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Well... Yes... Visit 1958-09-02 1963-07-04 1965-01-01 1966-12-29 1964-09-17 To Marion Architect News |
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My dear granddaughter Marion,
Thank you for your letter of November 25, 1995, which probably was delayed by the strikes in France. With television, we know of major events happening in Paris and vicinity.
Before answering your questions, I wish to explain the enclosed photo. Standing in the back, from left to right: your grandfather Armand Camus and his wife Dorothy, and Robin (Camus) Chadwick, our daughter who is 33. In front, from the left, Théodore Camus, our son is 28, then Mark Camus, our first child of nearly 35 years of age. Alden Chadwick is Robin's husband and he has their son, Brandon, on their knees - he will soon be four and their daughter Meaghan, who will be 8 shortly. We are in our living room. Our two sons are not married yet.
In your last letter, you write that I am ill-at-ease and that I hesitate to write very personal things. You are very sensitive, as women generally are, contrary to men. The reason is that I did not know how much your mother told you about me, and I did not want to write things that she might not want you to know. Since you are aware of my life, I can now try to give you some details.
I was born in Montrouge in September 1926, the son of Alfred Eugène Camus and Armande Célestine Plante. I lived a normal youth in this town for 24 years. My father worked in an electricity company, L'Est Lumière, in Arcueil near our house, and my mother took care of me at home. Each year we went on holidays, often by the sea, and I got to see many places including Cannes.
I obtained my study Certificate at age 12, my brevet at 16 and the I entered a professional school in Paris called Diderot, where I learned the basics of mechanics, algebra, advanced geometry, physics and electricity... topics which helped me later in life. I passed my final exams just before turning 20. At age 8, I started learning music. At age 10, I took on the clarinet and pursued this until age 18, when I started the saxophone. This combination allowed me to play in a dance orchestra, often playing all night long from Saturday to Sunday. Naturally, I was paid for this. In fact, during the war, the orchestra was playing for a milk company and we were paid with butter. In a period of rationing, butter was welcome!
In 1946, young French men did their military service at age 20, and so did I. I spent one year in Orléans, did not learn much, but was willing to serve my country. In 1947, after my duties were completed, I found work at the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers in Paris. This institution has a museum and a night school. I taught electronics and vacuum techniques in a laboratory. I stayed there for four years. I learned many useful things in that time which helped me later in life. After this I went to work for another company in Montrouge, and then I worked in the United States. I am simplifying, but I will come back to these topics later.
After military service, at age 21, I started working at the Conservatoire, but every Thursday evening I continued playing the clarinet with other Montrougians, just for the fun of it. This had nothing to do with the dance orchestra. The city let us use a large hall for practices. In exchange, this orchestra gave concerts during the summer in different places of the city.
A choir practiced there, but on different nights. Sometimes the conductors would agree on pieces that involved both groups. This is where I met a young girl called Bernadette Marchand. We went out together and got along well, and later we decided to get married.
My father died in 1943, probably the result of an operation where too much ether was used, leaving me alone with my mother who would think only of me. I did not feel free and wanted to spread my wings, as the expression goes. 
On her end, Bernadette did not feel too much part of her family. The result was that a marriage was a solution to these problems, but we clearly loved each other enough to get married. We were quite young, her nearly 21 and I nearly 24.
We were married in July 1950. What pushed us was a room in a hotel of Montrouge which we had found. This room was 2.5 by 3 meters, and had the minimum equipment. The rest rooms were on the same floor. At the time, there was a shortage of housing in France because the government had imposed rent control; investors placed their capital in businesses with better returns. The only way to get an apartment was to pass money under the table to building managers. My mother said she would have done this, but when we found something, the manager wanted too much money.
At the time, I was working in Montrouge and studying English at a Berlitz school at Opera. By chance, an American couple lived across from us. We met and became friends, us teaching them French and them English to me. After a while, and seeing our very small room, they told us that in America there are many apartments for rent.
As my mother would not pay any exorbitant sum of money, and us expecting a baby, we decided to take this opportunity and apply for a visa to the United States. I was fortunate to have studied vacuum techniques; our visa was issued based on my experience. This meant we would not be a burden to the government; we could earn enough to manage. After we got our permits, we left towards the end of September 1952, by sea, for the United States. Our American friends from France were there to greet us and help us get used to a new lifestyle. My first job was blue collar work, working long hours for a small paycheck. During this period, Catherine was born in Niagara Falls on November 11, 1952. Months passed, me working and Bernadette taking care of Catherine.
After nearly one year on this job, and having learned more English, it was time for me to look for a better job. I wrote to many companies and one of them, called ADL, asked me over for an interview. After that day, I was hired. My job was the same as what I was doing in France. I must explain that vacuum techniques consist in finding the smallest of leaks in equipment; this cannot be learned in books, but only through experience.
ADL has their offices in Cambridge, in the state of Massachusetts, which meant we had to move. We did not have much at first, so the move was easy. I started there in October 1953. In the beginning there was a lot of overtime. The money was welcome. Unfortunately, I realized that I would have to go to night school to learn in English what I already knew in French, or update my knowledge in new electronics techniques, such as transistors, which are not used any more, and many other things in the field of electricity.
Night school was three times a week, two hours each, with homework for every class. On her end, Bernadette was taking care of Catherine: but time was terribly slow for her. At first, she did not know English and there were few French women to whom she could talk. I myself was quite busy with my profession and my studies. After a few years, she had enough of this life, although her English had improved. She did not adapt to the American way of life and was simply not happy. This is when she talked about divorce, and I thought she was right. There was no bitterness between us, just a simple realization that things had not developed as we had hoped.
Since she did not have a profession, I told her that I would take care of her and Catherine financially until she got one - which is what I did. The divorce was declared in January 1957 and became definite in July. In America, the mother usually gets custody of a child. Naturally, the father must pay a certain sum of money to maintain the child. In fact, the mother, as custodian, can do what she wants with the child.
Towards September 1958, Bernadette decided to visit France with Catherine, with the intent of returning. I knew her intentions and had no objections. She came back later than I expected, in September 1960, but without Catherine, who was in a boarding school run by nuns in Malakoff. This is right near where my mother lived, who could thus visit her and have her on Saturdays and Sundays. I think this school was chosen for this reason.
Eventually I met a young woman who worked in the same company as I, called Dorothy, and we got along well. Our marriage was celebrated in July 1959. In 1961, we bought a house in Westford, with a 25 year mortgage naturally, and we still live there to this day.
I remember that Bernadette went to France during the summer of 1963 and brought Catherine on a trip to Spain. After this trip, she left Catherine at the same boarding school, knowing my mother would be close by. At the time she still had custody and by law, I could not do anything. The nuns at the school were not receiving payments even though I regularly sent money to a bank account she indicated. I helped my mother as best I could, naturally. However, after a while the situation forced me to go to court and ask for a change in guardianship. I obtained it, and at least the school bills were paid.
It is probable that I got guardianship because Bernadette did not attend the court proceeding, although advised by bailiff. At the time, she lived in Cambridge and received the official papers in hand.
The basic question was: "What is best for Catherine?" In a few months, she would be 16. As we were corresponding, I knew she wanted to go to drafting school. The choices were to leave her in France, with my mother, who lodged and fed her and loved her a lot, or bring her to America to live with us. The second choice was not practical. Children here go to school from age 6 to 18; at age 16 she would have missed 10 years of schooling in English. Besides, your mother told me in a letter of January 1968 that she preferred to stay in France and get her diplomas there. In fact, in September 1968, she entered EPDI, as she wished.
This long letter will answer, I hope, a few of your questions. It gives you a few highlights of my life. In another letter I will talk about my profession and try to send you photographs of your ancestors. It may take some time, but I will not forget. One question that you ask me is the address of your grand mother. The answer is simple: I do not know. I must add, to be honest, that I would not even give it to you if I knew, because if she chose not to ask or not to write, then I want to respect her decision. Besides, I have not had any news from her in over 25 years.
After the guardianship changed hands, she was very cold towards me, because the money paid for Catherine was now given to my mother. Once, I had to talk to her on the phone and she stated that she never wanted to hear from me again. I suspect she went back to France, because she always said that she was not happy in America.
We hope that you all had a joyful Christmas and a nice New Year. Kisses from us all.
Your grand father,
Armand Camus