A Tale of Three Uncles - #Two

Here's the story of the second uncle, who's familiar to those who've read Pieces of a Life.  He's Jimmie Meredith, shown watering the grass and flowers in the back yard of the Iowa Street two-flat in Chicago.  The Peterson's garage is behind him and the gate leading to the alley is at the left edge of the picture.  He's near the Meredith garage, which is out of camera view.

Swept up in the tidal wave of patriotism early in 1942, Uncle Jimmie enlisted in the U.S. Navy to fight in World War II.  He had had a history of mental illness for 14 years, but perhaps he had been doing better.  Ruth is usually silent about Jimmie's problems in her diaries, so we can only guess.

Within a few months, Jimmie was back.  He had had a nervous breakdown and was given a medical discharge.  There were pictures of Jimmie in uniform, but they must have been discarded.  I have a memory of touching the white cap and the deep blue bell-bottomed uniform itself long ago, stored in his closet.

The Austin neighborhood on the far west side of Chicago was close-knit.  I imagine that everyone who had lived near 5458 W. Iowa Street a long time, as had the Merediths, would have known about Jimmie's troubles.  Perhaps that would have made it easier to be able-bodied and about 30 years old in time of war.

A Tale of Three Uncles - #One

Did anyone in your family serve in World War I or World War II?  My family probably started out with King Philip's War (1675-76)  and worked their way through the other wars, century by century. If you live right where the war is happening, you're involved.

The man with the "X" in the picture is Lewis Henry Weekes, Lottie Weekes Meredith's brother, born in 1888 in Chicago.  He is my great-uncle.  I don't know who other two men were. Lewis' brothers had both died in the 1890s as an infant and child. The only other family I know of is his sister, Lottie (Carlotta), and their father, William  The picture was most likely taken after Lewis came home from serving in the Army in World War I.  Somewhere I have a frail silk handkerchief from France that he gave to Lottie.

Needless to say, World War I was fought in Europe, starting in 1914.  There was mixed feeling in the United States about becoming involved in something so far away, but in 1917 America joined the war effort.  It was a far cry from King Philip's War in New England.  Once the decision was made, though, there was mounting patriotism and men like Lewis went to war.

Lewis was exposed to mustard gas when fighting in France.  Though he survived, he was never quite the same, according to Lottie.  Later on he lost his balance when riding on a wagon, fell and was trampled to death by the horses.

The Cold Milk Caper

In Pieces of a Life John Kellogg's autobiography sketches various jobs he took while working his way through the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in the early 1920s.  When he was waiting tables at the Keeler Klub one hot day, he swigged a cold glass of milk right before the guests started to come in.  Eating before they did was against the rules.  As he heard someone approaching, he poured water into the milk pitcher to make it look full.

Sure enough, the guest was at one of John's tables.  "...the first thing he did was pour himself a glass of milk.  All he got was the water I had poured in and lacked the time to stir in. He drank and then said, 'They sure loaded this heavy today.' 

Silently, I agreed.  Student waiters, like the paying students, could eat anything they wanted and there were few restrictions.  But they were supposed to eat after the guests.  And they had to have all of the dishes off of their tables before they ate.  Never again did I break those two cardinal rules."

"I heard this story many times as I grew up, usually punctuated by my father's laughing so hard that the tears streamed down his face.  He'd remove his glasses to wipe his eyes, his cheeks - and sometimes start to guffaw all over again.  He was puzzling in some ways - so work-focused, but loving a belly-laugh that came from something close to slapstick comedy."

The photo of John is probably his graduation picture, taken in 1924.   

Lovebirds Ruth and John in 1928

In her diary, Ruth tells us about John's 29th birthday and his trip to visit his family, the Woods, in Ann Arbor.  This isn't part of Pieces of a Life.

August 25, 1928 - John's 29th Birthday

"I made a cake & trimmed it with his name & flowers.  Gave him white gold cuff links.  Tonite we went to Harding & saw "Forgotten Faces."  I bade John farewell.  He starts for home tomorrow morning to be gone until Labor Day."

On August 26, Ruth said, "How lost I am without John!'  She also mentioned answering a letter from Esther Webb Wood, her future mother-in-law, and starting a letter to John.

August 31, 1928

"I had barely finished reading a letter from John tonite when who should call but John himself.  Surprised!  Very.  He got tired of Ann Arbor, etc.  He came over and just left minutes ago.

Letters, notes, journals, diaries were such a big part of their world.  For the first 50 years of my life, writing letters was an enjoyable part of life.  I penned several letters a week.  Compared to my i-phone, a letter offers so much more opportunity to mull over thoughts, to shape the writing, think through what you are expressing, consider the other person as though they were in front of you.  Hmm - in Facetime, Skyping or a Google Hangout, they are in front of you!   

Summers At The Webb Farm on Grand Island

This is an excerpt from Pieces of a Life.  The source for this story is my father's autobiography, witten in 1974. Other parts of my book are built on my mother's diaries.  John Webb Kellogg, born in 1899, is writing about the first 12 years of the last century.

"Mother" is Esther Clara Webb Kellogg, young second wife of Charles Henry Kellogg.  Esther and many of her Webb relatives grew up in farming families on Grand Island. Esther's grandparents were Potato Famine Irish.  

"Usually Mother & I (also Dorothy after she arrived) spent a few weeks on Grand Island in the summer.  Dorothy was my sister, 4 years younger than I, who died of cancer in the early 1940's.  Grand Island was a typical farm area with a one-room school house teaching all grades through 8th. In Spring, school closed early as the children were needed to help get the crops planted.  In Fall, school opened after the harvest had been gathered.  Some chores I liked better than others."  

John then analyzed what he disliked about strawberry picking and current picking.  The chore he "did not mind" was waging war on the potato bugs. "Each week I would get a small stick and knock all visible bugs from the leaves into a small pan.  Then at the end a few drops of kerosene plus a match and that batch would never harm our potatoes.  Next week there was another batch.  How simple now with our sprays!"

Like most people, in 1974 John didn't understand the danger of DDT and other chemicals they were using on their plants.

Ruth Gets Her First Job

 Pieces of a Life tells us that Ruth Meredith, pictured in a flapper outfit, got her first job in 1925.  On Feb. 3 a friend, Margarite Klina, called to tell Ruth "she had gotten me a position in a Tea store on Madison Street.  I'm to go there some morning this week.  Oh Boy!"  Margarite must have been helping Austin High students to find part-time jobs in a work-study program..

Ruth was very excited.  She was to get "broke in" on Feb. 5  She said, "Well, I hope I make good in the Tea store business..."  On the 5th she worked from 8:30-11:00 AM and then went to school.  She worked again Thursday and a longer shift on the following Saturday from 11:00 AM to 9:30 PM. when the store was busier.  She said, "I was very nervous in the morning, but this afternoon the crowds didn't bother me half as much." 

She added, "I had dinner and supper there, and then washed the supper dishes.  I was paid $2.50 for today, and $1.13 for the two mornings; totaling $3.63.  The folks came after me about 9:25.  It is now 11:00 o'clock, and my feet and legs ache terribly, so here's where I turn in."

Initially Ruth liked Miss Hogan, the manager who trained her.  More than once Ruth was called in to cover a shift, hopping out of bed and getting to the store quickly.  Then on March 19 there was a sudden change in the picture.  "I feel terrible, but at the same time I feel that everything will turn out satisfactory.  The reason is, Miss Hogan called me up tonight and said she wouldn't need me in her store because the trade is slackening.  She said she would speak to Mr. Miller in the morning about getting me in some place else."

From then on Miss Hogan avoided Ruth, failing to call back, evidently unable to set up a job at another store for her.  On March 21, Ruth's mother talked to Margarite, who said she would speak to Andrew, the Manager of the new National Tea Store opposite Miss Hogan's store.  Ruth did get a part-time job there - and more money than the 23 or 24 cents an hour she had been earning.

Tap Dancing to "I'm a Little Teapot" in 1941

Diane (me) had been taking ballet, but tap was new to her. Before her first tap class in October, 1941, she needed tap shoes.  In her mother's diary, Ruth said, "I was lucky to get a pair of tap shoes for only 50 cents.  They were nice to her because she tried hard to do the steps."

In June, 1942 at age 6, Diane poses in her red and white gingham outfit with teapot motif, made by Ruth, after a dance recital.  She and the girls in her class tapped, danced and sang to "I'm a Little Teapot."  It was quite a hit with the proud families watching.  My dance career was about to end, though, because the young teacher was soon to close her school and follow her husband to U.S. Army Basic Training camp.

In the picture, Diane is standing on the "sundeck" that was off of two bedrooms, hers and brother Ken's.  A peek at the Oak Park neighborhood's garages, trees, homes appears behind her. Wrought iron fencing and low orange brick walls form a bulwark around the second-floor porch.

The tarred sundeck was fine to walk on or lay a beach towel on most of the year, but on the hottest summer days pools of liquid tar would appear, banishing any thoughts of sunbathing.  Neither the picture nor diary quote are in Pieces of a Life.