A Conversation with my Uncle

I finally picked up the phone and called my Uncle Donald, my father's older brother, to ask him what he remembered about their father.

After my grandparents separated, Donald lived with Walt for about three months. They lived in a furnished room and ate meals at a local drug store. Walt spent evenings drinking at a local veteran's hall. He earned his living through a series of jobs, including driving a Hires root beer truck.

After three months, Donald was sent to live in a foster home. I later learned from my mother that all three Lewis children went to foster homes. This is something my father has never talked about.

As for the motorcycle trip to California, Uncle Donald says it happened during the Great Depression, and my grandparents were looking for better job opportunities. They would stop to work in various towns along the way. My grandfather also worked for the Works Progress Administration. Sometimes people would give them money for baby Donald, but sometimes not.

Unfortunately, opportunities were no better in California, so the family returned home. My uncle believes this trip and difficulties finding work contributed to the breakup of the marriage.

My uncle also says my grandfather was strangled to death in a telephone booth. At one point, the police contacted my grandmother to tell her they had a suspect and to ask to the exhume the body.

My grandmother refused permission.