The Thirties

    The 1930s brought the Great Depression to America, but the Poltevecques seem to have gotten through the tough times without too much disruption to their lives. Here Bob, already nearly as tall as his parents, mugs for the camera. Note the short tie and fierce expression. But this is the first picture where Bob is in long pants.

    Despite his slight size, for many years Louie was known around the neighborhood as Santa Claus. He's seen here with Bob behind him and various children and relatives clustered all around.
   One time, Louie wore a distinctive shirt under his Santa costume and his nephew, Harry Warren, said, "Look, Santa's got the same kind of shirt as Uncle Louie!" Louie and Louise were tickled to find the cartoon at right in the paper.

   This house at 732 West 82nd Street on the south side of Chicago was home to Louie and Louise for over a quarter of a century. There were railroad tracks about a block to the right where trains would go by every few minutes. It was also just a couple of blocks to the left to Halstead Avenue, one of the major thoroughfares of south Chicago.
    "One of my fondest memories," Betty recalls, " was their house on 82nd Street in Chicago. I always loved the squeak of the floor and the deep, rich wood smell of the foyer when we walked into their home while visiting from Colorado. I would give anything to smell that again. I felt so safe and secure there. It reminded me of their unconditional love."
   The house was owned by a couple named Billie and Blanche Anfang, pictured at right above, who became friends of theirs. "Billie would come out and play with us," Betty remembered. "He taught us to do hand-stands."
   "I remember the basement," Tom recollected. "Grandma had a washing machine with an old-fashioned wringer. The basement was always cool and damp on hot summer days. Billie had a tool room filled with all sorts of fascinating gizmos. I still own many of those old tools, which Grandpa inherited when Billie died."

    Bob, Louise, and Louie in the house on 82nd Street in 1936. Note that Louise is sitting with both knees bent. Bob's wearing high-waisted pants with suspenders.
    During this time Bob took part in school plays and musical projects. And though Bob was an only child, Louie and Louise took in several children of friends who had passed away or fallen on hard times, including a young lady named Helen Flanagan. They became surrogate siblings to Bob, and life-long friends to Louie and Louise.

    Louise enjoyed drawing as a hobby. The piece at left is pencil, the similar piece at right is done in chalk. Note the presence of a duck and a hummingbird in the lower right corner of each. The originals, which are very fragile, are in Betty’s possession.

    These pastels of Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy were a cherished part of Louise’s legacy. Framed in simple black wood frames, they hung at the Bishop house for many years; they are now in the possession of Louise’s great-great-granddaughter, Lily Pappanikou.

    Bob in his cap and gown on January 29, 1937. He graduated a half year early at the age of 17, as did his friend Marjorie Barnes, whom he would marry July 12, 1944.

Bob, Louise, and Louie on a park bench in 1938.

    Louie and Louise bought Bob an upright piano when he was a teenager. After he graduated high school, he attended the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago for two years, where he studied composition and theory. He also found a mentor in his instructor, who made him transpose pieces he was learning into all twelve keys, a skill he used all his life. Bob and this instructor stayed in touch the rest of their lives. Bob soon became skilled enough to make a living as a professional musician, which he pursued for 60 years, playing with various big bands and also performing solo.

    This is an image of one of the compositions Robert wrote in 1939 while studying at the Conservatory, a short piece called "Ol' Gran'pap." Perhaps he was thinking of Bill Padbury, who was the only gran'pap he knew. When Robert passed away in 1995, his children read the verses of the song while a pianist played the melody. Here are the lyrics:

Ol' Gran'pap
by
Bob Poltevecque

The sunset shadows are falling on a dreamer,
A sentimental dreamer whose hair is snowy white.
His eyelids dropping, his rocking chair is stopping,
The years are turning backward in memories tonight.

He remembers a maiden who brightened his life for a while,
Still his mem'ries laden with visions of her sunny smile.
They went thru the years together, raised a little family
And braved the stormy weather when the wolf came knocking at the door.
Sent the kids to college tho’ it meant some real economy
But still they never grumbled and they even wished they could do more.

The sunset shadows have fallen all around him
But still he goes on dreaming
There's nothing else to do.
His maid has vanished into the dusk around him
And he just goes on rocking till he can go there too.