When my parents divorced in 1949 we came to live in Evanston with our grandparents. Shortly afterwards Dad, who was a Naval Officer, was sent to Japan and Korea and sometime between then and Baltimore, he was stationed in California. I have only vague memories of living together as a family - and the years between the divorce and Daddy's marriage to Jean in 1954 are somewhat jumbled.
What I do remember, is that we didn't see him for a long time. However, I have three memories of his visits in Evanston. Do my memories all take place during a 1952 Christmas visit? I think so but do not know for sure.
After returning from Japan, Daddy came to Evanston to spend Christmas with his two little girls. Dad's sister Cora, her husband Bill, and their two little one had recently moved to Palatine and my paternal grandparents and Uncle Oscar came north too to spend Christmas together. Another memory is going downtown to see the Long, Long Trailer starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez. We laughed and laughed. Think I should rent the movie sometime to see if it has stood the test of time.
The last of these memories is going to Des Plaines to eat lunch at a diner. What made the place so special was that the food arrived on a freight train. It was the one and only time I ate there as a child. However, I never forgot that meal. Years later, we took our children there and now it is a favorite of our grandson Jake. There is some talk of it closing since the city wants the land. Before it does, we need to take Ian there too.
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