Ruth & John Help Ken & Family Move to Florida - 1971

The picture shows Lynn, Kate and Cindy Pellettiere at Kate's 2nd birthday in April, 1972.  They're in the balloon-clad dining room of the Palatine house with beach pails and shovels on the table in front of them, favors for the kids about to come to the party. The painting is one of Dan's.

Ruth's diary talks about how she and John stayed at Ken's home for a few weeks.  They helped show the house, clean the house, make meals, take care of the boys, do laundry etc. while the Des Plaines house was on the market.  Ken's family would move to one in Clearwater FL that summer, joining Ruth and John as well as Ruth's mother and brother in Largo FL.

June 1, 1971 - 42nd Anniversary!
"I made 2 phone calls to pick up furniture & clothing, etc. before Diane phoned for help.  Out I went to Palatine to stay with ailing Cindy and the baby so she could go register  L & C for summer school.  She or they returned about 11:10 and I had to hurry right back here for boys' lunch, then took them to school and went to beauty shop (Tiffany's - Joann) where had hair done.  

Back here to put roast in oven, clean up lunch dishes  & make a few more beds before Philip got here to go to the store with me.  Roger went right to a birthday party from school.

Anniversary card in the mail from D & D.  She & girls phoned & sang over wire the 'Birthday' song - and substituting Anniversary.  Had good meal for 5 of us at 6:10 - only I and boys didn't like the taste of the sweet potatoes."

The "summer school" was an arts/crafts class at the Palatine Park District facility over on the east side of town.  It was one or two hours each time, met twice a week and ran several weeks.  Lynn & Cindy seemed
enjoy it.  Ken's first wife is mentioned periodically in Ruth's diary.  She must have been living separately, perhaps in a hospital.   Neither the diary quote nor the picture are in Pieces of a Life.  The 5 people who ate Ruth's dinner would have been all Kelloggs - Ruth, John, Ken (39), Philip (10) and Roger (7).

Retirement Life in Florida Not Always Serene - 1973

The picture shows Ruth Kellogg (72) and her mother, Lottie Meredith (91), in Clearwater FL in 1978.

Ruth and John had just returned from a "rugged" 6-day trip to the Yucatan in Mexico.  Ruth was usually calm, didn't seem to let much bother her, except for my father. So imagine my surprise when I read this diary...

Friday, March 1, 1973   -   "Glad to be home and not anxious to leave soon again but that will come all too soon in late May -- to Diane's.  My mother gives me a hard time - trying to make me feel guilty and pliable to her needs.  If I were a stronger personality, it might have helped but now?  Between the various family members and my own desires & pleasures there are so many conflicts.  Now Ken & Nellie and boys seem well-adjusted and not dependent on me.  But how to work out Mom's needs without conflict here is tough!"

Lottie and her son, Jimmie, had moved from Chicago to Mt. Prospect after Ruth & John moved to Florida. They were a mile from me and baby Cindy, toddler Lynn. (Kate was born in 1970.)  I kept an eye on them, taking them on errands, visiting their small apartment. I thought it odd that my parents had left Lottie & Jimmie behind, as though they were forgotten luggage. Jimmie was schizophrenic, having had his first public episode at church in high school, followed by time at Elgin (mental hospital) and treatment off and on from then on.

I knew that Lottie was demanding of my mother, but didn't realize how much Ruth wanted to escape that responsibility. She had helped guide Lottie and Jimmie since my grandfather died of heart problems in May, 1944 at 63.  In either 1969 or 1970, Lottie and Jimmie moved to Largo, Florida, a short car ride from Ruth and John's apartment.  Dan and I helped get them packed up.  

In March, 1973 Lynn was 6, Cindy 5 and Kate 2, so visiting me in 1973 would be much more physical for 66-year-old Ruth.  She had babysat with Ken's boys when they were younger, but by 1973 were 12 and 9 with Mario (Nellie's son) slightly older.  There was a lot of drama when Ken's first wife was in the picture, so Ruth was happy to see life settle down once Nellie and Ken were married in 1972.

Ruth Celebrates Turning 73 in Clearwater FL

The picture (1978) shows us about to leave Clearwater FL after a visit with Grandpa (John) and Grandma (Ruth) Kellogg.  Dan, Lynn, Cindy, Kate are shown with Diane as the photographer. This isn't in Pieces of a Life, nor are Ruth's diary entries.

Thursday, July 5, 1979  - "A year older - 73.  Busy!  Hair done while Mom baked chicken thys while Jim & I shopped.  We got Pepperidge Farm pineapple cake and Mom put 5 candles on it.  Later John phoned to get flowers - none at our store!  I did and hurried home for the Kelloggs - 3 of whom came.  

Philip phoned to say 'Happy Birthday' and how old are you?  He had to work from 4:30 to 1:30 A.M.!

Ken brought cake they ordered & got as requested by John.  Gave me a silver bracelet.  All went well.  Took pictures."

My mother meant "thighs" rather than "thys" in the second line of her diary entry.  She was a good speller most of her life, but later on dementia gradually impaired her language skills.  Evidentally they ate with Lottie Meredith, Ruth's mother, and Jimmie, her brother, at lunch in their small home in Largo FL to celebrate Ruth's 73rd - and then dinner with son Ken Kellogg, wife Nellie and younger son Roger (15) to light the candles again.  Ruth and John lived on the 7th floor of Horizon House in Clearwater FL for many years after leaving Illinois.

I looked for the pictures Ruth mentions, but haven't found any.  I'm not sure if copies were sent to me.