5m,

45. The ‘New’ Sweaters

In the late 1940's the government had issued a small amount of money for family allowances. This helped offset the cost of clothing the children; even though it was only ‘a drop in the bucket’ it was a help and the money was spent on the children.

Margurita would order clothing for the children from the Eaton’s catalog, and the rest of the clothing she would make with her sewing machine. Margurita usually sent two orders to Eaton’s per year, one order in spring, and one in the fall. She would then make monthly payments with the family allowance throughout the year.

In the fall of 1950, Margurita had calculated what the children needed the most, and she then made her catalog order. The twins were in need of warm sweaters, but there was very little money in the family budget (this was during the postwar years).

Margurita was very creative — she cut down Alphy’s woolen long johns; they were badly worn around the elbows and the knees but the rest of the material was in good shape. The material was a cream color, so Margurita dyed them a sunshine yellow and made sweaters for the twins. After the sweaters were completed, Margurita sewed some pretty buttons on them; they looked like new sweaters. You certainly couldn’t tell they were made from long john’s. Margurita decided that she wouldn’t tell the children how she had made the sweaters, as they might not wear them, or might get teased in school. The twins were very excited to get their ‘new’ sweaters. They thought the sweaters had come with the Eaton’s order.

Ida and Velda wore their sweaters until they had outgrown

them. Margurita disclosed where the sweaters came from only long after they had been discarded.

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