On September 8 1908 at Our Redeemer’s Catholic Church in Surrey Hills,3 Jaime celebrated his First Holy Communion. He began school at Xavier College in 1911, and was a boarder in later years. He had to repeat a year when he started, due to his school years in Spain, resulting in him being a year older than his classmates. It was here he excelled in all sports, eventually becoming Captain of the Running Team and rower for Xavier at the Head of the River. Jaime was also a school prefect and then Captain of the School in 1916 and 1917. His two older sisters, Francisca and Ines, had both been school captains at Genezzano in 1911 and 1912, so Jaime was keeping the family tradition alive. All the San Miguel girls had attended finishing school in Spain after they left Genezzano.
At the end of 1917, Jaime finished school and in 1918, just before the end of World War I he volunteered and enlisted in the AIF (Australian Imperial Force). Although Jaime trained at the Broadmeadows camp for six months, this was a short-lived experience, as he was demobilised once the war ended.
All the San Miguel brothers were sought after by many pretty girls, loads of tennis parties and garden parties were regularly held at St Abbs. Antonio always encouraged his sons to entertain the pretty, dark-haired Parer girls, as he knew their families so well; however, they all only remained good friends.
Early in 1918 Jaime met his first true love, Alida (Ally). Her family lived nearby, close to Wattle Park, and it was here they often shared a picnic lunch and many stolen kisses. Ally was as pretty as a picture, with light brown hair, a perfect heart-shaped face, rosebud lips and a coquettish personality. They soon became besotted with each other, and Jaime would often also include Ally’s mother and her two sisters for jaunts in his newly acquired Ford T motor car. He became a regular guest at their home, and Ally was at first a welcome visitor to St Abbs. The romance soon blossomed and they became inseparable.
An extremely sad day occurred on 25 April 1919. Antonio San Miguel passed away at his beloved , St Abbs, aged sixty-seven, surrounded by his family. Around 1908, not long after Antonio had advertised the Perth business of Harrison, San Miguel for sale,4 Birdie had noticed a change in her husband. At first his facial expressions differed, he seemed to not blink at all, and she felt he was staring at no one in particular. Then when he was sitting, tremors occurred in his hands and face, and he felt sharp pain when he walked. The doctors diagnosed him with Paralysis Agitans (Parkinson’s Disease). The family were told there was no cure. By 1910, Antonio was too sick to take an active part in his company; however, he didn’t retire until 1915, when he needed the use of a wheelchair to get around. Eventually dementia set in and the family was devastated. Birdie felt the loss more than anyone. She had loved her successful and romantic Spanish husband desperately, and she missed him daily. Antonio was buried in a large granite crypt, which was built at the Box Hill Cemetery, and was large enough for most of the family when they eventually passed on.5
Genazzano Journal , Christmas, 1919.
Francie San Miguel and her sisters, Ines and Patricia, are living in Mont Albert. During the early months of the year their father’s health was gradually weakening, until on April 25, after many years of patient suffering, he passed peacefully away. RIP. The devotedness and love which had surrounded him for so many years must have been to him a constant source of comfort and support in those trying days of helplessness and physical pain. All at Genazzano sympathised deeply with Mrs San Miguel and family in this great and irreparable loss, and many were the prayers offered during those sad days. In November we had several visits from Francie, who very kindly offered to teach the Spanish national dance for the entertainment on the twenty-fifth. It was undoubtedly owing to her painstaking efforts and interest that the dancers achieved such a signal success. We remember how, long ago, she and Ines used to practise these pretty, characteristic dances, which they had learned in Spain. Patricia continues her lessons in elocution and singing, for which she shows much natural ability.
At the beginning of 1921, when Jaime was planning a world wide trip, he and Ally promised to write and wait for one another. On March 30 1921, aged twenty-two years, Jaime set sail on the Makura, heading to Vancouver. His mother had paid for the first class passage, and given her son the means to travel. It was a delightful voyage, the San Miguel family was highly respected and handsome Jaime was always asked to dine with the very best guests. All the pretty, young, aristocrats on the voyage prayed that they would receive his dance card, and though he waltzed with quite a few, he never stopped thinking of Ally.
After arrival in Vancouver in April, Jaime set off on a trip through the Canadian Rockies, sightseeing the magnificent Bow River Falls in Banff, Alberta. He also stayed a night in the quaint little village of Paradise Valley, and was awestruck by the picturesque Mount Temple at the splendid Banff National Park. Niagara Falls was everything he had anticipated, and his journey through Canada was an absolute delight. Jaime had obtained an Alien Certificate from the US Department of Labour, which enabled him to work in the US. For nearly six months in Flint and Detroit, Michigan, he gained experience at the factories of General Motors, learning a variety of skills, and taking an interest in the manufacture and distribution of tyres. Whilst working at General Motors, he met a man who worked for The Coca-Cola Company,6 and suggested Jaime import the beverage into Australia. After tasting the drink, Jaime exclaimed, ‘It’s just another fizzy drink!’ and rejected the idea.
Jaime had met a fellow in Detroit, who lived in Chicago, Illinois, so he decided to spend a couple of days with him, enroute to his next destination of New York.
Prohibition had begun two years before in 1919, so Jaime, like many others had abstained from alcohol, although occasionally he’d have a tipple if his hosts had their own private supply (usually French champagne or wines stored in the cellar).
Edmund Scott met up with Jaime at the station; he lived in a stylish apartment at the Le Roy, 836–42 West Cornelia, close to Lake Michigan in the Wriggleyville area of Chicago. Jaime was suitably impressed. They dined with friends of Edmund’s that evening, although this time there was no alcohol on offer. The following day, after lunching at Ed’s Men’s Club, Jaime visited the Home Insurance Building, built in 1884, and designed by architect, William Le Baron Jenney.
‘Look how tall it is!’ Jaime commented to his friend as he gazed up at the twelve-floor building. He also spent time at Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica, a Roman Catholic Church, founded in 1874 by the Servite fathers. He admired the grand Italian Renaissance architecture that featured a barrel-vaulted ceiling, wrapped around a high marble altar. It took his breath away. He genuflected and whispered a quick Hail Mary.
That evening Edmund took Jaime to a midtown Jazz Club. It was here they ran into a former school friend of Ed’s. This venue was renowned for their bootlegged moonshine whiskies and so-called gin. Bertie suggested they all indulge. Jaime only partook of wines or sherries, so he declined the offer, but Edmund paid for a bottle of gin. After his first glass, Ed complained that the taste was vile, however Bertie eventually polished off the entire bottle. When Jaime and Edmund left the club around 1am, Bertie was extremely inebriated. Jaime suggested they take him home, but Bertie was engaged in a slurred conversation with Margie, who he’d taken a shine to earlier that evening, and so the boys left him to it.
The following morning, as Jaime was finalizing his packing, Edmund received a phone call. Bertie was dead. The gin he had consumed was tainted with metals and other impurities, poisoning him. Such accidents became more frequent as the Prohibition continued and illegally-produced liquor became more widespread. It was a mammoth shock for the two men, and Jaime thanked God he disliked spirits.
On arrival in New York, Jaime checked in to The Plaza Hotel at 768 5th Avenue, close to Central Park. Lionel, his brother, had arranged a room for them both, as he too was staying in New York doing a postgraduate course at the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design, situated at 304 East 44th Street in Turtle Bay, Manhattan. Lionel had graduated from Melbourne University with Honours in Architecture. They would spend a week at the hotel until Lionel