Chapter 2 the harvey family
GETTING PRINTING EQUIPMENT
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- CHAPTER 15 - OUR FAMILY OUR CHILDREN
- THE DAY THE CEILING FELL
GETTING PRINTING EQUIPMENTWhile speaking at a church in Northville, New York, a member looked at a sample copy of our mimeographed youth magazine and asked why we didn't print it. I replied that it cost too much. He approached the pastor and missions committee and that evening, they announced a special offering for a printing press! The offering netted $386 and that sum was rounded up to $500 by the church. I knew absolutely nothing about printing, nor of the cost of printing equipment, but a week later, I found a classified newspaper ad for an offset press. The asking price was $490. A lady answered my call and explained her dilemma. Her husband had died several years earlier and she had hoped that her two sons would take an interest in printing. They were more interested in motorcycles and wanted "all that junk" cleared out of the garage. She gave me the name of the press, adding that it was old but operational. I visited a local print shop and asked the owner if he was familiar with a "Multilith" offset press. He replied, "I certainly am, you are looking at two of them here." I then asked if he thought $490 was too much to pay for an older working press. He informed me that he would pay that much sight unseen -- just for spare parts. I borrowed my father's truck to get the press. After loading the six-hundred-pounds of iron and steel onto the truck, the lady insisted that I take everything else that was in any way associated with printing. I made two trips to pick up everything: over a ton of paper, piles of ink canisters, graphic supplies, a Pitney Bowles postage metering machine, a hand-operated paper cutter and an electric mimeograph machine identical to the one we had been using in Austria. I gave many reams of paper to the church and sold the other paper and ink at a local auction for $250! Since I knew nothing about offset printing, I asked the above mentioned printer for a few tips. He graciously explained the basics and burned a couple of plates for me so that I could try out my new acquisition. As I turned to leave, he grinned mysteriously and wished me good luck. With childlike faith and youthful optimism, I inked up the press and embarked upon my printing career. In less than an hour, I was actually able to print 500 bulletins for our church mission conference, and a newsletter to boot! There was really nothing to it! I was in for a rude awakening! A GOOD FURLOUGHThat was the only furlough we ever took that lasted a whole year; it was a good furlough in every respect. We were able to purchase the printing press, an electric typewriter and a plate-maker for the new print shop. The Lord even provided enough money to buy a brand new Ford Pinto station wagon for $2,782 and a used fold-out camping trailer for $125. As our furlough came to an end, I built shipping crates for the printing equipment and our personal belongings. Travel by air had become less expensive than by ship, but there was so much to take back, that we opted for the latter. It would be our third and final passage by sea. From past trips, we knew that our crates must be banded with steel strapping. Dock workers had done this before, but we had to pay $1 per band, so I decided to purchase a strapping tool and do the job myself. The tool would also benefit other missionaries and be useful in my father's construction business. The strapping tool was purchased for $125 on the way to New York City. Once on the pier, I proceeded to band the crates -- but not for long! A tough-looking dock worker saw what I was doing and yelled that no one was allowed to band crates on the pier except dock workers! I apologized and said that I would be more than happy to drive off the pier to finish the job. The dock worker gave a whistle, and in seconds I was surrounded by a dozen muscular men who made their intentions clear. I was not leaving, nor was I going to band my own crates! We are happy that other missionaries received some benefit from the strapping tool before it was stolen several years later! We had traveled to Europe twice aboard the SS United States, the fastest ship in the world. Our last trip was its final crossing to Europe. Ironically, we were sailing this time on the largest passenger ship in the world, the SS France. And it was making its final trip to Europe before being sold to Norway! On June 27, 1974, our family of five climbed into our Pinto station wagon, pulling a fold-out camper, and headed for New York City. We left the vehicles with dock workers and boarded the ship. After storing suitcases in the stateroom, we went out on deck to watch dock workers load containers, crates, cars, boats and campers into the hold. After fifteen minutes, we still hadn't seen them load our car. A lady standing next to us was already there when we arrived on deck. Casually, I asked if she had seen them load a metallic bronze station wagon. "Oh no!" she responded, "Was that your car?" They were loading a metallic brown station wagon when a cable snapped and it fell four decks down to the bottom of the ship! It was totally demolished! Our heats sank. "Are you sure it was a metallic bronze station wagon -- was it a Ford Pinto?" She said that she didn't know what make the car was, but it was definitely a metallic bronze station wagon! I ran down to the purser's office and tried to get information, but there had been no report of a damaged car. It wasn't until we were several hours out to sea that we received word on our car. The wrecked car was indeed a bronze station wagon; but it was an American Motors "Ambassador," registered in Canada. Our car was undamaged. When we picked up our Pinto after arrival in France, we saw the wrecked vehicle on the pier. We also watched a dock worker drive a luxury car over a large wooden chock; the car got jammed and would move neither forward nor backward. The worker continued his attempt to free the car until he ripped a hole in the automatic transmission housing and oil gushed out onto the pier. We thanked the Lord once again for His care of us and our car. "HOME" AGAIN!Upon arrival in Austria, we stayed with co-workers until we could locate housing. We found a small house in Ansfelden and began moving our belongings out of storage and into our new abode. Becky kept asking when she would get her big stuffed bunny. She had been asking this question for the past year and we breathed a sigh of relief when it finally emerged from a steamer trunk. Verna removed the treasured bunny and ceremoniously handed it to our four-year-old. Instead of the expected cry of delight, however, she looked at the animal with disdain and stated matter-of-factly, "That is NOT my bunny; MY bunny is much bigger!" It took some persuading to convince her that the rabbit had not shrunk but she had grown! Index CHAPTER 15 - OUR FAMILYOUR CHILDRENVerna insisted that our oldest child be named after me, so he received the very un-German name, Ralph Van Meter Harvey Jr.. It wasn't long before we and everyone else called him Van. After landing in Austria, we discovered that Van was even less German than Ralph, but the name stuck until he started school. Van seemed to have the capability of reading our minds. When we were planning something special, he would quite often come out and suggest exactly what we were thinking. There was nothing occult or evil in this ability. His child-like faith amazed us at times. He would ask questions about life, God and other matters that even we had never considered. Once, we were kneeling with the boys by their beds to say their prayers and Van had his head buried in a pillow. I suggested that he not pray into his pillow, because we couldn't understand what he was saying. His response was typical for Van. He looked at me with surprise and said, "I wasn't talking to you!" According to Austrian tradition, bonfires are lit on the shortest night of the year. Van and Ricky gathered sticks for a bonfire and asked their Daddy to set them on fire. I replied, "It's too windy." Van said, "If you ask Jesus, He can make the wind stop blowing." I said, "Perhaps someone else is praying that Jesus will make the wind blow." With a glum face, Van said, "It must be the devil!" Van started First Grade in 1970 and his name was changed to Ralph Jr.. We wondered how he would take to his new name and surroundings, but everything went quite well. The only problem we ran into had to do with transportation. Austria has excellent public transportation systems, so there are no school busses. Other children got passed that enabled them to ride the public bus, but because we were foeigners, Ralph Jr. always had to pay. Other passengers noticed and asked if he had forgotten or lost his bus pass. Rather than give a long explanation, he usually just ignored the questioner. That bothered him, so we decided to try buying a bus pass. Many people travelled daily and used such to save money, but it actually cost us more. The public transportation system had no pass for minors, se we had to buy an adult pass. HANSI Before long, Ralph Jr. had made several friends who loved to play at our house. One day Ralph came home from school all excited. He ran into the house holding a cardboard box and called, "Mommy, Mommy, look what I got for free!" Mommy looked in the box and discovered a black and white guinea pig. "Where on earth did you get that," she asked. Ralph said that one of his friends gave it to him. "His name is Hansi." Seeing his mommy's questioning look, he added, "His Mommy said that it would be just fine with her if he gave me Hansi." Verna didn't doubt that statement at all. In fact, it would have been fine with her if Ralph had refused to accept the generous offer! Hansi seemed to be delighted with his new surroundings - except for the neighbor's German Shepherd dog. The dog was well-trained, but curious. Ralph Jr. often took Hansi into the yard to play and the dog would watch from the fence. One day, our neighbor returned from work and the dog ran out to greet him. The German Shepherd noticed that the gate to our yard was open and Hansi was in plain view. That was too good a chance to miss! With a bound, the dog sprinted to where the little guinea pig was sitting and with one short bark, planted his huge front paws to the right and left of Hansi. The poor creature was terrified and began to squeal like we had never heard before. The dog's owner saw what was happening and gave the command to freeze. The big dog obeyed and so did Hansi. Our neighbor walked over, took his dog by the collar and led it away, scolding him for running onto our property. Hansi had ceased its screeching and we soon discovered the reason. While the neighbor was apologizing for the incident, Ralph Jr. stooped to pick up Hansi and comfort him, but the poor critter was dead! It apparently died of a heart attack! Our neighbor felt terrible and offered to replace the animal, but Verna assured him that this was the last thing she wanted. He came over later and gave Ralph Jr. a big chocolate bar and a toy. A MYSTERIOUS VISITOROur children had their share of cuts, bruises and childhood diseases, but we are thankful that they have been relatively healthy. When Rick was four, we noticed a swelling on his leg that seemed to be growing. We took him to a doctor, who diagnosed a tubercular type tumor. It would have to be operated out before it became attached to the bone. This meant that our little boy would spend several days in the hospital and we wondered how Rick would take that. He seemed worried, but Ralph Jr. appeared to be even more concerned about "what they were going to do to Ricky." God allayed their fears in a way which we shall never forget. On the morning that Ricky was to enter the hospital, we awoke at about five o'clock in the morning to a couple of noisy boys. Fearing that they would also wake up Becky, I went into their room to settle them down. When I entered the door, Ralph Jr. asked, "Who was that man?" Confused, I asked, "What man are you talking about?" This time Rick answered, "That nice man who was talking to us." Still wondering, I asked, "When was he talking to you?" Both boys said that there was a man in their room who had been talking to them. I asked what he had said and they couldn't remember everything, but both boys said that he told them not to be afraid. Many would argue with me, but I am convinced to this day that God sent an angel to comfort our boys! Richard was placed in the children's ward of the hospital. There were several older children in his room, most of them healthy except for bandages and casts. Rick was placed in a crib with high sides and big rubber wheels. On the day after his operation, we noticed black marks on the floor, but thought nothing of it. The next day, the floor was covered with what appeared to be tire marks. Rick saw us studying the marks and said that they were from his race car. When the nurse entered, she explained the marks in more detail. Another boy in the ward, who had a patch on one eye, had been pushing Rick's "race car" around the room! There were no complications with Richard's operation, but he has always tested positive when given "patch tests" for tuberculosis. Our son Richard didn't like string beans, so they "fell" on the floor and became crumbs when we were not looking. Crumbs seldom stayed on the floor in our house. We had a poodle named Bonnie, which was actually a cat disguised as a sheep. Bonnie would eat just about anything, including stuff our children didn't like. We eventually discovered Richard's trick and told him that he had to eat at least one bean. He obligingly put one in his mouth and it was still there the next morning even though he brushed his teeth the night before! Once, Richard put Tabasco sauce on his finger and offered it to Bonnie. That was the last time she licked anyone's finger before sniffing at it first! THE DAY THE CEILING FELLThat same year, we had a memorable experience which involved our baby, Becky. We were invited to visit a pastor and his family who lived in Linz. Becky was eight months old to the day. Our boys went to play with the pastor's children and Verna was holding Becky in her lap. While we chatted, Becky fell asleep and the Pastor's wife suggested that Verna lay the baby on their bed. Verna declined, saying that she didn't mind holding our daughter. At one time, we were all laughing and Becky awoke. Again the pastor's wife encouraged Verna to lay Becky in their bedroom, but Verna declined. About ten minutes later, our boys and two of their children burst into the living room all excited. "The house is falling down!" they shouted. The pastor tried to calm them and asked them to explain what they were talking about. They kept repeating the same thing, "Really, the house is falling down! Come and look!" The pastor and I followed the children to see what they were talking about. They led us into the master bedroom, where every thing was a mess and a thick cloud of dust filled the air. Large chunks of plaster and cement had fallen from the ceiling onto the bed where Becky could have been sleeping! For a moment, we stood there speechless, but then we all gathered in the living room to thank the Lord that Becky had not been killed. BECKY´S "ASK-A-DENT"When Becky was five, she said "askadent" instead of accident. We thought it was funny until she was personally involved in one that could have taken her life. We lived in Ansfelden near Linz, and our boys had to walk about a mile to get to school. Becky liked to accompany them to the corner of our street each morning. One morning, Becky accompanied her brothers to the corner on her little scooter, which had two wheels but no pedals. You just pushed it with one foot. She waited on the corner until they were out of sight and then turned to come home. Verna was watching from the window, but didn't see Becky turn around. Apparently, she ventured into the connecting road, where she was struck by a VW Beetle. She was tossed onto the hood of the car and then fell back onto the street. We both heard the crash and jumped to look. What we saw caused us to run to the corner as fast as our legs could carry us. Becky was lying unconscious on the road, bleeding from a head injury. The scooter was a twisted mass of metal and a hundred yards ahead of her, the driver of the Volkswagen was standing next to his car looking dazed. While Verna stayed with Becky, I ran to the house to call an ambulance and get a blanket. On my way out the door I spotted my camera and grabbed it too. Before the ambulance arrived I took a couple of pictures which later proved to be invaluable. Becky was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance, but released the following day. She received only a concussion and open cut on her head. How thankful we were to have our daughter back again! Upon Becky's release, the doctor forbade her to jump and run for a week. She was worried that she would have to pay for the man's damaged car, but the doctor's orders seemed an even harsher punishment for our lively daughter! She later told people about her "ask-a-dent" and ride in an ambulance, but for over a year, she clung to Mommy's skirt whenever she got near cars, even in parking lots. The driver of the car that hit Becky was returning home from a night of drinking, was obviously speeding and based on the tire marks which I photographed, the car had defective brakes. Still, he was only fined for "not driving slow enough to stop in time!" That same Austrian judicial system, however, didn't feel that Becky's parents had been punished enough. On January 14, 1975, Verna had to appear in court where she was accused of parental negligence. The judge hinted boldly, that if she would claim to have forbidden the child to go out into the street, she could be cleared of any guilt. But we and all the parents in our neighborhood allowed our children to play in the street. It was a dead-end street and only local residents used it. Verna refused to lie to the court and was pronounced guilty of "failing to provide proper supervision for her child"! She was sentenced to two weeks in jail pending two years of probation. This meant that she would not have to serve if no other offence occurred during the two-year probationary period. We wrote about the incident to supporter friends in New Jersey. They had migrated to America from Austria and spoke German, so we didn't bother to translate the verdict for them. Apparently, they were not familiar with legal jargon and told their church that Verna was spending two weeks in jail! The church prayed fervently for their missionary in jail! CHILDREN FORBIDDEN!The "Janz Team" conducted evangelistic meetings in tents and public halls throughout German-speaking Europe. Our mission helped Janz Team found the Black Forest Academy, and I served a number of years on the School Board. When the Janz Team came to Linz to present a Christian concert, we decided to attend. The following day was a school holiday, so we took our three children. The concert was held in the large, modern Bruckner Auditorium located on the bank of the Danube River in Linz. We arrived shortly before 8:00 PM and proceeded to the auditorium. At the entrance, a police officer stopped us and told us in an unfriendly manner that children under sixteen were not allowed to attend the concert. Other parents escorting their offspring had been told the same thing and were preparing to leave. I began to argue with the officer and the other parents came closer to hear the outcome. The policeman remained adamant that no children would be permitted. He explained that an Austrian law forbids children from being on the street after ten o'clock. Since a concert beginning at eight would not be out before ten, children were forbidden to attend! I argued that our children were in their parent's company and the next day was a school holiday, but the policeman refused to change his mind. I looked at the other parents, gave them a wink and then said in the presence of the policeman, "We are going inside! I want to see the newspaper headlines: "Americans Arrested for Taking their Children to a Christian Concert." I encouraged the other parents to come in with us and several did, but a few left. The policeman made no effort to stop us but just watched us enter the auditorium. We thoroughly enjoyed the concert and when it was over, there was no paddy wagon waiting at the exit! Driving through Linz shortly after ten, we saw numerous kids under sixteen wandering the streets. Many were smoking cigarettes on their way from a movie or perhaps headed for a discotheque. BECKY'S POETRYBecky was a very sensitive and emotional girl, who cried easily but could also bubble over with contagious joy. She never cared much for dolls, but loved animals, real ones or the stuffed variety. We thought that she might someday become an animal doctor, but should have known better. She would never cause pain to an animal, even for its own good! Once we overheard our boys asking Becky to tell them stories. Ralph Jr. said, "Tell us a sad story, Becky!" She thought for a minute and replied, "The lion ate a mouse." Rick then said, "Now, tell us a funny story!" She said, "The mouse ate a lion." We used to read bedtime stories and quote nursery rhymes to the children. They had heard some so often, that they knew them by heart. If I changed just one word, they would correct me, so I made a game of changing the story from time to time. They loved it when I occasionally told them a new version like, "Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall; Humpty Dumpty had a great fall; all the kings horses and all the kings men, had scrambled eggs for breakfast." Or, "Mary had a little lamb; its father shot it dead. She takes her lamb to school each day between two slabs of bread." One day Becky was sitting on the staircase chattering to her stuffed animals. We overheard her imitating Daddy by giving a nursery rhyme a new twist: "Little Miss Muffit sat on a tuffet, eating her curds and whey. Along came a spider and sat down beside her, so she sat on the spider -- squash!" Both of us burst into laughter. Becky must have been embarrassed or thought that we were laughing at her and burst into tears. It took a while to comfort her and make her realize that we were laughing because her poetry was so cute. When Van was about four, we were seated around the breakfast table and I was studying my pocket calendar. I casually remarked to Verna, "I just noticed that today is the Fourth of July." The American national holiday is of course no holiday in Austria, so we were surprised when Van's eyes lit up and he shouted, "Whoopee! Today is the Fourth of July!" We just looked at each other in amazement that he knew anything about the holiday. I asked him, "What is so special about the Fourth of July, Van?" He looked at us in disgust and then said, "You know; this is the day the elephant comes back!" We had taught the children a nursery rhyme that said, "I asked my mother for fifty cents, to watch the elephant jump the fence. It jumped so high, it reached the sky and didn't come back til the Fourth of July." VACATION IN YUGOSLAVIAIn 1965, we took a three day vacation in Austria with our 1952 VW and two little boys. The trip to Scotland when Becky was only three months old was our second family vacation. Many Austrians vacation on the Mediterranean Sea in Italy or Yugoslavia. Although few Americans went to Yugoslavia due to the Communist government of that country, it was considerably cheaper, so we decided to vacation there. Communism under Marshall Tito was really not much different from Austrian socialism, so we didn't think that there would be any problems. Friends loaned us a tent and we headed south in our little Mazda station wagon. The climate became increasingly warmer and we all began to long for a glimpse of that cool Mediterranean Sea! After what seemed like an eternity, we finally reached the coast. We spotted a rock studded beach and pulled over. After changing into our swim suits, we all held hands and sprinted towards the water, eager to get cooled off. Suddenly a couple of uniformed soldiers appeared out of nowhere and pointed machine guns at us! We froze as they told us something in a language that we could not understand. Motioning with the muzzles of their guns, they made it clear, that we were to leave the area immediately! I only understood two words: "military area," but that was sufficient. We didn't even bother to change back into our clothes! We hadn't gotten cooled off, but we all had goose bumps! We drove until we found a camp ground that had been recommended to us. It was nearly dark, so we wasted no time setting up the tent. Exhausted from the trip, we crawled into our sleeping bags and drifted off to sleep, the sound of music from some happy campers nearby lulling us to sleep. At about eleven o'clock, we were awakened by a strong wind that was causing the tent to flap. I went out and drove some more stakes into the hard ground, tying the tent more firmly. The wind picked up and began to blow sand under the flaps and into our faces. The borrowed tent had a small inner tent where we had put the children. They continued to sleep soundly all through the night, but there was no more sleep for us! Although not a drop of rain fell, the wind kept increasing until we had to hang onto the tent poles in a standing position (Austrian tents have the poles on the inside) to keep the tent from blowing away. Stakes began to pull out of the ground and strings snapped. I finally had to go outside and rope the tent to our car and nearby trees to keep it on the ground! I don't believe we have ever witnessed such a strong wind, and here we were in a tent, hundreds of miles from home! Our eyes were filled with the fine sand and our arms ached from hanging onto the tent poles. When the first rays of light became visible, I told Verna that I had enough of camping; we were packing and leaving! Her protests were of no avail. I began to take down the tent, which was no small task in those winds. After the outer tent was packed, I let the inner tent flop down on our still sleeping children while Verna helped take down the poles. Only after everything was packed in the car and our children in their cramped seats, did the wind let up a bit. Driving out of the camp ground, we saw several camping trailers lying on their sides and tents which had been blown into the sea! We were more fortunate. Later, someone told us that these high winds are called "Bora" and are not uncommon to that part of the world. After driving for an hour, we stopped in a restaurant to have brunch. It had become so peaceful, that we even ate on the outside terrace overlooking the blue Mediterranean. We stopped at the next camp ground and set up our tent again. Two zippers were broken but fortunately, we had safety pins with us. For the next eight days we had a delightful time. There was nothing to do but bake in the sun, bathe and be lazy! We did have to eat, of course, but we cooked most of our meals on a little gas cooker or the charcoal grill. When our money began to run low, we reserved enough for gas to get home and told the kids that there would be no more special treats. In an attempt to stretch our finances, I put on goggles and took a toy net down to a rock jetty, where I caught some delicious crabs. The German tourists next to us had never heard of such a thing and watched with horror as we relished our meal. Ricky must have lay awake all night trying to figure a way to get another ice cream cone. At breakfast, he asked how many Yugoslavian Dinars he could get for five Austrian Shillings. I told him without thinking. Ricky disappeared for fifteen minutes and then came out with a triumphant toothless grin on his face. He was holding the missing tooth in the palm of his hand! We promised the children five shillings for each tooth. Ricky got his ice cream! After that first camping experience and in spite of the first night, we decided that camping was fun after all. While on furlough the following year, we purchased a tent, air mattresses and sleeping bags for the entire family. An Austrian pianist, Walter, accompanied us on a cross country trip from New Jersey to California and back. Because he was a foreigner, we were usually charged nothing to use camp grounds in the National Parks. Shortly before our departure by ship, I bought a folding tent trailer for $125. We eagerly anticipated camping in Austria. It was a lovely summer day when we finally packed our gear into the trailer and headed for Wallersee, a nice lake about 90 miles from our home. Fellow missionaries in Germany joined us and we were happy to have both the tent and trailer. From the minute we set up camp until we left a week later, it rained! The lake kept rising and we had to move the trailer once and the tent twice. When it rains in Austria, it also gets cold! That is one reason Austrians vacation on the Mediterranean and not in Austria! When we arrived home, the sun came out just to torment us! We washed our muddy clothes and hung them out to dry along with the moldy sleeping bags. Our friends returned to Germany, but we still had a few days of vacation left. The following day, it was again sunny and hot so we decided to pack up our things and return to the lake. This time we drove to Attersee, a lovely turquoise colored lake only an hour's drive from home. We set up the tent trailer and spent the next three days listening to raindrops on the roof while we played endless games of Monopoly with the kids. When we returned home again, the laughing sun was waiting to greet us! The following summer, we tried camping once more. We had been told that the weather is much nicer in Austria's easternmost province of Burgenland. We set up the tent camper along the Neusiedler Lake, south of Vienna and near the Hungarian border. It not only rained constantly, we also provided food and drink for a million mosquitoes! When we arrived home to greet our "prodigal sun", I placed an ad in the paper for our tent and tent trailer. We had decided that we wouldn't need both even if we were bold enough to try our luck at camping again. If we sold the trailer, we could use the tent and if the tent sold, we still had the trailer. The first prospective customer considered the options and decided to purchase both! Farewell to camping! 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