Music • Photography • Writing
Louie
And Louise
Early Years
Teens
Twenties
Thirties
Forties
Fifties
Sixties
Seventies
Eighties
The Thirties
The 1930s brought the Great Depression to America but the Poltevecques seem to have gotten through the tough times without too much disruption to their lives. Here Bob, already nearly as tall as his parents and wearing a (short) tie, mugs for the camera. This is the first picture where Bob is in long pants.
Despite his slight size, for many years Louie was known around the neighborhood as Santa Claus. He's seen here with Bob behind him and various children and relatives clustered all around.
One time, Louie wore a distinctive shirt under his Santa costume and his nephew, Harry Warren, said, "Look, Santa's got the same kind of shirt as Uncle Louie!" Louie and Louise were tickled to find the cartoon at right in the paper.
This house at 732 West 82nd Street on the south side of Chicago was home to Louie and Louise for over a quarter of a century. There were railroad tracks about a block to the right where trains would go by every few minutes. It was also just a couple of blocks to the left to Halstead Avenue, one of the major thoroughfares of south Chicago.
"One of my fondest memories,"
Betty recalls, "was their house on 82nd Street in Chicago. I always loved the squeak of the floor
and the deep, rich wood smell of the foyer when we walked into their home
while visiting from Colorado. I would give anything to smell that again. I felt
so safe and secure there. It reminded me of their unconditional love."
The house was owned by a couple named Billie and Blanche Anfang, pictured at right, who became friends of theirs. "Billie would come out and play with us," Betty remembered. "He taught us to do hand-stands."
"I
remember the basement," Tom recollected. "Grandma had a washing machine with an
old-fashioned wringer. The basement was always cool and damp on hot summer
days. Billie had a tool room filled with all sorts of fascinating gizmos. I
still own many of those old tools, which Grandpa inherited when Billie died."
Bob, Louise, and Louie in the house on 82nd Street in 1936. Note that Louise is sitting with both knees bent. Bob's wearing high-waisted pants with suspenders.
Though Bob was an only child, Louie and Louise took in several children of friends who had passed away or fallen on hard times, including a young lady named Helen Flanagan. They became surrogate siblings to Bob, and life-long friends to Louie and Louise.
Louise enjoyed drawing as a hobby. The piece at left is pencil, the similar piece at right is done in chalk. Note the presence of a duck and a hummingbird in the lower right corner of each. The originals, which are very fragile, are in Betty’s possession.
These pastels of Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy were a cherished part of Louise’s legacy. Framed in simple black wood frames, they hung at the Bishop house for many years; they are now in the possession of Louise’s great-great-granddaughter, Lily Pappanikou.
Bob, Louise, and Louie on a park bench in 1938. After Bob graduated high school, his parents helped him go to a music conservatory in Chicago for a couple of years. It was the first step toward his long career in music.