One time when Pop was working in the shop on Long Island, the family had a beach cottage in Wilmington, North Carolina. When he would come for a visit, we would go out in a rowboat and catch crabs then Mom would boil them in a big laundry tub and serve them on newspapers on the dining table.
Most summers, while the show was laid off, we rented a house on Whitestone, Long Island. One evening Pop was on his way home and heard meowing in a vacant lot. He found a bunch of kittens and brought them home. Mom put them in the oven to warm up.
I remember Dolly and I taking the subway to New York to go to dancing classes. We were very frightened once to be caught in a crowd, the policemen riding horses, were trying to control the hundreds of people that were there for Rudolf Valentino’s funeral [in 1926].
Another time we were living in an apartment in New York and a doctor made a house call to remove all the childrens’ tonsils (except me!), so I think that was the accepted practice in those days.
* * *
It was just prior to the opening in Worcester that Ruth joined us, Ruth Rebecca Race from Rochester. She had worked as a magician’s assistant for Blackstone (Harry Sr.) and was also a pianist and had a very nice singing voice. When Pop advertised in a trade paper for a girl, she answered and was immediately hired. I don’t knew why she left Blackstone, she admired him very much and frequently said, “Blackstone didn’t do it that way,” which wasn’t appreciated.
My first meeting with Ruth was when Mom sent her to get me out of the bathtub, while everyone else was busy packing and preparing to get on the road. I was five years old then.
When my maternal grandmother came for her next visit, she noticed that Al was very interested in Ruth, who had all the appearances of being a “flapper” and was several years older than Al. Before we left the country, Grandma asked Al to promise that he would never marry Ruth. He kept that promise for many years and Ruth never forgave Grandma.
The contract that Pop had signed with Thurston did not allow him to play any principal cities. His bookings were limited to split weeks and one night stands. Thurston saw Dante as a threat. With such a heavy show, profits on short stands were not good and after a trip to Canada, Pop began looking for new fields, possibly South America, until Thurston would retire.
* * *
I believe it was when we were playing Montgomery, Alabama, that Harvey became part of our family. I remember only an impression of the theatre being in a very poor area. Harvey, my parents guessed at being about twelve years old. He hung around the theatre and asked to go with us. He said he had no family and didn’t even know his last name. Pop asked around and no one seemed to know where he belonged, so he decided to take him with us. Harvey was a black boy but we children accepted him as another brother. He and Bill were about the same age and were good friends.
Harvey took the name of Williams for his surname. He was to travel with us for many years but it bothers me now when I remember that he was never taught to read or write, only his name. I remember Harvey “reading” stories to me out of magazines, only sometimes he would be holding the magazine upside down.
Harvey was put in charge of the animals. As the children grew we each had specific responsibilities. Al became manager, Lee electrician, Dolly wardrobe, Bill props. By the time I was on stage, we had many more people and all of the chores were shared.
It was earlier that year that a young man named Paul Leob joined us. We met him under almost tragic circumstances.
We were in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and my family had all gone out into the country for a picnic by a lake. Pop saw someone swimming out aways with only “water wings,” the kind you used to blow up and hold under your arms. They were never very safe, which proved true in this instance, when the air went out and the swimmer started to go down. Bill and Lee were the first ones to go after him and then Pop. By the time he reached them, Bill was being pulled down. Pop was a strong swimmer and shouted to my brothers to get away as soon as he had a good grip on the man and he brought him ashore. Paul had swallowed a lot of water but he recovered. He later joined our company and was with us many years.
Once Ruth joined the show, Mom was no longer on stage but very involved in every other aspect of the show. Ruth, Harvey and Paul were like the backbone of our company. It seemed as though many others came and went but they were always there.