OPAL WISE

By Cyndi Bertholf

Tollie had been in the service for about a month when I went to be with him.  We lived in LaCrosse.  My dad was worried about me going because I had just finished college and I had never traveled. 

My dad said, "Honey, how would you know where to go or what to do?" 

I said, "There are always people and you can ask questions."  So I went and was kind of scared, but I still wanted to be with my husband.

He was in Tucson and I had to find a place to live.  At that time they would not let you live in a hotel.  They wouldn't let you stay in a hotel but two or three nights at a time.  Then you had to get out because someone else needed the room.  I started out down one street and asked around at this hotel to find out where I could go.  There were motels where I could probably live. 

I kept walking and looking.  And of course it was December when I went, but it wasn't cold.  I did have this rude awakening.  I wore a reversible coat.  It was tan on one side and red on the other.  I started out wearing the red side out and walked instead of taking the nickel bus.  There were soldiers everywhere and they would whistle at me.  I got so nervous that I forgot who I was!  I happened to think, "I have a red coat."  So I stopped right there and turned it with the tan side out.  It made all the difference in the world!   I was left in peace.  That was something I had never come across before. 

Then I soon found a place to live and a café close by where I could work.  I had never worked in a café before.  The owner and his wife were so nice to me and remained life-time friends.

While we were still in Tucson we had our baby.  He was born in November.  He and I were very sick at that time, but we both survived somehow.  I had him, but wherever Tollie went, I followed in the car.  He had to go on the troop train.  So I would have someone go with me in our car.  Our little boy was so good.  He would just lay up in the back car window as long as we traveled.  He was good as gold, a joy to us.  He was a good young fellow and he still is, except he is big now.

After Tucson, we were in Palm Springs for about three months, then Tollie got transfered to New Mexico for awhile.  I always wanted to go back East where Tollie's family was.  They were from North Carolina .  I thought it would be really neat to meet some of his family, but he never did get anywhere past New Mexico.  Then just before he got sent overseas, we got sent home for two weeks.  We bought a little house so that when he had to ship out, the baby, Gregg, and I didn't have to live with my folks or his.

I didn't work.  I mean, we could manage.  It didn't take much to  feed me and a little boy.  Tollie was gone a year and he wrote regularly.  All of a sudden he quit writing.  I thought he must have been on his way home, but he never came and I was getting really worried about him.  I knew that the war was over and he should be coming home.  He had flown over there, but as it turned out he took a ship home.  I had a good friend at the school, a teacher, who said to me one time, "You know, you haven't heard from Tollie.  I don't want to worry you, but at the same time I want to prepare you mentally a little bit." 

I was worried, but held out hope that everything was OK.

It was a month before he made it home.  When he arrived in Settle, he tried to call nearly half the night.  Of course, I didn't know that, so he started again the next day, finally telling the operator, "I want LaCrosse, Washington, not LaCrosse, Wisconsin!"

They said, "Oh my goodness, we tried to call Wisconsin all night."  He was pretty frustrated.

I was at my folks' when he got home.  They lived in Colfax at that time.  Gregg was fourteen months old when Tollie left and he didn't get back until he was a little past two years old.  I always kept a picture of Tollie, in uniform, for Gregg to "talk to," and he was allowed to pack it all over the house. 

He was down for his nap when Tollie came home.  My mom took care of him while I went to Spokane to get Tollie.  We had wondered if Gregg would remember his dad because he was pretty little when he left.  When Gregg woke up, I picked him up and took him out in the living room where Tollie and my mom and dad were.  I put him down and he went straight to his Dad.  That was just good for all of us.

It was a trying time, but we were able to manage.  When Tollie came back I was so thankful.  It was a difficult time for all of us.