Chapter Fifteen
It wasn’t just Lila’s immediate family that was having difficult times. Lloyd had gone completely wild, and it seemed like nothing could tame him. Aunt Hattie was torn between worrying about him and washing her hands; his behavior was damaging the entire family’s reputation. Slaback
was not a common name; when people saw his name in the newspaper, it reflected badly on all of them. Soon after Lloyd was released from prison for threatening that woman with a gun, he was sentenced to another year for committing a burglary. After that, nobody wanted to hire him. Why hire a twice-convicted criminal when there are so many decent, law-abiding people desperate for a job?
Lloyd showed up on Kane Street one day in 1934 looking for work. Lila was the one who answered the door. Lloyd smiled and said, Hey there, good lookin’. When did you get so grown up?
Lila blushed. Lloyd was her cousin, but it was the first time a man had complimented her looks. She wanted to invite him inside for coffee; it was the least the family could do. Lyle came to the door and said, Sorry, but you need to leave now.
Lyle told her that they couldn’t afford to get involved in Lloyd’s problems when they could barely take care of their own.
From what they heard from Aunt Hattie, the only thing Lloyd did consistently was drink. He had tried to get a license to work as a bartender, but every time Lloyd applied, he was turned down. Even his brother, Kenneth, had a difficult time getting a license. He had to go before the city council to explain that although his last name was Slaback, he and his brother were very different people. For a little while, Lloyd worked at the rubber mill making shoes, but he was fired when he went on a drinking binge and didn’t go to work for five days. It was especially embarrassing to his father, Uncle Frank, who had worked his way up at the rubber mill from cutter to supervisor. Aunt Hattie had kicked Lloyd out of the house, saying that he was a no-good drunk
and a bad influence on his niece (Aunt Hattie’s granddaughter).
For a few months, Lloyd had drifted around to various relatives including his much older sister Ruby, who was living in Winona. Although her husband, Ben, was reluctant to let him stay with them, Ruby convinced him that it was their duty as good Christians. Lloyd was grateful and even found a job. It looked like he might turn his life around, but then he was arrested again. By the time of the trial, the La Crosse newspapers had picked up the news of his latest crime.
Lila knew that Lloyd was a terrible influence, but he was also funny and smart. Five years was an awfully long sentence for stealing nine dollars. Aunt Hattie spent more than that just buying dresses and shoes for the baptism.
Notes
In this chapter, Lila is getting conflicting messages. She understands the value of giving and receiving charity, but her family is punishing Lloyd and turning him away. Although his older sister took him in (as a good Christian), it wasn’t enough; he committed another crime and was sent away to prison for five years.
Through Ancestry.com, I connected with the granddaughter of Lloyd’s niece—the one who Aunt Hattie was so keen to protect. Lloyd and his niece secretly developed a friendship and wrote to one another for years while he was in prison. Like Lila, she may have felt that Lloyd had been judged unfairly. In his letters, he expressed regret for his crimes and wasted life.
This chapter raises questions about Lila’s future. She is funny and caring, but is that enough? What will be her path in society?
For more information, see Mary Bosworth, ed.1, Lawrence J. Friedman and Mark D. McGarvie, eds.2, and Ted Gup3.
Encyclopedia of Prisons & Correctional Facilities (Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, 2005).↩︎
Charity, Philanthropy, and Civility in American History (Cambridge University Press, 2003).↩︎
A Secret Gift: How One Man’s Kindness—and a Trove of Letters—Revealed the Hidden History of the Great Depression (New York: Penguin Publishing, 2010).↩︎