Born in 1900

Stanislaw Orchel was born at home April 7, 1900 in Chicago, Illinois. She was my grandmother, my dad’s mom. She went by the name of Stella. She was the oldest child of Marya and Joe. She had a sister Ann, and two brothers, Stephen and Leo. Stella’s dad Joe died less than a week after Stella’s twelfth birthday.

Stella’s mother owned a tavern. Stella told us that her mother always had a pot of soup on the stove. When men would show up to the tavern to drink, sometimes early in the morning and not in great shape, her mother would always give them a bowl of soup and some bread before she would serve them a drink. She was a kind hearted woman.

Stella worked in the tavern along with her sister Ann. Ann was born in 1902. Stella used to tell us stories about the tavern. There was a man that delivered coal. There was a coal “chute” in the basement where the coal would be dumped from the outside. Stella and Ann would then shovel the coal from under the chute to the furnace. One time the man put his penis in the coal chute and she said she swung at it with the shovel and he didn’t ever do it again. And she would laugh and laugh.

Even though my grandma worked in a tavern or maybe because she had worked in a tavern, she had her first drink ever, a Sloe Gin Fizz when she was in her early 70’s.

Stella’s mother remarried pretty quickly to a man that was a mean drunk. She told us that her stepfather beat her younger brother Leo so badly that Stella carried him on her back all the way to the police station to make a complaint. Stella was only about 4′ 10″ tall as an adult. My grandma had a lot of guts. Stella’s mother had three more children with her second husband, a daughter Florence, a son Stanley and another daughter Irene. (Irene was born 25 days after Stella had her daughter Dorothy. Which means that Stella and her mother were pregnant at the same time. Stella was 21 and her mother was 41 years of age.)

Stella was married at age twenty one to my Grandpa, Theodore Larson. First she had a daughter, Dorothy Ann and then a son, Leroy Theodore (my dad.) My dad was born at home. When the midwife registered his birth she mixed up his first and middle name. When my dad joined the army in 1943, having been called Teddy all his life, he found out that his first name was Leroy according to birth records.

In the 1940’s, my grandparents lived in Orlando, Florida for a few years. I was able to look up the address and the house is still there. In 1949, both my grandpa, in late May and my aunt, on September 30th died. These two events brought my Grandma back to Illinois. She moved in with my parents for a short time in 1950. Then she lived with her brother Leo for a few years, I believe in the building of the bar her mother had owned. In 1955, my Grandma began living with my parents in their newly built home in Arlington Heights.

Stella would walk up to Route 14, once a week and take the bus into Des Plaines and then Chicago to get her hair done at Ben’s Beauty Parlor. I remember her taking me along on one of these trips. Grandma called it “going bumming.” We stopped in at the Sugar Bowl in Des Plaines and had breakfast. I can still picture sitting at the counter and I can see my Grandma’s cup of coffee and sweet roll. We also made a trip to the dime store. Grandma never failed to bring back sweet treats when she took the bus to the city.

Stella spoke fluent polish even though she was born in Chicago. On Sundays she would listen to a polka station on the radio. And she absolutely never missed watching Lawrence Welk. She shared a bedroom with me and my two sisters for many years. We had a trundle bed and a single in the largest of the three bedrooms. Grandma would keep her television on way past our bedtime which didn’t make my mom very happy. But my mom always wanted to keep the peace.

Stella was crippled by arthritis at a very early age. I don’t ever remember her not being affected by this disease. It was painful and she really struggled at times. She used rubbing alcohol many times per day on her legs and often had a hot water bottle on her knees. But she never really let it stop her from doing what she wanted to do.

Stella was sought after in our neighborhood for babysitting. She did plenty of it too. She would come home with all kinds of stories about the cleanliness and upkeep of the houses where she babysat. These stories really pushed my mom to try to keep a perfect household. She didn’t want to be judged by my grandma.

When Stella’s sister Ann lost her husband, Ann came and stayed with us for a few months. She was too nervous to stay by herself. My Dad slept on the couch and Auntie Ann slept with my mom. She had no children of her own, so she counted on my dad to take care of everything for her. At that time there was a cute little brick house up the street for sale. My grandma tried to talk her sister into buying it with her and they would be living close to us. Her sister wouldn’t hear of it.

In 1975, Stella informed us that she was moving after living with my parents for 20 years. She had applied for low income housing about 7 years prior and there was finally an apartment for her. She moved into a wonderful one bedroom handicap equipped apartment with an adorable little kitchen and nice size living room. She was on the first floor and was just a short walk to the Jewel food store in downtown Arlington Heights. I would never have called it low income housing. I would have gladly lived in that apartment.

Stella loved to cook and she soon made many friends. Often giving them homemade cookies and bake goods. There was a woman that lived upstairs that came down to dinner once a week. They had a system on the first floor. Where the residents would hang a sign on their door when they got up in the morning to let everyone know that they were okay. Many of us shopped for her when the weather wasn’t good. My mom would visit weekly to wash and set Grandma’s hair.

In January, 1985 Grandma had a slight stroke. She fell in her kitchen and banged in jaw pretty badly on a kitchen drawer. At the hospital she was able to communicate well. She kept telling them that she needed to get up and move around because of her terrible arthritis. If she didn’t walk a lot everyday she would lose mobility. They didn’t listen and she was in a bad way. They sent her home. My mom stayed with her days and my dad stayed with her nights. She was pretty much bed ridden. This was not her at all, this was no way to live so she decided to quit eating.

We all did everything we could to persuade her to eat. I brought favorite soups and ice cream flavors. But she refused. My mom threatened the hospital and Stella told her that she would just start the process over again as soon as they sent her home. Very stubborn! It was so tough on my parents, they barely saw each other, switching shifts at my grandma’s place when my dad got off of work.

Grandma passed away on April 30, 1985. She didn’t want any kind of service or memorial. She donated her body to science so I never got to say goodbye. She really didn’t have much in way of remembrances. I asked if I could have her rocking chair. My dad refinished it for me and my children were rocked in it every night before bed when they were infants.

Stella lived to see so many historical events. The influenza epidemic of 1918, mass production of the automobile was in 1913, World war I (where her husband served in the Navy), prohibition, the radio, the depression, World war II (where her son served in the Army), phones in households, television, Korean war, commercial air travel, Vietnam war, the walk on the moon, color television, mobile phones, and computers are just some of the highlights of what she witnessed in her lifetime.

Another thing that I find interesting is that we could never talk my grandma into wearing slacks of any kind. She wore a dress with nylons every day, never even tried panty hose. My grandma held onto many new items she received as gifts, saving them for a special occasion. Many items were still in her closet upon her death, brand new in gift boxes.

I’m sorry to say that I don’t have any pictures from when my grandma was young. I don’t have any from my dad’s childhood either.

I believe from my Grandma Stella that I inherited tenacity, a bit of temper, some stubbornness, work ethic and my cooking abilities. Of course, my father had the same characteristics. I’m afraid I also unfortunately inherited arthritis but luckily not with the early onset that grandma did.

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