Mom was born in Morristown, New Jersey, in 1924. There were 4 girls and her parents, a fifth sister died as an infant. They lived in a 3 room house, had a small farm worked very hard to provide for themselves and extended family. There were tons of cousins and friends around , Her father was a postman and her mother was at home. My grandmother had no more than a 2nd grade education but never stopped reading. There were always magazines around and books. During the depression they were poor but had no clue that they were. The 4 girls shared a room there entire time at home, a small one at that. Mom continued on to join the Navy, then on to college for a short time, until she became to ill to continue. After the illness she was able to get a job and was rarely without one after that.
She met my father and became engaged, her father passed, she married a short time later. My father was a difficult man and it took only a short time to discover this. If he was bad his parents were worse and never excepted my mother as an equal. She came form dirt poor people with high morals ,they were affluent and had few if any morals.
Eventually my parents left New Jersey and traveled for many months finally settling in Oregon.
My mother always had a camera in her hand from the time she can remember and a cat in her lap, something the 2 of us have in common. Some of the photographs of our travel to the Pacific Coast from the Atlantic Coast were lost to a house fire.
There is much more to her story, there were many years o abusive behavior from my father and his parents, she at this time refuses to dwell on that and talks of all the places they visited and the adventures they had.
My mother has never had a drink, never smoked a cigarette, I have never heard her say anything stronger than "shit" or "Damn". She has never bounced a check or been fired from a job. She gives of herself no questions asked, and always follow through on any commitment. If she had any faults it was her inability to articulate her love of family or give and receive hugs. I have never caught her in a lie or seen her be anything but honest. Tactful yes, but always honest. She loves deeply and with a fierce loyalty, she is of the old school of I may say what I please of my children and family,you on the other had need to be quiet.
My parents traveled during every vacation sometimes out of state, I have been in 37 states in my travels with them.
