This Day in MY History

July 7 was my oldest sister, Mary's, birthday.   Don't ask me how old she would of been now, somewhere in her 90's.  

She was just like a second mother to me.  She used to wash my hair when they came to our house on Sunday's and then she'd pin curl it.   You young women probably don't remember how we used to run around with our hair pin curled up and a scarf wrapped around it.   I would usually go to sleep when she did this.

She always took me to a Christmas parade in Peoria, Illinois.   One year we were in SZOLDS (SP) store and they had a ring set up in the middle of the room.   Quite like a boxing ring only there was a man in there with a pony and the pony was doing tricks.   I was pretty short and she had two of her own children with her.   She told me to get up where I could see.    SO...being the horsewoman that I was I climbed right up into the ring with the guy and his pony.    He was NOT happy at all and made me understand very quickly I wasn't welcome.

Some man felt sorry for me and held me so I could see. 

She took my big doll one time and made her a wedding dress AND a tuxedo.   That was my Christmas present that year in a suitcase all my own.    That is the doll Sierra has now.

When Ted and I were married we went to California that first summer and got jobs.   I was told I had to have my birth certificate.  In those days we didn't pick up the phone and call people so on this date in 1956  I told Ted I had to write my mom for a copy of my birthcertificate.   That's when I learned I was not a biological daughter of hers.

That discovery is a book in itself.

Ellen