In reading the book “Legacy” I find it overwhelming to begin writing about my life. There are so many conversations and incidents that are seemingly unimportant but I am sure have some influence on my life and those who have followed me. My earliest memories are not what I remember but what I have been told.
My mom married my dad at 16 years old and moved to St. Louis where they lived with his parents. My Mom still had a year of high school to complete, which she did. It had to have been hard for her in a strange place with strangers, especially when she got pregnant with me. I was born 15 days before her 18th birthday.
My grandparents doted on me. My grandmother, Mary Jane, used to be an English nanny and married my grandfather when my dad was 3 years old. She taught my mom how to be a wife and mother. I have only heard that everyone held her in high esteem and she was a fantastic person.
My dad was in World War II. He took flying lessons while a teenager and went into the Army as a pilot. After the war he tried to settle down in St. Louis with a banking position but was bored and missed the Army. He went back in and was stationed to Germany after basic training for 6 months in Colorado Springs. So when I was 3 and Vic (brother) was 2 my parents loaded us up in the old Chevy and headed for New York to catch a steamer to Europe. Upon arrival in New York there was a telegram that grandma had died. It seems she had a blood clot in her leg, but my dad was convinced it was a broken heart because he took her grandchildren away. We turned around and drove back to St. Louis for the funeral. I am glad I didn’t understand any of this because my parents’ grief had to have been overwhelming. We then drove back to New York, got on a steamer and headed for Europe.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Childhood in Germany
We lived in 3 different places in Europe: Bamberg, Erlangen and Nurnberg. In the first 2 places I remember living in spacious apartments but Nurnberg has the most memories. We lived in a house that had been bombed and repaired. We had a pretty fenced in back yard with a cherry tree in the middle and shrubs against the fence. There was also a cute little playhouse where Victor and I played for many hours. In the front there was a sidewalk that wound around to the back yard. It was lined with the most beautiful colored pansies that awed me even as a child. For many years pansies were my favorite flowers. I can remember squatting down like kids do to get as close as I could so that I could study them. Carl was the coal man and the gardener. He would catch mice in the basement and show them to us before he disposed of them. He would also pick cherries from the tree and in general keep the yard nice. We had 2 maids: Elizabeth and Gabby. Elizabeth was the mom and Gabby about 22 years old. They did the housework, cooking, and babysitting as my parents traveled a lot when in Europe. Neither woman knew English so I learned German pretty quick. I remember them showing me objects and naming them. Elizabeth’s husband used to be a diplomat before the war. When I was older I thought how hard that had to have been to be in domestic service to a 25 year old American Army Lt.
The highlight of those years was our German Shepard, Binno. He never was a puppy and I don’t know where my dad got him, but he was my companion. He was trained as a watchdog but I never knew that part of him. He stayed with us kids always when we were outside. My dad had an English friend, John Moss who was a bachelor and came over occasionally. John would always put me on Binno’s back and ride me around like a horse. It was great fun and I always looked forward to John coming to dinner. When we left Germany, dad turned Binno loose at the airfield to have the men look after him and let him chase rabbits. For years after I always felt a sense of loss about Binno. I must have really loved him because I missed him so much. Mom said he was so intelligent that he would open the refrigerator and help himself to the roast or whatever was on the menu for the evening. I just remember this big old dog that was my friend. One day I didn’t want to go to school so I sneaked to the back yard as the bus was pulling up. Binno grabbed my hand and tried to pull me around to the front and I fought him. Mom comes out and I try to say Binno bit me but she saw the whole incident. Boy, did I get in trouble.
This was when I was in the first grade and my report card says at the second semester that I was just beginning to talk to the other students. For some reason I was very shy. My favorite part of school was band where I played the sticks. The older kids in the school put on a play – The Princess and the Pea. I remember walking out so proudly playing my sticks. It was the first program I was in. Unfortunately there was a little step that I missed and severely sprained my ankle. Not wanting to make a fuss I bore the pain and walked out in the line when it was over. Never a tear did I shed but the pain was great. At recess we would all go to the school yard which was full of pine trees. We took old pine branches to use them as brooms and swept the needles into areas to make pretend rooms of a house. That is how we played with a lot of pretending to be the mom or dad or child.
Living in Germany was a peaceful existence from my perspective. Mom and Dad traveled a lot and left us with the maids. They went to Italy – Pisa, Venice and other places that I don’t know, but I remember the pictures they brought back. They brought me a gold cross and doll from Italy, which I treasured. I remember the day Mom gave it to me. The doll was porcelain and broke in one of the moves. I wish I still had it. The cross I left hanging on a nail in the closet of a house we had rented and moved out of. We went back but it was gone.
The highlight of those years was our German Shepard, Binno. He never was a puppy and I don’t know where my dad got him, but he was my companion. He was trained as a watchdog but I never knew that part of him. He stayed with us kids always when we were outside. My dad had an English friend, John Moss who was a bachelor and came over occasionally. John would always put me on Binno’s back and ride me around like a horse. It was great fun and I always looked forward to John coming to dinner. When we left Germany, dad turned Binno loose at the airfield to have the men look after him and let him chase rabbits. For years after I always felt a sense of loss about Binno. I must have really loved him because I missed him so much. Mom said he was so intelligent that he would open the refrigerator and help himself to the roast or whatever was on the menu for the evening. I just remember this big old dog that was my friend. One day I didn’t want to go to school so I sneaked to the back yard as the bus was pulling up. Binno grabbed my hand and tried to pull me around to the front and I fought him. Mom comes out and I try to say Binno bit me but she saw the whole incident. Boy, did I get in trouble.
This was when I was in the first grade and my report card says at the second semester that I was just beginning to talk to the other students. For some reason I was very shy. My favorite part of school was band where I played the sticks. The older kids in the school put on a play – The Princess and the Pea. I remember walking out so proudly playing my sticks. It was the first program I was in. Unfortunately there was a little step that I missed and severely sprained my ankle. Not wanting to make a fuss I bore the pain and walked out in the line when it was over. Never a tear did I shed but the pain was great. At recess we would all go to the school yard which was full of pine trees. We took old pine branches to use them as brooms and swept the needles into areas to make pretend rooms of a house. That is how we played with a lot of pretending to be the mom or dad or child.
Living in Germany was a peaceful existence from my perspective. Mom and Dad traveled a lot and left us with the maids. They went to Italy – Pisa, Venice and other places that I don’t know, but I remember the pictures they brought back. They brought me a gold cross and doll from Italy, which I treasured. I remember the day Mom gave it to me. The doll was porcelain and broke in one of the moves. I wish I still had it. The cross I left hanging on a nail in the closet of a house we had rented and moved out of. We went back but it was gone.
Age six -- back in the States
The return from Germany was exciting. We were on a Navy ship. I was 6 years old and still remember the Navy uniforms and how the officers on board would talk to me or pick me up when out on deck. I suppose they had their own families and children at home and missed them. Steven was about 20 months so Mom put a harness on him to make sure he would not go overboard. Mom was seasick most of the trip. I think she was pregnant with Greg. The 2 things that stand out in my mind are the ship’s doctor and the typhoon we got caught in. Somehow I developed an ingrown toenail so to the doctor we went. I remember how white and clean everything looked in his office. He sat me on the table and was talking to me and then started cutting on my nail. It hurt terribly and I wanted to cry so much but refused to let one tear fall in front of this man. Of course my mother was there also. So he bandaged me up and sent us on our way. The typhoon hit when we were all in the ballroom playing bingo. Everyone was sitting in folding chairs at card tables. All of a sudden the ship tipped one way and people fell out of their chairs. Some lady’s pearls broke and started rolling all over the place. We were at a place where there was a pipe. Mom held on to Steve, Dad held on to Victor and the 3 of us held on to the pipe. When the ship tilted our way I remember seeing those pearls rolling toward me. The whole episode was strange with people talking loudly and trying to get to their cabins. We made it back to our cabin where upon I went to sleep. (Being young has a lot of advantages, such as being unaware of imminent danger.)
Back to the States we went and Dad was then stationed in Arkansas. One of the events I forgot to mention in Germany was my Dad, at Christmas, flew Santa in from the North Pole. There were hundreds of Germans and Americans at the airfield and I was so proud that my Dad flew in Santa. Also I remember winning a coloring contest in the newspaper. It was a picture of a Christmas scene and I won a tea set. That is probably what started me wanting to be an artist.
We moved to North Little Rock, Arkansas when I was in the second grade. The year was 1951 and the South had just started integration in the schools. There was a lot of potential for violence so Mom and Dad put Vic and me in St. Josephs Orphanage as day students. Sister Mercedes was my second grade teacher. She was a little overweight and very formidable looking in her nun’s habit. I was a little intimidated by her so I became the quiet ideal student. One of the boys in class always picked his nose so she tried various ways to make him stop from gloves to locking him in a closet or locker in the room. Scared me half to death. I made sure I did not get any attention. I think it was that year that I skipped down the stairs and got a swat from Mother Superior with the willow switch and was told ladies do not skip they walk.
The orpanage was vast. Very wide steps led up to the main doors and it had a large yard surrounded by woods. The classrooms were very old with tall windows. I remember hardwood floors and long hallways. Going to lunch we could take crayons and a coloring book with us and we could not a word on the way to lunch, during and going back. When I finished eating, I would quietly work in my coloring book. The highlight for me was chapel. I loved the smell of the holy water, the incense and the beautiful statues of Jesus and Mary. We had chapel every day and studied catachism. Mom would tell me not to say the rosary but I found myself saying the Lord's Prayer and Hail Mary's with the rest of them. Someone always supplied me with a rosary. The beginning of the catachism started with questions such as Who is God. The answer was God always was and always will be. I asked my mom how could that be and she said you must have faith. She said people go crazy trying to find the answers to those questions and end up in institutions. That really put me off from thinking about it for many years. On the playground I always kept to myself. I knew the other kids did not have parents and I felt different having my Dad pick me up every day.
After school Dad would always pick up Vic and me and take us to the hanger where he worked. I think it was Ft. Robinson. Sometimes he would take us flying in his piper cub. We would fly over the house and wave to Mom down below. Sometimes he would do some rolls and dips and we loved it.
Back to the States we went and Dad was then stationed in Arkansas. One of the events I forgot to mention in Germany was my Dad, at Christmas, flew Santa in from the North Pole. There were hundreds of Germans and Americans at the airfield and I was so proud that my Dad flew in Santa. Also I remember winning a coloring contest in the newspaper. It was a picture of a Christmas scene and I won a tea set. That is probably what started me wanting to be an artist.
We moved to North Little Rock, Arkansas when I was in the second grade. The year was 1951 and the South had just started integration in the schools. There was a lot of potential for violence so Mom and Dad put Vic and me in St. Josephs Orphanage as day students. Sister Mercedes was my second grade teacher. She was a little overweight and very formidable looking in her nun’s habit. I was a little intimidated by her so I became the quiet ideal student. One of the boys in class always picked his nose so she tried various ways to make him stop from gloves to locking him in a closet or locker in the room. Scared me half to death. I made sure I did not get any attention. I think it was that year that I skipped down the stairs and got a swat from Mother Superior with the willow switch and was told ladies do not skip they walk.
The orpanage was vast. Very wide steps led up to the main doors and it had a large yard surrounded by woods. The classrooms were very old with tall windows. I remember hardwood floors and long hallways. Going to lunch we could take crayons and a coloring book with us and we could not a word on the way to lunch, during and going back. When I finished eating, I would quietly work in my coloring book. The highlight for me was chapel. I loved the smell of the holy water, the incense and the beautiful statues of Jesus and Mary. We had chapel every day and studied catachism. Mom would tell me not to say the rosary but I found myself saying the Lord's Prayer and Hail Mary's with the rest of them. Someone always supplied me with a rosary. The beginning of the catachism started with questions such as Who is God. The answer was God always was and always will be. I asked my mom how could that be and she said you must have faith. She said people go crazy trying to find the answers to those questions and end up in institutions. That really put me off from thinking about it for many years. On the playground I always kept to myself. I knew the other kids did not have parents and I felt different having my Dad pick me up every day.
After school Dad would always pick up Vic and me and take us to the hanger where he worked. I think it was Ft. Robinson. Sometimes he would take us flying in his piper cub. We would fly over the house and wave to Mom down below. Sometimes he would do some rolls and dips and we loved it.
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