Growing Children

John liked the school and what he was learning. He rented a room for himself, from a widow lady who lived in the house. His sisters made him cookies. I mailed them to him. We wrote to each other often. John was good that way. One time I didn't hear from him for about four weeks. I kept writing but I received no answer. We got frantic with worry; we wondered if he was in bad company or had gotten hurt. I finally wrote to Coyne Electrical School and asked if John was attending school and if his school work was satisfactory. The school answered me and said John attended school every day. His work was exemplary. That letter made us feel much better.

A few days after that John wrote and excused himself about not writing. He had been picking up broken radios from the neighbors. He charged them a reasonable fee for fixing them, then he put the money in the bank. It made us happy to hear from John. He did not realize how time passed by. John came home at the end of the year with good marks. John was changed in a lot of ways. He had been away from home so long his outlook on life was different from ours, but he was still a good fellow.

Tony met a girl who was a junior in high school. He fell in love with her. Her name was Lorraine Diemer. He was a senior at the time. Our son Tony graduated from high school. We had a graduation party for him. Tony went to Haddon Hall, a school of accounting in Summit, N.J. He went to work for a company in Morristown working on their books. We were a little disappointed in him. My husband and I wanted Tony to go to college to learn to become a doctor. He said that doctors worked night and day and he would not have any time to himself. Then we asked him if he would go to college and become an animal doctor because he loved animals so much. We were not able to persuade him.

Carm was going to graduate from high school. She enjoyed her high school days. Ever since I quit school I had dreamed that I was graduating with a cap and gown. Even though our two sons graduated, I still had my dream. I guess since Carm was a girl, after she graduated, I had a feeling that I was also graduating. The dream left me.

Carmela was a pretty girl, very thin and smart. She was chosen to get a partial scholarship at a teachers' college. The teachers told her to ask us if we would send her because if we wouldn't send her they would pass the scholarship to someone else. We were still with the “old book” that girls weren't allowed to go too far from home. So we told Carm that we wouldn't send her to college. Someone else got the scholarship. Carm felt very bad we wouldn't let her go.

Carm went to work for Alexander Smith Insurance and Real Estate, on Main Street in Madison, N.J. She liked working there. It gave her a chance to meet a lot of people. Mr. Smith thought Carm was a nice girl. He liked the way she did her work.