Remembering

Photo taken July 2005

Next month will mark the one year anniversary of my Mom's death. It still seems like just yesterday on many days. I've been thinking about her a lot lately. I'm thankful that she gave me a recipe book full of her handwritten recipe cards. Whenever I remember my Mom, I remember her cooking. She was a wonderful cook. 

She also loved to keep in touch with her children via e-mail. Over the years I kept a few and I most are from 2007 for some reason. One in particular that I kept was sent to all of her children on July 21, 2007 - this was their 44th wedding anniversary. 

Here is what she shared:

44 years ago when Dad and I got married it was rainy (just a mild rain) but the wedding was beautiful.  None of you were there so thought I would tell you about it.  

We got married in the Weymouth Episcopalian church across the street from South Shore Hospital.  Your father's family were Congregational and mine were Methodist.  My family had moved from Stoughton to Weymouth and my Mom and Dad had stopped going to church.  I, at 15, was not happy about that as I was searching for more.  Reverand Flanders at the Episcopal church was preaching Christ.  I went and stayed until your father and I moved.  Just as a piece of truth, the church fired him later on because of his belief in the Lord.  

We had our reception at Kramer's Dairy Barn and it was a nice place.  My folks hired a band and there was dancing and the whole thing.  It was catered and the food was nice.  It was basically a typical reception of the day.  

I lived on Summer Street at the time so after the reception we went back to the farm and I changed and dad did and then we got into our 1953 green Buick and headed to Cape Cod. What a comfortable boat that car was.  The leg room was huge and there was plenty of steel around the car not like the ones of today with plastic etc.  The car had old shoes and cans attached and they put confetti in Dad's pipe {smoking pipe} and in our suitcases.  Don't do that because it stains clothes :-)  2 years later we were still finding the confetti in the car.  Little stuff that it is. 

We went and caught a ferry and went to Nantucket. We did not like it there much as our cottage was inland and not on the ocean like we had been led to believe so we only stayed for a short time and then went back to Eastham to finish out our honemoon.  We both love the ocean.

Gas at that time was 13 cents a gallon and there was plenty of it.  You could fill your car up for under 2 dollars.  Bread was a whopping 15 cents and hamburg was 35 cents a pound.  How times change eh? 

Dad was making 60 dollars a week in salary.  That was not take home though that was gross.  It was a good wage.  We had a nice car and enough to keep things going.  We owned a home in Hanson, Mass as my grandfather gave us $500 toward the down payment and we borrowed $500 from my parents which we

did pay back but it took a while.  We had a huge mortgage of 35 dollars a month.  Lots of money back then.  Just a step back in time for you to enjoy.

Love,

Mom