MORE WARTIME MEMORIES

Yes, rationing was going on, and we soon got used to having to stretch some food items . Mamma was such a good cook, and we never missed a meal. I think my parents missed some, or ate very little . I never noticed that, but Phyllis did, and told me years later, after we'd been adults for a long time.

Mamma would take meat, and somehow render down the fat from it and then pour it into an empty Spry can . Spry was a brand of shortening that Mamma used to make her oh, so good cakes, turnovers and pies .

Anyway, once it was filled with fat, she would take it to one of the local stores, and get a few cents for it. Then she'd start filling another can. This was used somehow by the military, and they needed a lot of it. Both she and Daddy saved whatever they could, like the balls of string and newspapers and aluminum foil from cigarette packs, and maybe even the foil from chewing gum packs, and get money from that. Those items, I believe, also went into the war effort.

Scrap iron, and copper and aluminum and steel, too, I think, were used to help the war effort.

Movie stars would stage 'Bond Rallies' , where they would go to certain locations, and start calling out to people walking by, and to those folks who started milling around the stars, to buy 'War Bonds' . I think they were savings bonds, but since any money raised was to be used for the military, they were called 'War Bonds' . Someone even wrote a song for that, which I can still sing today. It went like this ;

Any bonds today ?

Bonds of freedom

Is what we're selling,

Any bonds today ?

Scrape up the most you can;

Here comes the freedom man

Asking you to buy

A share of freedom

Today !

I used to walk around singing that, and another song of the times, called 'Hi, Neighbor'.

It went like this;

Hi neighbor, hi, neighbor,

Whaddya know and whaddya say ?

Hi, neighbor, hi, neighbor,

Throw all your troubles away.

Come on and shake my hand

And let a grin do the rest

It makes you feel so grand

to get your chin off your chest.

I'm shouting Hi, neighbor, my neighbor

Time to stay ( play) and say Hi !

School kids were encouraged to bring money to school to buy bonds...we never had any money, so we couldn't buy any bonds. But we kids did what we could, picking up pieces of metal, and foil and whatever, so we felt we were doing our share.

Lots of movies were made during the war years, most of them were geared to keeping up our morale, b/c we were very afraid, not only that our 'boys' could get killed over there in Germany, France, Japan and the Phillipines, but that we, at home might be attacked . Many people, including some older kids learned to identify enemy planes (and our own, of course),

and they would go up on the rooftops with binoculars, and watch for any enemy airplanes that might come. They were called 'Spotters' , and they were very much needed.

Those of us who stayed in our homes most of the time, except for work and school, had to put up thick, black drapes on our windows, to hide any light, which would make it easier for the enemy to see where to bomb. We had air-raid sirens, that went off at certain times just for drills, practice, to keep them at the ready for use if it was thought that we were under attack . I hated the sound of those sirens going off, especially when there was a false alarm, to scare us out of our wits ! There were also people designated as 'Air-raid Wardens', and they were given territory to walk around, patrolling for any lights showing. Our warden was a family friend, Louie West, a great guy, whom we all loved. He would be patrolling our street, Maywood, and look up when he saw our family friend light a cigarette. That was a n0-no, too, anything that

shone any kind of light, and Louie would holler up to him...'Douse that light' ! and the cigarette would be either put out, or the friend would go and smoke it where there were no windows.

Those were scary times, especially for us kids, but those movies, when we could go, helped allay our fears, albeit briefly. And, of course, having Mamma to give us hugs and hold us close when we were too scared, helped a lot. I remember feeling safe in her arms.

This is as good a place to stop, as any, so I'll pick it up again tomorrow .

I hope you like this stuff about WWII. It's history, and I lived it.

Until tomorrow, then.

D

MEMORIES FROM 1941, AND BEYOND

In the summer of 1941, we moved to a 6- family house. Today it would be called a 6-unit apartment complex .

So there we were, up on the 3rd, or top floor, on one side of the building. Opposite us, in the other top floor flat, was the landlady, Miss Egan. Below her were 2 sisters, also old maids. Opposite them, directly below us, was the Puleo family. Lovely Italian family. The husband had a famous cousin, Johnny Puleo, of the Harmonica Rascals. He, Johnny, was a little person, and the leader of the band . The Puleos who lived under us had 4 kids, Jackie, a boy, then 3 girls, Eleanor, Carolyn and the youngest, Susie. On the first floor on our side were the Alves family. 4 kids there, too... Virgil, Margaret Ann, Larry and Janey. I played with some of the kids from both families. Oh, on the first floor on the other side, were the Hurleys, a teen son, Leo, and a girl, Barbara, around my age. She and I played together sometimes, too.

It was a great summer .

My 12th birthday was on November 23rd, and exactly 2 weeks later, on December 7th, the Japanese Empire pulled a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, in Honolulu, Hawaii ! It was unexpected, not prepared for, and many lives were lost. One of the ships, the USS Arizona was sunk, right there in the harbor, with most of their crew aboard. I forget how many died .

I believe it was the next day, when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared WAR on Japan !

Many young men volunteered for military duty, in every branch of the Service. Some were drafted into the Service. A mighty military force was built in a short time, with all these brave young men, and some women, who were ready and eager to serve their country.

My husband, whom I didn't yet know, went into the Army, and of my 3 brothers-in-law, whom we also hadn't met yet, 2 went into the Navy and 1 into the Army .

At home, many things changed. Young women started getting jobs that freed up some young men for Military Service. They were doing jobs that, up until then, were done mainly by men.

They went into the aircraft factories, and became welders and riveters, and all the different jobs that needed to be done to build the airplanes our Military would need . There were 3 shifts, so that someone was working all around the clock .

Have you ever heard an old song, called 'Rosie the Riveter' ? That was about the young gals who worked building the planes that were used in the war. It wasn't about any one girl, it was a composite of all the young women who worked in the airplane factories, and were helping the war effort .

Our Moms and Dads had to learn how to feed their families on horsemeat, rather than beef, b/c the beef had to go to the 'boys' fighting the war, to keep up their strength .

That took some getting used to, but we still had our pork and lamb, so we weren't really deprived. And the country wasn't yet into the hamburger craze that we've been in for so many years now . In fact, in our little town of Roxbury, Mass. we only had 1 hamburger joint, that I know of, and it was called White TOWER, NOT White Castle. I never heard of White Castle until some years ago, when I saw it advertised as a frozen meal at the grocers. Once or twice, a family friend took me there and we had a burger for...grab onto your seat ... 5 CENTS !!!

Actually, that was before 1941. I was just a tiny girl when I got to go there. I do remember that it was delicious !

I guess they must have switched to horsemeat, too, like private homes did .

We didn't care too much , but the taste WAS different .

There were many things we, the citizens did to help our country . The government implemented a rationing program, and every American family was given a 'Ration book'. In it were stamps, that we had to give to the grocer whenever we bought the item that was on the stamp. I remember going to the market and getting a pound of margarine and handing over the margarine stamp, and evaporated milk, and many food items .

Even tires and gasoline were rationed. Since we didn't own a car, my parents traded with our Aunt Lena and Uncle Ed ... the tire and gasoline stamps for food items. We were a family of 7, and could use the extra food and they were by themselves. Their 2 sons, Herb and Russell, were grown, married and with homes of their own. So they had their own Ration Books.

Herb's wife was Eleanor, but everyone called her Eppie, and Russell's wife was Madeline. They were very intelligent. I don't recall what Herb did, but Russell became a Russian translator. The boys, our cousins, actually, each had cars, so I'm sure some of the trading of ration stamps benefitted them, also .

I believe that each family was issued a new Ration book every month, but don't think the tire and gasoline stamps were in it that often .

Well, I'm getting pretty tired, so will pick this up again tomorrow.

Hope you all enjoy reading about some of the WWII experiences.

I love you all. Until tomorrow.

D

WINTER MEMORIES

Winters were really cold in Boston .

When I was a baby, I was wrapped up warmly, put in my carriage, and put outside for some fresh air . Sometimes snow would be falling, so guess I could be considered a 'Snow Baby' .

This was what Grammy told me about many times . Funny, how now, I can't stand the cold !

I've already mentioned how Grandpa would take my brother and I in the sled and walk places, to the park, for one, I think, and probably other places where he could sit and enjoy his pipe and maybe a newspaper .

When I was a little older on Maywood St. , there was a field that was called 'the tannery' across the street and downaways ( think I just coined a new word ), for which I never thought to ask why it was called that. Perhaps there used to be a place for tanning the cowhides many years before my time . Actually, maybe it wasn't used for that purpose, because I don't think there were many (haha) cowboys in Boston !!

Anyway, during the winter, when there was enough snow up on the hill there, we would slide down it on cardboard boxes, or sometimes, Paul would take me on his sled, and down we'd go, so fast !! I liked his sled, because it went so much faster than the cardboard, which would catch and stop, until we could move it to a different spot and go again !

There were lots of icicles hanging from everywhere, and we would grab the thinner ones, those that we could reach, anyway, then put them in our mouths to suck, or bite off pieces to chew.

The houses looked so neat with all those icicles hanging down, some thin and some really wide and super thick !! We didn't even try to get those ones !

So, we ate ice all year round !

When we had to go to school, even in a snowstorm, if it wasn't severe enough to close the schools, sometimes it would be snowing and blowing in our faces, causing us to shut our eyes often , or, if it was a light snow, we might open our mouths to catch the snowflakes . Loved doing that...great fun !

The snow would have to be cleared from the streets, and pushed to the side, so sometimes the snowbanks got really high . When they were a little lower, my girlfriend, Fay and I would walk on top of them, or try to, because if the snow hadn't packed down hard yet, and gotten a crust of ice on top, we would be walking, and suddenly one or both legs would sink down in the snow, sometimes all the way up to our fannies !! We wore dresses, remember, and those ugly brown full-length stockings, and sometimes a pair of knee-socks over those, and we got really wet and cold, cold, cold !! Don't know about Fay, but I got scolded when I came home soaking wet ! Then I had to strip off the wet clothes and put on dry ones . I think I was punished with having to stay indoors for the rest of the day . Bummer, 'cause I wanted to go out and play with Fay, if her Mom would let her come over to my house, or just with the neighbor kids .

We used to walk home for lunch, and Mamma would have either one of Campbell's soups, or Franco-American spaghetti or ravioli waiting for me. There weren't so many soups to choose from back then, so I had either vegetable, tomato, chicken noodle or Scotch broth. I really liked all of those. When I would arrive home for my lunch, Mamma would have our table radio, either an Emerson, or maybe a Philco brand, and she would be listening to some soap operas. They only ran for 15 minutes in those days. I would listen along with her while I ate lunch. some of them had titles like, 'Mary Noble: Backstage Wife, Portia Faces Life, Stella Dallas , Lum n' Abner, Aunt something...lots of them. Must be why I started watching them on TV as an adult .

Anyway, lots of winter enjoyment for us kids back then .

I hope you like reading about all the things we kids did to amuse ourselves, and it didn't cost

our parents anything, or very, very little ! We had fun, fun, fun without having all the electronic gadgets that kids have today, and sometimes don't even appreciate . We had next to nothing, and really loved what we did have . We were so lucky to live in those times !

Until next installment, if any of you are really young who are reading this, stop and think of the sacrifices your parents have had to make to keep you supplied with the latest gadgets, designer clothing and shoes, etc. and learn to appreciate what you have .

More later.

D

ADDITIONAL MEMORIES

When I was 3 and 1/2, my baby brother, Paul, was born. He became the center of attention, being the only boy, in a family of four girls.

We lived at 4 Willis Terrace, in a big, 3 story house. We occupied the top floor, and 2 girls, teenagers, I think lived on the 2cnd floor. They used to play that old song that I never have been able to say right...I always thought it was, 'My dear Mr. Shane", but I now know that isn't right; think it's in German or some other foreign language . Anyway, those girls played it often, and loud, but I liked it .

Well, just spoke to my sister Anne, and she disputes my memory of where Paul was born. She says he was born on Washington St. I have no memory of that, so I'm sticking to the one I do have.

That house on Willis Terrace must have been a six unit affair, and those girls must have lived on the 2cnd floor on the other side, because Anne said the German family, Mr. and Mr. Berbleis lived on the 2cnd floor on our side of the building. Well, anyway, this was a very sweet couple. They had a teenage son, Emil, who, at some point, climbed up on the roof, and fell to his death. Before that happened, tho', Phyllis and I used to go to their flat to visit them. They had one whole room full of birds in cages...canaries, finches, parakeets, and cockatiels. They must have been selling them, I guess. They made their own wine, and would give Phyllis and me a teeny, tiny taste whenever we visited. It was good, too, maybe elderberry.

That house wasn't far from our church, and we also had a big courthouse nearby. On Mothers' Day, we would see a lot of men wearing carnations for their Moms, red or white, I think, for whether their mothers were alive or passed on. I forget which was which. I think all those men were from our church, all dressed up in suits. In those days, gentlemen wore suits and ladies wore dresses with hats and gloves on Sundays. Since I was only 3, someone dressed me, and themselves, and off we 4 girls would go, to church and Sunday school. We would put on our choir robes and get into position up in the choir loft, with our hymnals, all ready to sing for the Sunday service. I absolutely loved singing the hymns, and think my sisters did, too. We all had good voices then. The choir conductor was Marie Iletson , and she was so nice. She even taught me to play 'I love coffee, I love tea', on the piano there. It was just a little ditty that kids sang back then.

While we lived there at Willis Terrace, I had a Kiddie Kar, that had 2 wheels only, and moved when I used my feet to push it along. It was made of wood, and painted. I think, yellow. anyway, I loved that thing. I was only allowed to go a short distance, tho' . but that was ok, b/c my little legs got tired from all that exertion .

There was a library not too far from home, and either Phyllis and Betty, or Anne and Phyllis would take me there, and sometimes strap me into the wooden seat of a swing set that was outside in the back of Norfolk Library, and one of the girls would stay and swing me, while the other one would go inside and get books . The little swing seat was painted green, and had a wooden tray thing across the front to keep kids from falling out of the swing. I was pretty tiny, so my sisters kept a close eye on me. Oh, yes, it also had a strap that came up between my legs, sort of, like high chairs have to keep babies in the chair. Sometimes, whoever was taking care of me, would let me play in the dirt there, digging and what not. I also, once in a while got to go in and look at books...think I started reading them, too, pretty early, before starting school, at any rate. Have always loved books, reading them, touching them. They have always been special to me.

Later, when I was a little older, Mamma would find me reading when I was supposed to be outside playing.

Anne is the one who taught me reverence for books. She told me to treat them right, using bookmarks to mark my place, rather than turn down the corners of a page, because after a time, the corner would become brittle, and tear off, or leave the book open and upside down, because that could hurt the spine of the book and would ruin it.

Sometime later, when I was probably 5, we moved to 24 Dewey St. It was at the bottom of a hilly street. We were in the last house on the left, on the bottom floor, again a 3-story edifice. Most of the flats in Roxbury were in 3 story buildings, except for those that housed six families.

I'd already been in kindergarten, where we had graham crackers and either milk or water, before nap time. Oh, how I loved school ! It was mostly playing, coloring, and sitting in those tiny chairs, singing with the teacher. I loved that !

Then, at Dewey St, I went to John Winthrop elementary, on the cross street that ran along the

bottom of Dewey . I forget the name of that street, tho'. At the top of Dewey St. there

was Blue Hill Ave. running parallel to the street with my school on it.

On the second floor, there was an Italian family, and 2 of the sons, Tony, and another one were ice-men, and they delivered ice in a truck. Well, when I was 6 years old, I had either pneumonia or needed my appendix out, don't know for sure which, and those two boys took me in their ice-truck, wrapped in a blanket that Mamma had wrapped around me, to the hospital, Boston city Hospital, same one I had been born in. That was in the middle of the night, and there was no room for Mamma in the cab of their truck, so she got there later.

Well, whatever had been wrong with me must not have been serious, because I didn't stay long, maybe a day or two, if that.

My best friend there on Dewey St. was a boy who lived on the top floor, Sonny Spring. He and I got along really well. He built a scooter, which was just an orange or apple crate, with a short 2 x 4 attached to the bottom, and 4 wheels from a roller skate nailed onto the bottom. He would have me sit on the part where his foot went, and give me rides all over our neighborhood. That was great fun !

While living there, we had some kind of weather catastrophe, in 1938. I've always thought it was a blizzard, but Anne said today that it was a hurricane, and that the blizzard happened later when we lived on Blue Hill Ave. think I'll leave it at that, and look it up, and write more another day.

It's been fun, writing down my memories, re-living them. I'll write more soon, and hope you're still enjoying my childhood escapades !

Start writing down your own childhood memories, so that your children and grandchildren have some sense of what things were like during your childhood .

Until next time,

D

continuing MEMORIES

When I left off last time, I was speaking of how I had stolen, once, but then another time when I did take something, I was a tiny little girl, and sister, Phyllis, who was 3 and 1/2 years older than me, and my best friend, went to a section of Roxbury called Uphams Corner. Phyllis and I, and Betty walked over there, and into another five and ten cent store. I remember it was laid out in sorta tables, blond wood, and the tables were concave, I think, sort of hollowed out, where all the merchandise was in folded-up piles.

Well, Phyllis was always the family protector, and she also did everything she could to help our parents. She took it into her head one day, for all us girls to go to that store, and what she did, was hard to believe ! She went from one table to another, with an old-fashioned shopping bag...make that 2 shopping bags, and went straight to the table that held slips and other underwear for girls. There were pink ones and white ones and peach-colored ones. We'd never had anything so fancy ! Well, there stood Phyllis, and next to her, on either side, was Betty and me. Phyllis picked up each of the pink or peach ones, one at a time, and would say, 'This one will fit Betty, this one will fit Anne, this one will fit you, Dotty, and this one will fit me !! She went on to other tables, after gathering up a bunch of slips, and putting them in the bags. At the other tables, she picked out other items of clothing for we girls, and got some stuff for Paul,

too !! I remember that at one of the regular counters, there were some kids jewelry displayed, cheap plastic stuff . I was so little, that I just reached my hand up and grabbed something ! Turned out to be a necklace and bracelet set, on a piece of cardboard backing. I thought it was beautiful, and put that in one of the bags . I don't remember what all the other things were, all I know is how happy and fascinated with the pretty slips I was !! When Phyllis had picked out what she must have thought was enough for our family, both shopping bags full, we walked right out of the store, and walked back home again, and she and Betty must have told the biggest whopper of their lives just then, saying that we were all just sitting on a bench someplace outside of the store, when some lady came over to us, and for some unknown reason, handed those 2 bags to us, and asked us to watch them for her, while she went to do another errand, and didn't want to have to lug those bags all around with her, and since we were just sitting there, could we please hold them for her, until she got done and she would come back for them ?? Well, as the girls were telling the story, mostly Phyllis, anyway, Mamma got suspicious, especially when she looked at the stuff, and, magically, it all was just the right sizes for us kids ! Well, somehow, I've always thought we got to keep the slips, etc., but a few years ago, before my sister died, we were discussing it one day, and when I mentioned how we got to keep all the clothes, she told me, no, we didn't , that she and Betty had to take them back . I'm still not quite sure about that, b/c I seem to remember wearing those pretty slips. Phyllis was undergoing Chemotherapy at the time, and maybe it distorted her memory.

Or, my own memory could be false !

Anyway, that 'shopping' trip was wonderful !!

When I was 3, my sister, Phyllis came home from school one day, and found me playing outside, and I was all dirty, but she scooped me up and took me back to school with her...maybe it was lunch time, or recess. anyway, she took me there and put me on the piano, and had me sing for whoever was there. she was so proud of me, and my singing ability, that she wanted to show me off . She did, but got a scolding from Mamma for not cleaning me up first, or asking permission

to take me.

Another time, also when I was 3, I went on the stage at our church, the old Dudley St. Baptist Church. It was some show they put on, and I was picked to sing 'The Good Ship, Lollipop', a favorite song at the time, made popular by a child movie-star, Shirley Temple .

I wore a bright, yellow dress, and was presented as 'The Duchess of Candyland !', and when I got out on that stage, and saw all those faces looking at me, probably one of the shyest people on the planet, I looked down, and sang the whole song that way. I could see the footlights, tho', but they were so bright, the faces were obscured, so it wasn't too bad an experience !

I had a good voice then, as well as my sisters, and we were all in the church choir for some years. I loved that church, and the pastor, Pastor Brooks. He was a cute little man, chubby and balding, and looked somewhat like the Monopoly Man on the game box. We sometimes went to his home. He and his wife were very nice to us kids. Our parents never went to church, that I'm aware of, but they sent us every Sunday, sometimes with a penny or two for each of us to put in the collection basket. sometimes we did that, but, other times, we bought candy with it.

When we kids got home around noon, the house was filled with the delicious smells of whatever Mamma had cooked for our dinner. Remember, we ate dinner at noontime !

We'd go and change out of our good clothes into everyday outfits, then wash and settle down at the table. Mamma would serve each of us, and we never reached for anything, we always had to ask for food to be passed to us, ditto the salt or pepper. I was always the last one to finish my food, and I had to sit there until I did ! Sometimes I had to eat my sister's peas, which I hated, or drink her milk, which I hated more !! Mamma and Daddy had already left the table, with only Phyllis and I remaining there. and that's when she would put her peas on my plate, and order me to drink her damned milk, too !! That's the only mean stuff she did to me . All the rest of the time, she was really nice to me.

Anne was nice to me, too. She would take me in town, Boston proper, on the El train, to one of the movie-houses there . The biggest, most plush one was the Paramount theater. It had a beautiful, grand staircase, leading to the balcony area, and we always went up there. Anne always bought me a Skybar candy bar, and sometimes some non-pareils candy, or Hershey bar or Kisses, and popcorn to eat while we watched the movie. I was in Heaven, with all those goodies ! Also, afterwards, or was it before, she would take me to a soda-fountain and buy me a strawberry milkshake , my favorite !! Treated me like a little princess !

Other times, Anne would pay me to dust her little bookcase full of Perry Mason books, and change her purse, sometimes, into another purse, while she would be getting ready to go out somewhere. She also sometimes let me help her choose which dress she was going to wear. for all this, she'd reward me with maybe an old string of beads that she didn't want any more, or have me run down to the Kasanov's bakery to buy her a HUGE chunk of their cheesecake, for

15 cents, then cut off a chunk for me. Mmmmmmm, good !

That bakery had some of the most wonderful pastries... the cheesecake, of course, big, big pieces of mocha cake, big, big fruit squares, all kinds. some of our favorites were lemon, apple, blueberry , and fig. Everything was cut into really HUGE pieces, and all cost 15 cents.

Their jelly donuts were great, also. Paul and I would be walking by the bakery sometimes, and a window would open on the second floor, and someone would ask us to do an errand for him, and our reward for doing so was one of their big, delicious jelly donuts ! We could accept that, but if one of our neighbors asked us to return their tonic bottles for the deposit, we were not allowed to accept a reward for that. We had to bring the money, all of it, back to the person who'd asked us to do that for them. We didn't think that was fair, but Mamma told us we could do our neighbors a favor .

Well, that seems to me to be enough for now. More will be forthcoming .

I love remembering all these happy times.

Hope you enjoy reading of my childhood exploits !

Until next time.

D

More memories

Childhood was a fun time in the 1930's and 1940's. We had a few responsibilities in our parents' home, but mostly we played. Our parents played games or put together puzzles in bad weather. We played for candy in Bingo. Loved that . When left to my own devices, I either read, or played with my cut-out dolls, or colored in a coloring book, or just played with my dolls . Outside when it was warm, I played ball with other neighborhood kids, or by myself sometimes. We had these white rubber balls with bumps all over them. Sometimes kids would want to play baseball, but don't think I ever played that...think I tried, but wasn't any good at it. One or 2 of my friends and I would play "Africa',where we would bounce a big ball, let it hit the wall of the next-door stone apartment building, and when it bounced on the ground, would throw a leg over it, I think, and say 'Africa' . something like that. all I know is we loved that game ! Since there were hardly ever any cars on our street, we got to throw a big ball back and forth across the street . I think that was dodge-ball. We didn't worry about getting run over.

We did have vehicles going up and down our street, tho'. They were horse-drawn, for a few years, until motorized vehicles took over. We'd hear vendors shouting their wares as they drove slowly by... "Apples, oranges, strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce..." , and "Rags, any old rags", from the guy who would buy not only rags, but newspapers, and odd things, like the big balls of string that my daddy would save and wind it all into a ball, and the aluminum foil liner from cigarette packs...he would collect them wherever he could and pack them all together to form a sort-of ball. The rag-man would come up to our third floor flat, and go into the little outside room that Daddy used to keep all that stuff. We used to love to watch, as the man would hold a big scale, and daddy would hook the bundles of newspaper onto the scale by the string he tied the bundles with, and then the guy would tell Daddy what the weight was and pay him. The same with the rags, and string, and foil, and whatever else Daddy had to sell to him. Of course, all the money he made from doing that went to Mamma to help with household expenses.

We also had an ice-man in the summertime, who would also yell, to let us know he was there, and all of the Moms on our street who needed ice, would put the square card in the window, so the guy could see who wanted ice as he drove by. He had to carry our chunk of ice all the way up 3 flights of stairs, on his back with a huge pair of ice tongs. He would have on a rubber poncho to keep his clothes dry. the cards had a place to write what size a chunk you wanted. I remember Mamma most often wrote 25 cents on hers. The ice-man would put the ice right inside our ice-box . If we happened to have any Milky Way bars, Daddy would put a couple of them right on top of the ice. He loved them that way!

During the summer, when the ice-man would chop off a chunk just the size Mamma needed, he would put on the poncho, grab the ice with the tongs and swing it over his shoulder, and then go up to our flat, and we kids were all standing there watching the procedure, and as soon as he was in the door and out of sight, my brother would hop up into the wagon and start tossing the chips of ice to all of us, so we could cool off, eating or sucking nice, cold ice ! There was nothing like feeling some of the smaller chips sliding down our throats... so cooling ! I'm sure the ice-man knew we did that, but he never scolded us. What was he going to do with all those small chips that came off the big chunks when he used the ice-pick to start the crack that made it so he could gauge the right size the customer wanted ? I think kids would do that all up and down his route, whenever he stopped to service a customer. That was one of the highlights of our summers . that and the sprinklers at the Savin St. clinic. All good, clean fun, and the best part was that it was free !!

Our parents never had a credit card...don't think they were even thought of yet. But we did have Mr. Schuster . He had a kittle old car, and in the back and in the trunk, he had merchandise . I guess he either bought it wholesale, then sold it at retail, or worked for someone who owned a store, and hired him to go and make a regular customer route. anyway, he would come and Mamma would buy whatever us kids happened to need, and pay him in installments, $ 3.00 a week, until it was paid off. That was a lot of money for my folks to pay out, too, b/c my Daddy only brought home $ 40.00 or so in his pay envelope each week, to support a family of 7 people, sometimes 8, when a family friend stayed with us. He didn't contribute anything. Big sister, Anne, worked, but I don't know what she gave toward household expenses. Later, Betty and Phyllis went to work at the Hotel Lenox, where our Daddy also worked. They all were elevator operators.

I know that Phyllis gave her whole pay to help out, but our sister, Betty, was probably not so inclined. I don't know that for a fact, but I think she kept at least most of her pay, if not all of it.

Anyway, the rent there at that particular flat was $ 25.00 a month, and it was hard for my folks to come up with it at times. There was a time when they must have been behind, and I happened to be out front playing, when Miss Egan, our old-maid landlady opened her window, on the 3rd floor opposite our flat, and yelled down to me something about my parents paying her. I forget what

she said, exactly, but it made me mad, and I spoke up to her and told her not to talk about my parents that way. I had been brought up to always respect my elders, and I was also horribly shy, so don't know where I got the courage to speak up like I did. Anyway, my mother happened to hear me yelling at the old bitty, and she yelled at me, and made me apologize to Miss Egan. I felt so bad, b/c I was just defending my folks against that mean, old bat ! Can ya tell I didn't like her ?

She was so mean to us kids, too. We had no grass in front, or in back, just dirt in back and cement out front, and the front stoop to sit on. She would sometimes yell at us to go in the back to play, but there was absolutely nothing to do out back. so sometimes, I'd go up the back stairs and out onto our porch. We had a porch swing to sit on, and I'd get a book and read there, or just look across the way to the back porches of the houses on Savin St. to see if anything interesting was going on over there.

Mamma used to hang the wet laundry there on the back porch, that we called a piazza. Daddy had strung a bunch of clotheslines there for her, so sometimes none of us had room to sit when the lines were full.

Once in a while, I could go over to my friend, Fay's house for a while, or just ask if she could come out to play. We would just talk and giggle or sometimes go the the 5 and 10 store. Some folks call those old time stores five and dimes. anyway, whether we had money or not, we liked to go and look at all the merchandise.

One time, we each stole something. We were 15 and knew better, but we were poor, and wanted what we took. I don't recall what she took, but my prize was a pair of shoe-skates for a little doll I had. I didn't put them on the doll, though, just tucked them in a drawer. Wouldn't ya know, when my Mom was putting my clean clothes in that drawer, she found the skates, and turned to me and asked where I got them. she knew she hadn't bought them, and also knew I had no money to buy them. I was so scared. I'd never lied to her before, but with her looking at me and demanding to know where they came from, I lied, and said 'Lillian took them' ! That girl was not one of my friends, but she was one of Fay's , and I didn't like her, so said she did it. I guess Mamma must have told me to go and get Lillian, because I remember going to the girl an BEGGING her to please tell my mother that she had stolen the skates. Of course, she didn't like me any more than

I did her, and she refused to do that for me. So, when I went back upstairs to face Mamma, I had to admit the lie, and that I had taken them. the look in my mother's eyes was so sad, that I broke down and cried. She never did hit me or yell or anything, just had that look. That hurt me more than any spanking would have. (Yes, we still got spankings at that age.)

Anyway, the punishment I got was to return the skates to the store. That was so hard...I had to watch to be sure no one was looking before I was able to put them back. I'm sure my mother must have meant for me to take them to the manager and confess what I'd done, but I was too afraid and embarrassed to do that. So, the crime was undone, so to speak, and I never stole again.

Well, not on my own, but I'll save that for the next installment.

I always thought I'd lived a dull childhood, but as I look back, and retell some of the things that went on, I don't think it was so dull, after all .

Hope you enjoy this. Until next time.

D

Memories of my Childhood

Reading a recent message from my daughter brought back many memories of what it was like

to be a child in the 1930's and 1940's. Well, in my case, anyway.

My parents didn't have money for fancy clothes or toys. Heck, there wasn't much money to pay rent, bills, or even to buy food . but, nonetheless, we had fun, my siblings and I. We made our own fun, using our imaginations.

We played outside in the summertime, and to get cool, we would go to the local clinic, where they had a big, chain-link fenced area, and they had this pipe that ran across the top part of the building, that served as a sprinkler for us neighborhood kids. They would turn it on for a few hours, and our Moms would sit around the perimeter and visit, while we kids ran under the sprinkler . It wasn't much, but it sure felt good to cool off there, even tho' there was no grass, only cement.

If there was any spare money, we'd get to go to one of the beaches, Revere Beach being our favorite ! There they had a roller coaster, and a tilt-a-whirl, both of which I was scared of and didn't ride, even if Mamma had the nickel to do so. Yes, most everything cost a nickel in those days, even public transportation. Revere Beach had the best ice-cream cones, one was frozen custard, and my favorite, after strawberry, They had Tutti-frutti flavor, also. It was a welcome treat. Didn't get to buy anything else to eat, b/c of the lack of money, and the fact that Mamma would pack some sandwiches for our lunch. I used to see adults at some of the concession stands buying pepper-steak sandwiches, and that sounded so appetizing to me. I always wanted to try one, but there was never enough money to do so, and I think we were told that kids couldn't eat that stuff, that it was only for adults .

We had a great time, anyway, walking around, some of us swimming ( not me, tho'), and sometimes sitting on a blanket on the sand.

Other beaches were Carson Beach, but I don't recall me going there, just my sibs, Betty and Phyllis, and they walked. It was pretty far, but they didn't mind, Walking almost everywhere is what we did.

Another beach was City Point, where Mamma, if she had any money, would buy fried clams there. They were the best anywhere !! Sometimes we even got French Fries ! The clams were heavenly , to us, anyway !

Another place we walked to, there in our hometown of Roxbury, Massachusetts, was a park that is still there today...Franklin Park . We loved going there with a picnic lunch of egg-salad sandwiches, or bologna, or cheese sandwiches. Probably had Kool-Aid to drink. We had no money for concession stands, and I didn't care, b/c I loved (and still love ) sandwiches. They seemed especially good, b/c my Mamma made them .

Anyway, my big sister, Anne, would walk us over to the zoo area. Think they still have that, too.

Loved watching the monkeys, tigers, lions, elephants and all the animals. Think they had some exotic birds, too, and we would spend a little while there. Altogether, we spent several happy hours at the park.

Another, smaller park there in my hometown was Warren Park. We'd had a famous man named Warren, and the park and one of the main streets there was named Warren St. after him.

My Daddy would take my brother, Paul, and I to that park, sometimes, on his daily walk. First our mother would dress us in the appropriate clothing for the season, then, in summertime, daddy would pull a wagon with both my brother and I in it to the park and other places. and in the winter, Mamma would bundle us both up in our snowsuits, the kind like the little boy wore in that movie, A Christmas Story, where the little kid wanted a BB rifle, I think, and was constantly being told no, b/c he might shoot his eye out. those snowsuits that felt like you couldn't move in them. Then, Daddy would pull us in a sled, through the snow. Don't recall where he took us in the winter, maybe to Warren Park, to play while he smoked his pipe, sitting on a bench there.

During the winter, I had to wear long, brown stockings. They went all the way up my legs. Had to wear them, b/c we girls had to wear dresses...girls didn't wear pants, and I don't think there were any jeans made for girls, anyway. And the snowshoes, OMG, the kids today would laugh and laugh if they saw what we had to wear in the snow ! Ugly black boots, not cute boots the girls wear today. these had an extra piece of material that folded and then we pulled the sides of the boots together over that flap of material and fastened the boots with big, metal clasps.

Talk about ugly !!

Daddy kept our flat warm with both the furnace in the cellar, that warmed all 3 flats on our side of a 6-flat building, sort of an apartment building. and in our kitchen, there was a big, black, old-fashioned stove, where Mamma cooked the most wonderful meals ! Daddy would gather wood, or if my brother had any papers left from his paper route, Daddy would put them in the stove, too. When there was enough money for oil, Daddy would heft that great big bottle of it and turn it upside-down onto this little opening of pipe that led to inside the stove, so Mamma could cook our meals. sometimes Daddy would go to the store and buy a big bag of 'coke' which was like coal, but cheaper, and not as good. Mamma was a great cook. We had breakfast early, B4 school, maybe early during summer, too. Dinner was the heaviest meal of the day, at 12:00 noon, supper was at 5:00 p.m., and we had scrumptious food that Mamma cooked. For dinner, we would have a roast sometimes, when they could afford it, roast beef, roast pork, ham, and once in a while, roast leg of lamb ! We would have some vegetables, which were good, especially when she made mashed squash, the yellow kind, but not Butternut, Whatever kind, it was delicious ! The only veggies I didn't care for were peas, and those awful creamed carrots. Yuck !! Sometimes Daddy would make meatloaf, the best ever !! Mamma never owned a mixer, so for mashed potatoes, she wielded a masher, and made great, seldom lumpy mashed potatoes. Her gravy was out of this world ! She had a really big spoon, that she would put sugar in, and hold it sort of inside the burner, after lifting the burner lid off, and let that sugar melt and turn brown, then she'd stir it into the pan with meat juices still in it, after the meat was taken out of it, and mix it with the meat juices, the add flour to thicken the gravy . I've never had gravy as good as Mamma's !

On many Saturday nights we had Boston baked beans, with hot dogs and brown bread that came in a can...still does, I think . B&M brand, who also made the beans we ate. We all loved the chunk of salt pork that was in the beans, and when we got some, would spread it on a piece of white bread, Wonder bread, spread the fat on the bread which already had butter on it, sprinkle it with salt and a little bit of pepper, and chow down !! Yum, yum, yummy !!

Sometimes, on Sunday evening, if I'd had any money for the show, I'd get home, and it, of course , would be after suppertime, so the pork roast, if we'd had that for dinner, would be sitting there on the table, and I'd make myself a sandwich with it, using butter, mustard, salt and pepper, and savor that sandwich... it

was one of the best !

For breakfasts, if we were having fried eggs, or poached, Daddy would place slices of bread on the stovetop, and after just minutes, turn it over to toast the other side, and we kids would gobble that toast up, with butter melting on it...Mmmm, never have had toast that good since.

I even wrote a poem about Daddy's toast years ago, entitled, 'Oh, the Toast my Daddy Made' .

If I can ever find it, will post it here.

Sometimes Mamma would make pancakes, using Aunt Jemima's mix. think that's the only pancake mix there was in those days. Anyway, she added stuff to it, not oil, b/c don't recall there being cooking oil back then, but eggs and maybe milk. Whatever she did to it, they were the most wonderful pancakes that ever existed !! We had margarine, never butter. Earlier references to butter were also margarine. then we had pure Vermont maple syrup on them .

Mmmmm, good !! We used Log Cabin syrup, which came in a tin shaped and painted to look like a log cabin, and there was an indentation on the roof of it, so that when the syrup was all gone, and the can washed out and dried, we kids would have a bank for whatever pennies we might receive. There was a hole and plug in the bottom of the can, for easy access to the coins.

Well, these are just some of the happenings of my childhood, but this is enough for one day. I'll write more, each day, if possible. I know my kids and grandkids will enjoy reading this. Hope anyone else who reads it will see what life was like for some of us way back then.

Until next time...

D