Louis; and the cemetery authorities promised to send
word if the missing husband should appear. Sure enough, a short time
afterward he arrived, and, after visiting the grave, returned, not
unwillingly, and took up his family duties again under the
supervision of a probation officer.
The flexibility of method and the readiness to see and utilize new
resources which are displayed in the foregoing account are great assets
to the one who must institute search for a missing husband and father.
The thing that sets desertion cases apart in a class of peculiar
technical difficulty for the case worker is not simply that the man is
away from his family. There is no man to deal with in a widow's family,
but widows' families present comparatively simple problems. The
deserter, though absent, is still not only a potential but also a real
factor in the family situation. The plans of the family are often made
with one eye to his return; he is the unseen but plainly felt obstacle
to much that the social worker wants to accomplish. The children look
forward to his reappearance with dread or with joy (for many deserters
have a way with them, decidedly, and are welcome visitors to their
children).
Pages:
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69