Birth: Carmela

I gave birth to a little girl on September 2, 1929. We named my baby girl Carmela Philomena Lupardi. She was named after my dead mother and my husband's mother who was still living.

She was born with a thin veil-like tissue, which people called lucky. I told the doctor if he would save it for me, I would appreciate it. The doctor gave me the tissue. I gave it to my mother-in-law to dry and sew into a very small silk bag. She did that for me.

Another woman in the room also had a little girl the same night. When I told her the story about the tissue she laughed at me. Two days later she asked me if I would sell it. She said, “My brother-in-law is a sailor. He is always at sea; he told me that any sailor having possessions of something like that would never drown.” He would pay me any amount of money if I sold it to him.

I said, “No, I will not sell it.” My daughter Carmela is 49 years old and she still has it.

When Carmela was born she was yellow. I got very frightened. The doctor said that it was yellow jaundice. It lasted one week. I felt much better when she got healthy. My pain attacks came farther and farther apart. I was happy.

I felt better because now I had John, three years old; Tony, 17 months old, and a new little baby. It was a struggle to bathe the babies, make their bottles, breast feed the one just born, cook baby food for Tony, wash, clean house and cook for everyone. Thank goodness we bought a washing machine. It was a Maytag, with a wringer. Washday was made easier.

My husband pitched in and helped by doing whatever he could. He loved children. All in all, we were very happy. We spent a lot of time together. That I liked. Tony loved talking, so there was never a dull moment. He brought me up on all the news.

Tony would go to the store and buy groceries, then to the meat market. Tony always made sure we had enough to eat. We always had enough if unexpected company came to visit. We used to have a little book. The store lady used to write all the things we bought in the book. Then, every two weeks we would pay and start over again. My husband had to go about 20 minutes by car to do the shopping. It was not a very large store. When the big food markets came out we learned to go there. The prices were cheaper and we paid cash as we shopped. We found it better that way.

My husband earned $26.00 a week. We got an eight room house free. We only paid for gas. We had chickens for fresh eggs and a large garden. We ate fresh food all summer and canned for the winter. We also got money from the home we rented; that was considered good in those days.

Our baby Carmela was a darling. We all loved her. She was a girl after two boys. My mother-in-law came and helped me once in a while. She was now 70 years old, but still a very active person. She always had a good shape for a person that age.

We had a friend who lived one half mile down the road. My mother-in-law would say, “Let's go visit the Sapios. Mary, there is a saying, ‘If you travel, you always end up getting something. If you stay at home you get nothing.’” Our friends were happy to see us. They would give us coffee and cake. When we went home they gave us fresh eggs and fresh vegetables to take home. My mother-in-law was right with her saying. I would put two babies in the carriage and she would hold John by the hand and we would walk home, happy that we had taken the walk.

We got used to our eight room house and enjoyed living there. We had the biggest house in the family. My two half-brothers would come from New York City with their families and stay in the country with us for a few days. Then they started to bring their in-laws. The crowd got too big and the cooking and cleaning became too much for me, so I had to tell them they and their immediate family could come, but no more relatives.

The three children learned to play with each other; they were good children, but Tony would cry if he didn't get his way. I felt better when things ran smoothly.

I loved to read, so I read many books and enjoyed my reading. After I read the books I passed them to my husband to read. Then we would compare what each of us got out of reading these books. I read faster than he did, but he would keep right on reading. He never gave up. It also taught him how to enjoy reading. Tony would read books, newspapers, anything he got hold of. That way he knew what went on outside of our home.

When Carmela started to talk and walk, things perked up around our house. She just kept right on chattering. She would talk more than her two brothers combined. When my baby Carmela was 16 months old, I got pregnant again. I nursed Carmela for 12 months. I had plenty of milk; I also cooked baby cereal. I also cooked vegetables and passed them through a sieve. Carmela enjoyed eating.

When the three children were in bed in the summertime Tony and I would walk all around our yard. Then we would go and watch the vegetables grow. We would water them about once a week if it didn't rain.

Once a week Tony would go out with a few men friends to play cards and buy a drink. When he went out I would stay home and sew or embroider scarves for our bureaus.