THE INHERITANCE

THE INHERITANCE

There were 9 children on Mom's side of the family, the Uhls side: Kendall, Wendall, Virginia, Bernice, Thomas, Dean, Eva Lee, Geraldine and James, not necessarily in that order. They lived poor during the first part of The Great Depression. Most of the other citizens in America suffered all the way through it. Grandma Uhls had a half brother, Theodore Humphrey, who worked for the Associated Press in Chicago. His wife was an opera singer. She died and Theodore became depressed. Then the stock market crashed. That was as much as Theodore could take so he committed suicide by jumping out of the window at work. 

He and his wife had no children so he bequeathed a large portion of his savings to my grandma. It was enough of a nest egg that they were able to buy a nice, big house on the West Frankfort/Johnston City county line in the country. It was nice by standards of that day. The house had two stories, a summer kitchen in the basement, a cellar, two barns, and a nice, big yard. There was an industrial size fan in one of the rooms upstairs. Grandpa watched us closely to make sure we didn't go in that room. I guess he was afraid we would get sucked into the fan. That fan really sucked the air through the windows, though. The house had a small room with french doors. In that room was a piano on which my mom learned to play by ear. She in turn taught her brother, James, and he surpassed her skills. A beautiful fireplace was in the living room. I have never before or since seen one I thought was as beautiful. The pretty brick had a shiny coating on it. Grandma had small, ruby red lamps with prisms on the mantel of the fireplace. They just had an outdoor toilet for many years, though. Kendall, one of my uncles finally installed a bathroom for them. Bathrooms were in their early stage.

Grandma also bought a grocery store at the corner of Cleveland and Odle streets and Grandpa ran it. They always had a new car and the siblings all wore nice clothing. A seamstress made many of the girls' clothes. 

Most, if not all, of the siblings played instruments. The family had really come up in the world, though they all remained humble. We loved going to their house. There was so much to explore and the front yard was big. It had a tree that was perfect for climbing. We would sit on a concrete bench under another tree to rest from our escapades. The Uhls siblings lived in that house until they married and Grandpa and Grandma a/k/a Mamma and Pappa lived there until they died. All of our get-togethers were held there. When sold the house was remodeled by the buyers and is no longer recognizable. 

Footnote: Grandpa mowed that lawn with a push mower that had no motor. The boys surely helped. Grandma made a garden behind the house without the use of a rototiller or any other motorized equipment. When the vegetables were ripe, she would can them and put them on shelves in the basement in a little dark room. We found her chopping wood in the back yard one day. I believe she was in her 70s. She was amazing.