Birth: Philomena

When John was four and three quarters, Tony was three and a half and Carmela was two years old, my fourth baby was born. I had to have the baby at home because I couldn't leave three little ones anywhere to stay. We made arrangements for my mother-in-law to come and stay with me. My oldest sister-in-law, dependable Rose, would come for a few hours and help her mother out. She cooked and cleaned house. My mother-in-law took care of the children and washed the clothes.

My baby was born on July 21, 1931; she was a healthy nine and a half pound baby. She was born about 9:00 p.m. She was born so fast that the doctor could hardly get upstairs in time. We named her Philomena after my husband's mother. This had been the best pregnancy so far. I felt well and did all my work and took care of the other three babies. My husband and I loved each other very much and that's what counted. My mother-in-law was a midwife, but she never delivered my babies, or her daughters'. She felt that if anything did happen, she would never forgive herself.

The house had been redecorated before Philomena was born. I bought new linoleum, put clean curtains on the windows, and our furnace was converted to a better system with radiators. Everything looked lovely and fresh. Housekeeping was much easier. My husband had made his sweet liquor and homemade wine. We had many friends to come and visit the new baby. They would say how nice the place looked.

We baptized our baby when she was two weeks old. My niece Theresa and her husband Joe were sponsors for the baby. We had a large christening. Both families came to the party. Young and old all came. A good time was had by all. My husband helped me prepare the food for the party.

The older children and I would talk over what happened during the day. We enjoyed that. I would always tell them stories and read fairy tales to them. That kept their little minds active. They were pretty bright. We didn't have any television or telephone. There was a telephone at the place of business. We had to walk about four blocks to get to a public phone. We used it only when we had to make important calls. The children would listen to the radio. They loved the “The Lone Ranger” program with ‘Hi-Ho Silver’ and Tonto. When we put the four children to bed, my husband and I would read, play cards, or just talk and enjoy the quietness of the place. We also did a lot of work at night, when the children were sleeping.

Now and then we would have two couples come to visit in the evening. We would also play cards and chat. We had a little snack and wine and coffee for the ones who didn't want wine. Sometimes we had my father come to baby-sit and we would go and visit our friends or go to the movies. If you went to the movies on a Tuesday you received a book or a dish. I still have a set of books I collected. Today you are lucky you get a seat to sit in.

At our parties there was always plenty to do. We had five acres of land. The men and ladies played bocci ball, cards outside, or we just sat and chatted. The company always ended up going home with something, such as fresh eggs, fruits or vegetables.

The children played all sorts of games and ran around to their hearts' content. They climbed trees, played hide and seek, and played ball. Once in a while one would fall and get scratched and then end up crying and looking for his parents.

Tony and I and the children enjoyed living in Florham Park. The country air was clean and fresh smelling.

John was now seven and a half, Tony was six, Carmela was four and a half and Phyl was two and a half. Things were a little easier. The children were growing. I was getting into the routine of things.

All of a sudden I found out I was pregnant again. This time I worried how was I ever going to take care of them. My sister-in-law came with us to the doctor and asked the doctor if it was wise to have an abortion, because I had four little ones and I wasn't well. The doctor was sort of annoyed with her and said, “No, I do not think it wise to have an abortion.”

My husband was glad to hear I should have my fifth child. He would help me more to make things easier for me.