Audrey: Oh, yes.

Audrey: No, he liked whatever I picked. He didn’t say much.

Audrey: I saw Theo yesterday. Everything was going on around here. There were things to sell. (Alpine Nursing Home’s activities)

Audrey: Grandma told nursery stories to me. She sang a song, one-half a story and one-half a song. Grandma would fall asleep, but I was first.

Aunt Jeannie was a second mother. Vaughn went over there as it was a second home. Vaughn didn’t like Aunt Di at all. She took his toys and put them on top of the ice box, where Vaughn couldn’t get them. Addy hollered at her to not take Vaughn’s toys.

Aunt Di had lived in a mansion. When Di’s husband died, she couldn’t live there alone. She was miserable to everyone. Aunt Jeannie was older than she, so aunt Jeannie had to boss her around.

Aunt Di kept out of Dick’s way. He hollered at her. If Dick would get a hold of Di, he would shake her. Addy kept out of Dick’s way. Addy was named out of a book that Aunt Jeannie was reading.

Dick blamed his mother, Aunt Jeannie, for letting the doctors do an operation on him. The doctor said Dick would be cured, but in the end all Dick could do is walk with crutches. (He had polio as a child.) He could drive his car. Here he was an old bachelor and he never harmed any of us. He always said we girls were his legs. He was a wonderful old bachelor. He was always reading. Addy didn’t care to read. Addy didn’t even have a car. Dick would back his truck to the grocery store and they (grocery store help) would put the food in the back of his truck. Addy would bring food into house.

Audrey: All my kids were so beautiful. Same difference. I thought the world of you kids. Having seven kids, it was such a blessing to have a baby in your arms. They say the terrible two, but I loved the terrible twos.

You were all darling. When Crystal was in the crib, she said “Mother, come get these wet guys (wet diapers). Doug was a quiet boy and Heather was quiet, too.  Spen was full of mischief.  Crystal was full of mischief.  Vaughn, he was the last baby.

We went over to Aunt Jeannie’s everyday in the afternoon and chairs were all outside. Aunt Jeannie loved to watch the kids. She had our toys over there. When Aunt Di came, she put our toys on the refrigerator. Di did not want kids there and the lady upstairs didn’t want kids. Dick, he would always yell at them. He said he wanted to throw her in the river to get rid of her.

Oh, I loved the grandchildren. Belinda was the first one. Little Hannah is doing her thing and so is Emma. Meagan has this beautiful thick head of hair. Mathew wants to be a chef. Jessica is full of life and Mark’s children are all so beautiful.

Audrey: I tried to call my mother every day. However, Anna often came and needed the phone, (so we couldn’t talk very long).

Audrey: Amber was different from everyone else. She was full of fun. She was very active. She never sat down. The rest of them rested from time to time, but not Amber. Now Martin, he was a good little kid and Belinda, she caused no trouble. The three of them seldom fought as kids.

Oh dear, I am so tired. I’ve got to hang up.

Audrey: Vaughn, he was a little fussier. He looked at everything. He looks things over inside and out. He is great for giving everything a good look before he goes into anything. His mind is going a mile a minute, but he doesn’t say much about it. He doesn’t like to write,but he studies very carefuly and he remembers everything. I do think he still does that. Anything he has to do he thinks about it very carefully. He thinks it all through!

Deardra, (She was found sound asleep up in the attic) I thought she got lost in the woods. I about had a fit! She had played all day in the attic. It got dark and the rest of the kids came down but she fell asleep in her part of the attic. You all had a part of the attic that was your own. Spencer just (climbed the ladder and) stuck his head up (through the attic opening) and looked around and came down and said not there. We were calling Deardra, and we had started to go up the road, calling Deardra. It was hours before we found her. They (a local police officer) brought her down from the attic. She has been lying down near the front window, behind the chimney and the officer went up and got her. The law enforcement officers were smiling when they brought her down. They thought they had a lost child on their hands. They were relieved. It was hours before we found her.

Deardra and Heather tagged along after Crystal. She would haul you along for mischief, like knocking on somebody’s door and then running away.

Audrey: You were all about the same height. Crystal would pull you two along and do crazy things. Aunt Jeannie was like a mother to me. I would wheel Deardra over in Aunt Jeannie’s yard in that basket carriage with the top that goes back and forth. Aunt Jeannie would watch Deardra while she slept. Aunt Jeannie loved children. She helped me with Deardra and Vaughn. (They were the last two born and the only two born when we lived on East Greenwich Avenue, next to Aunt Jeannie.) Since Aunt Di didn’t like children, Aunt Jeannie kept Di away from the kids.

Doug, he was always reading and Spen, he was always on a horse, saddle or no. He didn’t have time to read.

Dawn, she was putting on shows for Aunt Jeannie and Dick. She would dance like she saw on TV.

Heather, you were always quiet. Always kind of fat, until you started to walk and on the go and didn’t have time to put on weight.

When you were all kids, I’d go back to that in a minute. To have you all screaming, no you kids didn’t do too much hollering. I enjoyed it when you were all kids.