We moved to Avondale when my grandfather Sol Felson died. This was during the Depression. The family needed the additional income, so they rented a large house on Glenwood Ave, and we moved in with them. Louise at that point was divorced, so she moved in also. We had several breadwinners: my father, my uncle Irv, my Aunt Louise, and Walter and Roslyn. We all shared the house.
Walter and Roz had their own room in the Glenwood Avenue house, my parents had their own room; Bob and I had a room, I assume that Louise and Edith shared a room. I don’t know how Ben and Chippy and Leo were arranged at this point. But it was a big house.
That house was wonderful for me; I was an intergenerational child. I was not a full generation different from my uncles, and the rules were that they couldn’t punish me. So I had pretty good rein: I could do just about anything when they were around.
My uncles would play with me and do a lot with me. I remember going to Phillips Pool and I would be the ball: my uncles would throw from me from one to another. It was fun. We would also cut through our backyard to the church on Reading Road, which had a great hill for sledding.
A few of my uncles were in medical school at this time; Chippy was probably in his internship. Walter was going to medical school while working as a pharmacist, and Ben was going to medical school.
They used to have classmates who would come over and study with them. The third floor was the study, where they had a bunch of embryos in bottles, and I used to think it was wonderful to go up there. In this day and age, nobody would have a display like that.
I also remember the 1937 flood. I rode with Chippy to Reading to get well water. Chippy had a coupe with a rumble seat, and I rode in the rumble seat with the water.
Glenwood Avenue was where I learned to ride a bike. It was my brother’s, and it was about four sizes too big for me. I’d mount it using the steps in front of the house. Once I was on, I was fine. I guess I learned to balance because Bob used to ride around with me. I would ride around on the top bar, not the handlebars. When I was riding on my own, I was fine until it was time to get off. I devised a way. I pulled up on the sidewalk in front of the house, where a little three-foot hill was. I’d ride up the hill and slow the bike down and jump off, put the bike down on the ground, and make sure I wasn’t under it. Riding that bike was a pleasure.
Amy says, “Dad used to ride with me on the top bar in the same way, when I was a kid.”
I was about 8 years old when we broke up the Glenwood Ave house. Walter was married, had finished medical school, and moved to Greenfield, Ohio. Ben was probably finishing up medical school. Leo, being the youngest, was probably in high school.
The Felson Family 