Campbell was 29 tears old when the year 1916 began.
He loved his job and had just been given his citizenship papers. Jeanette had agreed to marry him and he was totally happy. He was writing to Scotland to tell his mother the news when he received a letter from his dear sister, Helen. His mother had died of a sudden stroke at the age of 55. He was deeply saddened by the news and sorry that he could not share his new found happiness with his mother.
The distractions of his new life were many. He had met Jeanette's family at a family dinner at her home. It was a bit overwhelming as everyone talked at once, even her ancient French grandmother who swore in French when things got too noisy. But they all made him feel welcome and he was happy.
He found a nice, new two-flat apartment and rented the whole second floor, consisting of two bedrooms, a kitchen, dining room, bath, spacious living room, and a glazed-in front porch. Campbell did not want a church wedding, so they were married in the St. Edwards rectory by the priest. They honeymooned at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago where Campbell had rented the honeymoon suite for a week.
A generous check arrived in the mail from the Bank of England - a wedding gift from his grandmother and uncle Edward still living at Lignwood. Following the check, a huge crate arrived by surface mail from Scotland filled with silver, linens, wool tartan blankets, and family photographs.
By this time, Jeanette had finished with all the furniture shopping and they were very comfortably settled in their new home. Campbell continued working at Sears, and had several promotions so that he enjoyed an executive position at Sears and liked it. War fever was sweeping the country at this time fed by the popular songs of the day - Irving Berlin's "Over There" and "The Yanks Are Coming!" Campbell came home from work to find that his home was being taken over by his wife's family who loudly visited every day. Everyone talked of "joining up" and defeating the "HUN". The naive patriotism was everywhere. Campbell, who loved his new country, finally made the decision and enlisted confident that he would be gone for only a few months.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
My Great Grandmother Marte Valk
Great Great Grandmother of Maureen Valley (Moyer)
Great Great Great Grandmother of Christopher Valley
My great grandma as her daughter Martha Beck is my grandma...
Yes, I remember her well. She died when I was nine years old, and I remember her Catholic funeral at St. Edwards Church in Chicago.
Her name was Marte Valk. Marte being the French for Martha.
I remember that she was small in stature, pretty, and always wore black or dark brown taffeta or silk long dresses, and always wore her cross around her neck as she was a devout Catholic. She carried a little vial of holy water in her pocket, and whenever there was a thunder and lightning storm she would go from room to room in the house sprinkling holy water everywhere. She was an excellent dressmaker, seamstress, and one of the things I loved to do was sit in the big chair in the corner of grandma Beck's dining room with her looking at fashion magazines.
She deplored the flapper fashions of the Day with all the short skirts, and never wore a skirt above her ankles. She lived to be 99 years old, but oddly never seemed old to me. She swore beautifully in French, loudly and long whenever anything displeased her, and didn't realize that the only person who understood everything she was saying was my father Campbell Stewart as learning French was a part of his education in Scotland. She adored my mother Jeanette as she was so beautiful and sometimes would take my face in her hands and cluck her tongue and mutter "Scotchie" in what I thought was a disapproving way! I loved being with her!
Marte Valk - my French/Dutch great grandma!
Great Great Great Grandmother of Christopher Valley
My great grandma as her daughter Martha Beck is my grandma...
Yes, I remember her well. She died when I was nine years old, and I remember her Catholic funeral at St. Edwards Church in Chicago.
Her name was Marte Valk. Marte being the French for Martha.
I remember that she was small in stature, pretty, and always wore black or dark brown taffeta or silk long dresses, and always wore her cross around her neck as she was a devout Catholic. She carried a little vial of holy water in her pocket, and whenever there was a thunder and lightning storm she would go from room to room in the house sprinkling holy water everywhere. She was an excellent dressmaker, seamstress, and one of the things I loved to do was sit in the big chair in the corner of grandma Beck's dining room with her looking at fashion magazines.
She deplored the flapper fashions of the Day with all the short skirts, and never wore a skirt above her ankles. She lived to be 99 years old, but oddly never seemed old to me. She swore beautifully in French, loudly and long whenever anything displeased her, and didn't realize that the only person who understood everything she was saying was my father Campbell Stewart as learning French was a part of his education in Scotland. She adored my mother Jeanette as she was so beautiful and sometimes would take my face in her hands and cluck her tongue and mutter "Scotchie" in what I thought was a disapproving way! I loved being with her!
Marte Valk - my French/Dutch great grandma!
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Recruitment (Chapter 8)
Campbell went down to the big recruiting station on Clark Street in Chicago's Loop. The big stone building was decorated with yards and yards of red, white, and blue bunting and American flags everywhere. A Salvation Army band played the National Anthem over and over again. Pretty young girls passed out doughnuts and coffee and American flags to all the young men lined up to "join up" and save the world for Democracy!
It was December, 1916.
When he returned home to Jeanette, a letter was waiting from his uncle Edward in Scotland. His mother's mother, Annie White Campbell, had died at the age of 82. The tiny Quaker lady who had been married to his grandfather and had lived at Lignwood all of her married life had passed on leaving Uncle Edward in sole charge of the Estate. Edward was a bachelor who loved traveling, the seashore, and hiking in the Highlands. He also loved Campbell and wrote to him frequently.
Campbell signed up with the stipulation that he had to put his affairs in order. So, he notified Sears of his decision, wrote to his uncle Edward, and went downstairs to tell his landlord. Adolph and Gerta Hopf were the owners of the building, and Campbell decided to pay them a years rent in advance so that it would be available to him when he returned. They were happy to do so. Mr. Hopf owned a watch and clock shop just a few blocks away on Elston Avenue. He did well in his shop as he was an expert watch and clockmaker, trained in Switzerland and Russia. They had a sixteen year old son named Eric who worked as an apprentice in the shop. Eric was also studying to be a radio repair person and had several radios that he tinkered with in his downstairs room. Radio was a whole new field at that time. Eric also helped in the maintenance of the two-flat keeping the small yard space and larger yard in the back grass cut and neat. He often carried the young Mrs. Stewart's laundry baskets outside for her after she had finished washing in the basement. It was June, 1917. Campbell was assigned to basic training in the huge army training center in Georgia. They locked up their flat in Chicago and she followed him there and lived in a boarding house for three months while he took his basic training.
After taking tests, Campbell was assigned to the Quartermaster Corps based on his bookeeping, accounting, and organizational skills. This was to be a whole new adventure for him, almost as exciting as coming to America had been and he was quite relieved to be away from Jeanette's family for awhile!
And, so Campbell boarded a packed troop ship bound for France.
It was December, 1916.
When he returned home to Jeanette, a letter was waiting from his uncle Edward in Scotland. His mother's mother, Annie White Campbell, had died at the age of 82. The tiny Quaker lady who had been married to his grandfather and had lived at Lignwood all of her married life had passed on leaving Uncle Edward in sole charge of the Estate. Edward was a bachelor who loved traveling, the seashore, and hiking in the Highlands. He also loved Campbell and wrote to him frequently.
Campbell signed up with the stipulation that he had to put his affairs in order. So, he notified Sears of his decision, wrote to his uncle Edward, and went downstairs to tell his landlord. Adolph and Gerta Hopf were the owners of the building, and Campbell decided to pay them a years rent in advance so that it would be available to him when he returned. They were happy to do so. Mr. Hopf owned a watch and clock shop just a few blocks away on Elston Avenue. He did well in his shop as he was an expert watch and clockmaker, trained in Switzerland and Russia. They had a sixteen year old son named Eric who worked as an apprentice in the shop. Eric was also studying to be a radio repair person and had several radios that he tinkered with in his downstairs room. Radio was a whole new field at that time. Eric also helped in the maintenance of the two-flat keeping the small yard space and larger yard in the back grass cut and neat. He often carried the young Mrs. Stewart's laundry baskets outside for her after she had finished washing in the basement. It was June, 1917. Campbell was assigned to basic training in the huge army training center in Georgia. They locked up their flat in Chicago and she followed him there and lived in a boarding house for three months while he took his basic training.
After taking tests, Campbell was assigned to the Quartermaster Corps based on his bookeeping, accounting, and organizational skills. This was to be a whole new adventure for him, almost as exciting as coming to America had been and he was quite relieved to be away from Jeanette's family for awhile!
And, so Campbell boarded a packed troop ship bound for France.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Back in Chicago & the War (Chapter 9)
Back in Chicago, Jeanette was settled in her lovely new flat. She invited a younger sister, Gertrude, to live with her. Gertrude was unmarried and happy to be out of the crowded house of her parents. The two sisters spent their time sewing on Jeanette's new Singer sewing machine, going to silent films, and going to church. Jeanette made friends with the wife of her landlord who lived downstairs, Gerta Hopf.
Gerta Hopf was a sweet, kindly woman. She taught the two young women to cook and shop for food, and enjoyed their company. Jeanette did not know it at the time, but she had made a friend for life!
Back in Scotland, uncle Edward did not like the idea of Campbell going into the army. James was still pursuing the life of a farmer. Dear Helen had finished her training and was a nurse in the Crimean conflict. Nan was still in London with her two children, her estranged husband with the Black Watch in France. Uncle Edward was so fond of Campbell and worried about him! They all wrote frequent letters to him. Campbell always loved Helen's letters. He used to say that her handwriting looked like a little bird had stepped in a puddle of ink and walked across the page! Her letters were always full of love and encouragement.
Campbell's arrival in France introduced him to war almost immediately. He was driven to a quartermaster Corps station, issued a helmet and a pistol, a truck and a Driver. His job was to deliver food and supplies to the men in the trenches. They were to drive through rural France on roads pockmarked with dangerous holes made by the shells. Also, the constant threat of German snipers and/or attack. Campbell had been chosen because he could speak French having learned it in school. So, he was able to communicate with the French farmers in the area. As he neared the trenches, the death and destruction was everywhere. But, it was the life in the trenches that he found most appalling - warfare at it's most cruel.
Men stood for days in a foot of water when it rained. And, as they died, were stacked up in piles where their still standing comrades would attempt to keep the rats off of them. Shelling was constant. Men slept standing up. When the supply truck arrived, they were given hard tack, dried meat, some clean water to drink, and emergency medical supplies. They begged for cigarettes.
Campbell had never seen such misery. But he returned again and again to the supply center, each time bringing wounded or corpses back with him. And all the while the shells kept coming. Every once in awhile a soldier would go "over the top" firing at everything he saw. There were times when he and his driver barely made it back because of snipers.
But then there was just one fateful time!
The shelling was getting heavier and dangerously close. The driver ducked under the truck. Campbell jumped into a nearby trench, landing at the bottom and covering his head. That is all he remembered. The truck was demolished, the driver killed, and Campbell knocked unconscious by the concussion of the massive shell that had exploded overhead. Amazingly,he had no serious outer injuries, and awoke on a litter being carried by two corpsmen.
He tried to see them, but could not focus his eyes, and so began the toughest battle of his life!
Gerta Hopf was a sweet, kindly woman. She taught the two young women to cook and shop for food, and enjoyed their company. Jeanette did not know it at the time, but she had made a friend for life!
Back in Scotland, uncle Edward did not like the idea of Campbell going into the army. James was still pursuing the life of a farmer. Dear Helen had finished her training and was a nurse in the Crimean conflict. Nan was still in London with her two children, her estranged husband with the Black Watch in France. Uncle Edward was so fond of Campbell and worried about him! They all wrote frequent letters to him. Campbell always loved Helen's letters. He used to say that her handwriting looked like a little bird had stepped in a puddle of ink and walked across the page! Her letters were always full of love and encouragement.
Campbell's arrival in France introduced him to war almost immediately. He was driven to a quartermaster Corps station, issued a helmet and a pistol, a truck and a Driver. His job was to deliver food and supplies to the men in the trenches. They were to drive through rural France on roads pockmarked with dangerous holes made by the shells. Also, the constant threat of German snipers and/or attack. Campbell had been chosen because he could speak French having learned it in school. So, he was able to communicate with the French farmers in the area. As he neared the trenches, the death and destruction was everywhere. But, it was the life in the trenches that he found most appalling - warfare at it's most cruel.
Men stood for days in a foot of water when it rained. And, as they died, were stacked up in piles where their still standing comrades would attempt to keep the rats off of them. Shelling was constant. Men slept standing up. When the supply truck arrived, they were given hard tack, dried meat, some clean water to drink, and emergency medical supplies. They begged for cigarettes.
Campbell had never seen such misery. But he returned again and again to the supply center, each time bringing wounded or corpses back with him. And all the while the shells kept coming. Every once in awhile a soldier would go "over the top" firing at everything he saw. There were times when he and his driver barely made it back because of snipers.
But then there was just one fateful time!
The shelling was getting heavier and dangerously close. The driver ducked under the truck. Campbell jumped into a nearby trench, landing at the bottom and covering his head. That is all he remembered. The truck was demolished, the driver killed, and Campbell knocked unconscious by the concussion of the massive shell that had exploded overhead. Amazingly,he had no serious outer injuries, and awoke on a litter being carried by two corpsmen.
He tried to see them, but could not focus his eyes, and so began the toughest battle of his life!
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Campbell's Blindness (Chapter 10)
Campbell was brought to a field hospital. Doctors there thought the vision problem was just the result of shock, but as the problem persisted, he was finally sent to a special hospital for the blind in rural France. It was staffed by excellent French doctors, and their diagnosis was Optic Atrophy due to trauma to the optic nerve in his brain caused by the massive concussion when the shell exploded overhead.
Campbell was rapidly losing his sight.
He was devastated and did not want to return home in this state. He became deeply depressed, and the doctors kept him there another couple of months, but finally had to send him on a hospital ship with other wounded soldiers back to America.
Back in the States, he was given his discharge papers by a young officer who accompanied him to Chicago. He was eligible for a full pension given to blind veterans. He was given no therapy. The veterans could not accommodate the thousands of shell shocked, maimed, and wounded young men who returned. So Campbell returned to the flat in Chicago and began the process of learning to live as a blind man. He was so depressed that he could barely speak. Gertrude moved hastily back home and Jeanette was left as his sold caretaker.
It was NOT a happy homecoming.
To make matters worse, the entire country was in the midst of a devastating influenza epidemic that was claiming many lives. Campbell and Jeanette stayed close to home and were not affected by the flu but three members of Jeanette's family had died due to the flu. Mrs. Hopf sent hot food up to the young couple and cheered them with afternoon pots of coffee and her wonderful "Kuchen" (coffee cake). Jeanette became pregnant right away. Campbell's depression continued and he would sit for hours in the basement next to the furnace. In desperation, Jeanette sat down and wrote to Uncle Edward and Campbell's sister Helen in Scotland telling them of Campbell's state of mind.
Edward and Helen were devastated to hear of Campbell's blindness and swung into action. Edward, the executor for all of the family fortune and also the estate of James Stewart, made a trip to London where all the family banking was done. He arranged for Campbell to receive his large portion of his inheritance in view of his misfortune and because he was the oldest son. So, the Bank of England handled it all at Peter's direction.
A month later, after crossing the Atlantic, taking a week to do so, who should arrive at the door of the flat but Helen...suitcase in hand and ready for action!
Campbell was rapidly losing his sight.
He was devastated and did not want to return home in this state. He became deeply depressed, and the doctors kept him there another couple of months, but finally had to send him on a hospital ship with other wounded soldiers back to America.
Back in the States, he was given his discharge papers by a young officer who accompanied him to Chicago. He was eligible for a full pension given to blind veterans. He was given no therapy. The veterans could not accommodate the thousands of shell shocked, maimed, and wounded young men who returned. So Campbell returned to the flat in Chicago and began the process of learning to live as a blind man. He was so depressed that he could barely speak. Gertrude moved hastily back home and Jeanette was left as his sold caretaker.
It was NOT a happy homecoming.
To make matters worse, the entire country was in the midst of a devastating influenza epidemic that was claiming many lives. Campbell and Jeanette stayed close to home and were not affected by the flu but three members of Jeanette's family had died due to the flu. Mrs. Hopf sent hot food up to the young couple and cheered them with afternoon pots of coffee and her wonderful "Kuchen" (coffee cake). Jeanette became pregnant right away. Campbell's depression continued and he would sit for hours in the basement next to the furnace. In desperation, Jeanette sat down and wrote to Uncle Edward and Campbell's sister Helen in Scotland telling them of Campbell's state of mind.
Edward and Helen were devastated to hear of Campbell's blindness and swung into action. Edward, the executor for all of the family fortune and also the estate of James Stewart, made a trip to London where all the family banking was done. He arranged for Campbell to receive his large portion of his inheritance in view of his misfortune and because he was the oldest son. So, the Bank of England handled it all at Peter's direction.
A month later, after crossing the Atlantic, taking a week to do so, who should arrive at the door of the flat but Helen...suitcase in hand and ready for action!
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Aunt Helen (Chapter 11)
Helen Stewart's arrival and the sound of her voice made Campbell weep for joy!
It was the sound of HOME and the Highlands of Scotland.
Wise, loving, kind Helen took in the situation at a glance - Jeanette - beautiful, young, and about to give birth. Helen knew what she had to do and set about doing it right away! She fixed a little space for herself on the glazed-in heated porch, then set about the rehabilitation of her brother, and the saving of his family! Helen went downtown the next day and bought a typewriter, a ream of paper, a sturdy cane, AND a radio!
Young 18 year-old Eric Hopf, who lived downstairs, helped her with this last purchase as he was working in the large Philco Radio Store downtown. The radio was the latest model in 1919. It had a huge "horn" speaker and two sets of earphones. Helen sat Campbell down at the dining room table and patiently taught him to type. In three months he was typing very well! The radio put him in touch with the world again as he loved sitting with the earphones on listening to the news of the world - the ravings of the latest Evangelist preacher, and the strange new popular music called JAZZ! He was typing his own letters now and corresponding with Uncle Edward in Scotland and Nan in London. Helen subscribed to the two major newspapers in Chicago, the Chicago Tribune and the Daily News, so that they were delivered every day to the front door and she and Jeanette read the news hot off the press to Campbell every day!
Helen painted the sturdy cane that she had purchased white to identify Campbell as blind. She took him out and about for walks and trips downtown to the Loop. She patiently taught him how to identify curbs and how to use the cane for maximum safety. They rode streetcars everywhere as Chicago had an excellent transportation system. His account had been established at the First National Bank downtown so he was welcomed there and visited often with the president of the bank along with Helen. Back at the flat, Helen also spent time with Jeanette, helping her to fix up the extra bedroom as a nursery.
It was the sound of HOME and the Highlands of Scotland.
Wise, loving, kind Helen took in the situation at a glance - Jeanette - beautiful, young, and about to give birth. Helen knew what she had to do and set about doing it right away! She fixed a little space for herself on the glazed-in heated porch, then set about the rehabilitation of her brother, and the saving of his family! Helen went downtown the next day and bought a typewriter, a ream of paper, a sturdy cane, AND a radio!
Young 18 year-old Eric Hopf, who lived downstairs, helped her with this last purchase as he was working in the large Philco Radio Store downtown. The radio was the latest model in 1919. It had a huge "horn" speaker and two sets of earphones. Helen sat Campbell down at the dining room table and patiently taught him to type. In three months he was typing very well! The radio put him in touch with the world again as he loved sitting with the earphones on listening to the news of the world - the ravings of the latest Evangelist preacher, and the strange new popular music called JAZZ! He was typing his own letters now and corresponding with Uncle Edward in Scotland and Nan in London. Helen subscribed to the two major newspapers in Chicago, the Chicago Tribune and the Daily News, so that they were delivered every day to the front door and she and Jeanette read the news hot off the press to Campbell every day!
Helen painted the sturdy cane that she had purchased white to identify Campbell as blind. She took him out and about for walks and trips downtown to the Loop. She patiently taught him how to identify curbs and how to use the cane for maximum safety. They rode streetcars everywhere as Chicago had an excellent transportation system. His account had been established at the First National Bank downtown so he was welcomed there and visited often with the president of the bank along with Helen. Back at the flat, Helen also spent time with Jeanette, helping her to fix up the extra bedroom as a nursery.
Friday, February 22, 2013
The Children (Chapter 12)
Martha Mary Stewart was born to Jeanette and Campbell while Helen was still visiting them. Once again, Helen was a huge help, not only to Campbell, but to Jeanette, as well. She taught Jeanette how to cook some of Campbell's favorite Scottish dishes - Scotch broth with lamb, barley and vegetables, oatie cakes, scones and steak, and kidney pie. She taught Jeanette basic hygiene as to the care and feeding of the baby. Her experience as a nurse in the war served them all well!
Campbell's other sister, Nan, decided to come to America, as well, and she arrived in Chicago the day that Jeanette discovered that she was pregnant again. She stayed at a hotel downtown with her two children, and after a few months stay, decided to move to Vancouver, B.C. where there was a large Scottish community. Her children were of school age and she wanted them to be educated in Canada. Helen decided to follow her there as Campbell was doing so well. His rehabilitation was complete, he had made many friends downtown and in the community, was interested in the world about him, and was coming up with real plans as to how to invest his money. He was in the process of buying a house in the beautiful suburb of Sauganash, just starting on the N.W. side of Chicago.
Jeanette gave birth to their second child, Anne Gertrude Stewart. Later to be called Nancy. This was followed in rapid succession by the births of two more children - Irving Eugene Stewart and Helen Scott Stewart.
Jeanette, like her mother, was a good Catholic, so the priest was there when she was rushed to the hospital to give birth to a fifth child. She was ill with failing kidneys when the child was stillborn. She was baptized Jeanette. Mother gave up her Catholic faith after that and was converted to Christian Science. She recovered and her sister Gertrude once again moved in with the family to help her in her long recuperation.
Campbell's other sister, Nan, decided to come to America, as well, and she arrived in Chicago the day that Jeanette discovered that she was pregnant again. She stayed at a hotel downtown with her two children, and after a few months stay, decided to move to Vancouver, B.C. where there was a large Scottish community. Her children were of school age and she wanted them to be educated in Canada. Helen decided to follow her there as Campbell was doing so well. His rehabilitation was complete, he had made many friends downtown and in the community, was interested in the world about him, and was coming up with real plans as to how to invest his money. He was in the process of buying a house in the beautiful suburb of Sauganash, just starting on the N.W. side of Chicago.
Jeanette gave birth to their second child, Anne Gertrude Stewart. Later to be called Nancy. This was followed in rapid succession by the births of two more children - Irving Eugene Stewart and Helen Scott Stewart.
Jeanette, like her mother, was a good Catholic, so the priest was there when she was rushed to the hospital to give birth to a fifth child. She was ill with failing kidneys when the child was stillborn. She was baptized Jeanette. Mother gave up her Catholic faith after that and was converted to Christian Science. She recovered and her sister Gertrude once again moved in with the family to help her in her long recuperation.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
The 20's (Chapter 13)
The years following Campbell's rehabilitation - the TWENTIES - were the happiest and most productive of his life. He moved his family of six into a lovely, brand new Colonial house in the newly developing suburb of Sauganash on the northwest side of Chicago. Our new house was a spacious home with an elegant open stairway that Martha and I quickly discovered was also a marvelous slide. It also had a huge kitchen with a large but cozy breakfast nook in one corner, a spacious front entry way that opened with French doors into the living room with a fireplace, a lovely dining room with a sparkling chandelier, and a glazed-in spacious three season porch which we used all year-round and where Campbell kept his latest radio with the huge speaker with attached earphones. We also had a console radio for the family in the living room. There were four large bedrooms upstairs, plus a small nursery room upstairs that also served as a sewing room.
I was five years old when we moved to our first Sauganash home, and I loved the evening walks that Martha and I would take with our dad watching the Lamplighter light the street lights, occasionally stopping to chat with a neighbor.
The year was 1925.
My baby sister Helen was just learning to walk. My brother, Irv, was a mischievous little three year old who kept wandering away from home so that Mart and I often had to retrieve him from a neighbor's yard. It was about this time that Campbell hired a full time "maid/housekeeper" for mother. She arrived in the person of Florence Green, a handsome, articulate African American woman the same age as my mother. She became my friend on sight, and I loved her truly. She stayed with us for eight years until a month before my fourteenth birthday. She adored Campbell, and from the very beginning, looked after him in her own special way - cutting up his food so that he could handle it easily - cooking his breakfast every day and serving it to him at the dining room table where he would have his typewriter set up to begin his writing of his correspondence for the day. She kept the house immaculate, the beds freshly made and the laundry done. Mother was freed of all these duties...free to shop, visit relatives, and pursue anything else she wished to do. She continued to visit her old landlady who owned the two-flat where she and Campbell had spent the early years of their marriage - the lady being Gertrude Hopf.
Gertrude's son, Eric, had grown from a teenager to a young man, marrying a lovely young woman named Christine who, very sadly, was killed outright when on the way to a wedding where she and a girlfriend (driving the car) were trying to outrace a train on the way to a crossing.
The twenties were also years when Campbell reached his full potential as a business man, and will write about that in the next chapter...
I was five years old when we moved to our first Sauganash home, and I loved the evening walks that Martha and I would take with our dad watching the Lamplighter light the street lights, occasionally stopping to chat with a neighbor.
The year was 1925.
My baby sister Helen was just learning to walk. My brother, Irv, was a mischievous little three year old who kept wandering away from home so that Mart and I often had to retrieve him from a neighbor's yard. It was about this time that Campbell hired a full time "maid/housekeeper" for mother. She arrived in the person of Florence Green, a handsome, articulate African American woman the same age as my mother. She became my friend on sight, and I loved her truly. She stayed with us for eight years until a month before my fourteenth birthday. She adored Campbell, and from the very beginning, looked after him in her own special way - cutting up his food so that he could handle it easily - cooking his breakfast every day and serving it to him at the dining room table where he would have his typewriter set up to begin his writing of his correspondence for the day. She kept the house immaculate, the beds freshly made and the laundry done. Mother was freed of all these duties...free to shop, visit relatives, and pursue anything else she wished to do. She continued to visit her old landlady who owned the two-flat where she and Campbell had spent the early years of their marriage - the lady being Gertrude Hopf.
Gertrude's son, Eric, had grown from a teenager to a young man, marrying a lovely young woman named Christine who, very sadly, was killed outright when on the way to a wedding where she and a girlfriend (driving the car) were trying to outrace a train on the way to a crossing.
The twenties were also years when Campbell reached his full potential as a business man, and will write about that in the next chapter...
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Campbell's Business (Chapter 14)
George Koester lived directly behind us on Forest Glen Avenue. He, along with his partner, a man named Zander, were the founders and principal developers of the new sub-division which they named Sauganash. We had been in our first house only a few months when he and Campbell became fast friends. Campbell had made the decision to invest his legacy that had been made available to him by uncle Edward back in Scotland in lots that were for sale in Sauganash, and a few in Irving Park.
At first, he planned to keep the lots as an investment and sell them off at, hopefully, a profit. Campbell made frequent trips down to the Loop where he became acquainted with the president and staff of the 1st National Bank. There he met a man about his own age named Ed Gregor. It wasn't long before they became fast friends and Campbell hired him as his business manager. It was an excellent decision as Ed became his confidente and lifetime friend.
George Koester came over one evening and told Campbell about a beautiful Tudor house that was under construction on Forest Glen Avenue. He said that the builder had run out of funds and could not continue. To shorten the story, Campbell and Ed Gregor put their heads together and assembled a team of a Master Carpenter, named Irv Keck, who also became a good friend, and carpenters, bricklayers, plasterers, electricians, and decided to finish the job. Campbell also had the advantage of his oldest brother in law (Jeanette's brother, Gay (Gahartus) Beck), a top salesman for the Chicago Firebrick Company who would (and did!) supply him with all the brick, stone, and even marble that he needed. Campbell met with the architect who approved it all. And so Campbell was very successful in this whole project and assembled a team that would serve him well in the years ahead. He became successful in all his building projects.
Jeanette had no interest in any of it, and did not participate in any way. She enjoyed her new prosperity very much. She became possibly tho most fashionably dressed woman in Sauganash with fox furs, dresses from Marshall Field's, and hand made wigs from France. In those early twenties years, we made several train trips to British Columbia to visit with Aunt Helen, Auntie Nan, and Uncle Jim. They were always so kind and welcoming to us. I always loved seeing Aunt Helen in particulsr.
Downtown in Chicago, Campbell's business projects and his successes became almost legendary, and he commanded respect wherever he went. If I had a day off from school, I would sometimes go downtown with him when he had to go to the bank or the Chicago Title and Trust Company, and I remember him being surrounded by people wanting to serve him before being ushered into a private office. He took taxis everywhere, and I remember that we would always end up having a wonderful lunch somewhere (once at the Palmer House!) and occasionally a show afterwards.
Once, because of a taxi strike, we had to take the EL home, followed by a bus, to Sauganash, and I had to use the public rest room before I got on the train. Campbell, knowing that we were in a fairly dubious neighborhood, came with me into the rest room and stood just inside the door. A woman swung the door open, saw him, and screamed, "What are you doing here - get out or I'll call the police!" Campbell stood tall and said calmly, "Madam, you have nothing to fear, I am with my little daughter and I am totally blind." Then, he called out, "Nannie, are you all right?" I answered from my stall, "I'm fine, dad." The woman apologized profusely when she saw his white cane. I must add that Campbell always carried a very LOUD police whistle in his pocket! Chicago could be a very dangerous place if one did not exercise caution. I was always amazed, however, at the extreme HELPFULNESS that citizens displayed toward a blind individual. They were almost without exception - kindness itself!
AND, this was Al Capone's CHICAGO!
At first, he planned to keep the lots as an investment and sell them off at, hopefully, a profit. Campbell made frequent trips down to the Loop where he became acquainted with the president and staff of the 1st National Bank. There he met a man about his own age named Ed Gregor. It wasn't long before they became fast friends and Campbell hired him as his business manager. It was an excellent decision as Ed became his confidente and lifetime friend.
George Koester came over one evening and told Campbell about a beautiful Tudor house that was under construction on Forest Glen Avenue. He said that the builder had run out of funds and could not continue. To shorten the story, Campbell and Ed Gregor put their heads together and assembled a team of a Master Carpenter, named Irv Keck, who also became a good friend, and carpenters, bricklayers, plasterers, electricians, and decided to finish the job. Campbell also had the advantage of his oldest brother in law (Jeanette's brother, Gay (Gahartus) Beck), a top salesman for the Chicago Firebrick Company who would (and did!) supply him with all the brick, stone, and even marble that he needed. Campbell met with the architect who approved it all. And so Campbell was very successful in this whole project and assembled a team that would serve him well in the years ahead. He became successful in all his building projects.
Jeanette had no interest in any of it, and did not participate in any way. She enjoyed her new prosperity very much. She became possibly tho most fashionably dressed woman in Sauganash with fox furs, dresses from Marshall Field's, and hand made wigs from France. In those early twenties years, we made several train trips to British Columbia to visit with Aunt Helen, Auntie Nan, and Uncle Jim. They were always so kind and welcoming to us. I always loved seeing Aunt Helen in particulsr.
Downtown in Chicago, Campbell's business projects and his successes became almost legendary, and he commanded respect wherever he went. If I had a day off from school, I would sometimes go downtown with him when he had to go to the bank or the Chicago Title and Trust Company, and I remember him being surrounded by people wanting to serve him before being ushered into a private office. He took taxis everywhere, and I remember that we would always end up having a wonderful lunch somewhere (once at the Palmer House!) and occasionally a show afterwards.
Once, because of a taxi strike, we had to take the EL home, followed by a bus, to Sauganash, and I had to use the public rest room before I got on the train. Campbell, knowing that we were in a fairly dubious neighborhood, came with me into the rest room and stood just inside the door. A woman swung the door open, saw him, and screamed, "What are you doing here - get out or I'll call the police!" Campbell stood tall and said calmly, "Madam, you have nothing to fear, I am with my little daughter and I am totally blind." Then, he called out, "Nannie, are you all right?" I answered from my stall, "I'm fine, dad." The woman apologized profusely when she saw his white cane. I must add that Campbell always carried a very LOUD police whistle in his pocket! Chicago could be a very dangerous place if one did not exercise caution. I was always amazed, however, at the extreme HELPFULNESS that citizens displayed toward a blind individual. They were almost without exception - kindness itself!
AND, this was Al Capone's CHICAGO!
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Growing up in the 20's (Chapter 15)
My memories of life in the twenties - of the years 1925 to 1929 - are perhaps the most vivid of my childhood. Martha and I started school in 1926 exactly one year after moving into our new house in Sauganash. Father finished the beautiful Tudor, offered it to mother, but she refused saying that it would be too much work. Florence was relieved. So it was sold and Campbell and his team quickly moved on to other projects, at first building some bungalows in Sauganash and Irving Park.
The solid two and three bedroom brick houses were a very popular style house in Chicago in the 20"s. George Koester convinced him that the elegant Tudor style was what people wanted when moving to a suburb like Sauganash. The architect agreed, and being an Englishman, had many beautiful plans. So, the lots that Campbell had bought in Sauganash were disappearing fast with one new house after another! This kept Campbell very busy but he surrounded himself with knowledgeable and competent people who worked for and with him. Ed Gregor, his trusted business manager, was always at his side, and Campbell never put his name to anything until Ed had approved it. Campbell go up early in the morning, and the first thing he would do before breakfast, was to go into the sun room where he kept his radio and turn on the world news and the latest market returns. He was always involved and intensely interested in ALL the news. He also began investing in stocks, and did very well in the market.
Letters from Uncle Edward in Scotland arrived frequently as Uncle Edward was very interested in all of Campbell's acivities. I believe that it was about this time that uncle Edward set up a trust fund for Jeanette that she could collect from until the year 1945 as long as she remained Mrs. Stewart. I remember the checks coming about twice a year from the Bank of England, but I never knew the amount as mother never divulged it to us.
I remember how much Irv and I loved to go to the building sites with Ed and father. We were never allowed in the houses until all the floors were put in, and there were no open stairways. But, we loved the huge piles of sand and stones to play on. And watching the plasterers was such fun - I was always amazed at how FAST they worked! Also, the bricklayers. Martha never went along as she would sneeze and seemed to be allergic to something used in construction, although in those years we never used the word allergic.
Father often had meetings with Ed, Irv Keck, Uncle Gay, the architect, George Koester, and others whose names I didn't know. They would sit around our big oak dining room table, and I would curl up in a ball underneath it, sometimes with Irv, and we would just listen to them. I always loved the smell of uncle Gay's pipe, but not Mr.Koester's cigar! They would talk about everything - Prohibition, Coolidge, Al Smith, Al Capone - the need for more and more houses out of the inner city and into the outlying areas of Chicago. The word SUBURB had not been coined yet! I liked the droning of their voices. Campbell would always have his typwriter set up in front of him as he would take notes of anything he wanted to check out later. If Campbell sensed that we were under the table, he would tap his cane on the table, and say, "Nanny, Omink, go to bed!" "Omink" was his nickname for Irv!
In my next chapter, I want to tell you about Campbell - as a father.
The solid two and three bedroom brick houses were a very popular style house in Chicago in the 20"s. George Koester convinced him that the elegant Tudor style was what people wanted when moving to a suburb like Sauganash. The architect agreed, and being an Englishman, had many beautiful plans. So, the lots that Campbell had bought in Sauganash were disappearing fast with one new house after another! This kept Campbell very busy but he surrounded himself with knowledgeable and competent people who worked for and with him. Ed Gregor, his trusted business manager, was always at his side, and Campbell never put his name to anything until Ed had approved it. Campbell go up early in the morning, and the first thing he would do before breakfast, was to go into the sun room where he kept his radio and turn on the world news and the latest market returns. He was always involved and intensely interested in ALL the news. He also began investing in stocks, and did very well in the market.
Letters from Uncle Edward in Scotland arrived frequently as Uncle Edward was very interested in all of Campbell's acivities. I believe that it was about this time that uncle Edward set up a trust fund for Jeanette that she could collect from until the year 1945 as long as she remained Mrs. Stewart. I remember the checks coming about twice a year from the Bank of England, but I never knew the amount as mother never divulged it to us.
I remember how much Irv and I loved to go to the building sites with Ed and father. We were never allowed in the houses until all the floors were put in, and there were no open stairways. But, we loved the huge piles of sand and stones to play on. And watching the plasterers was such fun - I was always amazed at how FAST they worked! Also, the bricklayers. Martha never went along as she would sneeze and seemed to be allergic to something used in construction, although in those years we never used the word allergic.
Father often had meetings with Ed, Irv Keck, Uncle Gay, the architect, George Koester, and others whose names I didn't know. They would sit around our big oak dining room table, and I would curl up in a ball underneath it, sometimes with Irv, and we would just listen to them. I always loved the smell of uncle Gay's pipe, but not Mr.Koester's cigar! They would talk about everything - Prohibition, Coolidge, Al Smith, Al Capone - the need for more and more houses out of the inner city and into the outlying areas of Chicago. The word SUBURB had not been coined yet! I liked the droning of their voices. Campbell would always have his typwriter set up in front of him as he would take notes of anything he wanted to check out later. If Campbell sensed that we were under the table, he would tap his cane on the table, and say, "Nanny, Omink, go to bed!" "Omink" was his nickname for Irv!
In my next chapter, I want to tell you about Campbell - as a father.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Father Campbell (Chapter 16)
Before I write about Campbell as a father, I must talk about his family.
All of his siblings moved to British Columbia, Canada in the early twenties. Campbell was not able to follow them there because Jeanette would never consider living anywhere but Chicago as all her relatives were there. She cared nothing for Campbell's family - was even scornful of them with their old-world Scottish ways and manners. She did, however, love Aunt Helen, and was forever grateful to her for rescuing and rehabilitating Campbell when he returned from overseas.
Even as a child I was acutely aware that my parents were poorly matched, indeed! I never saw any display of affection between them, and they never conversed in an amiable fashion. Father tried - I could see that, but there was never any fun or banter between them. Mother's family was the limit of her social life, and she had few women friends. She loved gossiping with her sisters and competing with them, and she totally enjoyed her position as the most affluent of them all. As children, we were given lavish Christmas' and on Christmas morning the living room would be so full of toys that it was impossible to walk through it. I cannot help but feel that she was compensating for her own deprived childhood. The Christmas that Irving was four years old, she bought an overstuffed bear for several hundred dollars that was mounted on wheels and it was under the tree with Irv's name on it. He took one look at it and screamed in fear and would not sit on it, refusing to go near it. Campbell told her to return it to the big department store where she had bought it, but she refused and gave it to one of her sister's children the same day. Mother could be very generous with her own family and with Florence Green, our beloved housekeeper and maid. She was always struggling with her Catholic faith and her new-found Christian Science, and found Campbell's relaxed Agnosticism very irritating.
Back in Scotland, Uncle Edward kept in touch with Campbell and his family regularly. Since he had no family of his own and was so fond of his nephew Campbell, he was very generous to us at Christmas and wrote frequently. All of his packages and letters came by surface mail in those days, and it was always a thrill for us all when one of his huge boxes arrived! We received tinned Dundee Cake, shortbread, and wonderful marmalades in beautiful tins and jars all decorated with scenes of the Highlands. Wonderful soft Scottish woolen Tams, mittens and Scarves were there also, along with sweaters in all our correct sizes. And books - there were always books included. When I was in first grade, my own little set of Beatrix Potter 's little pocket sized books in a little cardboard bookcase all covered with pictures of her characters - my favorite gift ever! Later, a complete set of Robert Louis Stevenson when I was older. When Martha was twelve, she received a two year subscription to The Tatler, which she reluctantly shared with me, and I received a gorgeous book of Elizabethan paper dolls. He sent Irv a hand held magnifying glass and a Harris tweed cap, which he loved. Uncle Edward seemed to know what kids liked! I dont remember the year that he sent us the complete works of Sir Walter Scott and Charles Dickens, but they were on our book shelves all the while I was growing up. I learned to read with those books as Campbell asked both Martha and I to read to him on cold winter evenings from Fair Maid of Perth or Great Expectations among others.
Later in his life, Uncle Edward met a lovely Norwegian lady named Thekla on a trip to North Africa. She was riding a camel as were the others in the travel group. He fell in love with her, and they were married and lived at Lignwood until he died on 1950. It was a very happy marriage, and after he died, Thekla sold Lignwood and went briefly back to Norway. She returned to Scotland later where she died in 1956, and is now buried beside Edward in the family plot in Perth.
All of his siblings moved to British Columbia, Canada in the early twenties. Campbell was not able to follow them there because Jeanette would never consider living anywhere but Chicago as all her relatives were there. She cared nothing for Campbell's family - was even scornful of them with their old-world Scottish ways and manners. She did, however, love Aunt Helen, and was forever grateful to her for rescuing and rehabilitating Campbell when he returned from overseas.
Even as a child I was acutely aware that my parents were poorly matched, indeed! I never saw any display of affection between them, and they never conversed in an amiable fashion. Father tried - I could see that, but there was never any fun or banter between them. Mother's family was the limit of her social life, and she had few women friends. She loved gossiping with her sisters and competing with them, and she totally enjoyed her position as the most affluent of them all. As children, we were given lavish Christmas' and on Christmas morning the living room would be so full of toys that it was impossible to walk through it. I cannot help but feel that she was compensating for her own deprived childhood. The Christmas that Irving was four years old, she bought an overstuffed bear for several hundred dollars that was mounted on wheels and it was under the tree with Irv's name on it. He took one look at it and screamed in fear and would not sit on it, refusing to go near it. Campbell told her to return it to the big department store where she had bought it, but she refused and gave it to one of her sister's children the same day. Mother could be very generous with her own family and with Florence Green, our beloved housekeeper and maid. She was always struggling with her Catholic faith and her new-found Christian Science, and found Campbell's relaxed Agnosticism very irritating.
Back in Scotland, Uncle Edward kept in touch with Campbell and his family regularly. Since he had no family of his own and was so fond of his nephew Campbell, he was very generous to us at Christmas and wrote frequently. All of his packages and letters came by surface mail in those days, and it was always a thrill for us all when one of his huge boxes arrived! We received tinned Dundee Cake, shortbread, and wonderful marmalades in beautiful tins and jars all decorated with scenes of the Highlands. Wonderful soft Scottish woolen Tams, mittens and Scarves were there also, along with sweaters in all our correct sizes. And books - there were always books included. When I was in first grade, my own little set of Beatrix Potter 's little pocket sized books in a little cardboard bookcase all covered with pictures of her characters - my favorite gift ever! Later, a complete set of Robert Louis Stevenson when I was older. When Martha was twelve, she received a two year subscription to The Tatler, which she reluctantly shared with me, and I received a gorgeous book of Elizabethan paper dolls. He sent Irv a hand held magnifying glass and a Harris tweed cap, which he loved. Uncle Edward seemed to know what kids liked! I dont remember the year that he sent us the complete works of Sir Walter Scott and Charles Dickens, but they were on our book shelves all the while I was growing up. I learned to read with those books as Campbell asked both Martha and I to read to him on cold winter evenings from Fair Maid of Perth or Great Expectations among others.
Later in his life, Uncle Edward met a lovely Norwegian lady named Thekla on a trip to North Africa. She was riding a camel as were the others in the travel group. He fell in love with her, and they were married and lived at Lignwood until he died on 1950. It was a very happy marriage, and after he died, Thekla sold Lignwood and went briefly back to Norway. She returned to Scotland later where she died in 1956, and is now buried beside Edward in the family plot in Perth.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Children's Names (Chapter 17)
Campbell and Jeanette had taken turns naming their children as they all arrived so quickly in the years fromk 1919 to 1926.
Mother named her first Martha Mary - after her own mother. Then Campbell named me Anne - after his mother. This was followed by Irving Eugene - simply because mother liked the name Irving, but we learned later that she had a boyfriend before she met Campbell whose name was Irving. Dad's turn came next, and he named the fourth, Helen - after his beloved sister. Baby Jeanette died at birth and was baptized by the attending priest after her mother. So, father was filled with chagrin when mother enrolled me in school in 1926 as Nancy Stewart! He wanted me to be called Anne - or Nan - which is the Scottish nickname for Anne. All my life he never called me Nancy - always Nannie. After a couple of months I got so used to the teacher and all my classmates calling me Nancy that I accepted it as my name.
Campbell had his own nicknames for all his children...Martha's was "Woos Poos"...Mine was "Nannie Bug"...Irving's was "Omink", but occasionally dad would call him "WILBURFORCE" And, surprisingly, Helen's was "Pink-Brown! Father never gave any explanation for his names for us, but he ALWAYS used them! When he would sit in his big red leather wing chair, his lap was a coveted place, especially when he would tell us stories or talk about his childhood in Scotland. He always referred to us, especially when we were small, as his "wee bairn", and in the case of Irv, his "braw laddie", and in the case of any of the girls, as his "wee lassie" or "bonnie lass". He would whisper these endearments in our ears if we came to him with a problem or a skinned knee. He was always a source of comfort. I always liked to watch him shave as he did it so slowly and methodically, and surprisingly, whenever he allowed it to grow, it came out RED! A sure testimony to his ancient PICT heritage as a Stewart and a Campbell. He was a direct descendant of the ancient Picts that occupied central Scotland for so long!
The redheaded PICTS!
Mother named her first Martha Mary - after her own mother. Then Campbell named me Anne - after his mother. This was followed by Irving Eugene - simply because mother liked the name Irving, but we learned later that she had a boyfriend before she met Campbell whose name was Irving. Dad's turn came next, and he named the fourth, Helen - after his beloved sister. Baby Jeanette died at birth and was baptized by the attending priest after her mother. So, father was filled with chagrin when mother enrolled me in school in 1926 as Nancy Stewart! He wanted me to be called Anne - or Nan - which is the Scottish nickname for Anne. All my life he never called me Nancy - always Nannie. After a couple of months I got so used to the teacher and all my classmates calling me Nancy that I accepted it as my name.
Campbell had his own nicknames for all his children...Martha's was "Woos Poos"...Mine was "Nannie Bug"...Irving's was "Omink", but occasionally dad would call him "WILBURFORCE" And, surprisingly, Helen's was "Pink-Brown! Father never gave any explanation for his names for us, but he ALWAYS used them! When he would sit in his big red leather wing chair, his lap was a coveted place, especially when he would tell us stories or talk about his childhood in Scotland. He always referred to us, especially when we were small, as his "wee bairn", and in the case of Irv, his "braw laddie", and in the case of any of the girls, as his "wee lassie" or "bonnie lass". He would whisper these endearments in our ears if we came to him with a problem or a skinned knee. He was always a source of comfort. I always liked to watch him shave as he did it so slowly and methodically, and surprisingly, whenever he allowed it to grow, it came out RED! A sure testimony to his ancient PICT heritage as a Stewart and a Campbell. He was a direct descendant of the ancient Picts that occupied central Scotland for so long!
The redheaded PICTS!
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Siblings (Chapter 18)
Martha and I were enrolled in Madame Ludwig's ballet class when she opened her studio in Sauganash. She taught classical ballet, and although we were only six and eight years old, we were put through the training taught by a former professional ballet dancer. Campbell approved and one of the joys for me at that age was to climb up on his lap and ask him to tell me about seeing Pavlova. As a young man in London, he had seen the great Anna Pavlova dance The Swan. I never got tired if hearing about it, and his description of it brought it to life for me. Mother made me a white tutu trimmed with Christmas tinsel and a matching crown, and at the Christmas party for children held every year in the Sauganash Community House (in the year 1927) I danced pirouettes all around the tree to Madame's playing of Nutcracker on the piano. All the lights were out except for the tree.
When I got home, I climbed up on Dad's lap and told him all about it. I was so thrilled when he called me his "Little Pavlova". It was a highlight of my childhood! Martha never cared much for ballet, and I think it was because she did not always feel well. Campbell's children were a mixed bag of personalities. Martha, always carrying a box of Kleenex with her and was always a little irritable, but she loved playing "dress up" with me and paper dolls, and she loved to read, as I did. Every two weeks we would go to the Sauganash lending library in the Community House and it was such fun carrying home our armfull of books as we were each allowed to take out six books. Martha always reminded her younger brother and sister that she was "the oldest"! She stood a full head taller than me for many years and her large hair bows made her seem taller. She tended to be irritable, and again, I believe that was due to her allergies which went undiagnosed as mother was a Christian Scientist and did not believe in taking children to a doctor. Campbell avoided taking her downtown with him as she was so impatient.
Brother Irv was always in motion. He never sat on Campbell's lap! He would lie on the floor in front of Campbell's chair or in front of our console radio. Irv was not interested in books at all but loved to have someone read to him. Mother never read to us, so Martha and I were the readers in the family. We read to our dad and to "the little kids", Irv and Helen. Irv loved the "Tarzan" books and one whole winter was spent reading the whole set by Edgar Rice Burrough's. He also loved "The Swiss Family Robinson" and "King Arthur". Oddly, and although a very active boy, he did not care for sports. He preferred being active on his own...hunting frogs and tadpoles, building things in the garage or whittling with his trusty knife. Campbell saw to it that he had a workbench of his own in the garage, complete with tools. He was also VERY mischievous, and once when he got his first water pistol, he shot out all the light bulbs in the basement and all of Mart's and my paper dolls that we had carefully lined up on the windowsill. He would NEVER go downntown with his father as he hated the tall buildings in the Loop!
Irv did not do well in school simply because he had trouble sitting in a desk all day. Helen was a compliant child, the youngest, and was always regarded as the "baby". She was by nature a "follower", always tagging behind Irv. But she also got more attention than the rest of us because she was smaller and cried easily and often.
We were generally a happy family.
By 1928 Mother had decided that she did indeed want a Tudor house as she was ready to move on to a more spacious home, so Campbell had the architect draw up some plans for her approval. However, first he wanted to take a trip through the southwest United States as he had never visited it (before). So, one day a brand new Cadillac limousine pulled up in front of our house. It was a lovely dark green in color, the first model of its kind in COLOR!
When I got home, I climbed up on Dad's lap and told him all about it. I was so thrilled when he called me his "Little Pavlova". It was a highlight of my childhood! Martha never cared much for ballet, and I think it was because she did not always feel well. Campbell's children were a mixed bag of personalities. Martha, always carrying a box of Kleenex with her and was always a little irritable, but she loved playing "dress up" with me and paper dolls, and she loved to read, as I did. Every two weeks we would go to the Sauganash lending library in the Community House and it was such fun carrying home our armfull of books as we were each allowed to take out six books. Martha always reminded her younger brother and sister that she was "the oldest"! She stood a full head taller than me for many years and her large hair bows made her seem taller. She tended to be irritable, and again, I believe that was due to her allergies which went undiagnosed as mother was a Christian Scientist and did not believe in taking children to a doctor. Campbell avoided taking her downtown with him as she was so impatient.
Brother Irv was always in motion. He never sat on Campbell's lap! He would lie on the floor in front of Campbell's chair or in front of our console radio. Irv was not interested in books at all but loved to have someone read to him. Mother never read to us, so Martha and I were the readers in the family. We read to our dad and to "the little kids", Irv and Helen. Irv loved the "Tarzan" books and one whole winter was spent reading the whole set by Edgar Rice Burrough's. He also loved "The Swiss Family Robinson" and "King Arthur". Oddly, and although a very active boy, he did not care for sports. He preferred being active on his own...hunting frogs and tadpoles, building things in the garage or whittling with his trusty knife. Campbell saw to it that he had a workbench of his own in the garage, complete with tools. He was also VERY mischievous, and once when he got his first water pistol, he shot out all the light bulbs in the basement and all of Mart's and my paper dolls that we had carefully lined up on the windowsill. He would NEVER go downntown with his father as he hated the tall buildings in the Loop!
Irv did not do well in school simply because he had trouble sitting in a desk all day. Helen was a compliant child, the youngest, and was always regarded as the "baby". She was by nature a "follower", always tagging behind Irv. But she also got more attention than the rest of us because she was smaller and cried easily and often.
We were generally a happy family.
By 1928 Mother had decided that she did indeed want a Tudor house as she was ready to move on to a more spacious home, so Campbell had the architect draw up some plans for her approval. However, first he wanted to take a trip through the southwest United States as he had never visited it (before). So, one day a brand new Cadillac limousine pulled up in front of our house. It was a lovely dark green in color, the first model of its kind in COLOR!
Friday, February 15, 2013
The Late 20's and a Caddy (Chapter 19)
The years 1927 and 1928 leading up to that lovely fall day in 1928 when we looked out and saw the new Cadillac parked in front of the house are the most vivid to me memory-wise. Calvin Coolidge was president, and I remember that day in May, 1927, when father was sitting with his earphones on listening to his radio in the sunroom - he suddenly jumped up and called out "Nanny, Martha come here quickly!" We did and he put his two sets of earphones on our ears. We heard the words from Paris..."He made it - he's here - Lindy is landing as I speak!" Campbell was shouting out the front door to any neighbors within earshot, "He MADE it-he's in Paris!"
And a national hero was born.
And the following Christmas at our school party, each of us had to perform one thing at our school party. I chose to sing the song "Lucky Lindy!" I was seven years old. That same year, mother took Martha and I to the Chicago theater to see our first talking picture - Al Jolsen in The Jazz Singer. I was so overwhelmed by the experience and by the huge meal that we had eaten in the new cafeteria in the downtown Loop that when I stepped out in the lobby after the show with my mother and Martha, I promptly threw up - loudly and TOTALLY all over the grand Oriental rug! Those were the days when the lobbies of theaters looked like the interiors of Sultan's palaces! And the great Chicago theater was, and still is, one of the grandest of them all! We left quickly, leaving uniformed ushers with mops and pails scurrying around - I was NEVER so humiliated!
My face was still burning when we finally got home and I climbed up in father's lap and bawled away! He was calm, and whispered to me "It's all right - Nannie dear - when I was a wee laddie, I threw up once in CHURCH!"
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Road Trip! (Chapter 20)
Our family spent the rest of 1928 and the first six months of 1929 planning our trip all through the great Southwest. Mother bought two large steamer trunks and they were packed with new clothes, all that a family of six would need for two months in Vancouver, B.C. The trunks were shipped ahead by rail. Martha and I would go out to the garage and just sit in the Cadillac, sometimes to just read in the big comfy back seat. It was designed to hold seven people comfortably. We loved the little silk shades at the windows and the little vases of flowers on each side of the interior. There were two velvet seats that pulled down, seating two more. We could hardly wait to begin our trip in our big-cozy chariot!
In the spring of 1929, the foundation was dug for our new Tudor house, and Irv and I had a great time running behind the team of horses and driver hired for that BIG job! Mother had decided on the plans for it, and Ed Gregor was to supervise the construction while we were away. It was to be a classic 5 bedroom Tudor with a sunken living room with oak beamed ceiling, large stone fireplace, large family size dining room, L-shaped kitchen with a sun room and second dining area, a downstairs bath, and another huge bath upstairs. The basic house was to be up by the time we returned in September of 1929, and all the inside finishing to be done the rest of the year. All the Stewart kids had a great time watching the big cement mixers mix the tons of cement and pour the foot thick cement walls for the basement. No cement blocks in those days!
In the spring of 1929, Campbell put our Colonial house up for sale with occupancy to take place at the end of October. He sold it, almost immediately, to a Mr. and Mrs. Byrne. They loved the house and planned to have a family there. Mrs. Byrne gave birth to a baby daughter in May of 1934. They named her Jane, and in 1979, she became the FIRST woman Mayor of the City of Chicago!
Link to Jane Byrne HERE...
Father had one more problem - he had to find a driver to take us on our trip as we planned to leave on July 5th. Mother came up with the solution almost immediately. Why not Eric Hopf? After all, they knew his family - she had kept up her friendship with his mother all the years since they lived in Hopf's flat. It was the "perfect" solution - he was an experienced driver, having a "flivver" of his own! He had recently lost his young wife in a tragic accident and was at loose ends. Campbell told her to have him come and see him.
In the spring of 1929, the foundation was dug for our new Tudor house, and Irv and I had a great time running behind the team of horses and driver hired for that BIG job! Mother had decided on the plans for it, and Ed Gregor was to supervise the construction while we were away. It was to be a classic 5 bedroom Tudor with a sunken living room with oak beamed ceiling, large stone fireplace, large family size dining room, L-shaped kitchen with a sun room and second dining area, a downstairs bath, and another huge bath upstairs. The basic house was to be up by the time we returned in September of 1929, and all the inside finishing to be done the rest of the year. All the Stewart kids had a great time watching the big cement mixers mix the tons of cement and pour the foot thick cement walls for the basement. No cement blocks in those days!
In the spring of 1929, Campbell put our Colonial house up for sale with occupancy to take place at the end of October. He sold it, almost immediately, to a Mr. and Mrs. Byrne. They loved the house and planned to have a family there. Mrs. Byrne gave birth to a baby daughter in May of 1934. They named her Jane, and in 1979, she became the FIRST woman Mayor of the City of Chicago!
Link to Jane Byrne HERE...
Father had one more problem - he had to find a driver to take us on our trip as we planned to leave on July 5th. Mother came up with the solution almost immediately. Why not Eric Hopf? After all, they knew his family - she had kept up her friendship with his mother all the years since they lived in Hopf's flat. It was the "perfect" solution - he was an experienced driver, having a "flivver" of his own! He had recently lost his young wife in a tragic accident and was at loose ends. Campbell told her to have him come and see him.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
The Swashbuckler (Chapter 21)
In 1929, the movie idol of the day was Douglas Fairbanks Sr. who played all the swashbuckling, swordfighting roles - leaping all over the place and rescuing all the ladies. He had a lock of hair that kept getting into his eye and a thin little carefully trimmed mustache that gave him a "devil may care" look. Someone must have told young 25 year-old Eric Hopf that he looked like the movie star, because he patterned his style of dress after him, wearing knickers and knee sox and using Brillianteen to rumple his hair and encourage the tumbling lock over his eye! Campbell, of course, saw none of this and so relied on Eric's spoken word.
Eric was eager, wanted to see the southwest states, was a good mechanic, knew the family, and had a perfect driving record. Plus he had the complete endorsement of Jeanette!
We were to leave on July 5th, the day after the 4th of July because the four Stewart kids were to carry the large American flag presented to their dad by the American Legion in the 4th of July parade in Chicago. So, Eric was hired. We marched in the parade carrying the four corners of the flag with Martha and I in front and Irv and Helen in the rear. Two boy scouts marched on either side to prevent the large flag from touching the ground.
Everyone clapped as we marched by.
The next day on July 5th, 1929, I hugged Florence goodbye as she handed us the big hamper of sandwiches and tea she had prepared. We all climbed into our assigned seats in the Cadillac with Eric in the driver's seat, Mother beside him, Martha and I in the two velvet pull down seats, and Campbell in the big rear seat with Irving and Helen. Never once during the entire trip was this seating arrangement changed.
Mother NEVER sat in the back with us.
Eric was eager, wanted to see the southwest states, was a good mechanic, knew the family, and had a perfect driving record. Plus he had the complete endorsement of Jeanette!
We were to leave on July 5th, the day after the 4th of July because the four Stewart kids were to carry the large American flag presented to their dad by the American Legion in the 4th of July parade in Chicago. So, Eric was hired. We marched in the parade carrying the four corners of the flag with Martha and I in front and Irv and Helen in the rear. Two boy scouts marched on either side to prevent the large flag from touching the ground.
Everyone clapped as we marched by.
The next day on July 5th, 1929, I hugged Florence goodbye as she handed us the big hamper of sandwiches and tea she had prepared. We all climbed into our assigned seats in the Cadillac with Eric in the driver's seat, Mother beside him, Martha and I in the two velvet pull down seats, and Campbell in the big rear seat with Irving and Helen. Never once during the entire trip was this seating arrangement changed.
Mother NEVER sat in the back with us.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
What Do You See? (Chapter 22)
The next two weeks proved to be an endurance test for the Stewart family on many levels...
This was 1929 and there was NO super highway system in the country, only two lane roads, many of which were unpaved gravel and some only dirt roads. There were NO truck stops, no fast food places or McDonalds. Tourist "cabins" could be found, and mom and pop roadside cafe's that said "EAT" with a single gas pump out in front. NOTHING else, unless we came to a town where there was sometimes a hotel - sleazy at best! There were NO motels. In fact, the word "motel" didn't exist! We eagerly looked forward to the larger towns where there would be a clean hotel, a dining room, and clean beds with sheets.
Campbell would rent two rooms, one for the "men" (Eric, Irv, and himself), and one for the "girls" (mother, Martha, Helen, and me). Our first night on the road, we arrived in Kansas City, and that was lovely as we stayed at a beautiful hotel. After that it was all "down hill" as Pueblo, Colorado proved to be nothing very good accommodation-wise. But, that was the beginning of the real "Old West" that we had come to see. And it was INDEED! It was rugged, spectacular country - mountainous and beautiful. We picked up petrified wood, saw the Painted Desert, and I remember father getting out of the car to feel a giant Saguaro cactus twice as tall as himself!
When we arrived at the Grand Canyon in late afternoon, we all got out and stood in a spot on a lookout. Campbell said, "Martha, Nanny, tell me what you see!" All I could say was, "It's all pink and orange, and it's so BIG I cant see where it ends!" I have never forgotten that view!
And so the first week of our trip was over, and the second week was spent travelling up through California and Yosemite Park, followed by the trip up the coast to Oregon and finally Washington, and then the ferry to British Columbia and our destination - Vancouver, British Columbia!
A lot of human drama took place in the green Cadillac as it made it's way across the lower western states and up the coast. Father told stories, sang songs, played word games, and even recited some Robbie Burns as we chugged along through the mountains. Poor little seven year-old Irv got carsick every other day or so. Both Irv and Helen napped every afternoon on both sides of Campbell's lap. Martha and I did not need naps, and so were alert to everything. Campbell's question was always, "What do you see?" to both of us. We would describe what we saw at that moment. If we saw a particularly beautiful cactus flower or a range of mountains, we would describe it to him. He loved hearing about everything that we saw.
But we could not tell him what we saw in the front seat of the Cadillac...
It was so disturbing that we didn't mention it until we were tucked in our bed at night. Martha and I often had to share a bed on the trip as there were so many of us to accommodate.
The nightime conversations often went like this...
"Did you see her sharing her sandwich with him? They each took turns taking bites of it!"
"He's always squeezing her knee!"
"She's always touching him or wiping the sweat off his face!"
"Dad can't see anything they do...do you think we should tell him?"
"NO!"
"I hate him - dont you?"
This was 1929 and there was NO super highway system in the country, only two lane roads, many of which were unpaved gravel and some only dirt roads. There were NO truck stops, no fast food places or McDonalds. Tourist "cabins" could be found, and mom and pop roadside cafe's that said "EAT" with a single gas pump out in front. NOTHING else, unless we came to a town where there was sometimes a hotel - sleazy at best! There were NO motels. In fact, the word "motel" didn't exist! We eagerly looked forward to the larger towns where there would be a clean hotel, a dining room, and clean beds with sheets.
Campbell would rent two rooms, one for the "men" (Eric, Irv, and himself), and one for the "girls" (mother, Martha, Helen, and me). Our first night on the road, we arrived in Kansas City, and that was lovely as we stayed at a beautiful hotel. After that it was all "down hill" as Pueblo, Colorado proved to be nothing very good accommodation-wise. But, that was the beginning of the real "Old West" that we had come to see. And it was INDEED! It was rugged, spectacular country - mountainous and beautiful. We picked up petrified wood, saw the Painted Desert, and I remember father getting out of the car to feel a giant Saguaro cactus twice as tall as himself!
When we arrived at the Grand Canyon in late afternoon, we all got out and stood in a spot on a lookout. Campbell said, "Martha, Nanny, tell me what you see!" All I could say was, "It's all pink and orange, and it's so BIG I cant see where it ends!" I have never forgotten that view!
And so the first week of our trip was over, and the second week was spent travelling up through California and Yosemite Park, followed by the trip up the coast to Oregon and finally Washington, and then the ferry to British Columbia and our destination - Vancouver, British Columbia!
A lot of human drama took place in the green Cadillac as it made it's way across the lower western states and up the coast. Father told stories, sang songs, played word games, and even recited some Robbie Burns as we chugged along through the mountains. Poor little seven year-old Irv got carsick every other day or so. Both Irv and Helen napped every afternoon on both sides of Campbell's lap. Martha and I did not need naps, and so were alert to everything. Campbell's question was always, "What do you see?" to both of us. We would describe what we saw at that moment. If we saw a particularly beautiful cactus flower or a range of mountains, we would describe it to him. He loved hearing about everything that we saw.
But we could not tell him what we saw in the front seat of the Cadillac...
It was so disturbing that we didn't mention it until we were tucked in our bed at night. Martha and I often had to share a bed on the trip as there were so many of us to accommodate.
The nightime conversations often went like this...
"Did you see her sharing her sandwich with him? They each took turns taking bites of it!"
"He's always squeezing her knee!"
"She's always touching him or wiping the sweat off his face!"
"Dad can't see anything they do...do you think we should tell him?"
"NO!"
"I hate him - dont you?"
Monday, February 11, 2013
Beginning of the Crash (Chapter 23)
We were met at the ferry landing by father's older sister, our Auntie Nan and her two older teen-age children, Bill and Anne Ferguson. There were huge hugs all around and then we followed her car to the lovely brown bungalow that Nan had rented for the remainder of the summer for our use. We were met at the door by the housekeeper, a little Australian lady named Mrs. Brown. I remember that she spoke with a strange accent. She had a tea table set and a fire in the little fireplace. The Stewart children explored the house right away and found our beds freshly made and the view of the ocean as we were just a matter of a few blocks from Kitsilano Beach where we were to spend many happy hours swimming and playing on the beach. We were so happy to be at our destination at last after our long journey in the car from Chicago.
Auntie Nan had a phone put in for Campbell so that he could be in touch with Ed Gregor and his business connections in Chicago. I remember that the bungalow had a large enclosed front porch with awnings that pulled down and enclosed it at night. That is where Eric Hopf slept. I remember that he often left the awnings up and would lay out there and smoke as we could see the lit end of his cigarette in the dark. The first few days, we visited family going to Uncle Jim's farm and Aunt Helen's house in the country. The first big family dinner was held at Aunt Helen's and Uncle Harry's farm, and we all had such a good time getting to know our little four year old cousin, Mary. I loved the way that Uncle Harry carried her around - perched on his shoulder as he showed us around the farm. He was a tall, lanky man who wore horn-rimmed glasses, and we all loved him as he seemed to love children!
Father had Eric take the car in for a complete cleaning, oil change, and check up after the first day or so. Our family was going to Kitsilano Beach to try out our new bathing suits. The trunks sent by rail had arrived! We were all going to spend the day at the beach, but at the last minute, mother decided to go with Eric as she had "shopping" to do! This was to be the pattern of the entire visit - mother "shopping" with Eric, dropping Campbell off with all of the children at the beach, Stanley Park, Aunt Helen's, and Uncle Jim;s. We didn't see much of mother. Mrs. Brown took care of the bungalow. Auntie Nan, the sophisticate, knew the score, and father was disturbed by news from Ed in Chicago.
It was August of 1929!
Auntie Nan had a phone put in for Campbell so that he could be in touch with Ed Gregor and his business connections in Chicago. I remember that the bungalow had a large enclosed front porch with awnings that pulled down and enclosed it at night. That is where Eric Hopf slept. I remember that he often left the awnings up and would lay out there and smoke as we could see the lit end of his cigarette in the dark. The first few days, we visited family going to Uncle Jim's farm and Aunt Helen's house in the country. The first big family dinner was held at Aunt Helen's and Uncle Harry's farm, and we all had such a good time getting to know our little four year old cousin, Mary. I loved the way that Uncle Harry carried her around - perched on his shoulder as he showed us around the farm. He was a tall, lanky man who wore horn-rimmed glasses, and we all loved him as he seemed to love children!
Father had Eric take the car in for a complete cleaning, oil change, and check up after the first day or so. Our family was going to Kitsilano Beach to try out our new bathing suits. The trunks sent by rail had arrived! We were all going to spend the day at the beach, but at the last minute, mother decided to go with Eric as she had "shopping" to do! This was to be the pattern of the entire visit - mother "shopping" with Eric, dropping Campbell off with all of the children at the beach, Stanley Park, Aunt Helen's, and Uncle Jim;s. We didn't see much of mother. Mrs. Brown took care of the bungalow. Auntie Nan, the sophisticate, knew the score, and father was disturbed by news from Ed in Chicago.
It was August of 1929!
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Tiny Pearls and a Pink Dress (Chapter 24)
After we were settled in the bungalow, Campbell received a call from Ed Gregor, his partner and business manager. The construction of the Tudor was going well, the flooring was being laid, hardwood floors in the entire house except for the attic and basement of course. The team was right on schedule.
But Ed was worried...
People were gambling on the stock market and stocks were going up, prices were going up, and downtown people were saying that unless something was done to slow down the economic boom, it was sure to break and bring on a depression. Ed was right - the great CRASH was only a month or so away!
It troubled Campbell. It was now August and he would not be leaving for Chicago for more than a month. He was enjoying the reunion so much with his brother and sisters that he put it in the back of his mind! Jeanette was still occupied with shopping and collecting things from Chinatown for her new house. This kept her busy every day with Eric Hopf as her escort and driver.
We spent days at the beach - Campbell sitting on a tartan rug in his linen suit and Panama hat next to the lifeguard's stand. They enjoyed chatting with him, and when lunchtime came, we would all go to the fish and chips stand and bring back newspaper wrapped Fish and Chips and stone bottles of cold ginger beer. I had never tasted anything so good, before or since! The ginger beer was of course non-alchoholic, and we loved it!
Knowing that father was blind, the lifeguards took special care of us! Mother never came to the beach! Auntie Nan often took father and the four of us to beautiful Stanley Park in Vancouver, and that was a very special treat! Irv and I had a great time racing up and down all the winding paths. We loved looking at the tall Totem Poles, but the greatest thrill was to see the giant Kodiak bears in their cages! They had heads as big as bushel baskets - really fearsome creatures to us.
At teatime we would all wash hands and go up to the lovely cedar log tea room in the park to eat scones and tea and sandwiches and lemonade. Irv had gotten over his fear of bears, and I would hold his hand. He was seven, Helen was almost five, I was just about to turn Nine on August 15th, and Mart was 11 years-old.
When my birthday DID come on August 15th, Auntie Nan took me downtown, and because I was her namesake, she brought me into a jewelry store and bought me a little gold heart locket set with tiny pearls and a pink party dress. I was so thrilled. Later we went into a cake shop where she had me select the small individual cakes for my birthday TEA!
It was a lovely day!
But Ed was worried...
People were gambling on the stock market and stocks were going up, prices were going up, and downtown people were saying that unless something was done to slow down the economic boom, it was sure to break and bring on a depression. Ed was right - the great CRASH was only a month or so away!
It troubled Campbell. It was now August and he would not be leaving for Chicago for more than a month. He was enjoying the reunion so much with his brother and sisters that he put it in the back of his mind! Jeanette was still occupied with shopping and collecting things from Chinatown for her new house. This kept her busy every day with Eric Hopf as her escort and driver.
We spent days at the beach - Campbell sitting on a tartan rug in his linen suit and Panama hat next to the lifeguard's stand. They enjoyed chatting with him, and when lunchtime came, we would all go to the fish and chips stand and bring back newspaper wrapped Fish and Chips and stone bottles of cold ginger beer. I had never tasted anything so good, before or since! The ginger beer was of course non-alchoholic, and we loved it!
Knowing that father was blind, the lifeguards took special care of us! Mother never came to the beach! Auntie Nan often took father and the four of us to beautiful Stanley Park in Vancouver, and that was a very special treat! Irv and I had a great time racing up and down all the winding paths. We loved looking at the tall Totem Poles, but the greatest thrill was to see the giant Kodiak bears in their cages! They had heads as big as bushel baskets - really fearsome creatures to us.
At teatime we would all wash hands and go up to the lovely cedar log tea room in the park to eat scones and tea and sandwiches and lemonade. Irv had gotten over his fear of bears, and I would hold his hand. He was seven, Helen was almost five, I was just about to turn Nine on August 15th, and Mart was 11 years-old.
When my birthday DID come on August 15th, Auntie Nan took me downtown, and because I was her namesake, she brought me into a jewelry store and bought me a little gold heart locket set with tiny pearls and a pink party dress. I was so thrilled. Later we went into a cake shop where she had me select the small individual cakes for my birthday TEA!
It was a lovely day!
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Home Again! (Chapter 25)
We left for Chicago, and HOME, the first week in September, 1929.
We had enjoyed such a glorious time in Vancouver that it was difficult to say goodbye to our loving family there when they all came down to the train station to see us off. We were taking the train home to Chicago as we had to be back in time to start school and Campbell had urgent business to tend to. Eric Hopf had left a couple of weeks earlier by train and was already back in Chicago. The Cadillac was shipped by rail along with the two large wardrobe trunks.
The train ride home proved to be another FUN adventure for the Stewart kids!
Father had rented two compartments for his family of six, and we loved the ride home! The jolly attentive porters were so kind and did so much for us. Three times a day they would carry Irv and Helen to the dining car and gave the whole family very special attention because father was blind. We loved looking at the spectacular mountain scenery and even saw herds of buffalo! We all loved the train ride home and Irv never got carsick on the train!
Ed Gregor and Eric Hopf met the Stewart family when we arrived at the station in Chicago. We climbed into their cars excited to be home again. It was dark when we drove past our new finished house. We were to move into it in just a couple of weeks! But first we had to select the wallpaper for the bedrooms and the carpeting had to be installed. Ed had the wallpaper books ready on the table when we got home. I was so glad to see Florence that I gave her a huge hug and a kiss! But, out of the corner of my eye, I did not miss Eric Hopf's look of disapproval!
We had enjoyed such a glorious time in Vancouver that it was difficult to say goodbye to our loving family there when they all came down to the train station to see us off. We were taking the train home to Chicago as we had to be back in time to start school and Campbell had urgent business to tend to. Eric Hopf had left a couple of weeks earlier by train and was already back in Chicago. The Cadillac was shipped by rail along with the two large wardrobe trunks.
The train ride home proved to be another FUN adventure for the Stewart kids!
Father had rented two compartments for his family of six, and we loved the ride home! The jolly attentive porters were so kind and did so much for us. Three times a day they would carry Irv and Helen to the dining car and gave the whole family very special attention because father was blind. We loved looking at the spectacular mountain scenery and even saw herds of buffalo! We all loved the train ride home and Irv never got carsick on the train!
Ed Gregor and Eric Hopf met the Stewart family when we arrived at the station in Chicago. We climbed into their cars excited to be home again. It was dark when we drove past our new finished house. We were to move into it in just a couple of weeks! But first we had to select the wallpaper for the bedrooms and the carpeting had to be installed. Ed had the wallpaper books ready on the table when we got home. I was so glad to see Florence that I gave her a huge hug and a kiss! But, out of the corner of my eye, I did not miss Eric Hopf's look of disapproval!
Friday, February 8, 2013
A New House (Chapter 26)
Martha and I had great fun selecting the wallpaper for the children's rooms in our new house. Irv's paper showed "The Little Engine That Could," Helen's showed "Bo-Peep and Her Sheep," and Martha and I chose ribbon tied bouquets of cosmos for our room. For Florence's little "maid's room" at the rear, clouds and flying swallows seemed appropriate. Mother chose an Art Deco "modern" design for her master bedroom to go with the ultra-modern twin bed bedroom set that she had just purchased. Their beautiful ivory double bed was put in the attic. Mother and father no longer slept together.
Moving day arrived and what a busy day it was! I noticed Eric carrying boxes up to the "maid's room" with a fish tank and a player accordian, and a large box of Modern Mechanics magazines! He was moving into Florence's room! I found Martha and together we confronted father.
"Dad, Eric is moving into Florence's room!"
He said, yes, he thought that mother had told us that Eric would be needed, not only as chauffeur, but as a maintenance man about the house. He would take care of the coal burning furnace, cut the grass and keep the grounds in shape and make any repairs around the house. So, the large workbench in the basement and the garage would be his domain. Since father's handicap prevented him from doing any of this, he explained that he HAD to have Eric on the grounds at all times. Florence stayed over only two or three nights a week since she lived on the south side of Chicago in a tenament flat with her mother and three children, and was the sole support of them all. So, on the nights that Florence stayed overnight, she slept in the big ivory double bed in the attic where she fixed a cozy corner for herself.
Mother had everything she wanted - a beautiful brand new house, someone to do all the housework, charge accounts in all the major stores downtown, and her own Cadillac complete with her own chauffeur / lover!
Ah yes, life was good....and so easy to maintain with a blind husband!
When the crash of October, 1929 occurred, we had been in our new house about a month. Campbell was alarmed, but wisely had not put all his eggs in one basket. He believed in diversification and had his money in more than one bank or project and so did not suffer the losses of many of his contemporaries. So, we did not experience any changes in lifestyle or income. He continued to build for three years after the crash and kept his "team". He did not anticipate the change that was to come in his personal life!
Moving day arrived and what a busy day it was! I noticed Eric carrying boxes up to the "maid's room" with a fish tank and a player accordian, and a large box of Modern Mechanics magazines! He was moving into Florence's room! I found Martha and together we confronted father.
"Dad, Eric is moving into Florence's room!"
He said, yes, he thought that mother had told us that Eric would be needed, not only as chauffeur, but as a maintenance man about the house. He would take care of the coal burning furnace, cut the grass and keep the grounds in shape and make any repairs around the house. So, the large workbench in the basement and the garage would be his domain. Since father's handicap prevented him from doing any of this, he explained that he HAD to have Eric on the grounds at all times. Florence stayed over only two or three nights a week since she lived on the south side of Chicago in a tenament flat with her mother and three children, and was the sole support of them all. So, on the nights that Florence stayed overnight, she slept in the big ivory double bed in the attic where she fixed a cozy corner for herself.
Mother had everything she wanted - a beautiful brand new house, someone to do all the housework, charge accounts in all the major stores downtown, and her own Cadillac complete with her own chauffeur / lover!
Ah yes, life was good....and so easy to maintain with a blind husband!
When the crash of October, 1929 occurred, we had been in our new house about a month. Campbell was alarmed, but wisely had not put all his eggs in one basket. He believed in diversification and had his money in more than one bank or project and so did not suffer the losses of many of his contemporaries. So, we did not experience any changes in lifestyle or income. He continued to build for three years after the crash and kept his "team". He did not anticipate the change that was to come in his personal life!
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Chapter 27
Our new house was a delight and a distraction to all the Stewarts that first year. Campbell had put a great deal of thought into its construction anticipating that it would be our home for many, many years. I loved the basement - cozy and warm in the winter - and cool and pleasant in the summer. The huge coal furnace stood in the center, and behind it the coal bin, the laundry room, complete with clotheslines and a bathroom with a vanity sink, toilet, and shower, plus a dressing room. At the other end of the basement, a workbench the entire length of the wall, complete with all the tools needed to maintain a large household. Campbell put one of his old radios down on the bench so that Florence could enjoy music while she did the washing. Eric spent a great deal of time working at the bench, fixing something for the house, or building a model ship or plane.
Florence would set the dining room table promptly at six every evening while mother put the finishing touches to dinner. We each had our napkins in silver monogrammed napkin rings from Scotland. Mother sat at one end of the table, with Irv and Helen to her right and left, and father sat at the other end with Martha and me on either side. Father kept the conversation light and family and school oriented. Florence set places for herself and Eric at the kitchen table, but I noticed if I made a trip to the kitchen that Eric had taken his plate to the sunroom and was eating there. He would not sit at the same table with her as he was a racist. This was confirmed when we found KKK literature in his wastebasket. The KKK was a powerful force in the late twenties and early thirties in the country. When we mentioned this to Campbell, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "I've already spoken to him about using the word nigger...let me know if he does (again) and he will be out of here!"
Florence would set the dining room table promptly at six every evening while mother put the finishing touches to dinner. We each had our napkins in silver monogrammed napkin rings from Scotland. Mother sat at one end of the table, with Irv and Helen to her right and left, and father sat at the other end with Martha and me on either side. Father kept the conversation light and family and school oriented. Florence set places for herself and Eric at the kitchen table, but I noticed if I made a trip to the kitchen that Eric had taken his plate to the sunroom and was eating there. He would not sit at the same table with her as he was a racist. This was confirmed when we found KKK literature in his wastebasket. The KKK was a powerful force in the late twenties and early thirties in the country. When we mentioned this to Campbell, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "I've already spoken to him about using the word nigger...let me know if he does (again) and he will be out of here!"
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Changing Times (Chapter 28)
The year 1930 began with the Great Depression well under way. Hoover was President, and many people blamed him, but of course no one person could be blamed. There was much talk every week when father met with his friends around the dining room table - usually on Friday nights. All the ramifications of the state of the country were discussed and the name Franklin Delano Roosevelt emerged as a principal topic. Campbell was impressed with him, and put his support squarely behind him. All the talk was animated, intelligent and informative, and as a `10 year old, I learned a lot just listening.
Going on trips downtown with father were depressing and not quite as much fun as they used to be. There were long lines of unemployed lining up for whatever jobs were available, and soup kitchens set up all over to feed those with no jobs or money. These sights made a deep impression on me when I was 12, especially when I saw World War 1 veterans selling apples on street corners, huddled in their World War 1 uniforms and polishing the apples with their "doughboy" caps before holding them out for your inspection. The Forgotten Men!
Eric Hopf did not participate in any of the round table discussions. In fact, Friday nights were mother's movie night, and she always went out to see a film saying that she was going with her younger brother, Eugene Beck, who was 22 at the time. Eric, of course, drove them!
The Stewart children loved the living room in their new house, especially in the winter when after supper the fire in the large stone fireplace would be lit. Campbell would be settled in his big red leather wing chair and the large console radio would be turned on. He enjoyed "The March of Time" weekly news hour. Martha and I loved the "Little Theater off Times Square". Irving loved "G Men" and the "Eddie Cantor show". Helen was too young to really have a favorite, and didn't like the scary music sometimes played on "G Men" and so would end up on father's lap. But, father would not allow the radio to take over, and the nights when programs weren't on were reading time. We all enjoyed this time as much as the radio and Martha and I took turns as reader. How we loved and enjoyed our big, cozy living room with the crackling fire. Those years 1930 to 1934 became the last and most enjoyable of our family "years". The family was fractured after that and we never knew them again...
Going on trips downtown with father were depressing and not quite as much fun as they used to be. There were long lines of unemployed lining up for whatever jobs were available, and soup kitchens set up all over to feed those with no jobs or money. These sights made a deep impression on me when I was 12, especially when I saw World War 1 veterans selling apples on street corners, huddled in their World War 1 uniforms and polishing the apples with their "doughboy" caps before holding them out for your inspection. The Forgotten Men!
Eric Hopf did not participate in any of the round table discussions. In fact, Friday nights were mother's movie night, and she always went out to see a film saying that she was going with her younger brother, Eugene Beck, who was 22 at the time. Eric, of course, drove them!
The Stewart children loved the living room in their new house, especially in the winter when after supper the fire in the large stone fireplace would be lit. Campbell would be settled in his big red leather wing chair and the large console radio would be turned on. He enjoyed "The March of Time" weekly news hour. Martha and I loved the "Little Theater off Times Square". Irving loved "G Men" and the "Eddie Cantor show". Helen was too young to really have a favorite, and didn't like the scary music sometimes played on "G Men" and so would end up on father's lap. But, father would not allow the radio to take over, and the nights when programs weren't on were reading time. We all enjoyed this time as much as the radio and Martha and I took turns as reader. How we loved and enjoyed our big, cozy living room with the crackling fire. Those years 1930 to 1934 became the last and most enjoyable of our family "years". The family was fractured after that and we never knew them again...
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
The Early 1930's (Chapter 29)
Yes, the years from 1930 to 1934 were our last years as a family, and even though the rest of the country was in the throes of a terrible deparession, it did not affect us. We lived as comfortably as ever. Mother continued with her lavish Christmases - with a twelve foot Christmas tree and a huge roast goose every year - plus a living room full of toys. In 1931, I was given a doll house that became the talk of the neighborhood as all the neighbors trooped in to see it. It was furnished in handmade furniture from England. Irving got a large Lionel train that ran all around the tree, through tunnels, over hills and dales with little houses and a railroad Station. All toys in 1931 were made of wood or metal. Plastic was a material in the far distant future. Martha got her own roll-top desk and Helen received a wicker doll buggy with a brand new Eff and Bee baby doll. Uncle Edward's boxes from Scotland continued to add so much joy to our Christmas celebration. He made a point of getting all our sizes in advance and this was the year he sent Campbell a Harris Tweed jacket that he wore for twenty years. Martha and Helen and I all received pleated skirts in the Stewart tartan and this was the year that he sent Irving a Pennywhistle like the ones used in Highland bands - it drove us all crazy as Irv learned to play it, and he did!
Campbell would sit in his red chair listening to all the exclamations of joy as we looked at our gifts. He was no doubt remembering Christmases in Scotland as a boy when his grandfather would give him a Bible and his mother would give him a new fishing pole. It was the year 1931 that we were listening to an account of a parade being broadcast from New York and a band of pipers passed playing Scotland Forever on their bagpipes. I looked over at father, and the tears were streaming silently down his face.
Campbell would sit in his red chair listening to all the exclamations of joy as we looked at our gifts. He was no doubt remembering Christmases in Scotland as a boy when his grandfather would give him a Bible and his mother would give him a new fishing pole. It was the year 1931 that we were listening to an account of a parade being broadcast from New York and a band of pipers passed playing Scotland Forever on their bagpipes. I looked over at father, and the tears were streaming silently down his face.
Monday, February 4, 2013
You Ain't So Tough (Chapter 30)
During those early Depression years, Eric Hopf knew that he was fortunate to have a job, especially one that included room and board in a lovely home, and proximity to an attractive woman who was attracted to HIM! His job was easy - just have the Cadillac ready to go wherever Campbell or the family needed it, tend the furnace, and keep the yard tidy and the grass cut. Once he took Campbell to wherever destination he needed to go, he was free to chauffeur Jeanette to her principal activities, which were shopping, visiting relatives, and visiting Mrs. Hopf, his mother.
Jeanette had maintained her friendship with Gerta Hopf. Eric was 26 when he moved in and mother was 32. Jeanette bought Eric a much larger tropical fish tank than the one he moved in with to keep his tropical fish on display in the rear sunroom where he also ate all his meals alone. Eric was not included in any family meals or activities except as driver.
Campbell continued to set up his typewriter every morning on the dining room table to write his correspondence for the day. Florence would serve him his breakfast there, and Ed Gregor would often join him. Eric would go in and get his orders for the day, but his conversations with Campbell were short and to the point. The two men had little in common. The four of us - Martha, Nannie, Irv, and Helen would be noisily eating breakfast and getting ready for school in the kitchen under the watchful eye of Florence, and sometimes Mother. Eric was totally indifferent to the four of us. Oh, he would drive us to school on rainy or very cold days, but he cared nothing for us, and he was especially irritated by 8 year old Irv! Irv had to share part of the garage with Eric as Campbell had his carpenters build a little workbench for Irv in a corner and a ladder leading up to his pigeon coops. Every once in awhile Irv would make a mess with sawdust or wood shavings and did not always sweep it all up. Mother was expecting Grandma and Grandpa Beck one weekend to show off her new house and Irv had left a terrific mess in the garage. Eric was pointing it out to her when Irv came in and mother angrily said, "You should get a good spanking for leaving this mess!" I was standing in the far corner feeding my rabbits, when to my horror, Eric unbuckled and took off his leather belt and thrust it in her hands saying, "Here - go ahead!" As children, we were never hit or beaten - ever! She took one look at Eric, swung the belt around, and whacked him across the chest with it, saying "I dont need a belt to discipline my kids!" If she had struck Irv with the belt, I would never have forgiven her...But, she used it right back on Eric, and I loved her for it!
Weeks later we all went to the Lincoln Park Zoo to see the fearsome Bushman, the world famous gorilla. We were all standing in front of his cage with a small crowd. Uncle Eugene had hoisted Irv up on his shoulder for a better look when suddenly Irv looked over at Eric, who was standing beside mother, and shouted, "Hey Eric - do you still think you're so tough!"
Jeanette had maintained her friendship with Gerta Hopf. Eric was 26 when he moved in and mother was 32. Jeanette bought Eric a much larger tropical fish tank than the one he moved in with to keep his tropical fish on display in the rear sunroom where he also ate all his meals alone. Eric was not included in any family meals or activities except as driver.
Campbell continued to set up his typewriter every morning on the dining room table to write his correspondence for the day. Florence would serve him his breakfast there, and Ed Gregor would often join him. Eric would go in and get his orders for the day, but his conversations with Campbell were short and to the point. The two men had little in common. The four of us - Martha, Nannie, Irv, and Helen would be noisily eating breakfast and getting ready for school in the kitchen under the watchful eye of Florence, and sometimes Mother. Eric was totally indifferent to the four of us. Oh, he would drive us to school on rainy or very cold days, but he cared nothing for us, and he was especially irritated by 8 year old Irv! Irv had to share part of the garage with Eric as Campbell had his carpenters build a little workbench for Irv in a corner and a ladder leading up to his pigeon coops. Every once in awhile Irv would make a mess with sawdust or wood shavings and did not always sweep it all up. Mother was expecting Grandma and Grandpa Beck one weekend to show off her new house and Irv had left a terrific mess in the garage. Eric was pointing it out to her when Irv came in and mother angrily said, "You should get a good spanking for leaving this mess!" I was standing in the far corner feeding my rabbits, when to my horror, Eric unbuckled and took off his leather belt and thrust it in her hands saying, "Here - go ahead!" As children, we were never hit or beaten - ever! She took one look at Eric, swung the belt around, and whacked him across the chest with it, saying "I dont need a belt to discipline my kids!" If she had struck Irv with the belt, I would never have forgiven her...But, she used it right back on Eric, and I loved her for it!
Weeks later we all went to the Lincoln Park Zoo to see the fearsome Bushman, the world famous gorilla. We were all standing in front of his cage with a small crowd. Uncle Eugene had hoisted Irv up on his shoulder for a better look when suddenly Irv looked over at Eric, who was standing beside mother, and shouted, "Hey Eric - do you still think you're so tough!"
Sunday, February 3, 2013
The Reader (Chapter 31)
The early Depression years saw many changes in the world. In the Stewart family, Martha turned thirteen years of age in 1932 and seemed to be less cranky, as she was apparently outgrowing her allergies. She found a new friend, a long-legged girl like herself, who also wore huge hair bows. Her name was Mary Jane Hoppe, and the two of them had secrets, and did not include me. I felt hurt and left out..father, sensing my pain, made me his "secretary". So, it was my job to read him his mail - the headlines, articles, and market reports in the Tribune every evening, and to proof read back to him all his typewritten correspondence. Also, to stamp and mail his letters in the mailbox on the corner. I was twelve and in the 7th grade and these tasks, and making his tea every afternoon after school, made me feel very important and needed. He always invited Florence to stop her work and have a "cuppa" with us.
This was the year that we received the phone call from Auntie Nan with the news that Aunt Helen's husband, uncle Harry Fagan, had died. Father had tears in his eyes as he typed out a beautiful letter to Helen and signed it "Cambie". He asked me to write out a little note at the bottom of the page. All I could say was, "Dear Aunt Helen. I loved him too - and I am so sorry. Love, Nanny". That was a very sad year as the Lindberg baby was kidnapped and murdered - a crime that left a deep impression on me at age 12, as I had just finished reading "WE" - the story of Lindy's famous flight to father and Irv. I read two other books that year - All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Remarque, and Mother India, by Katherine Mayo. My teacher, Mrs. Ford, saw the books in my school bag to bring to the Community House lending library and promptly wrote a note to Mr. and Mrs. Stewart. The note said, "I believe that Nancy is reading books that are too mature for her. Please give this your attention," signed Mrs. Ford. Campbell wrote back on his typewriter, "Dear Mrs. Ford, Please be advised - Nancy is allowed to read whatever she wishes," signed in his "old world" script - Campbell Stewart.
This was the year that we received the phone call from Auntie Nan with the news that Aunt Helen's husband, uncle Harry Fagan, had died. Father had tears in his eyes as he typed out a beautiful letter to Helen and signed it "Cambie". He asked me to write out a little note at the bottom of the page. All I could say was, "Dear Aunt Helen. I loved him too - and I am so sorry. Love, Nanny". That was a very sad year as the Lindberg baby was kidnapped and murdered - a crime that left a deep impression on me at age 12, as I had just finished reading "WE" - the story of Lindy's famous flight to father and Irv. I read two other books that year - All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Remarque, and Mother India, by Katherine Mayo. My teacher, Mrs. Ford, saw the books in my school bag to bring to the Community House lending library and promptly wrote a note to Mr. and Mrs. Stewart. The note said, "I believe that Nancy is reading books that are too mature for her. Please give this your attention," signed Mrs. Ford. Campbell wrote back on his typewriter, "Dear Mrs. Ford, Please be advised - Nancy is allowed to read whatever she wishes," signed in his "old world" script - Campbell Stewart.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
A Friendship is Born (Chapter 32)
The last years of our lives together as a family were eventful and happy. Campbell wanted his children to partake of all the cultural advantages of living in Chicago - and there were many. We would all pile into the Cadillac on Saturdays or Sunday afternoons and go downtown to the lake front where we could visit the great Field Museum of Natural History, the Adler Planetarium, and the Shedd Aquarium - all wonderful sources of exposure to the wonders of the world. Irv loved the magnificent Buckingham Fountain and occasionally got soaked as he played too close to it. He loved the great Lincoln Park Zoo and never tired if seeing Bushman the Gorilla. Martha and I enjoyed the Art Institute and strolling down Michigan Avenue to look in all the elegant store windows.
When the Century of Progress - the great Chicago World's Fair of 1933/34 - came, Martha and I were 13 and 15 years old and we spent many happy hours there with our young uncle Eugene Beck viewing all it's wonders! Irv never liked the "Loop" - the downtown business area of the city - so Campbell did not take him or Helen on trips there, but Martha and I loved it. We loved the glittering marquees on the theater fronts, the shops, and elegant hotels and restaurants. After father had conducted his business downtown, we often followed it with a "treat", lunch at a favorite restaurant or hotel, all within walking distance of the many theaters. For a special treat when I was twelve and Martha was fourteen, Campbell took us to a matinee performance of the great Katherine Cornell in The Barretts of Wimpole Street, a thrilling live theater experience. Another memorable theater experience was a live performance of La Argentina, the greatest Spanish Flamenco dancer of that day. Campbell really enjoyed that, and even though he could not see the swirling red ruffles of her skirts, he loved the sound of her castanets and the guitars. When we got home, Martha and I spent the next few weeks stamping our feet on the kitchen floor, strumming her Ukelele and wailing away in a vain attempt at Flamenco much to Florence's chagrin!
Campbell had many friends downtown. He knew the Loop and had the map of it's streets in his head so that he could be dropped off anywhere downtown and not be lost. One early evening Father, Martha, and I were standing on a corner of State Street waiting for Eric to come with the car and take us home. A newsman nearby was hawking his papers, shouting the headlines, "Get your Daily News here - read all about it!" He had his papers on a portable stand right on the corner. After a few minutes, Campbell said, "Nannie, Martha take me to that newsman." We did, and the man said, "Paper sir?" Campbell replied, "Yes, indeed, and you sir are from Glasgow!" The man staggered back, "How did ya know?" Campbell replied, "I have been listening to you, and I think you worked in the shipyards - I recognize the language "O the Clyde." The man stared at father as though he'd seen a ghost. He said, "All true, and you sir are a Scot, right?" Father replied, "Right you are," and, putting out his hand said, "Campbell Stewart." The man grasped his hand and said, "Alan Brodie from Glasgow." They both laughed heartily and a friendship was born on the spot that was to last many years.
When the Century of Progress - the great Chicago World's Fair of 1933/34 - came, Martha and I were 13 and 15 years old and we spent many happy hours there with our young uncle Eugene Beck viewing all it's wonders! Irv never liked the "Loop" - the downtown business area of the city - so Campbell did not take him or Helen on trips there, but Martha and I loved it. We loved the glittering marquees on the theater fronts, the shops, and elegant hotels and restaurants. After father had conducted his business downtown, we often followed it with a "treat", lunch at a favorite restaurant or hotel, all within walking distance of the many theaters. For a special treat when I was twelve and Martha was fourteen, Campbell took us to a matinee performance of the great Katherine Cornell in The Barretts of Wimpole Street, a thrilling live theater experience. Another memorable theater experience was a live performance of La Argentina, the greatest Spanish Flamenco dancer of that day. Campbell really enjoyed that, and even though he could not see the swirling red ruffles of her skirts, he loved the sound of her castanets and the guitars. When we got home, Martha and I spent the next few weeks stamping our feet on the kitchen floor, strumming her Ukelele and wailing away in a vain attempt at Flamenco much to Florence's chagrin!
Campbell had many friends downtown. He knew the Loop and had the map of it's streets in his head so that he could be dropped off anywhere downtown and not be lost. One early evening Father, Martha, and I were standing on a corner of State Street waiting for Eric to come with the car and take us home. A newsman nearby was hawking his papers, shouting the headlines, "Get your Daily News here - read all about it!" He had his papers on a portable stand right on the corner. After a few minutes, Campbell said, "Nannie, Martha take me to that newsman." We did, and the man said, "Paper sir?" Campbell replied, "Yes, indeed, and you sir are from Glasgow!" The man staggered back, "How did ya know?" Campbell replied, "I have been listening to you, and I think you worked in the shipyards - I recognize the language "O the Clyde." The man stared at father as though he'd seen a ghost. He said, "All true, and you sir are a Scot, right?" Father replied, "Right you are," and, putting out his hand said, "Campbell Stewart." The man grasped his hand and said, "Alan Brodie from Glasgow." They both laughed heartily and a friendship was born on the spot that was to last many years.
Friday, February 1, 2013
A New Arrival (Chapter 33)
Martha and I shared a large front bedroom with twin beds directly across the hall from the master bedroom, our parents' room. Our room overlooked the street and the front entrance to our house so that we could see the comings and goings of everyone. We always knew when mother came home as she would jump out of the car at the front door and come in alone while Eric drove to the rear and put the car in the garage. Campbell would be seated in his big red wing chair listening to the radio. He did not always wait up for her, but would go up to bed in his twin bed alone, but not before he had done his nightly check up. He would make sure the fireplace screen was in place, then go into the kitchen and check all the burners on the gas stove, tightening them to be sure they were all off. Then he would lock the two back doors on the Sun Room and back door and lock all the lower windows. It was one of Eric's tasks to bank the furnace with coal in the winter and to make sure the basement door was locked to the outside, also the windows. The garage, too, was Eric's responsibility - to be carefully locked after the car was put away. All that to prevent burglary as there were many "break ins" in Sauganash during those "hard times".
Many times Eric would stay up late down in the basement working on models on the workbench down there and listening to the radio. More than once, I saw mother slip downstairs, and I knew that she was going down the basement to see him. If she met Campbell she would hastily say, "Oh - I have to get something off the line!" (Clothesline in basement). Martha and I were in our early teens and keenly aware of every look, every nuance in the behavior of mother towards Eric. And, of his behavior towards her! And, they were oh so careful! They kept a low profile and tread VERY lightly through these early thirties years in the Tudor house, doing nothing that would jeopardize their situation as the recipients of the "Goose that laid the Golden Egg." Campbell, who was providing them with a life of luxury amid all the woes of the outside world - suffering the worst depression in history.
Martha and I knew very little of the "facts of life" at 13 and 15. We were not as precocious as the teenagers of today. The adults in our lives were the ultimate authority. So, we did not confront mother, or heaven forbid, Eric! And, we could not tell father! I had seen him weep at the sound of bagpipes, and when he heard of the death of Aunt Helen's husband, and the thought of hurting him by telling him of the obvious duplicity that was happening right in our home was beyond the pale! But we knew, Martha and I, and we had stopped talking about it in our twin beds at bedtime - the knowledge became something unspoken between us that we just lived with.
Gerta Hopf knew too, and she had been a witness to Campbell's suffering when he came back from the war, blind. She could do nothing and she was a kind, good soul! Florence, dear Florence, was utterly devoted to Campbell! She only spoke to Eric when she had to and avoided all contact or conversation with him. I believe she hated and feared Eric because of his racism and Klan interests. My dear, funny, young uncle Eugene Beck served as cover for them, mother and Eric! Whenever mother was asked, "What did you do downtown?" The answer was, "Oh I went down with "Eug" or "Eug and I" are going up to the cabin for a few days - I'm thinking of buying it!" And of course Eric accompanied them - as the driver of course!
On the evening of February 13th, 1934, Martha and I were sitting at the dining room table making Valentines for the Valentine box in school the next day. Irv and Helen were watching us, and we were happily teasing each other about who would be getting the valentines. Mother came and sat down with us, and after a few moments said, "I have a surprise for you all!" And followed with, "You are all going to have a new brother or sister this summer - maybe in July!"
I was in the 8th grade, due to graduate in June, later to start high school in September, and attending the same private high school that Martha attended, North Park Academy on the northwest side of Chicago. Aunt Gertrude had to make my graduation dress as mother was in the final weeks of her pregnancy by then. The graduation was held in the lovely Community House in Sauganash. We did a scene from Little Women in which I played Beth. It went very well, and I saw mother in the front row wearing a wrap around light housedress because she was in the final stage of her pregnancy and would give birth at any time. I saw Florence sitting way in the back at the far left trying to be invisible because she didn't want to be seen next to the "white ladies". This was 1934, and sadly, "par for the course" back then! Just ten days later, mother was rushed to Swedish Covenant hospital, and on July 6th, gave birth to a baby boy!
Many times Eric would stay up late down in the basement working on models on the workbench down there and listening to the radio. More than once, I saw mother slip downstairs, and I knew that she was going down the basement to see him. If she met Campbell she would hastily say, "Oh - I have to get something off the line!" (Clothesline in basement). Martha and I were in our early teens and keenly aware of every look, every nuance in the behavior of mother towards Eric. And, of his behavior towards her! And, they were oh so careful! They kept a low profile and tread VERY lightly through these early thirties years in the Tudor house, doing nothing that would jeopardize their situation as the recipients of the "Goose that laid the Golden Egg." Campbell, who was providing them with a life of luxury amid all the woes of the outside world - suffering the worst depression in history.
Martha and I knew very little of the "facts of life" at 13 and 15. We were not as precocious as the teenagers of today. The adults in our lives were the ultimate authority. So, we did not confront mother, or heaven forbid, Eric! And, we could not tell father! I had seen him weep at the sound of bagpipes, and when he heard of the death of Aunt Helen's husband, and the thought of hurting him by telling him of the obvious duplicity that was happening right in our home was beyond the pale! But we knew, Martha and I, and we had stopped talking about it in our twin beds at bedtime - the knowledge became something unspoken between us that we just lived with.
Gerta Hopf knew too, and she had been a witness to Campbell's suffering when he came back from the war, blind. She could do nothing and she was a kind, good soul! Florence, dear Florence, was utterly devoted to Campbell! She only spoke to Eric when she had to and avoided all contact or conversation with him. I believe she hated and feared Eric because of his racism and Klan interests. My dear, funny, young uncle Eugene Beck served as cover for them, mother and Eric! Whenever mother was asked, "What did you do downtown?" The answer was, "Oh I went down with "Eug" or "Eug and I" are going up to the cabin for a few days - I'm thinking of buying it!" And of course Eric accompanied them - as the driver of course!
On the evening of February 13th, 1934, Martha and I were sitting at the dining room table making Valentines for the Valentine box in school the next day. Irv and Helen were watching us, and we were happily teasing each other about who would be getting the valentines. Mother came and sat down with us, and after a few moments said, "I have a surprise for you all!" And followed with, "You are all going to have a new brother or sister this summer - maybe in July!"
I was in the 8th grade, due to graduate in June, later to start high school in September, and attending the same private high school that Martha attended, North Park Academy on the northwest side of Chicago. Aunt Gertrude had to make my graduation dress as mother was in the final weeks of her pregnancy by then. The graduation was held in the lovely Community House in Sauganash. We did a scene from Little Women in which I played Beth. It went very well, and I saw mother in the front row wearing a wrap around light housedress because she was in the final stage of her pregnancy and would give birth at any time. I saw Florence sitting way in the back at the far left trying to be invisible because she didn't want to be seen next to the "white ladies". This was 1934, and sadly, "par for the course" back then! Just ten days later, mother was rushed to Swedish Covenant hospital, and on July 6th, gave birth to a baby boy!
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