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Fred Andrew Algren, Jr. As told by Rachel Hollingsworth and edited by Fenton Hollingsworth Born on October 12, 1907, Fred was born in Springfield, Illinois, the oldest of five children. His father came to America with his parents in 1884 from Stockholm, Sweden, when he was just three years old. This makes Fenton one eighth Swede. Also, the name "Andrew," Fenton's middle name, goes back to his great grandfather in Sweden. Daddy was expected to help with the family. He was smart, but had to leave school after the tenth grade. He always felt bad about that. I think that made him determined that his children would all get a good education, and he worked hard to provide the opportunities for us to go to school beyond high school. Daddy worked hard. For many years he drove a semi truck rig hauling goods from state to state. There were years when he worked two jobs; he ran our small farm and did chores in the morning, then left to work as a mechanic, keeping big machinery in good working order for road construction crews during the great highway and interstate building years of the fifties and sixties. Sometimes that meant he had to leave very early in the morning and Mother and some of us children - me included! - helped with the evening chores. Because Dad worked around gasoline, oil, and grease all day, it got into his clothes and I think it got into his skin, too. Even today, every time I get a whiff of a gas or oil smell, I think of Daddy. Fred had his sayings as well. Two of those include, "You don't really know people until you have business dealings with them," and "You can't get this kind of meal in any restaurant!" (commenting on Mother's good home cooking! Mother and Daddy were married on May 1, 1934, during the Depression. Their honeymoon was a trip to Washington, D. C. |
