My question about why Mabel and Clara went to Chicago as young women now has three helpful responses. My thanks to each of you.
First, an e-mail from Mabel’s son Conrad offers this: “Far as I can remember, my mother came down to Evanston to get off the farm and work as a house maid for some of the wealthy families in Evanston in the 1920s, as many of the young ladies did at that time.”
Then an e-mail from Sid and Irene makes a correction about Clara’s marriage – and a guess. “She was married in the front room of the home farm. Sid was the flower boy, dressed in a white suit. Clara dressed him in the teachers room. Sid was 5 years old and carried a tall basket of flowers. He remembers walking down the stairs and entering the parlor. Edwin was best man and we have a picture of the wedding party. Sid believes they went to Chicago after they were married. Mabel was already married; maybe she encouraged them to come to Chicago.”
And Albert has weighed in with this: “I once asked mother [Clara] why Dad and her, Uncle Carl and Aunt Mabel came to Chicago. JOBS!!! Both were married and neither girl wanted anything to do with farming – nor did their spouses. A simple answer.”
