Jill's Stories

Catherine and John Murphy began their family of 12 children after they married at age 14.  Here are their names:  William, Raymond, John, Alfred (later to find out his name was really registered as Ross)  I am the only niece that identifies Uncle Alfred as Uncle Ross.  Margaret, Mildred, Mabel, Evelyn, Laura, Sue Mae, Mary Catherine, Jeanette.  ( the order of the girls is not exactly chronilogically correct but almost there)  My mom is Mary and I know that Aunt Sue Mae and Mary were born in the middle of the group.   All of the children were born naturally and at my grandparents’ home with the assistance of a midwife.  I can remember my grandmother telling me that my mom was born quickly and held on to Mom Murphy’ s stocking when she “slid out and down”. I always thought that was a funny story.  Mom Murphy told it many times.  She also often said she worried about my mother as she was so tiny and weak. The family always had plenty to eat as my Grandfather was a butcher for Kroger. Friends and neighbors gave clothing to all of the kids.  Every day after school, my mom would come home and it was her job to scrub the steps.  So every day she came home from school, not to play but to start the scrubbing. Aunt Peggy was in charge of the work force as she was the oldest and carried out the punishment if any of the kids did not do their jobs correctly.  She had a cord from and old iron and that is what she used to whip the siblings.  This certainly sounds harsh. The story was told many times also and verified by my aunts and uncles.  Needless to say, Aunt Peggy was type casted as the Villain.  My Grandmother had had a slight heart attack when she was in her 40’s and that is why she turned over the discipline to the oldest daughter.  Or so it was related to me.

Uncle Bill married Cecil.  Uncle Ray married Thelma.  Uncle John married Beatrice (Bert), Uncle Ross married Betty.  Aunt Peggy married Dumar Smith, Aunt Mildred married (unfamiliar with his name), Aunt Mabel married (I think his name was Ron), Aunt Jeannette married Ed Holtke, Aunt Sue Mae married Lloyd Payne, Aunt Laura married Jim Arthon, Mary married Charles Pfau and Aunt Evelyn died in the fire when she was two years old.

My Grandparents, Mabel Waters and Denman Pfau married but I don’ know their ages when that happened. They had two children.  Here are their names:  Charles Denman and Evelyn.  My Dad is Charles and he was the first born I think.  My Aunt Evelyn was their only daughter and my Dad was their only son. Charles married Mary and Evelyn married Charlie Flynn.Now that I think about it, how incredibly odd it is that my mom’s sister-in-law was named Evelyn. But then I am always looking for different planes of existence. So so.

Remembering past New Year’s Eves:  When I was growing up, we always, and I do mean always observed New Year’s Eve in a big way. It was the one night when I could stay up past midnight and have lots of fun doing just that.  We would make snacks of all sorts and watch T.V.  and when it was just about 11:55 p.m., we would drag out all the pots and pans we could carry to the front porch and start banging on them at the stroke of midnight.  Fireworks would be going off in the neighborhood, and yelling and such was also going on.  Then we went back inside and ate some yummy snacks and then off to bed we went.   Quite the night!  As I became older, I ventured out with friends but I always called first, my Grandmother, Mom Murphy from where ever I was to wish her a happy New Year.  Then I would call my mom.  Now this went on until each of them passed on.  Those two calls were at 12:01 a .m.,believe it or not.  My Grandmother was always awake as was my Mom.  One New Year’s Eve, I was out with friends and we drove past my Grandmother’s house and I put a small box of chocolates in her mailbox that was mounted on the front porch.  She found it the next day.  Random memory.

My Dad wasn’t much into the New Year’s celebration.  He was usually asleep at that hour.

When I had my own family with kids, I perpetuated the pan banging.  They seemed to like to do that as much as I did.  That later evolved into fire crackers and noise makers and such.  Party supplies and hats and various snack concoctions were added to give a flair to the night.   (to be continued)