Stitches in Our Thread

My "real" name is Elizabeth Anne but my mother calls me Betty Anne. I was named after my two grandmothers, Elizabeth Pratt (who we later found out was Sarah Elizabeth)and Anna Plageman. I am the second child (1931) of Adeline & William Pratt. My sister, Adeline was born in 1929. Jeannette, in 1934 & William Jr. 11 1/2 years later. Times were hard in the 1930s. Dad worked at the Wilson Line, a steamship company that took tourists up and down the Delaware River. He was a clerk & did office work. And yes, he could write shorthand! He rode the trolley car to Philadelphia. During this time, we rented a home on Pocahontas Avenue in Hi Nella. Dad was a great story-teller and as we laid in bed at night, he would regal us with stories of animals (who talked) & poor little girls called Alice & Agnes. It was a special time for us. My mother kept us all together. I often think she could have been the author of "30 ways to cook ground beef." She was a "plain" cook but we always had desserts. My dad had a sweet tooth & so did I. Being of German descent, mom was strict but loving. When I was seven, we moved to Madison Avenue in Laurel Springs. We rented a house from my mother's cousin whose last name was D'Ouville. Dad was laid off from his job & worked with the W.P.A. until he got a job at the Sun Shipyard in Delaware. Moving right along, we finally bought a house on Trenton Avenue. The house belonged to my maternal grandparents who decided to rent an apartment near their church. The cost of the house was $4000. My parents lived here for the rest of their lives. You spoke of the traits of your grandparents which you inherited. I didn't have that. My grandmother Plageman was friendly but never loving nor my grandfather. They greeted us but never stopped to chat. My grandmother Pratt was more of the same. My grandfather Pratt would hide in the attic or the basement & ignore us. Dad had a sister, Bertha who was the nicest of all except when she gave us Old Lady purses for Christmas every year. Of course, we told her that we loved them. :) I learned from my mother to be strong & a good mom to my family. She also gave us a love for reading. She was creative & loved playing games. My dad was the Best! He was fun, listened to us & I think I've gotten my sense of humor from him. Interesting that you mentioned how I helped you in some fashion because I always thought you two helped me grow up when dad died