Chapter 2
Her Mother’s Keeper
Even though the United States was recovering from the Great Depression in the early 1940s, there was still a shortage of gasoline due to World War II. This meant people weren’t traveling as much. Ocean Beach Pier didn’t have many visitors, so Gloria’s father had to close it down. Leo and Ruth had to decide where to live, what to do for work, and how to raise their family. The stress of the situation was too much for Gloria’s parents, and they divorced when she was ten years old.
Gloria and her mother moved from Clarklake to Amherst, Massachusetts, to be close to Susanne. She was attending Smith College, in nearby Northampton.
Leo moved to California, but he spent a lot of time on the road selling antiques. Gloria missed her father, who had been such an important person in her life. Although they wrote letters, they saw each other only once or twice a year.
Gloria was now in fifth grade, and she started to attend school regularly for the first time in her life. She was behind in math and science classes. But she was bright, curious, and a good reader, so Gloria soon caught up with her classmates. Gloria also liked playing sports. She made friends easily and felt like she fit right in at school.
When Susanne began her last year of college, Gloria and her mother moved back to Toledo, Ohio, into the house where Ruth had grown up. The house had since been divided into apartments. Gloria and her mother moved into the apartment on the top floor of the house and rented out the rest.
The space Gloria shared with her mother was small and cramped. They shared bunk beds. The furnace was dangerous, and rats ran in and out of the cupboards.
Ruth’s depression worsened. Gloria had to look after her mother. It was as if Ruth had become the child and Gloria had become the parent.
While she took care of her mother, Gloria attended Monroe Elementary School. Gloria loved reading, and her books became some of her best friends. They helped her escape the hardship of having to be her mother’s caretaker. Gloria read books like Gone with the Wind, A Tale of Two Cities, and the Nancy Drew mysteries.
But her favorite book was Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Gloria felt that she was like the character Jo, who had a great spirit of adventure and longed for independence. Most of all, Gloria loved the “sisterly chats” the girls shared. She wished that she had someone at home to talk to about her problems, hopes, and dreams.
