Cleveland part 1

Within four months of returning to Al and Lillian in Tampa, the family was on the move again. This time the destination was Cleveland, Ohio where Al had bought an Orange Juice franchise by the name of Health Flow. Here Al was a bit ahead of his time. As we know health drinks are big business and even in 1948 the Health Flow product sold pretty well. It was one of the deals where you buy a drink of orange juice while in line at the market or dime store from one of the constantly gurgling plastic dome tanks of juice that sat by tempting you as you checked out. Many were located at dime store lunch counters.

Health Flow's booth at the Restaurant Convention in Cleveland, Oct. 1949
Al and Lillian at right, Mechanic left, hand out free drinks.

The problem was, and there was always a problem with one of Al's get rich quick schemes, the Health Flow machines were always breaking down. Because he wasn't very mechanical, Al spent all his profits driving around picking up machines and taking them in to be fixed. Finally he had to hire a guy to be his full time mechanic. The mechanic made more than Al did. Luckily Lillian had a job.

Richard started school immediately at the rather aptly named Charles Dickens Elementary School.