It didn’t take the staff of Progress House long to figure out that Sam Young would be the easiest to care for. His attitude was one of not giving up on life or yourself. It was not a get-out-of-my-way-or-leave-me-alone attitude like John Penson. It was an I’ll-try-and-if-I can’t-do-it-you-can-help-me attitude.
One day, shortly after they arrived, the four were being taken on a picnic at the Juneau City Park. Trina, Tilly, and Sally Wilson took the four in the Ford van. Even though she was retired, Tilly Jones had a tough time staying away from Progress House.
When Trina was getting the picnic lunch ready, Sam stepped right in and helped her make the ten sandwiches to take with them.
“Why do I have to go on a picnic?” asked John Pensen.
“Because we’ll all have a good time together,” offered Tilly.
“I won’t have a good time if I don’t want to be there,” John said. “You can’t make me have a good time, you know? Let me stay home, okay? I won’t go anywhere, okay? I promise I’ll be good, okay?”
Trina finally said, “You can stay home, but if you leave before we get back, there will be consequences, do you understand?” Trina knew she really had no real power to enforce any consequences, but she was trying to keep some control over the situation.
Tim Bolt and Al Notes had been fairly easy to take care of, but at the picnic, they got into a disagreement over who would sit where at the picnic table. The group arrived at the Juneau City Park just after twelve thirty that day, and they decided to eat lunch before doing anything else.
Tilly and Sally set up the picnic lunch, which included sandwiches, potato chips, bean salad, and a chocolate cake. When Sally called the others to sit for lunch, Tim sat on the end of the picnic bench. Al sat next to Tim, and as Sally was passing things out, Al suddenly pushed Tim off the bench and moved over to sit on the end.
At the other side of the bench, Sam started laughing and said, “That’s funny!”
Al started laughing with Sam, but Tim and the three ladies did not laugh. The three were surprised, and Tim stood up and clenched his fists.
Trina thought, Oh, no, here comes a fight.
Tim said, “Okay, Al. I owe you one.”
Later that afternoon, the group was playing kickball. Al bent down to pick up the ball after a score, and Tim pushed him from behind. Al fell flat on his face and stayed in that position. After fifteen seconds, he rolled over and said, “I guess we’re now even, Tim.”
“Yep,” Tim said.
They both started laughing.
Everybody helped pack up, and they headed back to Progress House at five o’clock.
When they arrived, John was petting a white German shepherd on the front porch.
Trina looked over at Tilly and said, “Now what?”
September 30, 1952
Dear Rose,
Once I read the reports on the four men, I realized we have a big job just taking care of them. I don’t think any of them will be real trouble—except maybe John Pensen. He can be one stubborn man, but from what we’ve heard about these guys, they are truly American heroes.
Still no word from the FBI about the house. It’s as if after they told us to stay put, and they disappeared.
The girls are back in school and liking it. Careen likes it more than Cassidy. If Cassidy had her way, she would work at Aaron’s store every day.
In terms of activities with the four men, we’ve taken them on several sightseeing tours, to the library, and on some picnics.
Anyway, I need to get ready for work. I’ll write again soon.
Love from Alaska,
Trina
When Trina arrived home on Wednesday, October 4, a black sedan was parked in their driveway. It was the FBI. Trina thought they wanted to resolve the house issue, but that was not the case. When she pulled in the driveway, both agents got out of their car.
The older one was wearing the same fishing hat as the first time she met him. “Good afternoon, Mrs. Brown. We just have to give you an update of our investigation of the Juneau Trust Bank failure. There is really nothing new to tell you at this point. Have you had any contact with Janet Green or Bobby Moore?”
Trina thought, Should I tell them about the letter and postal money orders Aaron and I received in the mail? I shouldn’t do that without talking to Aaron first. “Do you have any idea where they went?”
“No, ma’am,” the older one said. “They must have had the scam and escape planned out pretty good because they’ve just disappeared off the face of the earth.”
“Any word about this house?” Trina asked.
“Not yet, but it looks like the First Juneau Bank might take over the accounts. Just sit tight until we contact you.”
“Don’t worry. After what’s happened, we will,” Trina said.
The younger one said, “Does Aaron still live here?”
“Yes.”
“Will you convey this information to him?”
“Yes.”
The older agent said, “By the way, our New York office did a thorough check of your boyfriend. Aaron was president and part owner of one of the most successful specialty meat companies in New York City. He had quite a large bank account after selling out to his two brothers, but you probably knew all of this. Please let him know what we told you about our continuing investigation.”
Trina thought of telling them Aaron was not her boyfriend, but she decided to let them think what they want.
When Aaron got home, Trina went over what the agents told her about the investigation, but she thought it best not to mention the New York City investigation. She felt like it was his personal business.
Two days later, Aaron received a letter from his brother. In the letter, Josh expressed his concern about a visit from the FBI. They looked through company records and questioned employees. They also questioned Josh’s wife, Ann, but they did not say why except that it involved an investigation into a bank failure in Alaska. “What gives? Are you in some sort of trouble? Please let us know what’s going on.”
After reading Josh’s letter, Aaron asked Trina if they could talk. They went into the kitchen, and Aaron said, “Did you tell me everything the FBI discussed with you?”
Trina thought, Maybe I should have told him everything the FBI told me. “Not everything. I thought some of it was personal—none of my business—so I didn’t mention it.”
“What else did they tell you?” Aaron asked.
“No need to get angry, Aaron,” Trina said. “They told me their New York office investigated you, that you were the president of a very successful meat company, and that you had a rather large bank account since you sold out your share of the company to your brothers. I didn’t ask for any personal information. They just told me.” I’m sure not going to mention the boyfriend comment, Trina thought.
“That’s all they told you?” Aaron said without softening his voice.
Trina said, “You don’t believe me, do you? Why not? Are you in some sort of trouble with the law?”
Aaron realized she was holding something back since Trina didn’t have a mean bone in her body. “I apologize for doubting you and your intentions. It is true. I was president of a successful meat company. My father started it years before I was born, but when my wife died, I lost all interest in it. When my brothers offered to buy out my share of the company, I got a large amount of money from them, but I still felt lost. I came to Alaska to find a new life. Maybe your daughters are right. Maybe I need to find some religion in my life.”
Trina understood his frustration. “Apology accepted. Let’s just forget about it, okay?”
Aaron agreed, and they both decided to do some reading. Aaron read the newspaper, and Trina read a novel.
As Trina and Tilly walked up to the porch, Trina said, “Okay, what’s up with the dog, John?”
“He’s mine. I found him,” said John.
“What do you mean?” Trina said. “Did you go for a walk while we were on the picnic?”
John told Trina they were gone too long on the picnic, and when he got bored, he went for a short walk. When he headed back, the dog started following him. The dog was wagging his tail.
Trina said, “John, we can’t take on a dog—”
“You know what, Trina?” Tilly said. “I’ve read that dogs can be a comforting thing for some people.”
They decided the white German shepherd could stay unless an owner showed up to claim him—or if certain rules were not followed, which Trina and Tilly worked out before they went home for the day. Rusty, as John named him, was to be shared by everyone who had an interest in him, both the four men and the staff, and Rusty was not to be fed from the table or sleep in anyone’s bedroom overnight.
Trina said, “John, will you follow these rules? If not, Rusty goes right now.”
John agreed.
Trina understood the others would not be a problem, but it was John she needed to worry about. She put a note on the bulletin board the next morning explaining the rules, and she insisted the staff strictly enforce the rules.
As she drove home, Trina thought, Why didn’t that grant proposal say anything about situations like Rusty? I sure hope situations like this don’t show up very often.
One of the unique features of Progress House was that each of the men received ten dollars per week to spend however they wanted. When Sally Higgins took Sam Young to the Fox Department Store, they walked around for an hour before Sam tried to tell Sally what he wanted. As he slurred his words, Sally had an idea that worked out for both of them. She reached into her purse and pulled out a pad and pencil. “Sam, write out what you want.”
Sam took the pad, placed it on a table, and wrote, “Adding machine.”
“You want an adding machine?” asked Sally.
“Yes.” Sam had saved his money for the previous month and had forty dollars with him.
When the bill came to forty-four dollars, Sally offered to loan him the extra four dollars until his next pay.
Sam agreed.
When they got back to Progress House, Sam immediately started using his new adding machine. He started asking everyone how old they were.
Sally told him she was forty-one, and Sam worked his adding machine and told her she was born in 1911.
When Tom Tittle came in for his shift, Sam waved him over to the kitchen and asked him his age.
Tom reluctantly said, “Thirty-six, why?”
Sam used his adding machine and told Tom he was born in 1916.
To test him, Tom said, “If I was thirty-three, when was I born?”
Less than thirty seconds later, Sam said, “In 1919.”
“How about if I was eighty-four?” asked Tom.
Sam said, “In 1878.”
Tim Bolt was the most difficult one to motivate for almost any activity. The staff tried to interest him in picnics, but they had no luck except for the first one. The staff tried to interest him in several different hobbies, but the only thing he wanted to do was listen to music on the radio. It didn’t matter if it was current dance music, big band music, or even country music. Whenever he wasn’t eating, taking a shower, or sitting on the front porch, he was listening to music on the radio in his room.
Whenever a song ended, he would turn the dial until he heard another song. He refused to listen to any ads. In fact, when the news came on, usually at the top of the hour, he would turn the radio off and look at his wristwatch for five minutes and then turn the radio back on.
One day, Trina was on duty at Progress House when Tim turned the knob until he found a station playing country music.
Sam Young and Al Notes came out of their rooms and started complaining.
“Turn that station off. That’s not music,” Sam said.
“Yeah, it’s just loud noise,” Al said. “Either change it—or turn it off!”
“It’s my radio and my room, so I’ll play it as loud as I want,” Tim.
I had better stop this before it gets out of hand, Trina thought. “Hold up, fellows. Let’s not get carried away. We can compromise.”
Tim said, “It’s my radio and my room—so I can play music in here as loud as I want to play it.”
Trina said, “No. We’re going to compromise. Yes, Tim, you can play your music, but not as loud as you want. There are others living here, and you’ll close the door when you’re playing it. And don’t play it so loud that the others have to hear it.”
After recovering from his wounds in the Korean War, Al went back to his lifetime hobby of reading. Before the war, his reading consisted mostly of novels. However, while Al spent six months in an army hospital in Hawaii, one of the nurses got him interested in reading about history. Reading helped pass the endless hours and days in his hospital bed. The first two months were the most miserable hours and days of his twenty-four years. He was not even allowed to sit up in bed. One of the bullets that entered his back ended very close to his spine. The doctors removed the bullet, but since it was so close to his spine, they wanted the wound to heal completely before Al tried standing or walking. The doctors were not sure if he would ever walk again.
Susan Cummins was the nurse who got Al interested in history. She had been a history teacher before entering the Army Nursing Corps during World War II. She was very good at caring for soldiers who needed care for longer than three months.
Whenever someone was behind Al, he would quickly turn around and ask them not to stand behind him. It didn’t matter who or where it was. In addition, he had an obsession with asking people about history. After stepping out of the army van and meeting Trina, he said, “Do you know who the first president of the United States was?”
“George Washington, right?” Trina said.
“Who was the second president?” he asked.
“It was John Adams or Thomas Jefferson,” she said. “It was Adams.”
Al turned to Tilly and asked, “Who was the sixteenth one?”
Tilly said she wasn’t sure.
Al looked at her and frowned.
Trina said, “Okay, let’s go inside and get you settled in your room.”
On October 8, two officers from First Juneau Bank stopped by Progress House to see Trina. The bank was in the final stages of taking over accounts of the failed Juneau Trust Bank and had received information about where she worked from the hospital.
Trina told them she could not talk right then, and a meeting was set for two days later at the bank offices.
Trina worked a bit later that day, and when she got home at six o’clock, she was pleasantly surprised to find Aaron and the girls waiting with dinner ready to be put on the table. They had made chili—Grandma Jackson’s recipe—mashed potatoes, gravy, and mixed vegetables. For dessert, Aaron had stopped at a bakery and bought an apple pie.
Halfway through dinner, Trina said, “Aaron, two officers from the First Juneau Bank stopped by to talk to me about the house. We set an appointment for Friday at three o’clock.”
“I’m going to go with you,” Aaron said.
“What about us working?” asked Cassidy. They were now working regularly two hours per day five days a week, and they were accustomed to the money Aaron paid them.
Aaron said, “I’ll lock the store at two thirty, and you girls can do inventory.”
“What’s inventory?” Careen asked.
“Inventory is where we count everything in the store and record it in a book. I will use it to figure out what I need to order and to see what we have left in the store. We’ll start tomorrow, and I’ll teach you what to do.”
“That sounds good,” Careen said.
“Oh, by the way, how are you girls coming on the Eskimo pamphlet?” asked Aaron.
Aaron, you really want to work these girls, thought Trina.
They told Aaron they had been gathering information.
“What kind of information?” Trina asked.
Careen said, “Well, some people think Eskimos are all over the world, but they’re not. They live in an area that stretches from the eastern side of Russia, in what is called Siberia, to northern Alaska, across northern Canada, and on to Greenland.”
“And this is just a start,” added Cassidy. “We have much more material to study.”
“Just don’t let this interfere with schoolwork,” Trina said.
Careen said, “We know. It won’t.”
On Friday at three o’clock in the afternoon, Trina and Aaron walked into the offices of the First Juneau Bank. They were escorted into the office of Martin Cares, a vice president.
“How is the program going at Progress House, Mrs. Brown?” asked Martin.
“It’s going fine. Thank you for asking,” answered Trina.
Martin leaned forward slightly and said, “And how is the antique store doing, Mr. Mueller?”
“Okay,” answered Aaron.
“Quite different than operating a meat company, isn’t it?” asked Martin.
“Yes,” Aaron said with some anger in his voice. “So you talked to the FBI?”
“Yes,” Martin said.
Trina thought, What is going on with these two? I thought we were here to discuss the house—and not who talked to the FBI.
Martin said, “When First Juneau Bank looked into taking over the loans of the closed Juneau Trust Bank, all the loans were examined. As the bank did its exam, the FBI investigation came into the picture. One of you has to sign up for a loan with First Juneau Bank. In addition, whoever signs for the loan must put down a down payment of two thousand dollars. Otherwise, the bank will take over the house and sell it.”
Finally, we’re getting to the house issue, Trina thought.
Martin said, “It makes no difference to us if you are boyfriend and girlfriend—”
Aaron said, “We’re not boyfriend and girlfriend!”
Trina said, “We’re just two people who got conned into buying the same house without knowing each other!”
“Janet Green is responsible for this mess in the first place,” added Aaron.
“Well, it doesn’t matter to the bank if you are or not,” Martin said. “By Tuesday, one of you has to sign for the house. Too bad about Janet—she made herself into one of the best bankers in all Alaska. In fact, First Juneau Bank offered her a position with our bank two years ago. Of course, lucky for me, she didn’t take it because that’s the position I hold now.”
Trina thought, Oh, brother, how long do we have to listen to this?
They got up to leave, and Aaron told Martin that one of them would be in on Tuesday to sign.
Once they were back at 144 East Chestnut Street, Aaron asked, “Do you still want this house, Trina?”
“Yes, I still do. I have since I thought I bought it. It’s perfect for me and the girls.”
“Then you’ll sign up for it next Tuesday,” Aaron said. “If need be, I’ll sign papers saying I give up all claims to it.”
“Thank you.” Trina gave him a hug for the first time. You’re an honorable man, Aaron Mueller—Jewish or not, Christian or not.
October 24, 1952
Dear Rose,
When I last wrote, the house was in limbo, but last week, we had an appointment with the First Juneau Bank. This morning, I signed up to own it. Aaron willingly gave up any claims to it.
As for Progress House, at this point, it appears John Pensen will require the most patience to deal with. He doesn’t want to have any rules. The worst thing is when he takes off on a walk—and no one knows.
The other three have been fairly easy to handle—or care for. Tim Bolt loves listening to all kinds of music. Sam Young bought an adding machine and loves figuring out all kinds of numbers. Al Notes does a lot of reading, especially about history. He also drives the staff a little crazy with questions about it, but he sure knows his history.
The twins are doing another project for Aaron’s store. It is another pamphlet. This one is about Eskimos. They’re pretty excited about it. I think I told you how the first one has helped in the store. By the way, Aaron and I had our first real test of our friendship. After a visit from the FBI, he felt I was deliberately withholding some information concerning him from the FBI. When he realized I was not, he apologized.
Well, it’s after midnight. I need some sleep. I’ll write soon.
Love from Alaska,
Trina