Spike - 1936

A "Photomatic" picture taken June 4, 1936 at Union Station in Chicago. On July 25, 1936, the family left Chicago and moved West, where his father's brother, Clint, lived in Kelso, Washington and a sister, Lulu, lived in Tacoma. As Carrie writes: "Bob and Emma bought a used 1932 big black Buick from a Northwestern University professor, through a dealer who promised to teach them both to drive. They purchased a one-wheel trailer for their immediate travelling needs and stored their furniture. They followed the old Lincoln Hiway out of Chicago and Illinois to Clinton and DeWitt, Iowa, where there were relatives and cousins to stay with. After a 2,885 mile journey, they found a 2-story house on Pacific Avenue near the train depot in Kelso. Then Emma sent for her Chicago furniture, and enrolled the boys in school - Spike was in the 9th grade at Puckett Junior High. His life-long friend, Roy Parker, helped make his "thirteens" O.K.! Spike's dad was in poor health and needing hospitalization. He was ultimately transferred to a Navy hospital in Oakland, California and was gone for three months. When Bob returned from California they moved to Tacoma. "