for eight, the salesman remarked that Bill must be “opening a spot,” a euphemism for a bootlegging establishment.

Bill had the eight chairs delivered, and there were no more problems with bent or broken chairs. The heavy duty wooden chairs stood the test, and are stilled hauled up from the basement from time to time when company arrives.

Not all areas of the household were immune from the high—spirited antics of the children. A glass panel in the door at the bottom of the stairs was sometimes broken when a game of piggyback got too animated. Although Kathleen once threatened to replace it with pleXiglass, the glass panel was invariably replaced until the next accident.

With three meals to prepare daily, along with regular household responsibilities, Kathleen was kept very busy. There was lots of cooking, baking and preserving fruits and vegetables such as chow, pickles, beets and strawberries. All the meals were home cooked; sometimes they splurged and bought a bucket of chicken if it was on at a special price. They bought a side of beef every year, which would be wrapped at home and kept in the freezer. With eight active youngsters, laundry had to be done daily. Before she got a dryer, Kathleen hung clothes out to dry on the backyard line every day, no matter the season. Kathleen patched clothes, and often received help from her mother—in—law. Her one perk was hiring someone to come in a half day every week to help with cleaning.

To involve the children in household chores, Kathleen invented a game called “Beat the Clock.” Everyone would move frantically around, cleaning up the kitchen or straightening out other rooms for the five of so minutes it took to beat the clock. A schedule was posted for dishwashing duties, and was often the subject of intense negotiation among each of the children. They received praise when the work was done especially well. In fact, Kathleen showered her children with praise every day, and encouraged them to always finish what they had started. If a task was completed with less than satisfactory results, she would remind them that they were capable of doing better.

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