Michael Hodder and Q. David Bowers
After their mother's death the children were raised by an aunt and uncle while Bert was away on business. The family lived in Bert's house in Bratenahl, a suburb of Cleveland, built beside his father's. Little Emery May liked to play in her grandfather's picture gallery, where his art collection hung.
In 1908, eight years after his wife's death, Bert lost his first daughter to a sudden illness. Emery May Holden Norweb later believed that her older sister's death came about because Bert refused to allow an operation his doctors recommended. Bert felt the loss of his daughter more keenly than he had the earlier loss of his wife. In Elizabeth's memory Bert created a public arboretum, similar to the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard. Today, the Holden Arboretum located in Mentor, Ohio, is one of Cleveland's major attractions. R. Henry Norweb Jr. is currently Director Emeritus.
After Elizabeth's death, Emery May, then nearly 10 years old, became her father's favorite. He took her with him on mining expeditions, and she accompanied him on the last trip he made, to Alaska. Everywhere they went Bert treated her as if she was the son he never had, making no allowances for "feminine frailty:' She was expected to keep up with him, whatever the circumstances. Once, when they were walking across a high trestle bridge, another lady in the party became frightened at the height andrefused to go further. Little Emery May said she was frightened also, and sat down. Bert replied he wanted no cowards on the trip, so everyone got back up and continued.
Emery May was devoted to her father. Her aunt Robbie once found her asleep on the floor outside her father's bedroom door. After he died in 1913 Emery May was inconsolable for a long time.