Westward. Encounters with Swiss American Women

“I had a special attachment to my father. He was certainly my first sweetheart.” (1933)

Margot then added: “For a long time it was very hard to be the daughter of a famous father. I felt uncomfortable when people praised him to me, or on the other hand, when more was expected from me because of his achievements. In seventh grade at school, in front of the whole class, the instructor corrected an error on my exam paper, saying ‘your father has designed the George Washington Bridge. And you cannot even add correctly.’ I wanted to fall through the floor. It took time and maturity to overcome this shyness and to find my own personality, my own life. We lived as Swiss, at least that’s how I thought of it then. The American children had more toys and fancier clothing, and their parents were less strict than ours. Our meals were simpler and more geared for health, with fresh vegetables and fruit from the garden and eggs and chicken from our own henhouse. In contrast, I had more books, had more vacation trips, more exposure to theatre, museums and later, opportunities of advanced education. I played with the neighbors, taking preference for the boy’s sports over the girl’s dolls and dresses. Often Swiss friends of my parents visited us. We led a simple life in a small rural town, as was commonplace in America in the 1920’s.”