Last week I discovered my step grandmother had a checkered past which tumbled out in the form of family gossip as my sweet little old step-mother and I chatted over lunch. Great story:
Doris was the daughter of successful parents who through a stroke of luck were virtually untouched by the financial woes of the depression. Doris' uncle performed in a well-regarded troupe of actors who traveled throughout California and the US, and his son had developed into quite a song and dance man in his own right, although still a child. He and Doris grew up together as contemporaries.
At some point there arose a need for entertainment between the acts and Doris and her cousin were invited to join their travels to sing and dance during intermission. It was an exciting life of adventure and Doris learned about the world by exploring it. But obviously, there was some sort of education training required since formal public education was out.
As luck would have it, Doris' mother was a college educated woman, a rare specimen in those days, and she put her keen mind to the task of home schooling her daughter and nephew in mathematics, the arts, literature, history and science. In her entire life, Doris spent a total of 3 terrifying weeks in a formal classroom before abandoning it for the more comfortable alternative at home.
Her mother's legacy was a fine education through the 8th grade and the confidence and abilities to function well in the world. Doris had a fine business mind for property management in The City for sixty years, raised two daughters and was a talented seamstress. Plus, of course, having spent the better part of her childhood years bringing smiles to the faces of theatre-goers everywhere.
(I told you it would be a great story.)
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