A Storm and an Uncle by GJ

It is August 17 and storm "Fay" approaches us, here in Florida. It is predicted that Fay will become a hurricane by that name. That is the extent of what we really know.

I had an Uncle Fay. His nickname was "Jake," and I'd love to know how that came about, but there is nobody left for me to ask. And this is why I promote the writing of memoirs. It's like my own nickname, "Grandpa Jim." My grandson named me that when he was very little...I'd guess three or four years old. At that time, Chad was living in an area where he had two grandparents, two or three great grandparents, and one great great grandmother, I believe. At any rate, together with Jean and me, he had a slew of grandparents. Whenever his parents announced that we were going to visit (two, sometimes three visits per year) he would get frustrated and want to know which ones. Finally, he asked what everybody's first name was and that became our titles. Simple, but effective. (Isn't it always?)

I can't say that I ever got to know Uncle Jake very well. He died while I was in the South Pacific. He never wrote much, but I found out much later that he was keeping a "war map" on his wall that traced my travels, as best he could. (Navy censorship forbade my being too specific.)

My brother, "Bud," had quite a story to tell about Jake. In the fall of 1929, Jake and Bud were having breakfast or lunch on the north side of Chicago, near Jake's candy business. (The Ravenswood Novelty Co.) The two men were discussing plans for the business. Things were going well, Jake decided, and thought maybe it was time to go international. (They were beginning to get inquiries from abroad.) He said that there was $100,000 in the bank, and that that ought to finance the expansion. (It was also a LOT of 1929 money!) When Jake went up to the cashier to pay the check, he said he'd have to write a check. The cashier said, "Oh, Mr. Van, I'm sorry, but haven't you heard?" "Heard what?" "The bank closed its doors this morning."

That is how Uncle Jake got the news that his 100K was lost, that the stockmarket had crashed, and the business was probably going to follow. (It did also fail, but it took several years. I recall a whole room full of shipping boxes of candy where they were stored in our house in about 1938. A pal and I opened a couple, gouged ourselves and I was never fond of candy again. Well, until some years ago, anyway. Matter of fact, it was about 1942 when I discovered the "Power House" candy bar. It was the largest bar on the market, so that it and the largest soda, "Royal Crown Cola" were more than an adequate lunch!

I have no idea how my brother Bud got his name, except that it was logical that he would gain one. His real name was Harrison Saunders Van Delinder, and nobody with such a name should go without a "moniker." He went on to name his only child Fay in honor of Uncle Fay. But the boy was never known by anything other than "Jake."