The picture below is from July, 1936 when Diane was 2 months old.  Ruth Kellogg (30) had driven, Kenny (4), and grandmother Lottie (49) out to Elgin.  They were visiting Ruth's brother, Jimmie (25), in a mental institution.  He was diagnosed as a schizophrenic as a teenager.


Here are some short entries from Ruth's diary.  She was now the mother of 2 children - an infant and a 4-year-old, Kenny.  If you have ever leaped from 1 to 2 children, then you know what a big jump that is.  Ruth and John lived in a flat above her parents at 5458 W. Iowa St. in the Austin section of Chicago.  Lottie did help with some babysitting from time to time.  Her father, "Papa", was always a calming, steady influence.

Sunday, June 1, 1936 - "CHILDREN'S DAY.  I sent Kenny to Sunday School with the Allens.  At 4:45 we went for Children's Day exercises.  Had baby Diane dedicated with Cradle Roll members.  Had Allens to dinner."
Baptists are "dedicated" when they are named.  Later they are baptized, immersed in water, at around 12 years old when they are aware of the decision they're making.   The Allens were neighbors and close friends of Ruth and John, but soon moved to Reading PA and then on to Texas a few years later.

Monday, August 10, 1936 - "After we were in bed last nite it poured & blew terribly & a tipsy doctor skidded into our car at curb.  Funny.  I awoke John & he had to call garage to get bumpers unlocked."
Interesting that Ruth thought the "tipsy doctor" was funny - maybe because of the locked bumpers.  She was brought up in a non-alcoholic family as was John.  

Saturday, August 22, 1936 - "Went to show & left baby with John.  Kenny with me.  When we got home, she was crying in the dark while John slept on the back porch."
This was probably John's way of showing me who was boss.  He was reared in a more harsh time for children, having been born in 1899.

Friday, August 28, 1936 - "John had bad smash up with car on way to work.  Says a milkman was in way & he didn't see the other car soon enough.  Both at fault."

Friday, September 4, 1936 - "Had to bail John out of jail at 9:45 tonight.  Lucky for him I had saved $70.00.  The other fellow in accident served warrant & John has to go to court."
On the following day when they were leaving for Ann Arbor MI to see John's mother and stepfather,
Ruth mentions that John returned the money, so apparently the court felt it was not his fault.

Sunday, September 13, 1936 - "Rained hard & long today, but we started for Elgin to see Jim at 2:15.  He was fine & we all ate downtown & drove around.  Home at 8:15."
Jimmie did have shock treatments at Elgin, but I am not sure just when.  His first flare-up was at church as a teenager, so 9 or 10 years earlier.  Mental illness was not understood at all at this point or even 40 or 45 years later when he was placed in a mental hospital in Florida.

Precious Post Card From the Past

In the last post, I mentioned finding another treasure in a large box of diaries written later in Ruth Meredith Kellogg's life.  This is it - a post card made by Fain & Corning, 1716 W. Madison St., Chicago.  I'm assuming that's the photography studio, which probably was close to where the Merediths lived on the near west side of Chicago.

The young Meredith family is shown in June, 1910.  My grandmother "Lola" (aka Lottie or Carlotta), is shown in a large, feather-trimmed hat and tailored shirtwaist and jacket.  She looks so much older to me, but is only 23.  My grandfather, Jim Meredith (age 29), wears a derby, bow tie and suit, quite dressed up for the family photo.  Their prized daughter and my mother, Ruth Viola, has a special hat and coat on as well.  She is just weeks away from her fourth birthday.

The back of the card, which is where the address is shown, has more intriguing information.  It's addressed to my Great-Great Grandfather, William Henry Olmstead on Rural Delivery Route 12, Saranac, Michigan.  Jim's mother, Ruth Parks Olmstead, was named for the wife William lost in childbirth at age 25 when young Ruth was born. (Yep, more Ruths to add to the mix!)   In 1910, William Olmstead was an old man of 87, living with family in the state he had always called home.   He lived another six years, passing on in June, 1916.

Though we don't see William's handwriting on the post card, several of his letters were passed on to me.  He has elegant handwriting.  I was told long ago that he was a school teacher.  Someone did address this card to him, most likely Jim, even though he had little education.  It was his employer, Western Electric, that helped Jim Meredith achieve a high school education, even holding a graduation ceremony for all of the employees who earned diplomas.  

One question entered my mind when I saw the card.  You too?  How did it end up with the Merediths when it was mailed to Saranac in June, 1910 from Chicago?  I speculate that the Merediths either reclaimed it when William died or when his daughter, Ruth, died in 1923.  I should mention that Ruth's husband, Nathaniel Meredith, had died in 1907.  He had fought with a Michigan regiment in the Civil War.  Nathaniel and Ruth were the parents of Jim Meredith.  (See the abbreviated family tree on the last page of Pieces of a Life to help figure out who's who.)