REFLECTIONS

The past few years have brought much to reflect upon.

Within a 10 month period, we experienced the loss of two of our family members. My

husband, known to many as Bris, but Daddy and Papa, Papa Bee, Uncle Erwin and Uncle Bris to others, passed away on December 16th, 2009.

Just recently, my daughter-in-law, Linda Dye, known as Mom, Sis, Nana and Auntie Linda lost her life on October 17th, this year, 2010 .

We, the family, have lost others very dear to us in the last few years...... our Vinny in 2005, then our April a couple of years later, 2007, I think, and my sister, Phyllis Wolfe, known as Mom, Nanny, and Auntie Phyllis in 2005.

In March of 2009, we lost Katherine Soares, known as Mom, Nana, and Auntie .

So many loved ones, gone from our midst.

There has been much sickness, too, life-threatening illnesses, for many of our family members

but I won't go into that here.

There have been babies born within our ranks, and we are blessed by that fact.

And so, life balances out...the circle, or cycle of life goes on.

There are those who have tried to find employment...some have had success, others still trying, still struggling. Many having a hard time, because of the slow economy. But, I hope

things will turn around soon, and situations will get better.

My purpose in writing this is not to bring anyone down, but to celebrate having known these dear ones, and the privilege of having had them in our lives. This is a season in which to be joyful, however our beliefs may differ. It's a happy time of year, a time for family gatherings, feasting, giving and receiving gifts, singing happy, joyful songs, and being thankful for those who are still with us.

It is a time for showing appreciation for what we do have, and for working all the harder to attain what we desire , without hurting others to get it.

It is a time for demonstrating love for our family, love for our friends and acquaintances, neighbors, and those we meet in our everyday lives, co-workers, schoolmates. mail carriers, newspaper carriers, all those we do business with, everybody.

It s a time to forgive. We need to show compassion and understanding, accepting people for who they are. As Mr. Rogers, of TV fame, used to say... "I love you just the way you are".

We each want to be loved and accepted, and we need to do the same toward others.

For any who are estranged from our family or any others, we need to show them this same love and acceptance. May God, or the Universe, whatever and whomever you believe in, bless our efforts, and bring our family together again in peace and love.

So it is with mixed feelings that I approach this Holiday season, and I hope with all my heart

that the New Year coming, 2011, will see all of us in better health, better financial straits, better, healthier family dynamics, and hope for a better future for all.

As Tiny Tim says, "God Bless us, Everyone" !!

I love every single one of you, with all my heart !

D

In Memoriam

Yesterday was a time for remembering two very special people who left this earth only recently.

It would have been my daughter-in-law, Linda's 65th birthday. She went Home on October 17th, this year, 2010.

She had been a mother most of her life, first helping her mother, Carol, take care of all her siblings, as they came into the family .

She became a mother to her own three sons later, Michael, William, and Patrick.

That wasn't enough for this beautiful, caring and courageous young woman, as she also helped to care for her little sister. Susie, some years later . She and her husband, my son, Dwight, took care of all four of these kids, and did a pretty good job of it, too.

In later years, both Dwight and Linda helped her sister, April, and April's son, Paul, by letting them come to live in their home.

Both Dwight and Linda came down with one health problem after another, becoming seriously ill at times, but they never stopped helping and caring for others.

Linda lost her life way too soon . She should have lived a lot longer, for there was more work for her to do, but God had other plans for her, and took her Home earlier than any of us, her loving family ever expected .

We, her family, composed of many, both blood and non-blood relatives, miss her, miss her beautific smile, her warm, caring voice, her loving way of making one feel better just talking to her, and the warm, wonderful hugs she dispensed so freely and often.

All of us loved her, and we know she loved each of us, in her own, special way, and we are so sad that she is gone from our midst .

Yesterday was hard for us, but we all wished her a Happy Birthday, each in our own way.

Yesterday was also the first anniversary of my own, dear husband, Bris's, death.

He was 85, so he had a fairly long life, but we, his children, and I, didn't want to see him go, even so. I think we all want to hold on to those we love, forever, but it isn't to be.

We each, I believe, have been given a certain amount of time in which to live, and when that time is over, we follow the path back to our Creator, who granted us this life .

Bris was a hard man to get to know fully. He didn't seem to be able to express his love for his children, Linda, Dwight and Candy as openly as others can. Yet, we know within ourselves, that he did love each of us, in his own way. He would use different names for the kids, for

Linda, it was 'Punkin' , for Dwight, it was first, 'Butch', and later, 'Gus', and for Candy, it was always 'Baby' . I feel that was a way for him to show his love, without being 'mushy' .

When we met the Teague family, in May of 1964, he got to know and love each of them, again, in his own, special way.

We sometimes took some of the Teague kids with us camping. He really enjoyed their company.

One of the boys, Donald, had a special place in his heart, and mine, also. Donald came to live with us in May, 1969, until his unexpected, sudden death in an auto accident, in August, 1970.

Dwight and Linda set up housekeeping soon after, within a couple of years, and later married. They had a long marriage, a long time together, nearly 40 years .

And so, the history of our two families, was blended together, for all time. We became one.

Bris loved all those kids, as well as ours, and all their children, as they came along, as well as the grandchildren and great-grandchildren born to us, through our children.

He had a good life, with so many of us loving him, even tho' he was cantankerous. He got to do many things he enjoyed throughout his life.

We will always remember him, and Linda as two good people whom we were fortunate enough to have in our lives.

And we shall love and miss them both. Always.

May God hold you in His embrace, and give you peace.

D

TEENAGE MEMORIES

Well, we lived at 61 Maywood St. from 1941 until 1947. My ages at that time were from 11

to 17 .

A lot went on during those six years... a war started, then thankfully, ended. I grew from a little girl to a teenager, nearly an adult . My brother, Paul, was still a kid when we moved from Roxbury to the South End. He was 14 at the time.

But there are still some things I haven't mentioned that happened during those years on Maywood St.

When Fay and I were in high-school typing, which also taught us the Gregg Method of Shorthand, she and I decided one day to play hooky. It was wintertime, and we got our coats and boots from our lockers, and snuck out when the opportunity presented itself.

We thought we were so clever, running part-way down the street to one of the houses that had a small front porch, out of the weather. We put on our coats and boots there, and went on our way. Can't remember where we went, though...maybe to her house, because her folks wouldn't be at home. Mamma would have been at our house, so we didn't dare show our faces there !

Anyway, the next day, in typing class, the teacher took us aside, and informed us that she had seen us leave, and, of course, as we didn't go back to class, she knew what we had done. We were mortified at having been discovered, but that lady was really cool about it ! She told us that she wasn't going to report us, but to never do it again. Can you believe that ?!!

We were so shocked and so thankful, that we never did do it again.

We were at the age when we were crazy about boys . Girls in those days called cute boys

'dreamboats', and we would get that sappy look in our eyes whenever we thought of any of the cute boys we knew.

Next-door to our house, was another 6-family unit, a twin to our building, same yellow color, too, and on the top floor opposite us lived the Racine family. they had a son, Buster, who I thought was one of the dreamboats, and I would sit there at our bay window for long periods of time, hoping to get a glimpse of him . I used to dream about what it would be like to kiss him, and wondered if he thought about me in that way. Turns out, he didn't, and I was

crushed .

There was a boy who was just a friend, who did like me that way, Billy Showstead, but I

didn't want him for a boyfriend. We hung out, but that was as far as it went. Poor Billy, I hurt his feelings when I told him that.

I had other crushes, too, but most of those were one-sided.

I did have this one boyfriend, can't remember how and where we met, but his name was

Frankie Saracino. He was Italian, and he liked me. Took me on the streetcar and El train to Revere Beach once or twice, where we walked around, and had ice cream, and just enjoyed being together. Maybe he swam while I sat on the beach, but don't think so.

We planned to get married, at 16, no less, and he told me his father was going to pay for our

wedding . I was so excited, but, of course, Mamma and Daddy wouldn't allow that ( if I had

told them ) . We were both still in school, for goodness' sake !

At that age, probably before I knew Frankie, another boy was in my life, Sonny King. He was

the son of my parents' friends, Lily and Tom King. I didn't care for these friends, like I did

Auntie Eva and Nana Lambert. They were stiff, more sophisticated people, unbending, and they didn't pay any attention to us kids .

Well, when I turned 16, Mamma bought from Mr. Schuster, a white, 'fur' coat for my birthday,

and I had a date with Sonny . Before time for him to come and pick me up in his Model 'T' Ford, Phyllis put on my makeup, and helped me with my hairdo, a page-boy, which was the style during the 1940's . someone, probably her, had applied pale pink nail-polish to my fingernails.

This was my first time for make-up. Guess Mamma figured it was time to let me grow up .

We drove into Boston to wherever we were supposed to go...I can't remember now, but whatever this place was, it was closed. So, here I was, all dressed up, feeling so grown up in my 'fur' coat, felling really pretty, and what did Sonny do ? He just turned around and took

me home, and left ! What a disappointment ! Of course I cried, felt horrible, but then again, he probably had no social skills from his strange parents. He was a bit odd, too, poor guy !

Don't know if I ever saw him again, at least not as a 'boyfriend', but maybe he did come with his parents when they visited. I know there were times when he took some of us kids for a ride in his car, short rides.

Another Sonny, whom I had known from Dewey St. Sonny Spring, started coming around. I hadn't seen him since we were little kids, but he was about to go into the Navy, and he was cute...dark hair with a lock tumbling down his forehead. I had a sort-of crush on him, too, at that time, maybe even since we were little kids together, when he used to give me rides on his homemade scooter . We'd been real friends when we were little. We used to hang a sheet in the basement, and do shadow pictures with our hands. There were some other little kids there too, and we all took turns trying to form animals with our hands. We weren't too good at

it at the ages we were. But, it was fun, and we had snacks to eat while we played.

Anyway, Sonny and I said we'd wait for each other when he went into the Navy, but, of course, we didn't. I met Frankie, and he was the only one I cared about for a while.

Phyllis and Betty had met a couple of sailors, in 1944, and brought them home to meet the

family. Kenny, who at first told us to call him 'Hoppy', was pretty cute, only 17, a few months younger than Phyllis, and he liked her, and Marvin liked Betty. Don't recall his age, but he was young.

Before we knew what was happening, both of the sailors proposed to my sisters, maybe just a

few days, because they were both on shore leave, and due to leave soon for the war . We, and they, didn't know where they were going, because the Navy didn't tell them , or their superior

officers. Our country was at war, and the Captains were given sealed orders, to be opened only after they were underway. They had no knowledge of their destination until they

unsealed their orders.

No-one was told anything, and there were posters all over the country with the words,

'Loose Lips Sink Ships' . So the less the soldiers and sailors knew, the less chance of them accidentally telling anyone, where word could get to the enemy somehow. If they knew where

our military forces were going to go, they could attack them en route, and we might have

lost the war. So, everything was secret.

Lots of boys in uniform got married before shipping out, to have someone to think about while they were in some strange, foreign land, scared, but knowing that they'd have someone waiting for them to come home. They had their families, too, of course, but to have a girl waiting for them was special.

So, on September 30, 1944, Phyllis became Mrs. Kenneth W. Wolfe, at 18 years of age.

Two months later, on November 30, 1944, Betty married Marvin DuPont.

I must be mistaken about Marvin going to war at the same time as Kenny. He must have gone a couple of months later. Maybe he was stationed Stateside for that time, or gone for a little

while, then home, THEN went to where the action was. Whatever, my sisters were now married.

Sometime later, during one of Kenny's leaves, Phyllis got pregnant. she did alright, in spite

of having a bad kidney condition. the docs told her she shouldn't be having the baby, but

she did fine. The poor baby had the cord wrapped around her neck, though, and they had to

work quickly to save her. She survived, and today, Ena is 63 years old.

Anyway, shortly before we moved from Maywood St. Or just after we moved to the South End, Ena was born.

Just after we moved away from Maywood St. my boyfriend, Frankie showed up, knocking

furiously and calling for me to open the door and come out.

This was told to Mamma some time later by Dot Puleo, who looked to see what all the yelling was about, and she told Frankie that we had moved away. He was really angry that I hadn't told him. I think we had broken up earlier, although I don't recall what really happened.

I was so glad he didn't know where we'd moved, or he'd have come looking for me. I shudder

to think of what my life would have been like if he was drinking so heavily at 16 or 17, and

we had married .

Oleomargarine was introduced sometime during the war, and at first, it came in a package

much like how lard was packaged. It even looked like lard, white like that. with it was an orange, kind of reddish- colored round tablet. Mamma had to put it in her famous crockery bowl, and mush it all up with a big spoon, then add the tablet and work that all into the white stuff, and when she had it done, it was yellow, the color of butter.

That's what we had to use as a substitute for butter. All the butter went to the boys in uniform, like the beef had . It didn't taste very good, not at all like butter, but we tried not to complain, because we knew the boys at war had to have the best food, so they could be healthy and strong, to fight our enemies.

Some time later, the margarine tablet was replaced by a capsule, and the white stuff was in a sturdy plastic bag, similar to the plastic used to bag rice and beans. Then Mamma had to break the capsule and work that bag like mad to distribute the yellow color evenly. It didn't taste any better, but guess the manufacturers thought it would be easier to mix that way.

Soon after I turned 17, while we were still at 61 Maywood St. I asked Mamma to let me drop

out of school, and go to work, because Daddy still got sick with pneumonia every winter, and wasn't working, whenever Mamma could trick him into staying home. For some reason I can't recall now, I wanted to quit school, and used Daddy's illness to get Mamma to let me. She didn't put up much of an argument, because there wasn't much money, and so much less when Daddy couldn't work . I tried to get a job at a local shoe repair shop, typing, but was a dismal failure, and didn't get the job. Think I just gave up then, much too easily.

Phyllis and Kenny had been working at a division of B.F. Goodrich, the rubber company, and

Kenny talked to his boss, who talked to someone else, and I was hired in a different department from Phyllis and Kenny. to work putting on the rubber piece that wrapped around the heels of sneakers. I made somewhere around $ 40.00 a week. Gave half to Mamma, and kept the rest for lunches and to buy some underwear. I wasn't frivolous with my money.

Of course, you realize that Kenny was out of the Navy by then, right ? When I dropped out of school, it was at the end of January, 1947, and the war had been over for some time.

Phyllis had gotten pregnant, and worked until shortly after I started working there.

So, there I was, working at Hood Rubber Company, in Watertown, Massachusetts, and was there when I met and married a man who turned out to be my childrens' father.

Some time after we were married, I wanted to make a custard pie, like Mamma's. Well, it didn't turn out exactly like Mamma's. It tasted the same, but the crust was upside DOWN !!

It took me some years to figure out why mine always turned out that way, but, in the meantime, I was teased, especially by my sister, Anne, and her husband, Ray, whom she married nearly 2 years after Phyllis and Betty got married. She married Raymond Hadfield

on August 4, 1946 .

I married my husband on June 1, 1948.

So that's what happened during the last years on Maywood St. Many memories, some sad, but mostly happy times there. I'll never forget 61 Maywood St. I've dreamed of it many times, even after Phyllis and Kenny, after going back to that address to visit some years later, told me that it no longer existed, that our house was gone, and the one next to it, also.

That brings tears to my eyes, even now. So much happened there in that yellow house.

I miss it.

Until I can dredge up some more memories, or decide to write something else, take care

of yourselves, have fun living life, and write down some of your own memories to share with your kids and grandkids. I'm sure they'll love hearing ,or seeing, what your early lives were like.

Count your blessings daily, and show your love for your families in as many ways as you can, so they will never doubt your love .

I love you.

D

I have a couple of corrections to make from that last entry. I think when I went to see Mother Goose, she might have been in brighter colors than I remembered. Not absolutely sure, but I do want everything I write to be as accurate as possible .

Also, it wasn't so much movies that the Harmonica Rascals were in, but TV appearances. They were on Ed Sullivan and Milton Berle's shows, and others. Funnier than I remembered, too, as evidenced by the video I watched yesterday, from the old 'Milton Berle Show' . Little Johnny

was a crack-up !! Oh, yes, another tidbit I learned yesterday is that they were first called 'Johnny Puleo and his Harmonica Gang' . Another guy, with a Russian name had the Harmonica Rascals, but somehow, J.P. adopted that name for his group. that's the only name I'd ever seen him billed under.

The one movie they were in was 'The Trapeze' , starring Burt Lancaster.

So funny, when M. Berle introduced J.P.'s appearance on his show, he pronounced it Poo-leo. It's pronounced Pu-lay-o. Struck me funny .

One more thing, the little black, patent leather shoes Mamma bought for me were called

'Mary-Jane's .

Ok, hope those are the only mistakes or corrections.

As I've mentioned before, I was a tiny little girl, and, as my folks didn't have much money, I always got into movies for the younger kids price. didn't hurt to have a babyish-looking face, either. When Mamma would take me on the El, she'd have me duck under the turnstile, to avoid having to pay the fare for me. People always mistook me for much younger than I actually was . Saw lots of free movies that way.

Once, up at the Shawmut Theater, I was with both Betty and Phyllis, to see whatever was playing that day, and somehow, as we were leaving, got my thumb caught in those really heavy doors. Of course, I was screaming, and the manager came, and when my sisters told him what happened, he gave me a nickel for an ice cream cone. I shared with them.

Ended up going to the hospital with Mamma for that, and the doctor got a bowl, put some peroxide in it, and had me place my whole hand in it for what seemed like hours. The thumbnail came off, with his help, and there was this weird looking flesh underneath it. Doctor bandaged it with a gauze bandage and tape, and I had that on for some time, until the new nail grew back.

I loved going 'in town' to Boston, seeing all the sights, and going into some of the big stores there. On three corners at one intersection, I believe, were R.H.White's, Filene's, and Jordan

Marsh. I loved seeing all the wares while Mamma shopped. I remember we went down into Filene's Bargain Basement, where all their less expensive items were. They would have special sales for a limited time, and if the clothing didn't sell after just so many markdowns, they would give them to charity. Don't know if the other two stores did or not. Probably.

At Christmas time, Mamma would take Paul and I to Jordan Marsh's to see Santa Claus, and get a present each, but also, once in a while, we got to ride on the real ponies, with a man walking beside us holding the reins . Loved that !

There were a bunch of movie theaters on that one street, forget which one, don't think it was Tremont, though. That was, and is, a main thoroughfare and the Boston Common was on that street. Famous park right there in town. Had a concert shell, in which they held special concerts for special occasions.

The movie theaters were the Paramount, with that glorious staircase I've mentioned before. and two theaters named Loew's ...one was Loew's Keith, and the other, I think, was

Loew's RKO theater. There was a cheaper theater where I think, they showed only horror movies, called the Trans-Lux theater. Think there were one or two more movie houses, but not sure. If so, can't recall their names. I think there, on that street, was 'the Latin Quarter', a night-club that was owned by Barbara Walter's Dad. I didn't know who owned it, until she mentioned it one time, on 'The View'.

At home, back when we lived on Dewey St. a man would drive a truck around the neighborhood and he had a little merry-go-round in the back of the truck, and, if Mamma had the money, we, Paul and I got to have a ride on that.

My Mamma made the most delicious bread ! It had a yellowish tinge to it, and had a dense texture. Think it might have been 'egg bread' . It was so good, but I guess none of us got the recipe for that, or, if I did, it was probably thrown away when my daughter, Linda, tried to help de-clutter my kitchen one day, when she emptied my recipe drawer. Had a few of Mamma's recipes, but they were all gone now. She didn't realize what was there, and was only trying to help. I've always been a sort-of 'pack-rat', so she was helping . Don't think any of my siblings got that bread recipe. Such a loss !

Once in a while, at Hallowe'en time, Mamma would buy us a red candy apple. Didn't have caramel ones in those days.

Did I mention that, while at parades, sometimes Pal would buy me Cracker-Jacks ? Loved that, and especially the prize inside. they were pretty good prizes, too, not the really cheap junk they put in the boxes in later years.

Another Hallowe'en memory is when I was around maybe 10, and I was walking in our neighborhood ( it was safe to walk at night back then ), and I had a piece of Mamma's brown laundry soap with me. Found a store window, and wrote a really bad word on it, the 'F' word.

thought I was really something, writing a cuss word like that. Don't think I ever said that word aloud to anyone, but thought I was some big-shot now, daring to write it there !

In seventh grade Homemaking class, we were taught to cook, sew, set a table properly, and

other things. Only girls were in the class, but the boys got to eat whatever we made. I learned to make Lemon Snow, a kind of really light sort-of pudding, or custard. It was so good, I made it at home once or twice for my family. They liked it, I seem to remember. Whatever happened to that recipe, I'll never know. Perhaps it was lost in moving.

I've always had the habit of making a face when I'd hear a food mentioned that I didn't like, or even THOUGHT I wouldn't like, and in Homemaking class, if the teacher caught me doing it,

she'd say, "Boyden, stop turning up your nose". they always called us by our last names in Junior High. Sometimes, I thought it was Doris Bowden who was getting scolded .

We girls got to eat the ice-cream we made in the old-fashioned ice-cream tub. It had a crank handle, and we all took turns winding it. We shared that with the boys, too.

The one dress I made, with the teacher's help, was a princess dress, which was a popular style

back then. Fay and I had gone shopping together, and got the same material and pattern. For some reason, I don't know, or remember, if I, or we, ever finished them .

Mamma used to bake a lot when we were young, and she would put the finished pies, cakes, turnovers, or whatever she'd made, on the big, round oak dining room table, and cover each one with a clean dish towel.

She'd always ask Daddy if he'd like some of whatever it was, and he always declined. Well, sometimes, later on, Mamma or one of us kids would see Daddy sneaking some. He thought we didn't see him, and Mamma would kid, 'Must taste better when he steals it." We'd all laugh.

Have I mentioned before about the time I had Thanksgiving dinner with another family from our church ? I was eleven, and the church asked some families to take an under-privileged child for Thanksgiving. I was chosen for this particular family.

I'd never eaten a stalk of celery, but they placed one at each place on the table, so I took a bite. Instant dislike---yuck, patooey !! Have never gotten to like it, plain like that, but if I cut it up really fine to mix with tuna, along with onions. then I can tolerate it.

They had this little six-year old girl, and she showed me her bedroom. While we were in there, she picked up a brush, and started brushing her hair. I asked her if she did her own hair, and she said yes, she did. I was amazed ! I didn't do my own hair, Mamma did. She also washed me with a washcloth from head to toe, as she did Paul, also. She brushed and combed my hair until I was maybe 13 or 14 . She would curl it, too, using an old-fashioned curling iron, non-electric, that she had to put in the stove after removing one of the lids, holding it by the handle until she thought it was hot enough. then, she'd start curling, and when the iron started cooling down, back into the stove it would go, until she finished. I got a few burns when she'd accidentally roll the hair a little too close to my neck, or ear. Only hurt for a short while, tho'. I loved having curly hair. Little did I know that, years later, I would discover that my hair was naturally curly.

Speaking of non-electric appliances, Mamma also had a clothes iron that she had to heat on the stove, too. On the top of the stove, not in it, as with the curling iron.

I loved watching Mamma preparing clothes for ironing. She didn't have a soda bottle with a shaker top to dampen the clothes. She would take them over to the sink, and lay them on the counter, run water, put her hand under it and shake her hand over the clothes, then roll each piece, and on to the next piece, until they were all sufficiently dampened, and rolled, then put them all in a bushel basket, and leave them for a while, to let the water absorb enough, so the clothes would iron smoothly. Then, after a while, she'd heat up the iron and start ironing the clothes. she did a darn good job, too. Our clothes were all neatly pressed, and mended.

Our 'Auntie Eva', not a real aunt, lived across and down the street from us, with her husband. Fred. They had a small dog, too, and they spoiled him by giving him only hamburger. No canned dog food for him ! Wonder if she gave him horsemeat when we made the switch during the war.

I loved her, too, just like 'Nana' Lambert. She was funny, pretty outrageous, actually. She's the one who would throw her breast up on the mantelpiece behind her. she also was very kind to us kids. She tried to teach me to crochet when I was 16, but I didn't stick to it, and never did anything about it.

She also sometimes cut my toenails for me. That has always been difficult to do, b/c the bone disease made them thick and really hard to cut.

She would say to Mamma, that although we didn't have much money, Mamma kept us clean and our clothes neat, clean and mended. Mamma liked that compliment, and would now and then bring it up in conversation. She had a right to be proud of that fact, she and Daddy both. He would scrub clothes on a washboard right beside her. He was a good husband.

I'll go more into my teen years next time.

For now, I'll say bye, count your blessings. We all have many more than we know.

Love you all.

D

MORE MAYWOOD ST. MEMORIES

Since this is the house that we lived in the longest, six years, most of my childhood memories take place there. I loved that house, and our street, and that big Catholic church on Blue Hill Ave., that faced Maywood St. It was St. John's church.

When Paul had his paper route, probably at around ten years of age, he would go down to the corner, across from the church on Sundays, at about the time for the service to be over, and got to sell a few papers to some of the men coming out of the church. The Sunday paper was 5 cents, while the daily edition went for 2 cents. His regular route was partly on our own street, and sometimes I would go with him.

When Anne took me into downtown Boston, she often went to a ladies apparel store, Lerner's, where she bought a lot of her wardrobe. There were times when she let me stay outside and look in at the live mannequin turning around in the center section of window. Think she was on a turntable, maybe. I would stare at her to see if she would blink or smile or something, anything, but that gal (or gals, if there was more than one) had such good control of her muscles ... amazing ! I was fascinated !! She sometimes had on a fur coat, real fur, because there weren't any animal activists in those days, that I ever heard about .

Mamma would take Paul and I down to Dudley St. I loved that area. there was one department store, Timothy Smith's, and, at Christmas time, We'd get to see Mother Goose, a woman with a black dress or robe and a pointed hat ( sort of the same outfit 'witches' wore, but I knew it was just Mother Goose, and she operated just like Santa. We kids would go up to her, and don't recall if she asked what we wanted for Christmas...don't think so, because that was Santa's job.

Anyway, whatever we talked about ended up in getting a present. That was so great !

Someone bought me a bright yellow dress there, very inexpensive, and that's the dress I wore on the church stage that time when I was 3, and was presented as 'The Duchess of Candyland' , and sang 'On the Good ship, Lollipop' .

Anne says she bought that dress for me, but when I was 3, she was only 11, so maybe she's mistaken on that one. Anyway, Mamma did buy me black, patent leather shoes at a shoe store close to our church, for $ 1.69 . I was told about it when I was older.

Dudley St. had other stores, a millinery, and a store called Beacon. We didn't shop there much. I forget what else was there, except the movie theater, right close to the church, called the Rivoli, and we kids sometimes got in free, because the manager liked Phyllis. This is when we were a little older.

Then there was the 'EL' station. We used to get on the train there to go almost anywhere . It went from Everett on one end, to Roxbury, at least on the other end, and maybe farther than that. We could get to Boston proper, or Revere Beach, or many other stops along the line. I loved the 'EL'.

There was an Irish family living in one of the houses across the street, forget their name, but the man had a paper route and drove to wherever he worked. I think he probably picked up the bundles at the newspaper office, then dropped them off at kids' homes for their individual routes,and at newspaper stands, too.

when that man died, his family had the coffin right there in the parlor (living room) . I went across to see him.

The same thing happened to the Grandmother of the Puleo family who lived on the floor under our flat. She died, and they had her coffin in the parlor, too. So we got to see her, also. I didn't particularly want to see her, but we really loved the Puleo's, so we did it for them, out of respect. The grandfather lived with them, too, and the kids called him 'Bumpy' .

The Puleo's. O, what nice people they were. Johnny was Italian, don't know if Dot was, but she cooked Italian food. Sometimes she would send or bring a plate of spaghetti for Mamma, and it smelled heavenly. I think Mamma shared some with us. Yummy !

I already mentioned that Johnny's cousin, who was a 'Little Person', had a band, called 'The

Harmonica Rascals' in an earlier post, but don't think I mentioned that this cousin was also

named Johnny Puleo. I really enjoyed that band when they were in movies. Think that's where I saw them. Never met them, though.

We liked them and they liked us, too. Their kids were, Jackie, a boy, Eleanor, Carolyn and Susie, in that order, from oldest to youngest.

Once, Susie had to be rushed to the hospital, because she had been running in the house with a toothbrush in her mouth, tripped and fell and the toothbrush went through the roof of her mouth. She turned out ok, but what a fright for her family !!

Many years, later, when I went back to Boston to attend my brother's funeral, I was happily surprised to see Dot Puleo there, and Jackie, and one or two of his sisters, also ! Hadn't seen them since we moved away, when I was 17, back in 1947 . It was wonderful to see them, and as it turns out, they and Paul and his wife, Muriel, had had contact with them for all those years !

Paul had never mentioned that to me ! I tried to contact them since, but, sadly, no luck.

Mamma would let us kids poke her chocolates when she received a box of them as a gift from someone . To this day, I still like to poke them to see what the filling is.

My sisters, Betty and Phyllis had friends who lived on our street. Betty's friend was Hazel DeWolfe, and her sister, Helen, or maybe it was Eleanor DeWolfe, who was Phyllis's friend.

Don't think they were real close friends, but one girl who lived someplace else, was Phyllis's best friend Renee, pronounced like teenie. Renee would come over and she and Phyllis would turn the radio on, and the two of them would jitterbug like crazy to the music. They both wore loafers, not sure if they were penny loafers or not, and, of course, skirts and blouses. No pants for girls in those days, as I've mentioned before.

Anne did buy and wear slacks when she was either an older teen, or a bit older, I forget which.

Seemed strange to see a girl in pants !

Well, stopping for now... more to come.

Enjoy, and be good to each other, and don't forget to always count your blessings, and smile.

I love you all.

D

MEMORIES OF MAMMA'S COOKING

WARNING, WARNING !!

EAT before reading this !

Mamma had a way with food that gets me salivating just thinking of all the wonderful meals and baked goods she made over the years.

She made a Dutch Apple cake that I have never found in any bakery anywhere, nor any recipe book. Don't know what kind of cake it was, possibly something like a coffee cake, then she layered slice after slice of apples, thinly cut, over the whole thing, and sprinkled sugar and cinnamon, and put some bits of butter here and there, like those pie-crust cookies I mentioned before, and baked it. Mmm-mmm, good ! The aroma was heavenly !

I never much cared for bread pudding, but she made a chocolate one, with raisins that was absolutely delicious ! I ate that, but never anyone else's.

Loved her custard, too. Mamma had this big crockery bowl, sort of a light yellow color with two or three brown stripes around the top, in which she mixed, then baked her custard. Perfect every time . My custard sometimes turns out like hers, with the sweet juice at the bottom, that I always enjoyed and do to this day.

That same bowl was used to make Mamma's homemade Boston baked beans, with a chunk of salt pork in them, that we all liked, as I've mentioned before. Hers was better than the canned variety.

She sometimes would make a bowl of those beans especially for our cousin, Herb. He was crazy about them.

That bowl was also used for Shepherd's pie, a lamb stew with a biscuit crust. Yummy.

Pal often was treated to a whole bowl of rice pudding with raisins, just for him.

She made it for the family, too, but when it was designated for Pal, we didn't get any of it.

That bowl had many purposes . She'd beat eggs in it with an egg beater, a sort of pre-cursor to the hand-held electric mixer. Egg beaters ran by manual power, turning the handle faster and faster, if you were beating egg-whites for meringue, or whipping up some heavy cream .

Pie crust was mixed in it, then rolled out on a floured board. Mamma's pie crust was perfect, too, flaky and delicious.

Cakes were mixed in there, too, no cake mixes in a box. they hadn't been thought of, until some time after I'd had Linda, at least, because, I, too, made all my cakes from scratch . I don't recall just when cake mixes were invented.

Everything that had to do with baking was started from that one crockery bowl.

I used to sit in the kitchen whenever I could, to watch Mamma cook and bake. Loved to watch her peel apples all in one piece, and there was always a little apple left on the peel, that I got to nibble, sometimes my siblings, too, if they were present. They seldom were, being that the girls were older and off doing whatever it was that they did, perhaps when they worked, and Paul was always out with his friends. I was always the homebody, so I reaped the rewards and benefits of being there when Mamma was getting food ready.

I loved raw potatoes, and got an occasional piece of uncooked spaghetti to chew on. How I ever

could have liked uncooked spaghetti is beyond me. Just a weird kid, I guess !

Mamma made Toll House cookies that were scrumptious ! Mine have never turned out like hers . Dang ! She would put the spoonsful of cookie dough on the cookie sheet, then take a drinking glass, put a dampened dish towel over the bottom, and flatten the cookies. they always turned out great. Mine have always spread out, and didn't look or taste quite like hers. She used the Nestle's morsels, and the recipe on the package, as did I, but she had better luck. Or maybe she just had a way with it that made the cookies turn out better than mine ever did.

Mamma would buy stewing hens for her chicken fricasee. That was a sort of soup, but better than plain soup. The broth was thickened some. With the added yumminess of dumplings !

Sometimes she would buy Capons, a different type of chicken, and she'd roast those, and serve them with potatoes, mashed, or new potatoes, boiled in their jackets, then peeled at the table, and maybe creamed corn, and green beans.

Mamma always gave Paul and I the raw chicken legs, because we liked to play with them. There was no flesh on them, though. We'd press our thumbs somewhere on the foot and the claws would then spread out, and we got a kick out of that. Dumb, but we liked running around, pretending to be monsters and trying to scare our sisters with the claws .

A summer meal we always enjoyed was Mamma's Shrimp Louie, or sometimes it was made with tuna. She would layer a large platter with iceberg lettuce leaves, then tomato slices, overlapping, then cucumber slices, then hard-boiled egg slices, then canned shrimp, broken into smaller pieces with her fingers, to stretch further than just leaving the shrimp whole. She must have used two or three cans for all of us, and sometimes Pal. We'd have bread and butter to go with it. Oh, yes, salt and pepper, and then mixed with mayo on our plates. Soooooo good !!

Daddy and Betty loved steamed clams, so sometimes Mamma would make a heaping platter of those for them. I never cared for those, neither did anyone else. Yuck ! I don't know for sure if she used the ones we kids dug up from the sand at the beach, where, as we walked along, a little squirt of water would alert us to where the clam was, and we would dig there, and sure enough, there was at least one clam ! Think we brought them home, and, as I said, don't know if those were the ones Mamma steamed, but I kinda think they were.

She'd make a pan of baked lima beans for Phyllis . Double yuck !!

Some of my favorites were baked macaroni and cheese, baked pork chops, with mustard, salt and pepper and a slice of onion on each one. I still make mine that way. Mamma always used center cut pork chops, and I usually do, too. Bone in .

Paul had steak fairly often, and he was spoiled, being the only boy. Sometimes, while the rest of us had hot dogs, there he'd be, gnawing on a lovely piece of steak. I don't remember getting upset about that, though. I enjoyed beans, brown bread, and hot dogs.

Don't recall if Anne had a favorite dish, but probably.

Mamma made a mean leg of lamb ! She'd rub seasoned flour all over the outside of it, and that lamb was sooo tasty. She'd often serve mint jelly with it, too. Delicious !

Mamma's steamed pudding was special. I never knew everything that went into it, but I saw her use raisins, and maybe, mincemeat, that she bought in a jar, made by Nonesuch, a brand in those days. She also put either real meat, or suet, something like that, in addition to the regular ingredients, like flour, salt, whatever. When it was all mixed, she would spoon it into an empty,

clean Brown bread can, then tie a piece of cheesecloth around the whole thing, wrap string around it and suspend it somehow over a large pot of boiling water. It took a long time to cook, and when it was done, and cooled enough to remove from the can, it had molded itself into the shape of the can. She'd then slice it and put a piece on each of our saucers, and spoon a white, sweet sauce that she called 'hard sauce' over the pudding. Yum-yum-yummy !!! I'm not sure if that was for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, but that's the only time she made it all year. so it was a really special treat !

Think I'll end on that delicious note. Are you sufficiently hungry by now ? I was smart, and

ate my macaroni and cheese, and a large milkshake before starting this. Just reminiscing about

Mamma's wonderful cooking makes me hungry for some of the great meals she made.

Okay, go and eat now, and hope whatever you have is a tenth as good as my Mamma's food

was !

Blessings to all of you.

D

MORE CHILDHOOD MEMORIES

When we lived at 13 Maywood St., I went to Vacation Bible School during the summertime. That was at another church, Elliot Congregational Church. Our own Baptist church maybe didn't have that program, or maybe we went there, because it was closer than our own church.

Can't recall how often that was. don't think it was daily, but not sure. Whatever, it was only for a short while, no more than 2 hours, if that.

I liked it, because I learned how to do fun things. One I especially liked was when we had a piece of heavy paper, perhaps poster board, and one thing we learned was how to cut the colored paper into strips, then form a circle with it, a small circle, and glue the ends together, then making more of them and linking them together to form a chain. Another favorite was a plain piece of poster board, and I would place a pretty maple or oak leaf on it, then suspend a piece of screening over it and brush paint across the screen and it would make an outline of the leaf .

That was so pretty, I thought ! All of us in class would bring our treasures home. I was so excited to show them to my parents ! Another thing I remember doing was tracings of some of the fancy letterings in some big old Bible. The first letter of the first word of each chapter of the Bible were large letters, Olde English style, and in color, so after I traced all I wanted to, I'd then color in the letters with whatever colors I liked. Sounds boring now, but at the time, being 9 years old, I really liked doing that.

I gave my first kiss there at VBS. This really cute black boy named Roy was in class, and he was so nice, and handsome, that I went over to him as he sat in his tiny chair and just leaned

over and kissed him on the cheek ! Don't think he did anything but smile at me. Think that

was my first crush, or puppy love. We were nine years old .

Paul must have gone to those classes, too, I'm sure, but don't recall what he did. Maybe he and the other younger kids had a different class. Oh, he was more than 3 and a half years my junior, so maybe he didn't even go to the vacation Bible school .

I liked coloring so much, and was very good at staying within the lines. Loved choosing which colors to color the kids in my coloring books. Chose green and yellow for little girls' dresses, or sometimes another favorite combination, orange and yellow.

Daddy would sit and color the cardboard divider that came in the box of Nabisco shredded wheat, to keep the biscuits apart. They had nice pictures, just like the ones in coloring books, so Daddy would sit with me and help color them in. I loved getting his attention that way.

He did the same thing with Paul, too, sometimes. Loved those cardboard dividers. Wonder when they stopped using them.

Anne used to take me into downtown Boston, as I've mentioned before, and I had a little greyish fur coat, hat and muffler set, that Mamma would dress me up in during cold weather

so I'd look nice, going 'in town' , as we used to say.

Well, I don't actually remember this incident, but big sister, Anne, has spoken of it several times. She said that on one of our forays into Boston, ants somehow got on my fur coat. This must have been after she let me have some candy or ice cream, and it probably got on the coat, thereby attracting ants. Anyway, when we got home, she relates how our mother scolded and scolded her for allowing that to happen. Poor Anne !

We ate a lot of cereal for breakfasts. Kellogg's stuff was what we liked, corn flakes, Rice Krispies, Raisin Bran, too, I think, and Puffed Rice. That was not Kellogg's, though. Oh, yes, and the shredded wheat. Loved how Daddy would pour hot tap water onto the biscuits, then take the back of a large spoon and press the biscuits and squeeze all that water out, then put sugar and milk on it, and mmmmm, good !

In the cold weather, cereal was oatmeal, and cornmeal, or Farina. That last one was Phyllis's favorite. I never much cared for hot cereal, unless it was super-smooth, no lumps, and had a lot of sugar on it.

We never were given an allowance. Never heard of such a thing back then. I didn't even hear any of the kids from more affluent families speak of an 'allowance' . If they did have one, I didn't know anything about it. The kids in our neighborhood all seemed to be in the same situation we were in...families struggling to make ends meet. We kids all felt rich on the few occasions when we had a nickel. Mine would mostly come from singing for company we had in our home.

Mamma would have me come into the parlor or kitchen and tell me to sing for whoever it was. I seldom wanted to, didn't like that attention, but she would make me. Sometimes, 'whoever' would give me a nickel for singing, and then the pain and embarrassment would disappear soon, because now, I was rich !! But I never got over my shyness, and she would always have to practically drag me over to sing.

I did have a good singing voice when young, and into my young adult years, but for a long time now, can't sing worth a darn. Used to love to, and, even now, sitting in front of the TV, sometimes I'll attempt to sing along, but, between the voice and having to stop for running short of breath, it's not the same. I still enjoy the songs, though, and just mouth the words when it's too much for me. Doesn't take away my enjoyment of hearing someone else sing.

Mamma and Daddy had always wanted a chicken farm. Maybe that's how come Paul and I

were each given a baby chick once. Must have been Easter time. Anyway, guess Mamma was the one who fed and took care of them, and those little chicks would follow Mamma all over the house, peeping as they went. Thought she was their mother. Loved watching that. I don't know whatever happened to those chicks. They didn't get very big...maybe they died.

Anyway, our poor parents never realized their dream. There was never any money to save toward buying a home in the country.

I had a cat once. Had her for a couple of years, anyway. Don't remember her name, but she seemed to be a nice cat, until one day, she crawled under Mamma's bed, and when I tried to pull her out, she bit me, so soon she was gone, too.

Paul had a brown terrier dog, too, for a while, Boots. He got distemper, and it was so horrible to see him throw himself from the top landing across into the wall, over and over, until someone, probably Daddy, caught him and somehow calmed him down, I guess. Because then, Paul and I had him in Paul's wagon, and we were walking down to Northampton to the Humane Society, so they could put him to sleep, pulling him along in the wagon, when suddenly his eyes started looking really weird, like a film came over them or something, and we soon realized he was dead. We cried, but finished the walk and turned him over to the people there. That was so sad.

We didn't have any more animals after that . Except those tiny little turtles, think they're called 'box turtles' ? We liked them, also, loved any animals .

Mamma used to give us Ex-lax now and then, to keep us cleaned out, I guess. She also gave us

regular doses of cod-liver oil. I sometimes liked it and would try to get more, but only sometimes.

Lucky me, I also got doses of some kind of lime, lyme juice put into my milk, to strengthen my

bones, because of my being born with a bone disease. The only one in our family !

In those days, they didn't have a name for that disease. They called it' malformation of the bones'.

When Mamma would take me to Mass Memorial Hospital for checkups on it, the doctors would ask me to put my shoulders together, and when I was really young, it seemed as if my shoulders came close to touching each other. They would have me do that every time I saw them.

Mamma was told that my teeth would always rot, and so there was no sense in having me brush them. Can you imagine ?!!. They said my baby teeth would stay with me for years, and I might never get my second set, because of so many being in my jaw.

Anyway, due to their interest in my case, they had me stay in the hospital for 2 weeks, to observe this bone condition. I wasn't sick or anything. they just wanted to study it, being a hereditary disease, and congenital. so, there I was, at age 11, in the hospital for 2 long weeks. They took X-rays, they pumped my stomach ( what that was for, I was never told ), took blood from my fingers every day. Those hurt, and I got to hiding, when I saw the redheaded nurse coming in the ward. I'd hide behind the big pillars in that room, to try and avoid the finger-pricking. That hurt so much, but I didn't mind when they took blood from my arms. Got used to that, but to this day, don't like the finger-poking.

Once, they had poured something stinky over my head, because I had head lice at the time, and they wrapped my head in a towel. I was sitting in a wheelchair waiting for an X-ray that day, when some woman passed by, and when she saw the towel, and probably smelled what was on my head, she said, 'What's the matter, kid, got cooties?' . Oh, I was so embarrassed, and it made me cry.

In those days, we kids, most kids, seemed to get them over and over, they were so prevalent.

Our mother was very clean, so it wasn't anything she did or didn't do that caused them to come so often. Mothers everywhere had to fight the darn things, often. They were just a fact

of life in those days.

Anyway, back to my stay in the hospital. I did have some fun, because the nurses took a liking to me, and would show mw how to make a bed, hospital corners and all, and I loved learning that. It was sweet of them to take the time to teach me.

I never did hear what they learned about the bone disease, if anything. All I know is I was forbidden to run, because I might fall and hit my head, and that could be fatal. So, no more

tag, or any other game involving running. Of course, being a kid, I sometimes did, out of Mamma's sight.

Once, after school, I was still in the schoolyard for some reason, and I ran. why, I don't know,

all I remember is, I was running in the yard, nobody else around, and I tripped and fell, right on my face ! I started bawling, and hurrying home, all bloody, crying all the way, and when

Mamma saw me, she started yelling, accusing me of running, and that made me cry all the more, because it was hurting, and I was bleeding, and all Mamma could do was yell at me.

I could have DIED !! That's what I was thinking, and she didn't love me, because she was supposed to take me in her arms and make it all better, and here she was, yelling at me !!

Of course, she did take me in her arms, then, and got me all cleaned up.

I knew years later that the only reason she yelled was because it scared the bejeepers out of her, thinking of how close I maybe came to dying. That's what those stupid doctors did, made her afraid to let me act like a normal kid, because I might die from a fall on my head !

Geez, how backward thinking they were in those days.

And, of course, when I later had my first child, Linda, who inherited the same bone disease, I had those same fears for her.

I was told by her doctors that she might have to wear a helmet to protect her head, but I didn't want her to have to do that, and be 'different' from the other kids, and neither did she, so they gave us the option of her going to a 'handicapped' school, and not have to wear a helmet. So, we chose that. She only had to go for one year, because her fontanelles closed sufficiently for her to go to regular school.

Well, think this is enough for today. Have some more thoughts and memories to write here, and will do that soon, maybe tomorrow.

Hope you're still enjoying childhood exploits .

Stay well, count your blessings, and tune in again.

Love you.

D

HOLIDAY MEMORIES

Holidays were favorite times of the year. Although we didn't have much, my parents made them special .

My favorites were Thanksgiving and Christmas .

For Thanksgiving, when we could afford turkey, Mamma would make stuffing from boiled celery and onions, bread, all torn into pieces, the cut-up giblets, sage, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. She would put it all on a cutting board, and she used a special tool. It was a broad, curved blade, about maybe 5 inches long, and about 3 inches from top to bottom, with a strong metal handle.

She would start out with just the bread, cutting it as finely as she could, then slowly added the cooled veggies, cutting them in, then taking the blade and lifting it all over and cutting again, mixing, blending it all together, and adding the seasonings, and she worked that pile of stuffing, turning and turning it, and cutting between each turning. I was always fascinated, watching her work that blade with such dexterity ! Then she'd fill both ends of the bird, and lace it up. She'd then rub butter all over the outside of the turkey, and either right as she put it into the oven, or after it had been in for awhile, she would place a sausage link on each wing and on each leg, pressing them in between the limb and the body of the bird. then that would go into the oven. Daddy would help by putting it in the oven, then lifting it out when it was done. I always tried to get one of the sausages , they were so tasty !

Mamma made mashed potatoes, squash. sweet potatoes, mashed . she didn't make the candied kind . The carrots and turnip were mashed together. She boiled all her veggies, no steaming in those days, and seasoning for Mamma was nearly always salt and pepper. We had butter on most things, too, and we loved our veggies prepared that way. She also would buy little pearl onions and boil them to go with our dinner. The potatoes would have gravy on them, not butter.

I forget what we'd have for a green vegetable, but my guess is peas. Of course, we'd have

Mamma's delicious homemade gravy !! Cranberry sauce filled out the meal.

Then, for dessert, some of Mamma's homemade pie. She'd have squash and mince, for sure. Maybe she'd have an apple pie, also. We always had a piece of cheddar cheese with those pies. Never heard of whipped cream on pies, until we came to California !

To this day, I sometimes have a slice of cheese with my pie.

I believed in Santa Claus way past the age most kids do. when we moved to 61 Maywood St. I was 11, and, as I mentioned previously, turned 12 that November. So I looked forward to Santa's visit as much as the younger kids.

I'd go to bed on Christmas Eve., so excited, and, of course, had a hard time falling asleep. but I did, eventually, and woke up early, like 5:00 a.m. and all ready to open presents ! There were rules, though, and we weren't supposed to go out to the tree and touch the presents, but, being kids, we did, anyway. I had to see what Santa brought !! We were just supposed to get our stockings and take them back to our beds, and we were allowed to eat a few pieces of candy or some of our animal crackers. Our stockings were those long, brown ones we girls had to wear, but they were so long, Mamma and Daddy put lots of goodies in them to fill them up. I would bring mine back to bed, and take everything out of it, so I could get to that prized nickel in the toe !! that was a big deal, to get a nickel ! Then, after they put the nickel in, there was an apple, an orange or tangerine, a box of animal crackers, a box of filled Christmas candy, loose nuts, and at the top, maybe there would be some new barrettes, or bows for my hair, a coloring book and crayons a cut-out dolls book, things like that, and I was always so thrilled ! I sat and colored sometimes, and ate some of my goodies, passing the time, until we heard the adults up. We went to say Merry Christmas to our parents, and the family friend I have referred to several times. We called him 'Pal'. He would be there every Christmas to play Santa and hand out the presents. After our Holiday greetings, we went back into our rooms, until Mamma called us for breakfast.

Christmas breakfast was always the same...fried eggs, bacon and toast. Mamma would have a huge platter overflowing with the eggs, and she'd deftly lift each one onto our plates, without breaking a single one ! Amazing, that ! I always liked my bacon soft, not crisp, so got it that way. We kids could go to the stove and dip our toast into the warm bacon grease if we wanted, and I wanted. That was such a treat !

So, we'd finish our breakfast, and we kids had to go back to our rooms, while the adults sat and drank coffee or tea and talked . It was killing us to have to wait for them to finish, before we could get to the presents.

Finally, there they'd come. Mamma and Daddy would sit on the couch or a chair, Anne, being an adult already would also sit in a chair, and the rest of us kids would sit on the floor, and Pal would sit on the floor near the tree, so he could reach the gifts . He'd grab one, call out the

name and toss it to us. We couldn't see much of who got what, because we were all opening something at the same time, pretty much. The only one who didn't open his gifts was Daddy. He'd just sit and smile at all of us, enjoying our happiness, and it wasn't until everyone had opened all their presents, that he would open his. He always got clothes, ties, slippers, sweaters, a new belt, maybe a new pipe, stuff like that. We all got some clothing, not much, mostly small stuff, and games, puzzles, stuff like that, but it always made us happy . Actually, my sisters, all being older than me, got things like nail polish, lipstick, etc. But, it seemed like a lot, to us. so, we were happy, and now got to take our stuff into our rooms and play with some, if we wanted to, or we could go outside to play, if it wasn't snowing hard.

The 4th of July wasn't too big an occasion for us. We'd just go out front, and Betty and Phyllis would have those snake things, that when they put a match to them, a snake-like thing would come out and curl around. They got to have some fire-crackers, too, but Paul and I only had sparklers, and caps. We put those on the ground and dropped rocks on them to set them off.

Sometimes we, or at least Paul, had a cap-gun to shoot the caps. Anne wasn't around much, because, being 21 when we moved there, she worked during the day, then went out almost every night with friends, so she didn't participate in the festivities .

For Easter, Mamma colored some eggs and hid them in the house, so we could hunt for them.

There weren't many, but we had fun.

We kids went to church on Easter Sunday. We seldom had new outfits, but we liked to go to church, anyway, to hear Pastor Brooks, and sing, and see the ladies and kids who did have new outfits, and admire them.

Coming home to Mamma's ham or leg of lamb was a treat. As soon as we opened the door, the delicious, tantalizing aroma assailed our nostrils , and we couldn't wait to change our clothes and sit down to dinner ! Mamma cooked plain food, but she had a way with it that made it the best food ever !!

The next day, or the next, we had some of those Easter eggs for supper, as egg salad sandwiches.

They never went to waste.

Those were the main holidays where we did anything.

Valentine's Day was mostly observed at school, where the teacher had a decorated cardboard box with a slot in it for us to put the valentines in that we brought with us to school, to exchange with the other kids.

Mamma would go out with friends for New Year's Eve., and Daddy would stay home with us. Then the next day, Mamma would have noisemakers to give us, from the party she had gone to.

I liked those horns, some of which , when you blew, it would unroll, then roll up again, and then those things we held by a little handle, and turned round and around in our hand, and it made a noise . Didn't take much to make us happy .

So, you can see why Thanksgiving and Christmas were my absolutely favorite holidays.

I hope my memories triggered some happy holiday memories for all of you. My kids haven't

had many, as far as their childhood goes, because I didn't observe the holidays for years, and their Daddy went along with me, although he did not have the same beliefs I did. I feel badly about not giving my children those holidays to remember, but, at the time, I felt it was the right path to follow. I'm happy that, as they became adults and had children, they had their own celebrations, and in time, when I was ready, they included me. I'm thankful to them for their forgiving, generous hearts. I love you, my sweet kids.

D

MEMORIES FROM MAYWOOD STREET

I haven't mentioned the drinking fountain on Blue Hill Ave. yet. It was located right between Savin St. and Maywood St. It was green and was right on the sidewalk between the two streets. It worked, too ! Anyone could bend over and get a drink at any hour of the day. I didn't bend, though. Had to stand on tippy-toe to reach it. We kids sometimes used to squirt each other with it.

There were times when we would be playing out in front of our house, and sometimes got thirsty, so, rather than traipse up 3 flights of stairs for a drink, we would go down the street and around the corner to the fountain. Sometimes Phyllis didn't want to go, but she would be thirsty, so I went and got a mouthful of water, and brought it back to her and she'd open her mouth and I'd put my mouth on hers and let the water go from my mouth to hers . Vice-versa sometimes, when she'd be the one to transport my drink of water in her mouth.

Are you grossed out yet ?? I don't know how we ever did that awful thing ! I grew up not wanting to eat or drink after ANYONE ! Don't know if that had anything to do with it, though.

That's not the worst thing like that, that I did. Just me, on this next one. I would see a wad of gum on the sidewalk and pick it up, wipe off any dirt I could see, kiss it up to Heaven, and plop it right into my mouth !! Yuck, yuck, yucky !!! I can't imagine my doing that really disgusting thing, but guess it's because we kids seldom got money for candy, gum, or anything else, that I just figured it was ok to do that, and, since I'd kissed it up to Heaven, that God had taken all the germs out !

I had that friend I mentioned before, Phyllis Verrier, who lived on Maywood, down the street, in the last house, before the chain-link fence from the clinic. It was an old, wooden house, and looked in need of repair. She and her family lived on the first floor and a Mr. Reardon and his family were on the top floor. At one time, gypsies moved into that house and lived on the second floor. When I would go to her house to see if she could come outside, I'd knock, and she would come to the door, just open it a crack to see who was there, then step into the hallway to talk with me. Her parents never had me inside, so Phyllis and I would either stay in the hall, sitting on the staircase, or go outside and sit on those steps.

At one time, when we were both 13, she asked me if a girl could get pregnant from kissing a boy. She didn't use the word 'pregnant'... kids weren't as worldly-wise as today's kids. she said

'have a baby' . Well, me, being the know-it-all, who just KNEW that babies came from our stomachs, told her that no, you can't have a baby from kissing. I didn't yet know how they got into our bodies, but, since Phyllis told me they come out of our stomachs, HA ! that's what I

knew, or thought I did. I didn't tell her that part, just that you didn't have a baby from kissing.

Don't know how I knew that...guess Phyllis told me .

I also learned what Kotex looked like, because another friend from across the street, told me that she had looked in her mother's drawer, and the Kotex looked like a sort-of pair of panties. She had probably seen one of those old-fashioned sanitary belts that girls and women wore to hold the Kotex in place. See how smart we all were ? Hahaha...so innocent .

Heck, I was so uninformed, that my mother used to give me a note to take to Dewey Drugstore up at the top of Dewey St. on Blue Hill Ave. I didn't ever look at the note, because Mamma always told me not to, and to just hand it to the man in the drugstore. He would hand me a square box, all wrapped up like a gift, minus a ribbon, and for a few years, I never did know that I was buying pads for my sisters and Mamma . I was a late bloomer, so didn't know until soon after my onset of menses, at 14 and 1/2 . At first, Mamma pinned a rag to my underwear, without telling me why I was bleeding ! Some mothers back then didn't discuss it and you had to either learn it from your friends, or figure it out yourself.

We sure lived in the Dark Ages !!

For a short time, there was a store on the corner of Maywood and Blue Hill Ave. where they sold Boston baked beans, our favorite. They packed it in white boxes like Chinese restaurants use for takeout, with the wire handles. We would get however much Mamma would tell us to get, and we always asked for extra pork . Every one of us liked the pork, and there seldom was more than enough for one person. The cans has such a small piece, that we sometimes had to take turns from one week to the next, to see who got to have the prized pork ! Sometimes we shared, but that meant we only got a tiny taste of it.

The men at the bean store were very obliging and always gave us the extra piece of pork. Yummy !! Oh, just remembered...those men wore long, white wrap-around aprons and something like chef's toques !!

Can't recall how long that store stayed, but don't think it was for long.

I've already related how great the baked goods at Kasanov's bakery were. Well, there was another bakery, a chain of them, still existing today, called Drake's Bakery. they were on the next street over, not Savin St., ... or maybe two streets over, on the other side of Maywood. can't remember the name of it. Anyway, there was a Drake's plant, and as is probably the case in all bakeries, mishaps occur, so in order to not lose their profits, they sold, in the retail part of the plant, broken pieces of cake, a bag-ful for 15 cents ! the bags were a bit bigger than the ones sold today for packing lunches. We got all kinds of cake, and loved that. We sure had a sweet tooth !

Not only did we have goodies from the two bakeries, but Mamma made the most delicious pies, apple, custard, squash, mince...don't recall if she made blueberry or not, and, of course, lemon-meringue .Yummy ! In later years, she would add canned pineapple to the lemon.

Years later, when I met my husband, and he got to know my Mamma, he was privileged to have some of her lemon-pineapple meringue, and fell in love with it that way, so I started making it that way for him, myself. she also made apple turnovers, and the left-over crust from those and the pies were rolled again, and cut into cookie-sized pieces, odd shaped, and Mamma would put dabs of butter on each, and sugar, cinnamon, and a tiny bit of nutmeg, on them and bake them as cookies for us. Soooo good ! When my kids were younger, I made those for them, too. Linda, especially, liked them a lot.

Much of our lives centered around food. wonder if the sweet tooth we all had came from our English background . Hmmmm .

An incident happened while living at this address, but I'm not sure if a horse or truck was involved. My little brother was pretty young, and he somehow was run over and sustained a broken arm ! He had a cast for a while, but, in his childhood, I think that was the only bad injury he ever got.

He was a happy-go-lucky kid, and made friends easily. he was always going somewhere, unlike me, who, in our early years there, had to go places only if Paul was going, because Mamma was afraid I'd get hurt or picked on because of my small size, so I was more or less

baby-sat by my LITTLE brother !! Of course, he wasn't so little, always being a big kid .

But, if I wanted to get somewhere, he had to go with me. that was so embarrassing !

For years, Mamma would take me to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned, or for an extraction.

Had really bad teeth and lots and lots of toothaches !

Well, sometimes, when she took me to the dentist at Mass. Memorial Hospital, not to be confused with Mass. General hospital, after the work was done, if she had any money, she'd take me to this little restaurant down in the Northampton area, and let me order a grilled cheese sandwich and French fries . that was my reward for not carrying on too badly at the dentist's office. she , herself, would always, I think, order a club sandwich. There were times when big sister, Anne, would take me to this same little restaurant, think it was called Elite, but not sure. Anyway, she always ordered chicken croquettes, while I got my usual.

When Mamma would take us into downtown Boston, via the elevated train, we'd stop in at a restaurant on Tremont St. called Barney Scheff's. they had the best hot pastrami sandwich, served on a bokie( not sure of the spelling) which was like a Kaiser roll, all bumpy like that, but a bit firmer and it was yellow, a sort of egg roll, and the pastrami would be heaped on those, and they always served it with those special dill pickles !! Heaven !!

Well, now that you're all salivating, I'll quit for today, so you can all go and feed your faces !!

Hope you have enjoyed all these adventures, or mis-adventures of my young years. don't think there's much more to tell, but if anything comes to me, I'll be sure and write it here for all of you.

It's been fun !

Thanks for all your comments.

D

MORE PRE-WAR MEMORIES

Just a few more things from 13 Maywood st.

There was a family named Osmond , don't have any idea if they were related to THE

Osmond family. there were several kids, but the one that sticks in my memory is Betty.

She had one brown eye and one blue eye. I think she was my age, and that we played together, along with Cookie .

Mamma once helped one of our neighbors who was having a baby, right there in our building.

I didn't know anything about it, until my sisters told me. Guess Mamma acted like a midwife.

Mamma also used to work for a woman who lived across the street from us, named Mrs. O'Neil . She had a retarded son who needed care when his mother worked, or maybe it was just when she had to go to the store for something. Anyway, the boy loved Mamma and called her his pet name for her...'Chubby' .

There was an empty field across the street on the corner, and if you walked on Warren St. from our street, Maywood, it was just a few steps to the A&P store. The empty lot stretched out in back of the store, for the whole length of the store. Anyway, a bunch of us kids in the neighborhood sometimes got potatoes from our Mom's pantries, and some matches, and we'd all meet in the field and find bits of wood and paper, and build a small fire. O, yes, we took a few briquets of 'coke' from home, too. We'd get it nice and hot, until the briquets were glowing red, and then we'd each put our potatoes in, and let them cook till they were soft enough to eat. We must have looked like a little bunch of Indians all cross-legged there on the grass around the fire . We're lucky we didn't start a fire in that field, because the grass was dry !

I speak of how the movies depicted Native Americans...don't know if that's what they actually did, but that's how we kids looked.

Then we'd carefully take our potatoes out of the fire and as soon as they cooled off a little, we'd open them, add a bit of salt, then devour those delicious spuds !!

The next street up from Warren St., and running parallel to it and Blue Hill Ave. was

Humboldt Ave. I Don't recall having to go up there too often, but there was a Grants department store there, and a dry cleaner, called Bell's Dry Cleaners. One time, while walking

to one of these establishments, there was a horse and wagon parked at the curb, and as my sisters and I passed the horse, he bared his teeth, and scared the heck out of me. I was pretty

young, and scared of just about everything, so that was really frightening for me. Thank goodness a couple of my sisters were there to calm me down !

We moved from there to Blue Hill Ave., number 283A, over Kramer's Hardware. Think I've already mentioned that previously . Did I mention that my sister, Anne, went to work for Mr. Kramer ? She was done with school by then. This was 1940, I think, or possibly 1939 still.

Now I went to the school on Quincy St. , Phillips Brooks elementary. As I mentioned before, I met Fay there, and we became close friends. She was a Jewish girl . There were many Jewish people in that area, and all through the next, more affluent town of Dorchester. Fay lived

pretty far up on B.H. Ave. , almost to Dorchester, but still in our school district. I was certainly glad of that. I never had another childhood friend as close as she and I were. There was another girl, Phyllis Verrier, who also went to our school. she was blond and pretty, whereas Fay was like me, dark hair and eyes, and plain-looking . I never did get as close to Phyllis, but I liked her .

Besides all the Jewish people living in our area, there were many Italian Catholics and Irish Catholics. Don't think there were many like us, Protestants. Didn't matter, everybody all got along. Many of the businesses were owned by Jewish folks, the meat markets, and the fish markets. The meat and fish markets were separate. We had to go to both to get our meat or fish. Seems so odd, now, where everything is sold under one roof !

The outdoor produce stands seem to be run by Italians, and the police seemed to be mostly Irish .

We did have a supermarket up a ways on B.H. Ave. called the STOP and SHOP. Mamma would come home from there with 2 paper shopping bags that had rope or cord handles. By the time she walked all the way home with 2 heavy bags of groceries, the imprint of those handles would be all red, and sore-looking . Other times, if she was going to get a larger amount of groceries, she'd pull my brother's wagon . It was a really nice one, the base was red, and the sides were plain, wood-colored slats. She could carry a lot of food in that, and it was easier on her hands.

Once, on my was home from a matinee at the Shawmut, I was walking along, and saw a bill on the ground, and picked it up and just held it tightly in my hand until I got home and handed it to Mamma. It was a $ 2.oo bill ! That was quite a bit of money back then and she was so happy to get it.

That now reminds me of the time that Daddy was walking home from somewhere, and it had rained, but was dry now, and he spied a bill in the gutter, He bent down and discovered it was a $ 10.00 bill. He did the same thing, gave it to Mamma. She had to wipe it off with a damp rag, it was so dirty and muddy. That certainly bought a whole mess of food for our large family !!

Daddy had gotten us into the habit of walking along the edge of the sidewalk and looking for anything that would help our family, or stuff that could be used in the war effort during the wartime years, so we mostly walked with our eyes down, searching. We did find odd bits of wood and other things, sometimes handkerchiefs, which Mamma would wash and iron. these were used by everyone, until the advent of Kleenex. Even then, it was a long time before we could buy paper handkerchiefs ! Sometimes, not often, we'd find coins.

Phyllis and Betty made a few dollars while we lived at this address, by going up to the local meat store, Schaffner's, and 'candled' eggs in the back room of the market. I never saw them do it, but seem to remember them saying they actually had to hold each egg close enough to the candle so they could see whether it was a fertile egg or not. They also looked for double-yolk eggs. Guess they charged more for those. And the fertile ones ? they must have put those in an incubator to hatch into chicks .

At this house, there was no porch, so women had to go up to the roof to hang their wash.

Anne had a little white terrier named Teddy, and I have a picture of her and Teddy on a leash, standing together up on that roof. When I've spoken about Teddy, it seems to me that Anne doesn't remember him, so if I find that snapshot, will have to make a copy and send it to her.

She was 19 at the time.

Well, think I'll end this for today, and write more tomorrow. I hope you're still interested

in our family goings-on, and my part in them.

Until then.

D

MORE EARLY MEMORIES

The big hurricane of 1938 hit when we lived on Dewey St.

I was 8 at the time, and about 2 months before my 9th birthday. It struck on September 21st that year. It made landfall first on Long Island, New York. That's right next to Connecticut, and those areas sustained a lot of damage. We were hit nearly as hard . I don't really remember much about this storm , but, knowing me, I'm sure I was scared silly . It was devastating, and around 600 lives in total, were lost. This is info I just looked up. That must have been shortly before we moved to 13 Maywood St.

Sometime during the maybe 3 years we on Dewey, something terrible happened ! My father was using a butcher knife to carve a turkey, when the knife slipped and hit an artery in his forearm.

The blood shot out of his arm and hit the ceiling, it came out with such force ! We couldn't call for help, because we didn't have a telephone, and wouldn't have been able to pay for an ambulance, anyway.

It just so happened that that family friend who sometimes came to stay with us was there, but had had an accident and was on crutches, but the other friend, whom I've mentioned before, Louie West, was visiting us, and he came running into the kitchen when he heard Daddy's yell and grabbed Daddy and took him out to his car, and drove Daddy to the hospital. We have always been grateful to him for saving Daddy's life !

This man, Louie West, belonged to a Service organization known as the UAV, United American Veterans. This group put on a party for under-privileged kids every Christmas. Louie always took us younger kids to those parties. They had candy and ice cream and cookies, and a Santa Claus who handed out presents to all of us. Louie and Jenny West's kids also were there, and we all had such a good time. Christmas carols were sung while someone played them on the piano .

After the party was over, Louie would bring us back home again. We got to go to several of those Christmas parties, thanks to Louie, bless his heart. We sure loved that man. His wife was ok, but we didn't see her much. We played with some of his kids, the 3 girls, but not Junior, their only son. didn't like him much, for some reason I don't remember.

I do remember the song the UAV members sang, and the Post number, 241. The song was the same tune as one of the college songs, think it was Notre Dame , their Fighting song. The UAV made up their own words, and the Post number was in the words .

The UAV marched in parades. We had several in Boston. One was the Bunker Hill parade, don't remember if that was the one they had on April 19th every year, or a different one, but we seemed to have a lot of parades. I was taken to them, and most of the time it was that old family friend who took me, and, since I was so little, he would put me on his shoulders so I could see everything. I loved parades, and to this day, watch every one I can on TV. Always loved the marching music, and the drums.

The UAV, I think, sponsored a girl's Precision Drill Team, and I was too young for that, but Phyllis was in it, and I loved watching her learning to do all the different exercises . I think she marched in some of those parades with the rest of the Drill Team . I wasn't in it, as I said, but I was allowed to march in one of the parades. Only lasted a short time, though, because I got too tired, and went back to Mamma, who was there, watching it.

I don't think that veterans organization is still in existence. Too bad. It was great.

On Dewey St. there was a little store about half-way up the street, where we could go and get a grab-bag full of candy for a nickel. We hardly ever saw a nickel, so didn't get the grab-bags often. Never knew what kind of candy was in there, so it was fun anticipating . They also had sherbet, served in little, soft, white paper cups that had pleats all around .The sherbet was really good, and only cost 1 or 2 cents . I would lick mine, my favorite being lime, but I sometimes got the orange. It was good, too. I'd lick it down to where I'd have to sorta squeeze the cup to make it rise to the top, so I could lick some more, and that went on until the last of it, then I'd turn the cup inside-out and lick it to get every speck.

A couple of streets away from Dewey was called Ingleside St. There was a local store there named Mary's. It was pretty small, guess it could be called a Mom and Pop store. Mamma would send us there sometimes to get a few things, and I'd go alone sometimes to put a penny in the gum-ball machine, not only for a gum-ball, but to see if I could get one of the winning gum-balls, which were colored yellow with a red curvy stripe on it. I can't remember for the life of me, what we would win with one of those, but all us neighborhood kids tried to get one. Maybe it was a 5 cent candy bar, because to us, that would have been a BIG prize, since we seldom had a nickel to buy one for ourselves. But, even so, we could get a lot for a penny. There were bolsters, a candy bar much like the TWIX bars of today, and they were 2 for a penny. That was sister Phyllis's favorite, or several Tootsie Rolls, and Sugar Babies, several of those for a penny, so, even without the nickels for a big candy bar, we were happy with our penny's worth.

Well, on that sweet note, think I'll stop for tonight, and pick it up again tomorrow.

Hope you are enjoying seeing some of the things that went on in the lives of not only me, but the other members of my family.

D

LIFE BEFORE THE WAR

When we lived on Dewey St. there came a time that we had to move again,

Daddy loaded up all the boxes and what-not that he and Mamma had packed, into a wagon,

horse-drawn, for the move. It was to be just a short distance from there . Daddy was an excellent packer. He fit everything so neatly, in all the little cubby-holes between boxes. I don't recall if he had to make another trip, or not, to get all our stuff.

Anyway, he took Mamma with him to get there and start setting up housekeeping, as we kids

walked to the new house. I was nine, maybe, or close to it. Our new place was also on Maywood St. on the other end, 13 Maywood, another 6-family place. The flats in those days were nice and big, although I don't really have much in the way of memories about this flat. We stayed for maybe a year only .

The school my brother and I went to, was Julia Ward Howe elementary. It wasn't too far from a family friend's home, and we sometimes got to go over there. I forget if we went after school or

not, but I remember going there, by myself sometimes. I loved Nellie Lambert, whom we called 'Nana' Lambert. No relation, tho' . Her husband, George, looked like some guys on old TV shows... heavy-set, sitting around in an old-fashioned undershirt that sort-of looked something like tank tops that we have today, only they were thin and always white. We younger kids called him Grandpa Lambert. Don't recall if he drank beer, though . The TV guys always had a beer in their hands. Anyway, they were very good to us . They had a brown, smooth-haired dog named Peggy, and she got pregnant. Well, I, for one, maybe my sibs, was there the day she had her puppies, and I was thrilled to see that happen . No, we didn't get a puppy, in case you were wondering.

There was an A&P supermarket on the opposite corner across the street ( we lived in the last house on that end of Maywood ) , well, not exactly on the CORNER, but just around the corner, on Warren St. I sometimes was sent to the store, and I remember buying a bag of coffee for 24

cents ! It was a full pound, too . The bags were pre-packaged, we didn't grind our own in those days. I don't recall what else I would have to buy there, but the coffee has always stayed in my mind, probably because as I started getting older, I noticed the price climbing.

There was our local theater there on Warren St., and we kids got to go on Saturdays to a free matinee, where they gave us free Hoodsies, an ice-cream cup made by Hood Milk Company, and sometimes, we could have a second cup. these came with little, flat wooden spoons, and boy, were they good !! The movies in those days were double feature, and we saw at least one cartoon, coming attractions, the weekly serial. I think they saved the newsreels for the later audiences of adults. Kids were never seen during the evening shows. We had bedtimes, and we

didn't get to stay up past that time. We had strict rules back then. Didn't matter if it was still light outside, when it was time to go to bed, we went, no whining or arguing .

Actually, we went to the free matinees when we lived on Dewey St., also. I enjoyed those movies so much. We saw a lot of cowboy movies...Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Hop-a-long Cassidy, and the 'singing cowboy', Gene Autry . Roy and Dale sang, too, but it was Autry who was billed that way. Loved their horses, too. Roy had Trigger, Dale had Buttercup, but can't seem to recall the others. Oh, and we also saw the Lone Ranger, on his horse, Silver, with his faithful friend, Tonto.

I had a friend there at that house, named Cookie. Never did know her real name . she must have lived in the same building, I think . There was an older girl, Bertha, who lived on the top floor, and we lived , I think, on the first floor. She would sometimes, during the night, come in the bedroom window, that Betty, Phyllis and I shared, and sit and talk to my sisters. She was their friend . she must have left to go back to her own bedroom before it turned daylight.

My sisters shared a bed, while I, being such a tiny girl, still slept in a crib...no kidding !! I was really tiny. the doctors said I was malnourished, but I don't know if that was true or just a guess on their part, because of my being so petite. that didn't last long...once I hit puberty, I suddenly got heavier. That wasn't for too long a time, because by the time I was 14, I'd slimmed down.

So, ok, we lived there when I was 9, then when I was 10, we moved to 283A Blue Hill Ave. It

was above Kramer's Plumbing, and there was a drugstore on that corner, Finklestein's, and another drugstore kitty-corner to that, called Katz. Two drugstores so close together . We were close to the corner of Quincy St. and we went to Phillips Brooks elementary, right down on Quincy St. I think that, by that time, my sister, Phyllis was going to Jr. High. School. That was

Patrick T. Campbell Jr. High, on Lawrence Ave. I went there myself when time to enter 7th grade . Phyllis had a teacher there named Miss Purcell, who was pretty, with nice, pink cheeks.

She used to have Phyllis go to her home sometimes, to do little things or errands for her. Then, when Phyllis was paid, she would walk home and stop at the butcher shop, Schaffner's, I think

it was, and buy two pounds of hamburger for dinner, for 25 cents ! Two pounds !! I'm not sure if that was just before the war started, or just after. Kinda think it was before, so it was beef still.

anne was already in High School, Roxbury Memorial High School, located up on Warren St, and the side was on Quincy St. They had their own library, to which all three of we girls took full advantage when we went to school there. Betty never went to the same schools with us beyond the elementary grades. she was slow, and had a hearing problem, so she had to go to Horace Mann School for years. Paul didn't go to the same Jr. High or High School, because we moved from that area of Roxbury to a place in the South End, not a real nice area. It was a temporary move, though, because Phyllis and the man she married at 18 bought a duplex in Malden, in a nice location . Think she paid a pittance for it, a few thousand, but, at that time, 1947, or maybe 1948, that was a lot of money. They didn't pay cash, of course .

Back to our home on Blue Hill Ave. That's where we lived when I met the girl who became my best friend, Fay Sodekson. We went to school together, played together after school, sometimes got to go to the show together, at the theater there on Blue Hill Ave, quite a ways up the street, which was a main thoroughfare, as was Warren St. also. Anyway our movie house

was called the Shawmut theater.

Lots of places had that name there in Roxbury. The Shawmut Indian tribe lived there in Massachusetts many years ago.

So, Fay and I were pals for years, doing everything we could together. She had a brother, Popeye we called him. He was slow, too, and he developed a crush on Phyllis. He would bring her cigarettes to show that he cared for her. Remember, in those days no one knew the dangers of cigarette smoking . She was kind to him, but didn't have romantic feelings for him.

After living on B.H. Ave. for maybe a year and a half, we moved to 61 Maywood St. on the other end. A big Catholic church was on B.H.Ave, and it faced our street. We weren't Catholic, as already explained, but I loved that church, even though I went in it only once, with Barbara Hurley, and drank from the fountain. She saw that and gasped, telling me that I'd just drunk the Holy Water ! Guess that was a sin, but I didn't know. I was thirsty and there was a fountain...

I could sit at our bay window, and look down to the church and see the parishoners coming and going . I liked the little coverings the girls and women wore on their heads.

Well, I think this is enough for this posting. I'll add more tomorrow, maybe.

Hope you're enjoying all my little adventures. and there's more to tell, and I'll be skipping back and forth from one place we lived to another, as the memories come to me. Hope you won't mind that, but I keep remembering stuff after thinking I'd told all from each address, so hope you won't mind.

Until next time.

D