Monday, November 19, 2012

8/24-8/30/47

8/24 Sunday Sylvia took sick today at Woodlawn. We rushed home in a cab and called Dr. Seltzers as Dr. Holzman is away. He said she had a bad throat and could find nothing else. Sylvia had complained of pain in her stomach. She had 104° when we got home. In the morning I took Eugene to Walton where he showed improvement again. Afterwards we took a cab to Woodlawn taking lunch supper and jug along. Eugene played many chess games taking another from Alex with a queen against a rook. He was outclassed however by a Dr. Paul. I beat Pop again and Pop mated Eugene once and drew another. I beat Waldman in tennis. Mom & Pop, the Edelsteins, Beckers and Thaws all came up. Lillian's pain vanished.

8/25 Sylvia's temp. was below 100° in the morning and over 100° at night. She is still a poor patient. She got a doll that drinks a bottle and then wets while Eugene got a large tinker toy set, both presents from mom and pop. Sylvia loves her doll and Eugene was busy making contraptions all day. After lunch, to the park with Eugene. Eugene played chess with a kid who only beats his mother then a boy a little older than Eugene who plays well but Eugene won two games. Then I beat him one game. Sylvia is getting sulfa in liquid form - chocolate. She got a teaspoon-full every four hours, Lillian sleeping in Eugene's bed as usual to attend to her. Eugene slept with me. Police fired on 50,000 in a united celebration of Brazil's entrance into the war. 23 were wounded in the unprovoked attack. War continues in full force in Indonesia. Col Mancheno with the army & police behind him seized Ecuador and Pres. Ibarra has abdicated. The Greek govt dissolved with Tsaldaris delegated to form a new one. Legion Commander Griffith called for American troops in Greece. The Giants broke the N.L. homerun record of 171. A third party was formed in California to plug for Wallace. Left wingers were beaten by goons at the Illinois C.I.O. convention.

8/26 Lillian's birthday. She got flowers from Eugene, candy from Sylvia and toilet water from me. Sylvia was off the bed all day today. Her temp ranged from 99.6 to 100.4. Split with Weckworth. Eugene played some games with Freddy Katz in the park. Freddy has been learning from Paul Ellis for a couple of months. Eugene has an edge on him. Sylvia taught Lillian some card games. France vetoed a Soviet resolution to have the UN supervise its cease fire order in Indonesia. 1000 picketed the British consulate. Longshoremen voted to go back to work with a pledge to void the objectionable features of the Ryan contract.

I don't recognize the names Freddy Katz or Paul Ellis. 

8/27 A little chess with Eugene in the morning. After lunch I split with Dumbrava [?] while Eugene beat a boy and a girl at chess. Then I beat him one and we had a tennis lesson at Walton. At night we all played cards. I still fight with Sylvia all the time. The UN again asked for cease fire in Indonesia. The City Council passed three rent control bills. Eugene did this puzzle in a short time. First Major League Negro pitcher Dan Bankhead debut. [see scanned-in puzzle and box score below]. 


8/28 Sylvia's eye was swollen today. She got cold compresses argyrol in her nose and an argyrol pack. She cries and complains about everything that has to be done to her. She was very listless and tired today and napped for an hour. Took Eugene to Walton twice today and studied a little from the chess book. 24 I. G. Farben industrialists went on trial in Germany. Lillian read "The Egg and I" by Betty McDonald informative and witty, "Gentleman's Agreement" by Laura Z. Hobson, the sensational novel of anti-semitism and Upton Sinclair's "A World To Win".

8/29 Walton in the morning with Eugene, Lillian taking Sylvia to the playground. After lunch to Woodlawn where I beat Mencher. Eugene then beat him at chess. Picked some berries. Sadie came over there with the kids. Tsaldaris and his Royalists will again head the Greek Gov't. The Legion convention opening here heard speakers plug for militarization universal training and war. Left wingers lost out at the Indiana State C.I.O. parley.

8/30 Walton with the kids in the morning. After lunch, mom and pop, Lil Harry & Susan over. We got records and Lillian got a slip and nightgown. Pop beat Eugene a chess game when he got careless. They also split checker games. I beat pop a chess game. Eugene had to be reprimanded continually for poking at the kids with his guns. He has a small wooden 'gun' which he found in Woodlawn and a sword which he has been trying to make by gluing two sticks but which I suggested he nail together. We all had supper of salad and blintzes. Susan defended pop by lunging at Eugene when he hit pop and saying "bad boy". Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims are slaughtering each other by the thousands. Russia was the last to ratify the Italian, Finnish and Balkan peace treaties. We and England have scrapped the 1946 agreement to restrain Germany's industrial potential and 11 million tons of steel. Eisenhower called for a jingoistic foreign policy at the Legion convention. All Unions are determined to defeat Taft Hartley bill backers in the coming elections. 44 Hungarian plotters implicated with Nagy have received prison terms. Farmers sold direct to Unionists by invitation at a miniscule price.                              

Friday, November 16, 2012

8/17-8/23/47

8/17 Sunday Sylvia is in the habit now of saying "you little rascal" or "you little rat" at any opportunity. Eugene loves to horse around with her causing her to squeal in no time. In the morning to Walton and afterwards to the woods for two cans of berries. We took along milk, cookies, cake, fruit. The Inter-American conference opened at Rio. A Chicago mob attacked Negroes entering a housing project. Bklyn Trust Co strike ended in defeat. Bromwich & Pails for Australia defeated Czechoslovakia's Drobny & Cernik 4-1 in the Davis Cup semis. Australia meets us in the finals in September.

8/18 Lillian took the kids up to the roof in last week's hot evenings where they had a lot of fun. Played out a chess game with Eugene and then cards with the kids. Eugene played chess and checkers by himself in addition to his incessant comic book reading. 100 miners were killed in England. The F.T.C. cited the Iron & Steel industry with price fixing and maintaining. MacArthur's Asst. George Acheson [sic] was among the missing in a B 17 crash. The Gov't 'loyalty' purge began today. We all went downtown after lunch to Electronic Corp of Amer. 353 W. 48 to buy a table model radio victrola for $49.50 reduced from $99.50. Lillian went on the Macy's to buy both kids brown shoes specially priced at $2.98 with raw cord soles. Size 3 for Eugene and 12 1/2 for Sylvia. Both got E width. Russia vetoed Transjordans Ireland & Portugal while we vetoed Albania and Outer Mongolia for UN membership.

We had that combination radio and record player for many years; it was a very good radio, used to pull in stations from far away at night.

8/19 The Left Wing at the French S.P. congress won 21 of 31 seats. Bulgarian Petkov anti-Gov't leader has been condemned to death for treason. 118 were arrested in the Chicago anti-Negro rioting. The City will probe price-fixing. Gen Markos Vafiadis has set up a free gov't in guerrilla territory in Greece. Yemen & Pakistan became UN members.

8/20 Eugene still plays make believe with Sylvia. Dominican dictator Trujillo charges a revolutionary army is being encouraged in Cuba to oust him. Indonesia has turned down U.S. mediation offers, insisting on UN action. A congressional investigator slugged A.F.L. general counsel Joe Padway at a hearing on a jurisdictional dispute. A North Car. mob forced students in an inter-racial house to flee town. 500 are feared dead and 5000 injured in an arsenal explosion in Cadiz. Lillian read "There Comes A Time" by Thomas Bell, "Going Home" by Lester Cohen and "The Big Sky" by A.B. Guthrie. I read "Writers & Writing" by R. VanGelder.

Amusingly, the second book was apparently actually "Coming Home". 

8/21 The kids have many of their games and toys in cigar boxes and tennis ball boxes labelled by Eugene as Peg set, clay, tennis box, cargo, Uncle Wiggily, S. Amer jig saws. Eugene drew Kobi - A Boy of Switzerland by M & C Buff, Paul Bunyan by James Stevens,Traveling With The Birds by R. Boulton & Sylvia drew Hansel & Gretel with music. Housing foe Rep Gamble R-NY will probe the housing crisis. The Senate Foreign Relations Comm. released a hostile study of the Soviet Union calling it intolerant, suspicious and opportunistic. A rank & file longshoreman strike broke out again against Ryan. 15 Nazi doctors including Hitler's physician Brandt were found guilty of experimenting on concentration camp inmates. N.J. banned Jim crow in its schools & militia.

8/22 11 day Vacation starts. Lost to Weckworth & beat Mencher. The former at St. James. Sam at Woodlawn after he had lunch with us. Eugene beat him a game of chess. We picked a can of berries then to mothers to supper. Mom & Pop just came home after 2 1/2 weeks at "Feingolds". Lost a chess game to Eugene & Pop. Italy, Austria, Hungary, Romania & Bulgaria were turned down for UN membership by Russia & US & England. Gen James Harbord is dead at 81 and Bilbo at 69. We won the Wightman cup, beating England seven matches to none.

8/23 To Walton with the kids then St. James where I had to look for Eugene for a half hour before I found him watching a chess game. On the way to Woodlawn Eugene got a propeller shoot and Sylvia a three piece cardboard set - 10¢ each. At Woodlawn I beat Lebost. Eugene beat Alex, on a queen against a rook handicap. Then Eugene and I picked berries. Lillian must see about the pain which has been bothering her in her neck. There is much to-do about the seven Protestant ministers led by Guy Emery Shipler & W. H. Melish who visited Yugoslavia and came back with a favorable report.