The Story of a Family 1956-1965

It was 1956, and that year Dwight D. Eisenhower was reelected President with Richard M. Nixon Vice-President, Martin Luther King emerged as leader for desecration, Fidel Castro landed in Cuba with a small armed force in an attempt to overthrow Batista, and the oral vaccine against polio was developed by Albert Sabin. Also, that year Grace Kelly became Princess Grace, popular songs were “Blue Suede Shoes” and “Hound Dog,” the rock and roll dance was in vogue, a six-ounce jar of Maxwell House in­stant coffee was $1.59, a one-pound can of Crisco 29 cents, a one-quart jar of Best Foods mayonnaise sold for 49 cents, there was an anti-communist uprising in Hungary, and Don was assigned to duty behind the Iron Curtain.

In January Don left Reykjavik, Iceland, and flew to Frankfort, West Germany, and from there took a train to Vienna, and after a short layover, boarded the famed Orient Express to Budapest, Hungary.

Don remembers feeling the air of mystery on the train, much like the spy movies of the era. He admits the mystery was mostly in his imagination, but he felt as if he was in the middle of an Agatha Christie novel. Certainly, he had come a long way from the Kansas farm.

Don wrote the following home on January 26, shortly after his arrival at the American Legation in Budapest:

“0n the way down I stopped at Copenhagen, Denmark, Hamburg, Germany, Frankfort, Germany, and Vienna, Austria. I stayed three days in Vienna before coming on to Budapest. I didn’t know what to expect when I got on the train at Vienna for Budapest, but I was treated okay. The trip by train took about eight hours, and I think they looked at my passport about six times. They didn’t ask to see my baggage though, for I was issued a diplomatic passport before leaving Reykjavik.

“The city here has a population of about two and a half million, but you wouldn’t believe it by the people that are seen in the streets. One could easily think that the town was de­serted. There are many beautiful old stone buildings but everything is covered with coal soot, and it looks pretty dreary. Even the people seem to be covered with soot, but it’s really because their clothes are old and worn and either grey or black.

“The people (I’m told) are friendly enough but they are afraid to talk to foreigners, especially British and Americans, because usually if they are seen they are picked up and ques­tioned by the secret police.

“The living quarters here are very nice. Much better than I had in Iceland. At present I’m living with two other boys but I’m told that I’m to get an apartment to myself as soon as one is available. One of the secretaries is due to be transferred in about a month. Where I’m living now, we have a living room, dining room, kitchen, two bedrooms and a large bath. Local labor is so c heap here that I won’t have to cook or help clean house like in Iceland. For about $25 per month ($8 each) we have a woman that cooks, cleans house, does our laundry, etc. We have to watch what we say in front of her though. That’s the only bad thing about it. They know for sure that here all of the Hungarian employees of the Americans have to report to the police periodically for questioning. There was even one instance where radio transmitters were found in the house. One of the big wheels of course. They wouldn’t go to that much trouble with us. We don’t know anything to talk about that would interest them much.

“There are Russian soldiers here also but I’m told they are seldom seen. The Hungarian soldiers carry burp guns here in town though.”

Don tried to reassure Mom as to his safety:

“You don’t have to worry about me, Mom. It isn’t as bad as you hear and I’m small potatoes. If they would pick up someone like me it would cause them more trouble than it would be worth to them. And I’m certainly not going to do anything to get into trouble.”

Don made the most of those first months in Budapest. He bought a 1950 Ford sedan from a departing State Department employee, and when he was not on duty, he made trips to Vienna, Belgrade, Munich, Salzburg, Hamburg, Copenhagen and Oslo, as well as many trips into the Hungarian countryside. It was a heady time for that kid from Neodesha. He was feeling very sophisticated, and he was no longer bored.

Don kept trying to reassure Mom and Dad about his safety. On April 5, he wrote home as follows:

“Everything you ever heard or read about the communists is true and then some. On the surface it doesn’t seem too bad to the casual observer, but I have been here over two months now and I am beginning to see how things are for the people under communist rule. Of course, there is no danger for any of us Americans, as long as we mind our own business, that is, and I do mind mine. I make a special point of it.

“The main purpose of this legation is that of a spy center. It is a place for gathering information. There is certainly not much need of a consulate here. There are only about a half dozen people ever allowed out of here to go to the States in a year’s time, besides the Hungarian diplomats that is.

“0ne of our people here was making a ‘survey’ in the coun­tryside last week, and just ‘happened’ to go by a Russian army installa­tion with a camera. He was stopped and held two hours by the Russians before he was released.

“As I said before, I don’t do any of this type work. I’m merely a guard and courier and therefore, not worth bothering with. I’m glad of it too because these Reds mean business.”

Historical Background: Hungary was our enemy in World War I, and in the Treaty of Trianon signed in 1920, the country was stripped of more than two thirds of its territory. In the 1930’s, Hitler promised the return of some of the territory Hungary had previously lost. Beginning in 1938, Hitler allowed Hungary to take parts of Czecho­slovakia, Romania and Yugoslavia. In April of 1941, Hungary aided Hitler in an attack on Yugoslavia and so entered World War II on the side of the Axis.

By 1943, Hitler no longer considered Hungary to be a re­liable ally and seized the country, and in 1944, set up the Hungarian Nazi government. The new government shipped more than 500,000 Hungarian Jews to concentra­tion camps and most of them ended up in the gas chambers. The Soviet Union invaded Hungary late in 1944. In the armistice signed in 1945, Hungary agreed to give up all the territory it had gained since 1938.

Elections were held in late 1945, and Hungary became a republic, but the communists gradually took over the government. This evolved into a communist dictator­ship headed by Matthias Rakosi.

Cardinal József Mindszenty, head of the Catholic Church in Hungary, opposed the communist takeover and spoke out against it. He was arrested in 1948 and sentenced to prison in 1949.

By the early 1950’s, Rakosi’s policies had ruined the economy and produced widespread malcontent among the people. In 1953, Imre Nagy replaced Rakosi as premier. Nagy adopted policies that gave the people more personal freedom and that aimed at improving their living conditions. But Rakosi and other party members opposed these reforms and forced Nagy out of both the government and the party in 1955.

Don remembers that during the summer of 1956 in Hungary the political situation began to heat up. The older people could still remember a time when they were free, and the young people had not been totally indoctrinated into communism. After all, the war had been over only eleven years.

Rakosi’s policies had caused great unrest, and he was replaced as party leader in mid-1956, but the government’s policies remained unchanged. In October the discontent erupted into street fighting in Budapest. A group of young people took over the main radio station and preached revolt. The revolution spread quickly throughout Hungary. Within a very short time a combination of young people, war veterans and Hungarian Army soldiers actually took over the government and drove the Russian Army out of the country.

Many politic al prisoners were freed, including Cardinal Mindszenty. He sought asylum in the United States Legation, and Don was on duty at the time they brought him in.

During this time the Voice of America kept beaming mes­sages of hope to the desperate Hungarian insurgents. They were told, “Hold on, don’t give up. We will help you.”

They did try to hold out, waiting for the help that never came. But they weren’t strong enough.

On November 2, 1956, Don wrote the following letter home:

“Dear Folks: Well, as you undoubtedly know, things are a bit hot here now. But so far there is no real danger for us. There has been a lot of killing here though. And these Hungarian kids are really slaughtering the Russians and sec­ret police (AVH).

“It can’t possibly be imagined how much the people here hate the Russians and the AVH. I was down town yesterday and the bodies are lying around everywhere. Naturally the Hungarian dead are buried right away but the Russians, they aren’t in any hurry about it.

“Everything is pretty quiet at the moment, but rumor has it that the Russians are moving in reinforcements. So, I guess anything can happen. But if it gets too bad, we will leave of course. I’m all packed just in case. We lived in the legation for a week and went home last night but today something happened and we had to come back to the legation. My car is all packed and gassed up in case we have to move out in a hurry.

“I’ll have this mailed in Vienna the next time someone goes there. Naturally we can’t mail a letter from here at the moment. Everything is tied up. I have sent you two telegrams so far. I hope that you have received them.

“Like I said, everything is relatively quiet so don’t worry. Unless I get run over by a truck or something, I will be okay.

Love, Donnie”

But we at home did worry. And Mom and Dad were particu­larly anxious, listening to each news broadcast detailing the escalating crisis in that unfortunate country.

The rebels in Hungary waited with hope for the help that had been promised, but then with bitterness as they realized that help was not coming. We here at home waited with great uneasiness. Would we be in another war? Would Don be caught in another war zone and possibly behind enemy lines?

For about five days Don and the others at the legation kept their cars packed and in readiness to make the run for the border.

As it became apparent our government was not going to give military aid, we were relieved. I remember the feelings of relief, sympathy and guilt I had at that time, relief

that we would not be at war, sympathy for the Hungarians who had gambled and lost, and guilt that America had let them down.

Don remembers they draped American flags on the hoods of their cars whenever they had to drive the streets of Budapest during the uprising; insurance, they hoped, that they would not become targets.

After about two weeks Soviet forces poured back in and quickly put down the uprising.

Hungary had been free for a few days, but the Iron Curtain had clanged down again. Many Hungarians were killed or imprisoned, and many more fled the country in the days before the frontier stations were manned again.

Don remembers seeing and talking to Cardinal Mindszenty during his stay at the legation. The Cardinal had an apartment on the third floor, and almost every evening would walk for exercise along the halls or in the ground-level courtyard. Don, in the course of his guard duty, was required to check in at various stations in the building and grounds, and often encountered the Cardinal.

Don could not speak Hungarian, and Cardinal Mindszenty could not speak English, but did speak German. Don had been taking German language lessons from a local private tutor, so the two of them managed to converse in basic German. Cardinal Mindszenty was friendly and seemed to like to talk to Don. One of the other Marines, who had previously been stationed in Bonn, Germany, could also speak some German.

Cardinal Mindszenty remained in the American legation until 1971, at which time he was recalled by the Vatican. He settled in Rome, and died there May 6, 1975. After the Iron Curtain collapsed in 1989, his remains were reburied in Budapest.

During Don’s stay in Budapest he became friends with George and Inga Quade. George was the embassy code clerk, and Inga was an Austrian national whom George had met in Vienna at the end of World War II when he part of the occupation forces. Inga had two children: Christa and Dieter. Dieter, 13, lived with his parents in Budapest, while Christa went to school in Vienna and lived there with her grandmother. Christa made frequent visits to see her parents. A romance blossomed, and Don and Christa became engaged.

At home in Kansas, Dad and Mom were in good health. Mom wrote to me in February of 1956: “Dad or I haven’t as much as had a cold all winter.”Since they had sold the farm and moved to town there was a lot less work for them to do as they had no stock – not even chickens. Mom was 66, and Dad would be 68 in April, and Mom said he just couldn’t do hard physical labor any more that he’d done most of his life. She mentioned that he still had to work that summer to qualify for their Social Security. He would apply for it in the fall.

In a letter, Mom told me that Dad had sold the pickup and bought a 1952 Willys with overdrive that was saving on gas, and that they planned a trip to California the next summer.

She said in her letter, “I do so want to see you all, especially my grandchildren. Never saw Bud’s three and yours are growing up. Mary’s and Bub’s too. There are no little ones here to hug.” She also mentioned, “Lois’s little Mike is so sweet. Never was afraid.” But she didn’t see her great grandchil­dren very often, and she missed having babies around.

Nineteen- fifty-seven was the year of the desegregation crisis in the schools in Little Rock, Arkansas, and President Eisenhower sent troops in to prevent violence. Also, that year the Brooklyn Dodgers became the Los Angeles Dodgers, the film The Bridge on the River Kwaiwon the Academy Award, popular songs were Love Letters in the Sandand Seventy-six Trombones, Dr. Seuss’s book THE CAT IN THE HAT was published, and Don, the youngest of Mom’s and Dad’s chil­dren, was married.

Don left Budapest early in March; he was 24. George and Inga Quade, along with Christa and Dieter, left Budapest about the same time and – after leave in the States – were to report for duty in Ecuador. George’s home town was Geneseo, Illinois. Don and Christa were married there in April, and Don was dis­charged the same month in San Francisco.

Don had visions of getting a degree in political science and returning to the foreign service as a full-fledged State Department employee, so with that in mind he enrolled in the summer session at Fresno State College. But fate and Mother Nature were to decree otherwise. In the middle of the summer they discovered that Christa was pregnant, which spelled the end to Don’s diplomatic career. After the summer session was over Don started looking for permanent employment, and in August he started working for Graybar Electric Company, still his employer now some thirty years later.

That summer Mom and Dad made their planned trip to California. They drove to the Fresno-Madera area where they had lived before and from there relied on their sons to drive them around. Dad was not a confident driver.

Don and Christa drove the folks down to see us and our children in Torrance. One of the places we took them on that trip was downtown Los Angeles to 0lvera Street, the original settlement of that city. Most of the original adobe buildings are still there and now house various shops. It is like a bit of old Mexico with a lot of commercialism mixed in. Dad wasn’t impressed. He said it all looked like what he had seen in the San Joaquin Valley.

On the way out, Dick bought some taquitos from a stand in the plaza. Taquitos are very small rolled-up tortillas with a meat mixture and taco sauce. The sauce can be varying de­grees of hot, depending on the 6mount of hot peppers. These were hot! Dick remembers looking over at Dad under the street light of the parking lot and asking him how he liked them.

“Oh, fine, fine.”

Dick looked again. Dad had tears running out of his eyes, but he didn’t complain.

Going to Los Angeles we traveled the Los Angeles freeway system. At one interchange there are four or five levels of roadway, and of course the traffic was heavy. Mom kept shaking her head.

“So many cars! Where are all these people going?”

One evening during their visit, and while waiting for dinner, Dad picked up a book that was lying on the table. It was HAMMOND’S ILLUSTRATED NATURE GUIDE, with pictures and text of animals, birds, fish and minerals of the world. We still have the book.

“This is a good book, Helen.”

He stretched out on the couch to read through it. My daughter Donna, then about eleven months old, got her picture book, climbed up beside him, and started “reading” also. Dad grinned and kept reading.

I was impressed by the picture of Dad, 69, and Donna, eleven months, stretched out together on the couch reading their books. I thought I took a snapshot, but I have looked through all our slides and albums without finding it. Dick says he never saw the picture. It has just been in my mind all this time. I’ve come to the conclusion it was just one of those pictures I should have taken.

In the year 1958 Alaska became our 49th state, tension grew in the South over desegregation of schools, the Beatnik movement spread throughout America and Europe, and popular songs were The Chipmunk Song and The Purple People Eater. That year a 6 ½ oz. can of Starkist chunk tuna was advertised for 23¢, a pound of Nob Hill coffee was 79¢, J. C. Penney stores were selling their 8lxl08 Penco sheets for $2.05, and one car dealer advertised the Edsel as “The Year’s Best Deal.”

In 1959 Fidel Castro became Premier of Cuba, Hawaii became our 50th state, and Premier Khrushchev of the Soviet Union visited the United States, and was miffed when our government refused, for security reasons, to let him visit Disneyland. That same year Russia’s unmanned space rocket reached the moon, and popular songs were, He’ s Got the Whole World in His Handsand Sound of Music.

These years Mom and Dad were living in the house in Neodesha and reaping the benefits of their large garden. They were now receiving Social Security, and life was easier for them.

At one time Dad went into the rabbit business. Flossie and Joanne thought it might have been the result of someone’s leftover 4-H project, but Clifford believes it was because a neighbor was raising rabbits and Dad was interested enough to try them.

Mom and Dad ate some of the rabbits themselves and butchered and sold some. Joanne remembers eating d0lic­ious fried rabbit at her Grandma’s table. But Dad’s rab­bits seemed to be quite successful at doing what rabbits do best, and the project got a little out of hand. Dad finally got rid of all the them.

Dad also used to buy scrap iron and fashion other usable items from it. One of the things he made was a porch swing, which his granddaughter Joanne Hutchison still has.

Also, those years after her children were all grown, Mom went back to making quilts. Many of her grandchildren are lucky enough to have one that Grandma Erwin made especially for him/her.

The 1960s brought civil rights problems, the election of John F. Kennedy, the Bay of Pigs fiasco and the Missile Crisis. In 1960 came the first warning about the danger of heavy cigarette smoking, and Pillsbury cake mix sold for 29 cents, five pounds of sugar for 39 cents, and a Swanson frozen dinner for 59 cents.

Such songs as Itsy Bitsy Tee­nie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikiniand Let’s Do the Twist were popular in 1960, and in 1961 we heard Moon River, Days of Wine and Roses and Blowin’in the Wind. In 1962,Danke Schoen was at the top of the charts for a while, and in 1963 Hello Dolly was the rage. In 1964 it was King of the Road! and A Hard Day’s Night in 1965. The1960s also brought us the Beatles and pop­ular folk singers Joan Baez and Bob Dylan.

In addition, the 1960s brought us the war in Vietnam. In 1963 there were race riots in Alabama, and that year also horrified Ameri­cans saw on television their President felled by an assass­in’s bullet. In 1964 there was an escalation of the war in Vietnam, and a major earthquake in Alaska killed 114. In 1965 President Johnson signed the bill that caused Medicare to become law.

It was also in 1965 that Mom and Dad made another trip to the West Coast to see their California children. Bud and Delma, with their four boys, brought them down to our house in Westminster.

We had a full house with six adults and eight children. But we also had a large fenced-in back yard and owned a camper and a tent, so all the children except two-year-old Carol slept in the back yard, divided between the camper and the tent.

In the middle of the night I was awakened by Delma’s anxious voice and the barking of our dog Nikki. I stum­bled out to the back yard – still half asleep. Bud and Delma’s youngest child Bobby wanted to go to the bath­room, and he had called for his mother. But our dog Nikki was guarding the children, and he was not about to let a strange (to him) person into the tent. When I arrived Delma was standing several feet away from the tent flap trying to coax the sleepy boy to untie the flap and come out. Nikki was keeping an eye on her and barking. I gave a quick order to the dog, and Delma was allowed to get Bobby out and to the bathroom. After a few minutes we were all back in bed and all was quiet.

But just before dawn there was the sound of blood­curdling yells from the back yard, and it went on for sev­eral minutes. I leaped out of bed and rushed to investi­gate. The explanation? The “camper guys” had raided the “¹¹ tent guys.” Our Jim and Bud and Delma’s David were the culprits who instigated that noisy adventure. Mom and Dad could not have gotten a very good night’s sleep, but they did not complain.

Mom was having trouble with her hip joints even then. We were walking around at Knotts Berry Farm, and if I stopped for a moment, she would start pushing Carol’ s strol­ler. I was trying to save her any extra effort and would take it back from her. After a couple of times she told me it helped her to have the stroller handles to hold on to.