Michael Hodder and Q. David Bowers
We have had amazing luck in my husband's diplomatic career of always being where interesting things have been happening. It started in Paris during the last war, then Washington and the disarmament conferences, and Japan at the time of the earthquake. We were living in Java during the revolution and the trouble in the Far East. In Holland we had four peaceful years.
It is difficult to leave a post once you are there. We are always dated up two or three weeks in advance. By now we have invitations through October.
It isn't all social life. In order to run the embassy effiency, I work at my desk from 9 a.m. to 1 every day and have two secretaries working with me. It's like running a small hotel. I buy everything wholesale and get 150 lbs of meat at a time. There are important guests who have to be met. When Winston Churchill arrived, I arranged a large dinner party on a three day notice. Mr. Norweb is very busy. He comes back from the office and goes right into a dinner party where everything has been arranged.
Europe
In 1943, at the height of World War II, Henry Norweb was sent to Portugal with the personal rank of Ambassador, to take over some delicate negotiations with dictator Salazar which will be described in detail in the next chapter. Mr. and Mrs. Norweb departed from Washington, their plane stopping in the Canary Islands for refueling before continuing onward. According to a family story, which is partially confirmed by newspaper accounts published in 1946, their landing in Lisbon was timed for 3:00 a.m., to avoid German Luftwaffe fighter planes patrolling the coast looking for their aircraft.
Life in Lisbon during the last years of the Second World War resembled an Eric Ambler spy novel, full of stories of secret agents, plots, and double crosses. They had to be careful of what they said, to whom, and where, as German agents watched their movements and had listening devices planted around their residence. The Portuguese, ostensibly neutrals in the conflict, were very pro-German until the tide of the war turned against the Axis. Their discretion could not be counted on. Portuguese hired for the embassy staff could not be trusted absolutely, either.
The negotiations Henry was conducting on behalf of the United States dragged on for a full year. Back home, R. Henry Norweb, Jr. had become engaged and a wedding day had been set. Mr. and Mrs. Norweb arranged for a special plane to be waiting for them in Lisbon, ready to fly them to their son's wedding as soon as the Portuguese head of state signed the treaty papers. At the last moment dictator Salazar changed his mind, demanding revisions in the treaty's wording. The Norwebs were forced to remain in Lisbon, missing R. Henry, Jr.'s wedding. Salazar offered his apologies, and put a Portuguese plane at their disposal. Naturally, they refused the offer.
Toward the end of December 1944, with the Portuguese treaty signed, sealed, and delivered, Mr. and Mrs. Norweb left Lisbon by ship. As they stood at the ship's railing, looking at the city for a last time, they heard a tremendous explosion and saw clouds of smoke and debris rising from the site of the German Embassy, which had just been blown up. Henry turned to his staff for an explanation, but they all shook their heads and claimed to have no knowledge of the sabotage. However, everyone felt that it was a nice going away present for the Ambassador and his wife, and no one felt too interested in finding out who had arranged the "gift"
After returning to the United States, Henry was named Ambassador to Panama in February 1945. Three months later he was reassigned to Havana as Ambassador to Cuba, for a rest and as a reward for service in Portugal. Havana was a comfortable post and the embassy there resembled a large country club, set on spacious grounds surrounded by palm trees. This was to be the Norwebs' final posting in the diplomatic service. Henry retired from the Department of State in 1948, with the rank of Career Minister.
During a short leave in Cleveland in June, 1946 Mrs. Norweb gave an interview to the press describing her life in Cuba. The following extract, from the Plain Dealer feature story, gives much of the flavor of Mr. and Mrs. Norweb's life at the height of his career. It is a fitting place to conclude this short account of their foreign service life together.
Mrs. Norweb, a native Clevelander, is back home for an early summer rest at her Bratenahl residence. Her husband flew north arriving yesterday for a little holiday of his own.
They are living on their estate in the small cottage originally built for a squash court but remodelled into a delightful and picturesque dwelling. It overhangs the bank of Lake Erie and from the windows those indoors can make believe they are on a ship, the lake is so close.
This is a great change from the Embassy in Havana. Mrs. Norweb described it to me as a vast structure with formal halls and parlors on the main floor. She and Mr. Norweb have quarters on the second floor, where there is also a presidential suite opened for distinguished visitors, and several other guest rooms.
Social life in ambassadorial circles in Havana is endless.
Nowadays, American businessmen are constantly dropping in, and every plane from South America and from Europe brings more visitors. The Norwebs entertain all the time, often at luncheon, though she prefers dinners. "Things always seem to move more smoothly at dinners" she explained.
The main dining room in the embassy is large enough to seat 60 guests. There is also a smaller one accommodating 18 places, and they dine there if and when they are ever alone.
"I have made it a rule", Mrs. Norweb went on, "not to go out more than five nights a week and never more than two receptions a day"
Receptions in Havana are held in the early evening, the usual dinner hour being 8:30. The ambassador and his wife can get in two [receptions] in a little more than an hour.
Mrs. Norweb describes a "small" reception as one for about 200 guests, and she has given several of those since her husband and she arrived in Cuba last July. They were hosts to the American colony on Thanksgiving Day, and this party mounted up to nearly 600 guests. Later, the diplomatic corps was entertained at a reception of about the same size.
But, giving these functions doesn't bother her at all, for, as she pointed out, she has grown up in the diplomatic world, from being the bride of a third secretary about 30 years ago, to her present position as an ambassador's lady.