The Deuce and A Half – Part I

My Mom, Alice Frances Grover, was born in Carbondale, IL. Her parents split up at some early point in her life, she lived with her grandparents, her father was killed driving across an intersection, her mother died of cancer shortly after I was born (I have no memory of her), and her grandmother and her great Aunt Martha were key figures in her life; Aunt Martha was her surviving family member up until the time of my Mom’s death – Aunt Martha survived her by about four years.

During WWII Mom moved from Illinois to Washington, D.C. where she worked for the Federal government transcribing communications from combat zones. I don’t know whether Aunt Martha already lived in D.C. or not but at some point she moved from the Midwest to Washington City and taught school – many of my Mom’s people were involved in education. Mom herself had a teaching degree from Illinois Normal, what is today Illinois State University. After the war Mom taught, met Dad, had me and stopped teaching – I’m not sure just when she stopped teaching. After my parents split up, just after I started the fifth grade, Mom went back to teaching for a year or two, then gave it up for good and worked for a business operation until her death in 1968 – I’ve already outlived her some 45 years years, that’s a funny feeling – I’m 25 years older than my mother when she died..

My Dad was born in Nelson County, Virginia, that’s between Charlottesville and Lynchburg and if you’ve ever seen the Walton’s television show then you’ve some idea of what Nelson County was like for that is where Earl Hammer is from. When Dad was 4 years old his father died of pneumonia, leaving a 32 year-old wife and 9 kids ages 0 - 17; the 0 is because Grandmother was pregnant with Aunt Christine who was born about a month after her husband died . At some point after her husband's death Dad's mother moved to Northern Virginia where she had family.

When Dad was an adolescent he went to D.C. to live with an older sister and her husband, my Aunt Jean and Uncle Lee. I don’t know how old he was, but I do know that he attended Gordon Junior High and Western High School in Northwest D.C. I recall him telling me he had a paper route during those years. During WWII, at 17 years old, he enlisted in the Navy and was involved in the invasion of North Africa – I understand he was wounded, sent back to the States, and that’s all I know about his military service. (I also went to Western High School and I enlisted in the Army shortly after turning 17).

What Dad didn’t tell me, what I can only conjecture, is when he became an alcoholic – was it before, during, or after the Navy? I wonder if he would have taken that first drink if he had known the sorrow it would bring?