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Biography of Alexander Wilnor Cameron (1927-2002) |
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On Friday, February 25, 1927, at 12:30PM,
Dr. Alexander S. Cameron and his wife Grace A. Fawcett (Clark) welcomed
their second born child, a son, Alex into the world.
He was delivered slightly premature by Dr. Loren Wilder at
Chicago’s Ravenswood Hospital, and weighed in at 6 pounds 2 ½ ounces.
Alex was named for his father, and also – somewhat uniquely –
for not one, but two of his paternal uncles.
His middle name, “Wilnor” was a hybrid of uncles (Will)iam and
(Nor)man Cameron. To his
family, the young wavy brown haired lad was initially known as “Little
Alex,” but by his third birthday was going by the affectionate nickname
“Buddy,” or, as he aged, “Bud.” When Alex was just over one year of age,
the family moved from Chicago (6150 N. Campbell) to Park Ridge, Illinois,
a near northwest suburb. They
settled into a home at 831 Greenwood
Avenue.
At that time, the surrounding area was fairly wide-open, and
although it wasn’t exactly a move to “the country,” it was a drastic
change from living in the city. Alex attended Abraham Lincoln School in
Park Ridge, during which time he had a wonderful experience visiting the
Chicago World’s Fair of 1933. A
few years later an amusing story, documented in family papers, occurred. Alex and his family
attended a Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field on May 24, 1939.
The young Cameron lad, who was on the thin side, ate such a
monumental amount of ball park food that his parents made a detailed list.
Needless to say the results upon returning home were not pleasant,
but it’s those moments that linger in one’s memory for years to come -
especially when a young lad had the pleasure of watching legendary Cubs
position players Gabby Hartnett, Stan Hack and Billy Herman defeat
Phillies pitcher Claude Passeau 3 to 2.
After graduating primary school on June 11, 1941, Alex headed off
to Maine Township High School. His
years at Maine would be monumental for the U.S. and the rest of the world:
1941-45. As Alex approached
Christmas break of his freshman year, Pearl Harbor was attacked, with the
U.S. subsequently entering the WWII. The
students were brought into assembly the following day to hear President
Roosevelt declare war via a radio address.
In addition to spending his high school years with orchestra, A.
Cappela choir, student council and basketball, Alex and his classmates
actively supported the war effort. They
arranged for scrap metal collection, rubber tire reclamation and raised
$500,000 in war bonds in two weeks time, so that a Douglas C-54 Skymaster
would be named for the school. The
Army Air Forces transport plane, which was assigned to a hospital fleet
and fitted with stretchers to carry wounded men back from the fronts, was
designated C-54, #332, “Maine Township High School.”
It had the following motto painted near its nose: “Faster and
Higher That’s Maine’s Flyer.” Alex
was a member of the U.S. Cadets during those years, patrolling the streets
in Park Ridge to enforce blackouts, coordinate recycling efforts and
foster community moral. Alex’s fondest memories of those years
included skating lengthy portions of the Des Plaines River with his
friends during the winter months. They
would log mile after mile of ice and shared stories of their friends and
family stationed in Europe and Asia. He
and his father would also go out duck hunting near home, when there were
large open tracts of land still remaining in the Park Ridge area.
There were also frequent visits to Park Ridge's classic Pickwick Theater
(opened the same year that Alex and his family moved to Park Ridge) where
a nickel would cover the cost of admission and snack for the day.
Above and beyond all other destinations, Alex was one of the countless
young men and women who also enjoyed visiting Riverview Amusement
Park. Riverview is now just a memory, having closed its gates in
1967, but Alex often told tales of his favorites attractions, including "The
Whip," "Shoot the Shoots," "Flying Turns" and
"The World Famous Bobs Rollercoaster." After his June 7, 1945
graduation, Alex enrolled at Drake University, in Des Moines, Iowa.
He was a student in the College of Fine Arts, and was violinist
with the Drake Civic (Drake-Des Moines) Symphony Orchestra.
In addition to music, Alex also performed on the stage.
In 1946 he was cast in a leading role for Drake’s production of
A.A. Milne’s mystery-comedy “The Perfect Alibi” and was also active
in children's theater productions. That summer he would enjoy a lengthy trip with his parents,
consisting of hunting and site-seeing in Alaska and
Canada.
Back on campus he was also active in Panhellenic community, as a
member of the Theta Chi social fraternity and Kappa Beta Kappa educational
fraternity. Within
the “Greek” system he would briefly meet his future wife, Elizabeth
(Betty) Gorndt, who was in the Chi Omega sorority at Drake.
On August 26, 1949 Alex received his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. Following college, Alex entered the
working world, being employed by American Hospital Supply Corporation of
Evanston. During this time he
and a handful of college friends would make a yearly trip to Cuba for
vacation. Meeting up at Key
Biscayne, Florida, the young men would fly to the pre-Castro island and
enjoy a week of golf, recreation and the warm sun. On January 11, 1954 Alex left American
Hospital Supply and came to work for Cameron’s Surgical Specialty
Company. It was a difficult
time, with the company founder, his uncle William J. (Will) Cameron having
passed away just a few months earlier.
By 1956 Alex was serving as Vice President of the company, under
his father. During this time
the parent company, Cameron’s Surgical Specialty, was sold to a local
Chicago interest and Alex stayed on with his father to run an affiliated company, Cameron
Heartometer. In April 1960 Alex attended a Drake
University Alumni Association dinner at Chicago’s Drake Hotel.
The entertainment that evening included a live act by Mr. Frasier
Thomas, the man behind WGN-TV’s legendary television show “Garfield
Goose.” At that time the
program was equally enjoyed by both young and old, and the Association had
a pleasant evening. Toward the
end of the dinner, Alex became re-acquainted with the lady who had
arranged for Frasier to perform, Betty Gorndt.
The two began dating, and were engaged in December of that same
year. They were married in
Glen Ellyn on April 8,
1961, and two sons were born, Robert and
Thomas.
The family eventually moved to Wheaton, Illinois in 1963. Back at Heartometer, throughout the
1960s and the 1970s Alex & Alex, or as most called them, “Dad &
Buddo,” would run the company from a small office in Chicago, near the
Park Ridge border. The
Heartometer enjoyed moderate success, but by the mid 1970s the company had
closed its doors, a victim of modern technology.
Alex later worked in sales outside of the medical profession and was active with his sons in scouting, baseball and amateur radio. In his later years he was involved in dance circles and senior events, enjoyed taking lengthy auto outings and shamelessly spoiled his cat, “Cameron.” A proud, intelligent gentleman with a wonderful sense of humor, he was a loyal son, loving father, aficionado of Hollywood trivia who reveled in WWII motion pictures, and the Sunday morning genius behind the Cameron family’s “pop-overs.” Alex passed away on February 18, 2002 in Glendale Heights, Illinois. |
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