Scrapbook
My Scrapbook will be made up of memories, images, good times and bad—that’s what a life is made of. My memories will be different than my sisters, and hers and mine will differ from what my brother remembers. I intend this scrapbook to be a glimpse of my life, my family and my world. If my siblings do me the honor of reading what I write, they are welcome to criticize, contradict, and say whatever they want to say about it. I welcome their input.
I was the unexpected child.Here is my earliest portrait.
It is sort of a family joke that my birth was, if not accidental, unintentional. My mother's first children were twin boys, born in 1931. They were premature. One was born dead, and the other lived only 22 hours. My brother and sister were born in 1935 and 1933 respectively. They sure didn’t expect to have a brother over ten years their junior!
The story goes that in the fall of 1944, my mother went to her doctor and complained of an abdomenal swelling. Her doctor, convinced that she could not be pregnant, diagnosed the problem as a tumor. He referred her to the Mayo Clinic. After examination at the Mayo Clinic she was told she was seven months pregnant. I was born that January 7th, 1945.
When I was born my family in Tulsa was a good size. I had several cousins, aunts and uncles. The cousins used to get together on birthdays. Here is a typical photo of those days. From left, in the front are first a boy I don't recognize, then my cousin Marilyn and my cousin Sharon. Standing from left are my brother Bill, my cousin Nathan, my cousin Phyllis, my sister Freda, and then a girl I don't recognize (Hey Sis, if you're reading this please help out).
Well, Sis came through for me. Thanks 'Fre' or was it "Dido?" The following, in italics, is the text of her E-mail:
Just saw your scrapbook. (I've had a little trouble with my web connection and haven't been able to see your web site for a while,) I love It. About the Birthday picture: the girl is Wilma or Willadean or something like that. Can't quite remember exactly. She lived across from us on the corner. I can still see her house in my mind. The boy, I think, was Jack Powell. He lived up the street on our side on the corner, when we lived on North College.
About your birth: We always said you were meant to be. We had gone to Milwaukee that summer to see Grammy and her new husband, Sam Palow. I was 11 and Billy was 9-1/2. Mother was not feeling well and the trip was not an easy one. For us it was an adventure. We went on the train and it was full of soldiers. There wasn't any place to sit except on our suitcases. It was very crowded. This was the first time I had ever encountered people who kept the Sabbath strictly. The building where Grammy and Sam lived was in a ghetto and was all Jewish. It seemed that there was a little shul on every corner along with kosher bakeries, grocery stores and butcher shops. When we got home Mother went to the doctor and of course he didn't know what was wrong so he sent her to Mayo's. She went thru their battery of tests and they found nothing wrong, thank god. They told her to go home and have her baby.
Daddy was so excited. He was doing well in his business(He had just gone into the wholesale meat business)and it was a good time to have another baby. We moved to 22nd street when you were six months old because we needed more space and Mother wanted to make sure Daddy didn't spend all the money. They paid cash for the house. The rest I think you know.
By the way, here is a photo of "Grammy" and her second husband Sam Palow.
I’ll stop for now. There will be more to come!
