Family History - Dad's Dad

Agnes Harrer, Frank Harrer, Josephine Harrer

Growing up we had three grandparents.  Mom's mother and father from the old country (Armenia) and Grandma Harrer.  Grandpa Harrer, as the story was told, was a tinsmith.  While working in his garage one day with the engine on in his car, he was overcome with carbon monoxide, and passed away.  That was it.  The whole story, beginning, middle, and end.  Car, gas, dead.  Be careful.  Dad told us he was around 4 or 5 at the time and did not remember much.  Details were not sketchy, they were non existent.  We (the kids) accepted it for what it was and had no more questions.

In 2010, I sat down with Dad for a recorded conversation as part of an audio family history.  Many years had gone by since I asked him about Grandpa.  As it turns out, there IS a little more to the story.  Between what Dad told me during that conversation in 2010 and what some of the cousins related to me, here's how I understand the story.  I'm sure someone will add or correct some of the details listed here.  Feel free to do so.

We still don't know if Gramps "death" was accidental.  Dad was born in '23.  That means Grandpa died around 1929.  Without having an exact date on his "death", there's no way to know for sure that a tradesman with five hungry mouths to feed might have been feeling a little depressed with the economics of the era.  Giving up, however, is not a family trait.  Dad told me Grandpa possessed both a car and a truck, which might not directly point to affluence, but did not make it sound like they were paupers either.  In the late '20's I doubt if many people knew the dangers of carbon monoxide.  Heck, today many people don't know the dangers of carbon monoxide.  It could have been a cold day in Evanston, Illinois, and Grandpa could have been just trying to stay warm.  My verdict:  accidental.  Be careful.

The reason we do not have an exact "death" day is that the story has a twist.  Grandpa did not actually die from this incident.  It did leave him with some brain damage and, as was common for the time, he was admitted to an "asylum" or "sanitarium" for care.  The kids were just told that Dad had died.  Maybe they thought he would die or he should have died from the amount of poison.  We know now that this would not have been the only time a doctor underestimated the constitution of a Harrer.  Maybe it was just easier to tell the kids he had died.  I imagine life was tough enough growing up in Evanston without the stigma of having your father labeled insane.

According to Dad, when Grandma asked her mother-in-law, Great Grandma Harrer, for help, her response was to split up the kids in the family.  Grandma would have nothing to do with this plan and Great Grandma left her to fend for herself.  Stubborn folks there on Grandma's side of the family.  But stubborn served her well.  She did the best she could by running a boarding house and doing what ever jobs she could find.

Dad spent a good part of his life with no idea his father was still alive.  He found out when Uncle Frank (Dad's brother) came by our house in Pico Rivera (1950-1960) with Grandpa's life insurance policy and told Dad it was his turn to start paying the premium.  Dad was stunned.  He told me it came as a complete surprise.  Dad had received a secret clearance from the government in order to work on the space orbiter.  The government's background search had uncovered nothing unusual.    Dad also told me that he remembered that when Grandma got the notice that Grandpa had actually passed away, she went back to the funeral.

I found out recently, not sure from whom exactly, that Uncle Frank had to return home for a few weeks while he was in the service (during WWII no less) to take care of his father, who was causing some sort of problems back in Illinois.

In looking through some old street directories I found this listing for our grandparents on Washington Street.

1922 Evanston Street Directory
You can find Frank and Josephine's name listed  in the left  column