Get caught up: Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4.
In September 1899, Laura Myers and her sons boarded the train in Loudonville, Ohio, bound for Pittsburgh to attend the funeral of her mother.
It was decided that Harry, 13, would remain in Pittsburgh with his wealthy aunt and uncle, the Simens, who owned a magnificent home on Woods Run in Allegheny.
The next spring, nearly all farm work fell to Charlie and his mother. The three youngest boys were in school, though they helped where they could. Harry returned in June 1900 to help with summer work, but things were about to change.
Charlie started to work out on other farms to earn money to help his mother. A visit from John Stump, a jeweler from Pittsburgh who had roomed with Laura and William during their time there, set Harry’s life on a new path. Stump proposed that Harry be permitted to come back to Pittsburgh to learn the jeweler’s trade.
Laura delayed a decision, but in 1902 gave consent, and Harry, 16, left home forever, living with the Stump family and becoming an apprentice jeweler.
It stuns me, still, to recall the fact that my father would one day board a train and travel to Harry’s jewelry store where he purchased my mother’s engagement ring. Dad jokingly said he could leave the township, but hated to leave the county!
When I was still quite young, we visited Harry’s widow in Pittsburgh in a dark mansion of a home. My sisters recall Dad being lost as he tried to find Harry’s home, because the old neighborhood looked nothing as it had when he visited there 10 years earlier. My sisters and I hold memories of that entire visit feeling so otherworldly to us all.
Years of hard work and the stress of constant struggle brought serious health issues for Charlie’s mother, Laura. She was described as tiny but mighty, but it is hard to imagine the work and worry she endured, year in and year out.
In 1905, her health failing, Laura was admitted to St. John’s Hospital in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, where her brother-in-law served on the board. The two youngest boys were placed in an orphanage in Mars, Pennsylvania.
Charlie arranged for Frank, 14, to live with the Harry Fry family, a family near Jeromesville, Ohio, with eight daughters and two sons. Frank was to work their farm in exchange for room and board.
Charlie, now nearing 21, feared his mother would not survive. He gave all the money he had to help her. Laura was put through what was considered a very serious operation at that time.
Doctors who cared for her said she was quite lucky to survive the long surgery. Charlie described a tumor the size of a gallon crock was removed in what later would be defined as a complete hysterectomy.
As soon as Laura was able, she returned to the orphanage to bring her two youngest sons back home to Ohio with her. Charlie continued to help on the home farm while also hiring out to other farms.
He was filled with joy and relief to welcome his mother and brothers home. Soon, life was set to become joyful for the fun-loving Charlie.
Next week: final episode of Charlie’s early life
