Tom Sullivan's Early Memories of his Parents and Sister

Excerpt from "Notes About Things I Remember" by Thomas A. Sullivan, March 4, 1996.

Mother, Father and Helen

"Mother was the most important person influencing my mind and career.  We had a blackboard and she used to teach with it faithfully every day.  Before I started school in Sept. 1913 at 5 yr., 3 mo., I knew the alphabet backwards, count well above 100, and spell common words.  My table manners were good but my clothes consisted of "Buster Brown" suits and long curls which were cut off just before starting school.  When I found I was the only one in the school in Buster Brown, that ended.

"My Father tried to bully me rather than explain.  I tended to go my way without confiding in him.  For example, when he announced, when I was in eighth grade, that he was taking me down to St. Ignatius High to enroll me, I told him I had already registered at St. Mel several months before.

"My Mother was very concerned about Helen's birth.  I was much overweight and she had a bad time, but Helen was normal but a fussy baby.  I was a much older person (5 years) and ignored her as she wasn't a boy and hence from a different world.  We grew up separately, she had her friends and I had mine.  I didn't get to know her until Mother died when she suddenly took over as the head of the family and began to get me in line as part of her world."

 Photo of Nell and Al Sullivan, Helen in car window, on a vacation trip late 1920s

Memories of Al Sullivan by his Daughter

From The Story of a Lifetime: The Personal Memoirs of Helen Sullivan McIntyre:

What memories do you have of your father during your childhood?

"How hard he worked.  He was a steamfitter and put the heat in all the houses on the north shore.  He'd leave at 6:30 in the morning and come home about 4:30 dead tired.  He was always dirty from the work and rushed to the bathroom to wash up.  On hot summer days he would come home not only dirty and tired but his clothes were wringing wet!  He used to tell me how he would walk on the high steel girders while the homes were being built.  The girders were only a foot wide and he was up 2 or 3 stories with no protection on either side.  I would say "aren't you afraid you'll fall?" He'd say "No, just always keep looking up - never down."

 This photo, taken in the 1910s, shows Al Sullivan (second from right) at work.

  Behind him is some of his steamfitting handiwork.  

"I remember his sitting in his den reading western magazines one was called Argosy.  He loved the western stories and bought several magazines a month.  Whenever we would ask him what he wanted for his birthday or Christmas, He'd always say, "Just a few kind words."  He loved to listen to Laurel and Hardy on the radio.  I can still see him sitting in the living room and laughing his head off.

"He liked to tell funny stories and our alderman Tom Casey would always stop by to listen to him.  He was very conservative and didn't feel like spending a lot of money foolishly yet he saw we had great vacations and everything that we needed.  He was a great guy.  Now that I realize it -- I wish I had told him how much he meant to me!"

What other interests did he have?  What were his hobbies and what did he do for fun?

"He loved to read, especially western story magazines.  He loved flowers.  We had the prettiest backyard on Latrobe ave.  There were roses, phlox, lilacs, peonies, geraniums, daisies, petunias, verbenas, four o'clocks. He also made a little vegetable garden with onions, carrots, radishes and tomatoes.

"He loved music and Sunday morning after Mass he would always bring home a new record for our Victrola or a new roll for our player piano.  He loved movies and stage plays.  He loved the water and taking boat rides. He loved a nice box of chocolate candy.  He also loved Christmas.  He'd buy the biggest real tree in the lot and always have to saw off the top to fit in our living room!  He also always bought real holly wreaths for all our windows."

Which of your father's physical and personality characteristics did you inherit?

"His tallness, sense of humor, the love of the water, being near a lake and going for boat rides.  He loved to read and so did I.  He loved plays, movies and music and so did I.  He couldn't carry a tune and neither could I. He was a good dancer - not me."

What else do you remember about him?

"I remember how he loved my mother.  He'd say "How's my baby," "You look so pretty today."  Even when people were around he'd say "Doesn't Nell look pretty."  Mother would get so mad -- she'd say "Oh Al, stop it, don't be so silly."  I guess she was embarrassed, but he never did stop it!  I often wished Larry would talk to me like that!"

Memories of Nell Madigan Sullivan by her Daughter

Helen Sullivan McIntyre, over a period of 10 years, answered questions, glued pictures and in general wrote down her thoughts in a book/journal called The Story of a Lifetime.  Here are a couple of memories about her mother, Nell Sullivan.

What memories do you have of your mother during your childhood?

I had long curls, almost to my shoulders.  Every night before I went to bed she would curl my hair around her finger, then wrap the curls in a piece of white cloth and when I would wake up in the morning my curls were perfect.

Every Friday night I had to take a tablespoon of "syrup of figs" for my bowels.  I hated the taste and had a hard time swallowing it so my Father got some tiny pills instead.  I couldn't swallow the pills and kept spitting them out.  Mother would call Father into the bathroom and say "Al, make Helen swallow the pills!"

One Easter I was about 6 and Mother made my outfit.  It was a pretty blue silk coat with a white lace collar.  A pink straw hat with a fluffy blue feather that matched my coat, white shoes and stockings.  All the neighbors told Mother that I looked so cute but I never like the outfit, I felt too dressed up.  I think what got me was the feather.  Now it all sounds very pretty to me!

When I was 7, my cousin Mary Sullivan and I were flower girls for our cousin Evelyn Hoy's wedding.  Our Mothers made us white net dresses with ruffles.  Mine was the prettiest.  I had ruffles from the waist down with a big white stain sash and hair bow.  Mary only had about 4 ruffles and a smaller sash.  I thought my mother did the best job.

What interests did she have?  What were her hobbies and what did she do for fun?

She belonged to several clubs.  The Culture Club at the LaSalle Hotel, Friends of American Writers at the Edgewater Beach Hotel and one at the Stevens Hotel, I don't remember what that one was.  She had her Neighborhood Club, the North Side Club (friends that lived on the north side) and St. Thomas Aquinas Mother's Club.

She and my Father loved to go to the movies or see a play or ride up to Twin Lakes or Lake Geneva and maybe take a boat ride.

Which of your mother's physical and personality characteristics did you inherit? 

I don't think I inherited any of my mother's characteristics.  She was short, out-going, always ready to help, friendly, always on the go -- I was none of these things.

What else do you remember about her?

She was a bit impatient.  She wanted things done right away.  If it snowed a lot, she wouldn't wait for my Father to get home from work, she'd go out and do the shoveling herself.

One day my Father was supposed to paint the back porch and steps from the 2nd floor to the basement.  He had to work and said he'd do it next Saturday.  She didn't wait.  I came home from school and she had painted it all.  It looked very nice too!

Helen's likes, daydreams, happy memories as a child

From The Story of a Lifetime: The Personal Memoirs of Helen Sullivan McIntyre, Helen records some of the things she enjoyed when she was young.

What games and activities did you enjoy?

I loved to swim.  I loved to read.  I liked to write poems.  I loved movies.  I liked to walk.

Who were your favorite radio and television shows?

Arthur Godfrey, Johnnie Carson, Laurel and Hardy Comedies, Amos and Andy, Jack Paar and Rosie O'Donnell - my latest favorite.

Did you ever have a special place where you went to be alone?

I don't think so -- maybe the BATHROOM!

What did you daydream about?

Being a Movie Star, writing a book, being a dancer, a singer, an artist, a model, a poet, being pretty, being popular, being shorter.

What were your favorite things to eat?  Are there any smells, flavors, sounds, songs, etc. that bring back memories of your childhood?

Ice cream, hot dogs, my Mother's home made cakes and cup cakes  I loved the smell of them as they baked in the kitchen.  I remember the organ grinder across Madison Street with his little money, playing nice songs.  If you gave him money in his tin cup, the monkey would tip his hat.   My Father playing "Moonlight and Roses" on our player piano.

How did you spend your summers?

Always at the beach, lake, pool, sitting in the sun -- swimming -- trying to dive, never learning.  Playing tag, jump rope, jacks, run sheep run, red light, blind man's bluff.

Where did your family go on vacations?  Which is your most memorable vacation?

Helen Sullivan, mother Nell Sullivan, and cousin Mary Collette Sullivan

Up to Lakewood, Michigan or Eagle Lake, Wisconsin.  I remember Eagle Lake because my cousin Mary Sullivan would come up with us. That's where we learned to swim.  We had lots of fun.   The cottage had a row boat and we'd go rowing everyday.

What birthday do your remember most? Why?

When I turned 11 my Mother had a party for me as usual.  I hadn't been feeling good for a few days.  The day of the party my face looked very fat.  My Aunt Mae said, "Helen, I think you are putting on a lot of weight".  I started to cry.  I didn't want to be fat.  Then I felt sick and went to bed.  The next morning I woke up with the mumps.

How did Al and Nell Sullivan Meet?

From The Story of a Lifetime: The Personal Memoirs of Helen Sullivan McIntyre:

How did your mother and father meet?  How long did they know each other before getting married?  What do you know about their courtship and wedding?

(My parents met) At St. Ignatius Hall across the street from Holy Family Church (in Chicago).  My Father went there every weekend.  They had dances and he loved to dance.  My Mother was engaged to John Burke.  He became sick and was in the hospital, so one Saturday night she went to St. Ignatius Hall with a friend of hers and her friend's boyfriend.  My Father saw her from across the room and thought she was the most beautiful girl in the place.  He asked her to dance, she did and he fell in love with her.  He wanted to date her but she told him she was engaged and wouldn't go out with him.

He kept pestering her to date him.  She said he was a pain in the neck! Then sadly John Burke died and she eventually dated my Father and she fell in love too.  They went to dances and saw all the good plays in town.  They had fun and were married about a year or so later.

A Day with Daddy, c 1916

Tom Sullivan wrote the following story in 1987 as a "memory gift" to his sister Helen in celebration of her 50th Wedding Anniversary.  Another story Tom wrote for the event is posted at McIntyre/Sullivan Genealogy about Helen and Larry's 50th Wedding Anniversary.

A Day With Daddy, by Tom Sullivan (11/6/87)

About the earliest interesting incident involving Helen that I recall was an afternoon in Garfield Park.

We lived on Fillmore Street and it was probably a mile walk to the park.  Mother usually took care of Helen and me while Father was at work, and on weekends he had projects around the house which kept him busy.  One Saturday, however, he announced he was going to take the children to Garfield park and Mother could just stay at home and take it easy.

Mother got us ready for the big event, I was about seven years old and Helen about two.   She was in a stroller.  When we got to the park Father sat down on a hill about ten feet high which overlooked the lagoon.  At the bottom of the hill was a sidewalk and then the water.  While he was on the bench I decided to push the stroller a bit.  The grass was rough and I lost control -- the stroller and Helen going down the hill and into the water.  It wasn't deep and when it hit the water the wheels stuck and Helen was pitched in head first.  Father meanwhile had taken off after her as soon as he saw what was happening.  He was in the water seconds after Helen hit it and fished her out with no harm, except --

Her nice clothes were a mess, Father's trousers and shoes were wringing wet and I was bawling in expectation of what was going to happen to me for ruining the outing.  Somehow we got home, I don't remember the trip but I'm sure it wasn't pleasant, and Father had to face Mother and explain what had happened to his charges.  I don't remember him volunteering again.

Wounded Tom Sullivan, 1925

This drawing, done by Ruth M. Rooney, first cousin of Tom Sullivan, shows Tom as a "wounded" football player. We assume that Tom must have been injured playing football in 1925, the date of the drawing, but do not know this for sure. He would have been 17 years old at the time and a student at St. Mel High School in Chicago.  This framed drawing hung on the wall in his home. At his death, his grandson, John, became the proud owner of the drawing.       Image courtesy: John Sullivan.