All Grown Up and Dressed in White

PART I – GROWING UP

EARLY CHILDHOOD

I somehow can recall the location of my birthplace, but mostly from being informed by mom and dad. However, at the age of three and some change, moving day from that household is like an indelible mark in my memory bank. The house itself was the ‘shotgun’ version of a typical house/home for a family of our means. (The ‘shotgun’ home was one which when entered at the front door and you looked straight back, and whether or not you possessed good or mediocre eyesight, you could see all 4 rooms in the blink of an eye). Well, getting back to moving day, and there I was a ‘busybody’ 3 year old, who naturally was in the way and while the folks prepared items to be moved and gathered excess trash and other items doomed to be discarded rather than being moved on, (they were being made ready for ye olde ragman to pick up as he traveled down the pathway right next to the back exit of the homestead. I almost became a statistic because I was too much underfoot and about to be run over by the ragman’s wagon. This led to one of my more memorable spankings administered by mom and it was hardly forgotten. At this point I think poor mom would have severe charges of child abuse waged against her nowadays. Mom gave most of the spankings and dad gave out what I call generous doses of tongue lashings, which to me hurt just as bad if not worse. Don’t get me wrong, dad did and could give out genuine punishment to the lower back side if he deemed it necessary. However, I think at this point there were no life long adverse reactions suffered by us children and truly thank my parents for the gifts given us as we grew up and thereby aiding us in becoming the productive persons we are and have been. Having survived this particular disciplinary action given by momma on moving day, the story continues and returns to the scene of the ragman and the other city workers responsible for helping keep the streets and the alleys of Indy in good clean shape. The ragman (an independent self-employed person) traveled about in an uncovered horse drawn wagon, the trash and garbage man were city employees and likewise had unique modes of transportation also horse drawn. The city wagons had large canvas type covers just like window shades used to cover the sides of the wagons whether the contents of the wagons were pure garbage with quite an odor, which could be strong since the garbage was collected sans plastic bags. The trash collection consisted of tin cans, newspapers, ashes (the residue from the coal burning furnaces) and the canvas like covers prevented these items from blowing in the wind and creating more trouble in trying to keep Indy clean.

Not long after the move a new baby arrived and the family now consisted of 4 girls and 1 boy. Our new house had all of 5 rooms, 2 bedrooms upstairs, and a living room, dining room (converted into a bedroom via a sleep sofa at night) a kitchen and bathroom (minus a bathtub) downstairs. There was also an unfinished basement. Our bath times were spent in the #10 tub in front of the potbelly stove, used for heating the house (before a fancy new coal burning furnace was installed in the basement as well as a bathtub being installed), but water was an expensive commodity and thus the #10 tub was the object of our affection on Saturday night, with heated water added at intervals for the next person’s bath.

Mom and dad were both converts to Catholicism, so our education was in parochial schools. There was one parish for colored people, and that was located on the near east side of town, while the school was located on the west side. There was a Catholic Church and school in full view from our front porch, but the welcome mat especially for school was not rolled out to us until around 1949. This church and school ironically are now the location where the recipients of our scholarships and financial assistance are graduates. (My husband and I were married in the church.) Because of these above facts, we were bused to school in the very late ‘30’s and early ‘40’s. Now when I recall the distance of the church from our home it is real cause for amazement, since our family had increased by three children (2 more girls and a boy) while at this location, we managed or rather mom managed to have all of us up and ready for 6:00 A.M. Sunday mass without fail and this time table included travel time which enabled us to arrive no later than fifteen minutes prior to the start of mass. This sometimes even meant that the Smith Crew opened the church literally. Survival of this activity continued throughout the length of time our family resided at the current address. I think I was 6^th or 7^th grade before the parish church building next to our school on the west side was refurbished and remodeled and began having Sunday masses on a regular basis and it became mandatory that all the school children attend 8:30 A.M.