
I enrolled in Maine Township High School in the fall of 1935 as a freshman. I had stayed out of school for a year because of the family problems and anxiety attacks but now was completely well. I absolutely LOVED my new high school! I look back on those years as some of the very happiest of my life, and I must admit, that I did very well in school. I was appointed Art and Literary editor of my class year book, sang in the Acapella choir, and painted a mural in oils that hung over the entrance to the Music Department for 20 years! When Martha heard how much I loved my new school, she came home after two years in B.C. and enrolled in Maine, graduating the year before me in 1938!
Sadly, Irv did not fare so well. He started at Maine while I was in my senior year.
With it's emphasis on academic achievement, championship winning swimming team, and sports, debate and science, this was definitely NOT the place for IRV who loved horses, carpentry, and blacksmithing. Mr. Legg, the assistant principal called mother to school and told her that he thought Irv would be happier in "another setting." He was too young to go into a C.C.C. Camp, so the decision was made to have him live with the Conroy family in Webster, Wisconsin. Bill Conroy was a great guy our family had known for years as we had a cottage on a lake near his farm. Bill welcomed Irv who lived and worked on the farm alongside the Conroy boys for the next three years. He learned many skills from Bill that he put to good use throughout his lifetime. The decision to have Irv live with the Conroy family was made just in time as Irv had a confrontation with Eric that would have erupted in a full scale fight had mother not thrown herself on the ground in front of them. Irv was a lean, muscular, 16 year-old. Eric, a paunchy 36 year-old!
It was three years before the two of them could be in the same room together.
We all had one thing in common - we ALL LOVED baby DONALD!
I believe that mother was a little frightened by the fact that she no longer had Florence to cook and clean for her - no longer had Campbell's steadying presence in the living room sitting in his red leather wing chair - no longer had her spacious, comfortable house. She had enough money to provide us with food, clothing and shelter - but suddenly she was on her own, and she had to make the best of what she had now and that included Eric Hopf!
As a result, mother became bossy and militant. One Saturday morning when she was assigning us all our tasks for the day, she announced, "I'm the captain of this ship!" I remember smiling to myself and thinking, "Yes, you've buttered your bread and now you have to lie in it!"
But I loved my mother AND baby brother Donald. Eric would NEVER call him Donald because Campbell had given him that name, and chose to call him "Bud" or "Buddy". However, he did call him "Don" or "Donald" later when he and mother were finally married.
I took care of baby Donald when mother and Eric went food shopping as they both preferred the butcher shops and ethnic delis of Chicago. Also, they went out for fish every Friday night to a tavern on the outskirts of Des Plaines. Mother's younger brother Harry was a part owner of the establishment. I am grateful to say that no one in our family (father, mother, or indeed Eric) ever had a problem with drinking to excess - it just didn't happen!
I loved taking care of baby Donald when they were gone and I was grateful that mother trusted me with him. Irv continued to spend most of his time at Donnie Wendt's little farm. At the same time, Irv met the Voightlander brothers, Vensel and Chuck, who also lived in Des Plaines. Irv walked to school every day with them and spent a lot of time at their home. The three of them became lifetime friends.
I enrolled in Maine Township High School in the fall of 1935 as a freshman. I had stayed out of school for a year because of the family problems and anxiety attacks but now was completely well. I absolutely LOVED my new high school! I look back on those years as some of the very happiest of my life, and I must admit, that I did very well in school. I was appointed Art and Literary editor of my class year book, sang in the Acapella choir, and painted a mural in oils that hung over the entrance to the Music Department for 20 years! When Martha heard how much I loved my new school, she came home after two years in B.C. and enrolled in Maine, graduating the year before me in 1938!
Sadly, Irv did not fare so well. He started at Maine while I was in my senior year.
With it's emphasis on academic achievement, championship winning swimming team, and sports, debate and science, this was definitely NOT the place for IRV who loved horses, carpentry, and blacksmithing. Mr. Legg, the assistant principal called mother to school and told her that he thought Irv would be happier in "another setting." He was too young to go into a C.C.C. Camp, so the decision was made to have him live with the Conroy family in Webster, Wisconsin. Bill Conroy was a great guy our family had known for years as we had a cottage on a lake near his farm. Bill welcomed Irv who lived and worked on the farm alongside the Conroy boys for the next three years. He learned many skills from Bill that he put to good use throughout his lifetime. The decision to have Irv live with the Conroy family was made just in time as Irv had a confrontation with Eric that would have erupted in a full scale fight had mother not thrown herself on the ground in front of them. Irv was a lean, muscular, 16 year-old. Eric, a paunchy 36 year-old!
It was three years before the two of them could be in the same room together.
Friday, January 18, 2013
The Siblings (1981)
From left to right: Nancy Moyer, Donald Hopf, Martha Lundstrom, Irving Stewart, Helen Peck.
This is the only known photo of all five siblings.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Chapter 47
I write now of the years from 1935 to 1942.
Monumental legislation was passed that affected all our lives...the Social Security in 1935, and the DRAFT in 1940, to say nothing of the declaration of war in 1941!
Hitler had marched into Poland during my senior year in high school in 1939 and World War 2 had started in Europe. All the young men who had registered were worried about their draft status. Martha had graduated in 1938 and had met Harry Lundstrom. She was in love and rejected Campbell's offer of a room upstairs in the Shufelt home and Junior College there. Instead she found a job as a file clerk in a department store in Chicago and rented the room vacated by Eric at Hopf's two-flat.
Harry joined the Navy and, after six months at Navy Pier in Chicago, was sent to Miami. They were married in the back yard in Des Plaines, and Martha followed Harry to Miami where he spent all of WW2 stateside. Helen quit school at the beginning of her sophomore year at Maine, and at sixteen, became engaged to a twenty year old man! Mother was furious, and rightly so made Helen return the ring. It wasn't long before Helen became engaged again, to Irv's good friend Vensel Voightlander! The two of them made frequent trips to Webster, Wisconsin to visit Irv, who was living with the Conroy family.
In 1940 I was living and working at The Charm House in Des Plaines. The Charm House was a beautifully restored Victorian mansion furnished and filled with American antiques and had a Tea Room where luncheons were served and afternoon teas. I was a guide on tours through the mansion, and also worked as a server in the Tea Room. I loved my job and loved living there...
Monumental legislation was passed that affected all our lives...the Social Security in 1935, and the DRAFT in 1940, to say nothing of the declaration of war in 1941!
Hitler had marched into Poland during my senior year in high school in 1939 and World War 2 had started in Europe. All the young men who had registered were worried about their draft status. Martha had graduated in 1938 and had met Harry Lundstrom. She was in love and rejected Campbell's offer of a room upstairs in the Shufelt home and Junior College there. Instead she found a job as a file clerk in a department store in Chicago and rented the room vacated by Eric at Hopf's two-flat.
Harry joined the Navy and, after six months at Navy Pier in Chicago, was sent to Miami. They were married in the back yard in Des Plaines, and Martha followed Harry to Miami where he spent all of WW2 stateside. Helen quit school at the beginning of her sophomore year at Maine, and at sixteen, became engaged to a twenty year old man! Mother was furious, and rightly so made Helen return the ring. It wasn't long before Helen became engaged again, to Irv's good friend Vensel Voightlander! The two of them made frequent trips to Webster, Wisconsin to visit Irv, who was living with the Conroy family.
In 1940 I was living and working at The Charm House in Des Plaines. The Charm House was a beautifully restored Victorian mansion furnished and filled with American antiques and had a Tea Room where luncheons were served and afternoon teas. I was a guide on tours through the mansion, and also worked as a server in the Tea Room. I loved my job and loved living there...
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Chapter 48
While living at the rented house in Des Plaines, mother avoided all contact with neighbors. She was Mrs. Stewart but was living with a man named Eric Hopf. After awhile she insisted that Eric get a job, as much for appearances sake as for the fact that she wearied of him being around the house all day. So she appealed to old Adolph who found him a job in a jewelers shop on Milwaukee Avenue. Adolph was too old and tired to take the job himself, so urged them to hire his son. They did and Eric worked there until 1941.
By this time mother and Eric were making frequent trips in Wisconsin shopping for a place to live. I met Russ (Russell Allen Moyer) in late 1939, and knew that he was THE ONE for me. He had joined the Navy and was working as an Aviation Mechanic at the Glenview Naval Air Station right outside Chicago. We became a "steady" couple and he applied to become a navy pilot. To his great joy, he was ACCEPTED for Naval Flight training in the fall of 1940! He was ecstatic! I was living at the Charm House in the early spring of 1941 when Father called me from Joliet and asked me if I would accompany him and Irv on a trip to British Columbia! Since Russ was in pre-flight training at Glenview, and had many more months of vigorous training ahead of him, I told him yes. Mrs. Cosler, my employer at the Charm House assured me that she would hold my job for me. She had two other girls who could fill in for me! Irv came down to the Greyhound Station in Chicago where we all boarded a bus for British Columbia! Irv had just turned nineteen.
It was a long and illuminating bus ride as we all got to know each other in depth! We talked for three days! We were warmly greeted by Auntie Nan and dear Aunt Helen - also uncle Jim! I was to stay at Nan and Helen's house in Hollyburn, and Campbell and Irv went to Uncle Jim's farm. I stayed a total of three months during which time I came to know my dear family there - my cousins Bill Ferguson, Anne Piers, and Mary Fagan.
Auntie Nan was so generous and kind to me. But, it was my Aunt Helen whose kindness, brilliance, and goodness impressed me the most! I have always regarded her as the "jewel" of the family. I visited her twice in her last few years. First, in her lovely little house in Victoria, and later in the Rest Home where she died. It was a privilege to know her!
We had been in B.C. just about a month when Irv abruptly left one day. I learned later that he had hitch-hiked and hopped freights all the way back to Chicago. In a hasty phone call to him, I learned that Campbell had brought him there with the hope of uncle Jim taking him on at the farm so that he would not be drafted. Irv sensed that James did not want the responsibility of him and so left. Shortly after his return to the Midwest, he made a trip "up north" with Vensel Voightlander where he met the Rhinehart family and a sweet girl named Emma Rhinehart who turned his world upside down!
By this time mother and Eric were making frequent trips in Wisconsin shopping for a place to live. I met Russ (Russell Allen Moyer) in late 1939, and knew that he was THE ONE for me. He had joined the Navy and was working as an Aviation Mechanic at the Glenview Naval Air Station right outside Chicago. We became a "steady" couple and he applied to become a navy pilot. To his great joy, he was ACCEPTED for Naval Flight training in the fall of 1940! He was ecstatic! I was living at the Charm House in the early spring of 1941 when Father called me from Joliet and asked me if I would accompany him and Irv on a trip to British Columbia! Since Russ was in pre-flight training at Glenview, and had many more months of vigorous training ahead of him, I told him yes. Mrs. Cosler, my employer at the Charm House assured me that she would hold my job for me. She had two other girls who could fill in for me! Irv came down to the Greyhound Station in Chicago where we all boarded a bus for British Columbia! Irv had just turned nineteen.
It was a long and illuminating bus ride as we all got to know each other in depth! We talked for three days! We were warmly greeted by Auntie Nan and dear Aunt Helen - also uncle Jim! I was to stay at Nan and Helen's house in Hollyburn, and Campbell and Irv went to Uncle Jim's farm. I stayed a total of three months during which time I came to know my dear family there - my cousins Bill Ferguson, Anne Piers, and Mary Fagan.
Auntie Nan was so generous and kind to me. But, it was my Aunt Helen whose kindness, brilliance, and goodness impressed me the most! I have always regarded her as the "jewel" of the family. I visited her twice in her last few years. First, in her lovely little house in Victoria, and later in the Rest Home where she died. It was a privilege to know her!
We had been in B.C. just about a month when Irv abruptly left one day. I learned later that he had hitch-hiked and hopped freights all the way back to Chicago. In a hasty phone call to him, I learned that Campbell had brought him there with the hope of uncle Jim taking him on at the farm so that he would not be drafted. Irv sensed that James did not want the responsibility of him and so left. Shortly after his return to the Midwest, he made a trip "up north" with Vensel Voightlander where he met the Rhinehart family and a sweet girl named Emma Rhinehart who turned his world upside down!
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Chapter 49 (Epilogue)
It is August 9th 2012 as I write this last chapter. Next week on August 15th I will be 92 years old. It is getting more and more difficult to organize my thoughts and express them on paper. The memories are still there, however, clear as crystal in my head!
And so I will conclude my story...
I returned home from British Columbia in August of 1941. The BLITZ was raging over London. Hitler was committing atrocities all through central Europe, Russia, and even North Africa! Russ was waiting for me and wanted to get married before he went to pre-flight training at the University of Iowa. He had just given me my engagement ring on December 7th when we got the news of PEARL HARBOR! He was a Naval Aviation Cadet on leave when we made a hasty trip to Keokuk, Iowa, where we were married by a Justice of the Peace on May 9th,1942. We only had two days before he had to report to Iowa City and begin the intensive training as a Naval Aviator.
I returned to the Charm House where my job was waiting for me. I was now Nancy Stewart Moyer and my employer, Mrs.Cosler, had a special party for me in honor of my marriage!
I was back at work and living at the Charm House in July when I received a phone call from mother. She and Eric had bought a farm just two and a half miles from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin! They were moving there on August 1st, 1942, just a month away! She said it was a lovely big four bedroom house and "would I like to come along" since Russ would be gone for the next nine months to a year! She added that Irv and Emma were getting a truck and would transport their furniture and join all of us! Irv and Emma had just been married. She said that Emma was pregnant and that prompted me to make an appointment with a doctor in Des Plaines as I was not feeling well in the mornings and was tired every afternoon. YES, I was pregnant! I called mother to tell her, but not until I had told my employer Mrs. Cosler. She was totally understanding and kind and only asked that I stay an extra week in order to train another girl to take my place as guide and tea room hostess - which I did.
When I hugged Mrs. Cosler goodbye, she presented me with a package. She had knitted me a lovely baby cap, and rolled up inside was a 50 dollar bill, a lot of money in 1942!
And so we all moved to Chippewa Falls - a far cry from the Chicago area!
Helen and Vensel Voightlander came too. Our nearest neighbors were the Forest Peck family, and when their older son, Howard, came home on leave from the army - resplendent in his Captain's army uniform, Helen dropped Vensel like a hot potato!
Mother and Eric had a lovely big house in the rolling, beautiful hills of Wisconsin thanks to my great grandfather, Peter Campbell! They were married three years later when the checks stopped coming from the Bank of England. Russ came home on leave before beginning his tours of duty with Squadrons in the South Pacific. Baby Maureen was born and we were living in a little apartment on the south side of Chippewa Falls. Russ said, "Nanny, let's settle here after the war - I like this little town!" Irv and Emma had returned to the Warroad area in Minnesota. There was no real place for them at the "farm" in Chippewa Falls and Irv knew it!
A block away on Irvine Street, a little five year old boy was riding his tricycle...his name was Noel - but everyone called him JERRY!
And so I will conclude my story...
I returned home from British Columbia in August of 1941. The BLITZ was raging over London. Hitler was committing atrocities all through central Europe, Russia, and even North Africa! Russ was waiting for me and wanted to get married before he went to pre-flight training at the University of Iowa. He had just given me my engagement ring on December 7th when we got the news of PEARL HARBOR! He was a Naval Aviation Cadet on leave when we made a hasty trip to Keokuk, Iowa, where we were married by a Justice of the Peace on May 9th,1942. We only had two days before he had to report to Iowa City and begin the intensive training as a Naval Aviator.
I returned to the Charm House where my job was waiting for me. I was now Nancy Stewart Moyer and my employer, Mrs.Cosler, had a special party for me in honor of my marriage!
I was back at work and living at the Charm House in July when I received a phone call from mother. She and Eric had bought a farm just two and a half miles from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin! They were moving there on August 1st, 1942, just a month away! She said it was a lovely big four bedroom house and "would I like to come along" since Russ would be gone for the next nine months to a year! She added that Irv and Emma were getting a truck and would transport their furniture and join all of us! Irv and Emma had just been married. She said that Emma was pregnant and that prompted me to make an appointment with a doctor in Des Plaines as I was not feeling well in the mornings and was tired every afternoon. YES, I was pregnant! I called mother to tell her, but not until I had told my employer Mrs. Cosler. She was totally understanding and kind and only asked that I stay an extra week in order to train another girl to take my place as guide and tea room hostess - which I did.
When I hugged Mrs. Cosler goodbye, she presented me with a package. She had knitted me a lovely baby cap, and rolled up inside was a 50 dollar bill, a lot of money in 1942!
And so we all moved to Chippewa Falls - a far cry from the Chicago area!
Helen and Vensel Voightlander came too. Our nearest neighbors were the Forest Peck family, and when their older son, Howard, came home on leave from the army - resplendent in his Captain's army uniform, Helen dropped Vensel like a hot potato!
Mother and Eric had a lovely big house in the rolling, beautiful hills of Wisconsin thanks to my great grandfather, Peter Campbell! They were married three years later when the checks stopped coming from the Bank of England. Russ came home on leave before beginning his tours of duty with Squadrons in the South Pacific. Baby Maureen was born and we were living in a little apartment on the south side of Chippewa Falls. Russ said, "Nanny, let's settle here after the war - I like this little town!" Irv and Emma had returned to the Warroad area in Minnesota. There was no real place for them at the "farm" in Chippewa Falls and Irv knew it!
A block away on Irvine Street, a little five year old boy was riding his tricycle...his name was Noel - but everyone called him JERRY!
Monday, January 14, 2013
Chapter 50 (Final Words)
Father made the Shufelt home his headquarters and lived out most of his life there. Over the years he traveled a great deal making many trips to British Columbia to visit his brother James and his sisters Nan and Helen. When James retired from farming, he became an avid boat builder and fisherman. Campbell loved salmon fishing with him on visits there. Dew Daily often accompanied him on these trips. Dorothy did not as trains and buses were too difficult for her with her handicap. Both women were devoted to Campbell, each in her own way, and contributed so much to his enjoyment of life.
Campbell's children were the real focus of his life, however, and he visited each one of his children in turn several times a year. He enjoyed all of his grandchildren so much! Over the years he helped each and every one of us over financial difficulties and problems. In the early 50's, he bought a small ranch in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. The "ranch" consisted of several hundred acres of Ruby Red grapefruit trees, a popular fruit much in demand. Campbell hired a Mr. Garcia to oversee the ranch.
Garcia proved to be a trustworthy and able man and Campbell had many pleasant visits with him in Texas. Father tried to persuade Irv and Emma to come there to live and work the ranch, but they declined, saying that they could not live and raise their children in a hot climate! Campbell loved it there and enjoyed going into Brownsville and Matamoros where he exercised what Spanish he could speak chatting with the shopkeepers and street children! He delighted in buying colorful SERAPES, hand tooled leather handbags, silver jewelry and pottery, which he generously sent to all of his children and friends.
Campbell had the ranch about nine years when, in the late 50's, there was a terrible killing FROST that completely destroyed the crop and damaged the trees! Eventually Campbell gave up on the trees and left the ranch to Mr Garcia as it had been Garcia's home for ten years.
Dear Mrs. Shufelt died a few years after Campbell had moved into the house in Joliet and the house was left to Dorothy. Father helped her to maintain the property, making improvements as they were needed, so that the property never went down hill. He also hired a housekeeper to do the housework as it was impossible for Dorothy. Dorothy devoted all of her time to Campbell, cooking his favorite foods (she was an excellent cook!) and reading to him. She read him all of Tolstoy and Dostoyevesky which he loved as he especially enjoyed Russian literature. I remember in 1955 he sent me a copy of The Grand Inquisitor, the excerpt from The Brothers Karamazov, he was SO enthusiastic about it. Other books he HAD to share were Cry The Beloved Country, My Country and My People, and surprisingly Lolita...and copies appeared in my mail box!
He was a prolific letter writer and his typewritten letters were always encouraging and enthusiastic. Campbell's children and grandchildren meant EVERYTHING to him and he delighted in visits to Chippewa and Minnesota to visit them. When Jimmy Stewart finished high school, he happily financed his going to college at Bemidji, MN. And he thrilled when Maureen agreed to go to British Columbia with him in 1958!
It was about this time that his health began to suffer. The trip with Maureen became his last trip to B.C., and the most memorable one for him as he enjoyed her company so much. I did not realize when I took him to the train to go back home to Joliet that it would be the last time I would see him alive! As I hugged him, he said, "AH-my own bairn - goodbye Nannie dear!" Those were the last words he said to me. The next time I saw him, he was lying in the Intensive Care Unit at Hines Veterans Hospital outside Chicago. Father died as Mike (age 15) and I stood outside the room May 17th, 1962. We had driven down that day all the way from Chippewa. When Martha and Dorothy arrived, we had to tell them that he was gone. Dorothy was devastated - striking out at anyone that came near her. It was then that I realized the extent of her devotion to him. He was her world - her LIFE!
Five days later, we had the simple funeral that he requested and the officer who came presented Mike with the folded American flag honoring his service to his country. Dear Aunt Helen flew down from B.C., and sitting beside her at the funeral, I saw her cry for the first time for the brother that she was so devoted to.
Father's ashes were buried in a simple grave in Prairie View Cemetary in Chippewa Falls. His stone marker simply said, "CAMPBELL STEWART - SCOTLAND." When Irv got his own family plot in Minnesota, he came down to the cemetery, dug up and retrieved his father's ashes and brought them along with the marker to his own little Stewart plot in Minnesota.
Now Campbell sleeps forever beside Irv, Emma, grandaughter Elizabeth, and great grandson Jason Campbell Stewart.
Campbell's children were the real focus of his life, however, and he visited each one of his children in turn several times a year. He enjoyed all of his grandchildren so much! Over the years he helped each and every one of us over financial difficulties and problems. In the early 50's, he bought a small ranch in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. The "ranch" consisted of several hundred acres of Ruby Red grapefruit trees, a popular fruit much in demand. Campbell hired a Mr. Garcia to oversee the ranch.
Garcia proved to be a trustworthy and able man and Campbell had many pleasant visits with him in Texas. Father tried to persuade Irv and Emma to come there to live and work the ranch, but they declined, saying that they could not live and raise their children in a hot climate! Campbell loved it there and enjoyed going into Brownsville and Matamoros where he exercised what Spanish he could speak chatting with the shopkeepers and street children! He delighted in buying colorful SERAPES, hand tooled leather handbags, silver jewelry and pottery, which he generously sent to all of his children and friends.
Campbell had the ranch about nine years when, in the late 50's, there was a terrible killing FROST that completely destroyed the crop and damaged the trees! Eventually Campbell gave up on the trees and left the ranch to Mr Garcia as it had been Garcia's home for ten years.
Dear Mrs. Shufelt died a few years after Campbell had moved into the house in Joliet and the house was left to Dorothy. Father helped her to maintain the property, making improvements as they were needed, so that the property never went down hill. He also hired a housekeeper to do the housework as it was impossible for Dorothy. Dorothy devoted all of her time to Campbell, cooking his favorite foods (she was an excellent cook!) and reading to him. She read him all of Tolstoy and Dostoyevesky which he loved as he especially enjoyed Russian literature. I remember in 1955 he sent me a copy of The Grand Inquisitor, the excerpt from The Brothers Karamazov, he was SO enthusiastic about it. Other books he HAD to share were Cry The Beloved Country, My Country and My People, and surprisingly Lolita...and copies appeared in my mail box!
He was a prolific letter writer and his typewritten letters were always encouraging and enthusiastic. Campbell's children and grandchildren meant EVERYTHING to him and he delighted in visits to Chippewa and Minnesota to visit them. When Jimmy Stewart finished high school, he happily financed his going to college at Bemidji, MN. And he thrilled when Maureen agreed to go to British Columbia with him in 1958!
It was about this time that his health began to suffer. The trip with Maureen became his last trip to B.C., and the most memorable one for him as he enjoyed her company so much. I did not realize when I took him to the train to go back home to Joliet that it would be the last time I would see him alive! As I hugged him, he said, "AH-my own bairn - goodbye Nannie dear!" Those were the last words he said to me. The next time I saw him, he was lying in the Intensive Care Unit at Hines Veterans Hospital outside Chicago. Father died as Mike (age 15) and I stood outside the room May 17th, 1962. We had driven down that day all the way from Chippewa. When Martha and Dorothy arrived, we had to tell them that he was gone. Dorothy was devastated - striking out at anyone that came near her. It was then that I realized the extent of her devotion to him. He was her world - her LIFE!
Five days later, we had the simple funeral that he requested and the officer who came presented Mike with the folded American flag honoring his service to his country. Dear Aunt Helen flew down from B.C., and sitting beside her at the funeral, I saw her cry for the first time for the brother that she was so devoted to.
Father's ashes were buried in a simple grave in Prairie View Cemetary in Chippewa Falls. His stone marker simply said, "CAMPBELL STEWART - SCOTLAND." When Irv got his own family plot in Minnesota, he came down to the cemetery, dug up and retrieved his father's ashes and brought them along with the marker to his own little Stewart plot in Minnesota.
Now Campbell sleeps forever beside Irv, Emma, grandaughter Elizabeth, and great grandson Jason Campbell Stewart.
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