East Falls Historical Society Oral History Interview

Interviewee: Marie Boyle (MB)

Also Present: Linda DiGiovanni (LD) and Nancy Markey (NM) – Marie’s daughters

Interviewer: Wendy Moody (WM) and Lyda Doyle (LD)

Interview: April 17, 2024

Transcribed by: Wendy Moody, EFHS

WM: It’s April 17th, 2024, Lyda Doyle and Wendy Moody are in the home of Marie Boyle, 3336 Bowman Street in East Falls. Good morning, Marie.

MB: Good morning, Wendy. How are you?

WM: Doing fine. Thank you for agreeing to the interview. So let’s begin by asking when and where you were born.

MB: Well, actually I was born – this is 3336 Bowman, and I was born in 3338 Bowman Street.

WM: Really!

MB: Yes. I’m living right next door to where I was born.

WM: That was your parents’ house?

MB: That was my parents’ house, and I lived there with my five siblings. And I was born at home. Matter of fact, five of the six were born at home; the 6th child was born in hospital.

WM: MCP? (Note: Medical College of Pennsylvania)

MB: MCP; yes.

WM: Was there a midwife?

MB: There was a doctor who came. Her name was Doctor Ann Taylor, and she would come to the house and then my mother would have, I think, a nurse would come in after that and help take care of the children till she got on her feet.

WM; Remarkable mother.

MB: Yeah, she was! She was great.

WM: So when were you born?

MB: October 3, 1933, so that makes me 90 years of age.

WM; 90 years of age!

MB: Yeah, just turned…

WM: And what was your mother’s name? And her maiden name?

MB: My mother’s name was Elsie Haubrich H-A-U-B-R-I-C-H and her parents, they came over from Germany as two young people.

WM: They came right to East Falls?

MB: No, when they came, they went to the Frankfurt area in Philadelphia. But they did come to, you know, that area in Philadelphia. And my grandfather had a bakery there. And my grandmother worked at the Foederer estate, which is up there, still up there – now the house is still there to see (Note: the Glen Foerd Estate, an historic house museum on the Delaware River, purchased by Robert Foerderer (1860 – 1903), a Republican of the U.S. House of Representatives (1903) and owner of Robert H. Foerderer, Inc. which produced leather goods and invented a chrome tanning technique).

WM: Interesting and. And your dad, what was his name?

MB: My dad was named John Verlinden Quinn. And he was a laundry man. He worked for Tribune Laundry for many years.

WM: Was he a Fallser?

MB: No, they were both from Darby, Pennsylvania, and the reason why they located in East Falls was because – I guess, you know, maybe it was time around the Depression. and he got a job there. So that was after they married. You know, he moved here.

WM: Where did he work in East Falls?

MB: Well, he didn’t work in East Falls – it was Tribune Laundry at 23rd and Indiana.

WM: But they decided to live here.

MB: Yeah, they bought a house here, and that’s the same house that’s there…

WM: That’s the house next door?

MB: Next to this one! (laughs).

WM: Wow. And what year were they married, do you know?

MB: I guess it was about 1927, maybe, yeah.

WM: So they were in Falls since 1927. Do you remember anything either of them told you about their time in East Falls?

MB: Well, they weren’t considered Fallsers! (laughs)

WM: That’s true, but as young married people, do you know anything they were involved in or anything they told you?

MB: No, I don’t think that they were involved in anything here in East Falls. I guess they had their own friends. That’s who they were. And family, you know.

LD: Did they belong to a church?

MB: St. Bridget’s.  Yes, they were Catholics, long-time Catholics. So yeah, they did belong to Saint Bridget.

WM: So tell us about your early years. What do you remember when you think of East Falls back then as a young child? What comes to mind?

MB: Well, I’m pretty sure I went to Mifflin for kindergarten. I think I did, yeah. And then started out in Saint Bridget’s for first grade and all the way up.

WM: There was no kindergarten at Saint Bridget. Do you remember anything about that year at Mifflin?

MB: To tell you the truth, I really don’t.

WM: OK.

LD: So you didn’t go to the Breck School at all?

MB: No. We didn’t go to the Breck School.

WM: Was that still here? Did you ever see it?

MB: No, I don’t recall the Breck School at all.

WM: OK. Tell us about your education at Saint Bridget. What do you remember?

MB: Well, with the Sisters we had large classes – not really large classes like they had in the future. But, you know, you went, you made your First Communion and your Confirmation. Coming up along the years, making friends and so forth.

LD: So you were baptized at Saint Bridget’s?

MB: Baptized at St. Bridget and Confirmed at St. Bridget. Yeah.

WM: Were you in the old school building?

MB: The old school building, yeah, and in the choir.

WM: Can you describe that old schoolhouse?

MB: The old school building?  It was old, right? (laughs). I remember when we were in 7th grade, and one of the boys got sassy with the Sister.  The windows faced Stanton Street, right, and I don’t know what happened there, but there was an altercation, and he jumped out the window.

LD: The second floor window?

MB: No, not the second floor. It was on the first floor, not the second floor.

WM: Was he injured or did he get into trouble?

MB: That it was the seventh grade. No, I don’t think he was injured. I think he came back to school, so he wasn’t expelled or anything like that, you know.

WM: What kind of student were you?

MB: I think I was a good student, yeah.  I remember taking piano lessons.

LD: At the convent?

MB: At the convent.  We have piano lessons at the convent.

WM: I didn’t know that was offered. That’s nice.

MB: Oh, yeah. It wasn’t too much money or anything like that. Maybe one dollar.

WM: Did you have recess in those days?

MB: Yeah, recess at the school yard. That was before, you know, the new school was built.

WM: And what did you do during recess?

MB: I don’t know. I guess we chitchatted and maybe skipped rope and, you know, all that kind of stuff. You know, so, it was fun.

WM: Do you remember any of your teachers?

MB: Yeah, I do.

WM: Can you talk about them?

MB: Well, I had Sister St. Clement when we were in the eighth grade and Sister Agnes Elaine, and, I don’t know, I have some report cards.  To tell you the truth, you know, I was going to try to get some stuff together and it just didn’t happen, you know?

WM: Yes, that’s ok.  Did you have a favorite subject?

MB: I don’t know. I think it was all around.  And then I went to Hallahan High School.

WM: Do you remember going on any class trips when you were at Saint Bridget?

MB: I think when we were younger, we used to go over to Woodside for the picnic. We went to the amusement park, and we used to walk over through Chamounix.

WM: And what did you enjoy once you were there?

MB: I think know if we went swimming then or not, you know. Was it Crystal Pool?

WM: Yes, Crystal Pool.  Did you go on the rides?

MB: Oh, sure we went on the rides!

WM: Did you have favorites?

MB: Not really. I guess the roller coaster. Everybody liked that roller coaster.

WM: Do you remember buying any special foods there?

MB: No, not really. We used to pack a lunch.

LD: I forgot to ask about lunch. Did you go home for lunch at St. Bridget?

MB: Yes. We walked home every day for lunch.

LD: So that’s a long walk.   The kids down Allegheny also had a long walk.

MB: Oh yeah, a lot of them had a long walk. Yeah, they walked home every day for lunch.

WM: Any other memories of Saint Bridget?

MB: Well, my girlfriend was the May Queen.

WM: Oh, who was that?

MB: Her name was Barbara Bischoff; she was the May Queen. Her grandmother came over from England, and then her uncle came with her, and he bought her the dress. 

WM: What were those May Processions like?

MB: Oh, they were long. They were big. You know, the whole school went in – the Holy Communion gang and just the whole school.

LD: Was the line up Midvale Avenue like in later years?

MB: Yep; Yep. From school and back.

LD: Was the Blessed Mother statue there yet? The one that’s in front of the condo?

MB: You know, no, I don’t think it was then. No, I didn’t think it was.

WM: You were all dressed in white?

MB: Well, the 8th graders were.  It was nice, you know, a nice, nice show of religion.

WM: So what are your memories of going to church? Not the school, but the church.

MB: The church? Well, I was in the choir, and sometimes we went to the nine o’clock Mass and came back for the 11:00 Mass. And we had the choir rehearsal; it was very nice. It kept you busy, and then we used to have Sodality on Tuesday night.

LD: That’s the women’s group.

WM: What did you do there?

MB: Well, they had prayers – prayers and expositions and benedictions.

WM: Was it mostly a prayer group? Was it doing good deeds or mostly prayer?

MB: It was a prayer group.  Good deeds? Well, I don’t know. I guess they did. I was a kid then, right?  Well, they used to have a Communion Breakfast every year.

WM: Who was your choir director?

MB: The choir director. I can’t think of her name now.

WM: Was she a Sister?

MB: Oh yes, it was a Sister, yeah.

WM: Were you a soprano?

MB: No, I was an alto. (laughter)

WM: And what changes did you see in Saint Bridget over the years? Between then and now.

MB: Oh, between then and now?  The population has gone down; they don’t get as much attendance.  And of course, their school is gone.

LD: Do you remember when the new school was built?

MB: I do. My younger sister was in the new school.  When would it be?  Let’s see – I graduated in 1947, so it would probably be like between 1947 and 1951. I’m not sure of the exact date, but the new school was built.

WM: So you never went there? What were your sister’s impressions of it?

MB: My sisters? Yeah, I guess they all loved it; everything was new, right?

LD: Do you remember when they had Mardi Gras?

MB: Yeah, I do. They had a lot of social affairs. It was nice. And as we got older, they had, well, the Mardi Gras, and then they allowed dances and a St. Parick’s Party. That was when my kids were younger, and they took part in that. You know well, it was nice – nice that we had more social business at Saint Bridget, right? It got the people together.

WM: Were you part of Senior Citizens later on?

MB: Yes. And our Senior Citizen Group in the last few years has gone from maybe 20-some people down to. 5-6. You know what I mean?

WM: I remember as librarian going down there in the 1980s and there was a whole room full of them playing bingo.

MB: Sure, and it used to be when I first got into Senior Citizens, they ran trips.  We went to Bermuda!

WM: Oh my.

MB: Yeah, I remember – what’s his name – Gallagher? I can’t think of his first name now, but he and his wife ran it, and they had trips.

WM: So what other changes did you see in the church? How about physically? Did the church change since you began going there?

MB: No, I don’t think it has.  Well, they renewed the altar.  They kept painting – it’s beautiful, our church.

WM: I know. I’m usually in it for funerals, unfortunately, but I’m always amazed at how beautiful it is.

MB: Yeah, it’s a very lovely church.

WM: Well, let’s talk about what you did when you weren’t in school. What did you do for recreation?

MB: Well, we used to go ice skating at Gustine in the winter.

WM: Can you talk about that? What was that like?

MB: We just used to walk down and walk back, right?

WM: Can you describe it? I never saw it.

LD: Were there a lot of people there skating when you were there?

MB: Oh yeah, sure. There were a lot of people skating there.

WM: How did they know if the ice was thin or not? Was there someone in charge?

MB: Somebody must have told us. (laughter)

WM: Did you have your own ice skates?

MB: I did. Or actually, probably, my sister had friends who had skates, and I guess they outgrew them so we got them, right? They didn’t have to be “right-fitting” – you know, you put socks on or something, right, you know?

WM: Did you swim there as well?

MB: No, not at Gustine.

WM: Some people did, though, didn’t they?

LD: At Gustine, it wasn’t that high, was it to swim?  Later, when the Recreation Center was built, a swimming pool was put in, but that’s when my kids were little.  At the point where you were ice skating, though, there was no swimming.

MB: No, it was just, you know, they filled it up with water.

WM: So you’d just go with your girlfriends?

MB: Oh, yeah!  We probably met the boys there and stuff. (laughter)

WM: So you mentioned the Bathey.  Can you describe that?

MB: Well, that was nice.  They used to have sessions every hour, and they had swimming lessons in the morning. You could go down and learn how to swim.

WM: Did you?

MB: I think I did. Yeah.

WM: Were you a good swimmer?

MB: No! (laughter)

WM: Did you have to pass a test to go in?

MB: Yeah, sure.

WM: Did you pass?

MB: No! Probably I didn’t, because I wasn’t a good swimmer.

LD: The swim test was for the deep end, right? They would let you in the pool if you didn’t pass the swim test but you had to stay in the shallow end.

WM: How big was the pool?

MB: It was a pretty big pool – I mean, you had kids’ eyes.

LD: It went from three feet to 8 feet, but there was no diving board.

WM: Was there a lifeguard?

MB: Oh yeah. Yeah.

WM: What were the locker rooms like? Did you have to change there?

MB: I think we did, yeah.

WM: Did you have to take a shower before you went in?

MB: No; it wasn’t like the Y!

LD: You remember after your hour you had to go out and get back in line.

MB: Yeah, if you wanted to go into the next session.

WM: Who are your friends that you hung out with?

MB: My friends? I had a lot of girlfriends – Barbara Bishoff, Isabelle Cavanaugh, Helen Donovan, Tootsie Maroni, Patty Boyd – we were all good friends. Yeah, and I kept in touch afterwards. You know, we used to meet regularly when we were married people.

WM: Were they all born in Falls? Any of them that I should interview?

MB: A lot of them are gone, unfortunately.

WM: So what else did you do for recreation?

MB: Roller skates, I remember.  When it snowed, we sled. We used to sled down Bowman Street.  Right on the street – all the way down.  And then we walked all the way back.

LD: From Vaux down to Conrad, too. That was even steeper.  But there weren’t as many cars in those days.

WM: Did you go to the Alden Theater?

MB: Yes, we did.

WM: Can you describe what that was like?

MB: It was fun when you went with the kids, you know what I mean? The ushers kept you down, right? Ten cent matinees.

LD: Oh my goodness; they were a quarter by the time I went.

WM: Do you remember any of the movies you saw there?

MB: I remember seeing Gone with the Wind there.  The other ones – I don’t know, they used to have the serials – I don’t know if I ever got involved in them.

WM: Did you ever get in trouble there?

MB: No, I did not.

WM: We interviewed Sister Dorothy and, apparently, she got in trouble.

MB: Yeah, she’d be in trouble, yes! (laughter)

WM: Can you talk about what East Falls was like back then?

MB: I think East Falls was a really nice place to live.  When you went to high school and you got into contact with a lot of the kids from South Philly and from Brewery Town, you know what I mean? I realized we had it real nice here in East Falls.

HLD: That was Hallahan High?

MB: Yeah.

LD: What about the stores? Do you remember any of the stores?

MB: The stores around here? What was it – Annie Morrison’s? Remember her?  Well, she used to have a store right down the bottom of Conrad and Bowman, and she was on the other side of the grocery.  You could get things like stockings, socks, and handkerchiefs; you know what I mean? It was like one of those little dry good stores. Yeah, Annie Morrison…

LD: How about pharmacies?

MB: Well, the pharmacy would be Tilden Pharmacy and, let’s see, of course, Buchanan’s, where my daughter lives now. She bought Buchanan’s house.

LD: Which daughter?

MB: Joanne, my fourth daughter.  And I was thinking about it too – I have six kids. Three of them married East Falls people and stayed in East Falls.  Nancy, next door, married an East Falls fella and they stayed. They bought my mother’s house.  We bought this house in 1959.

What is it my aunt said? “Oh. Marie, you’re making a big mistake moving next door to your mother, you know?” (laughter) But my husband never regretted it, and I never regretted it. We had a wonderful relationship with our family.

LD: Do you remember grocery stores?

MB: There was one down right at Bowman and Vaux.

LD: What was it called then?

MB: We used to call it Herbie Halpern’s.  That was with Mr. and Mrs. Halpern and his son.

WM: Did you go down to Ridge and Midvale for anything?

MB: No, I wasn’t a Ridge and Midvale person.

WM: So you really hung out right here.

MB: Right, right here.

LD: Yeah, everything you needed was up here.

WM: What did you go into Buchanan’s for?

MB: Oh well, for candy, for ice cream, for treats.

WM: And who was the proprietor?

MB: Who? Jimmy Buchanan.

WM: What was he like?

MB: He was nice. Yeah, he was a nice man. Well, people used to – he’d be like the doctor. You know what I mean?

LD: Did they sell cough medicine and things like that?

MB: I guess he did, sure. Yeah, I think he was like the neighborhood sort of doctor. And then, you know, we had the hospital a block away.

WM: Did you use the library growing up?

MB: I did.  We used to have the free Summer Series, right, where you got a reward for reading all the books.

WM: Good for you. Do you remember who the librarian was?

MB: I don’t.

WM: Any other memories of the library?

MB: The library was always good. You could go and sit there, you know. I did a lot of reading.

LD: And you checked books out to bring home to read?

MB: Oh yeah.

WM: Did you go there after school?

MB: After school? No, I don’t remember it being a regular thing.

WM: How about Old Academy?

MB: Yeah. We used to go to the Old Academy – I haven’t been there lately, but I should start going again.

WM: They’re quite good. Whenever I go. I’m sorry I don’t go more.

MB: Yeah, the plays are good there.

WM: Did you ever run into Grace Kelly?

MB: The only time we ever saw Grace Kelly was when she was going to church at St. Bridget.  And Grace and the Prince; oh yeah…

WM: You remember her coming to church with her family? Can you describe that?

MB: I guess a lot of people were around.

LD: They were just like any other family in the church.

WM: They’d come as a whole family?

MB: I don’t remember. Maybe her mother and father anyway, maybe her younger sister, Lizanne – she was my age.

WM: And what was your reaction to Grace?

MB: We all admired her; she was so pretty and, you know, as an actress. I remember going with one of my friends up to Textiles, and they were showing – what movie was it? So this giant screen and it was the one where she was with Cary Grant…

WM: To Catch a Thief.

MB: Yeah. It was beautiful, beautiful. So yeah, she was very pretty.

WM: Were you around for her sister Lizanne’s wedding?

MB: No. Just Grace that time. I was young, newly married, and you know.

WM: Yes, tell us about that. Who was your husband and where did you meet him?

MB: My husband? I met him on a blind date when he was going into the Navy – the week before he was going into the Navy.  He went into the Navy, and the romance went on through the Navy.

WM: Was he from East Falls?

MB: No.  From Roxborough.

LD: And did you keep up through letters?

MB: Through letters, and, you know, he was never overseas or anything. And we got married when he got discharged.  So I met him in 1951 and we got married in 1955.  He was in the Navy for four years, right?

LD: Where was he stationed?

MB: He was in New London, CT – he was stationed to a ship there.

WM: So you were married at Saint Bridget? What do you remember about that?

MB: Yes. And I was married at Saint Bridget, my brother at that time was was an ordained priest. He was ordained in 1955, and we were his first marriage.

WM: Really. What was his name?

MB: Daniel Quinn.

WM: And where did you live when you were first married?

MB: We had an apartment over Wissahickon Avenue and then I lived on Tilden Street back in East Falls. And then we bought this house – we were married in ’55 and we bought this house in 1959.  I’ve been here ever since.

WM: Can you tell us something about this house?

MB: Well, it’s right next door to my family home.

WM: Do you know when it was built?

MB: They’re all built around the same time in the 1920s. You know, early 20s, I guess, because I always thought my mother and father bought it new.  But my daughter, who bought it later, looked at the original deed and it said they bought it from another woman. So I’m not sure.

WM: Do you know who lived in this house before you?

MB: I remember the neighbors, yeah. The person who lived in the house here was named Petrillo.  That’s who we bought it from. And it was funny because they had a big family and a lot of them lived on the street. The Petrillos.  You know, I think maybe four or five of them had houses here on Bowman Street. And now, with my family, I’m here. My daughter is at 3338; I’m at 3336. My son is at 3346, my grandson is at 3348, and my other grandson is up the street like at 3324. So they all stuck around Bowman Street! (laughter)

LD: The Bowman Boyles!

WM: Is the house three story or two-story?

MB: Two stories and a basement.

WM: It’s a beautiful house – high up with a lot of light.

MB: Yeah, it’s a very bright house, you know what I mean?

WM; Who were your neighbors back when you lived here?

MB: Well, when we moved next door (into this house), the next one neighbor – I knew her all my life – was Anna Koch and her husband.  And then on the other side was the Brunos – we knew all the neighbors – the Kennedys, Smiths, and my one girlfriend she actually lived in 3346, and that’s the house my son bought.

LD: Where the Roberts and the Pells here?

MB: Roberts – they were up the street. But, I mean, you knew everybody; there were kids galore.

WM: Would you say that most of the people worked locally?

MB: Oh, I don’t know where they worked.

LD: Where did your husband work?

MB: My husband worked for Liggett and Myers Tobacco. Yeah, he did work locally.

WM: Did you have a career?

MB: I had a career before I married.  For a couple of years, I worked for Bell Telephone, but then when I was pregnant, I stayed home and took care of kids. And then when my youngest was – I guess he was in about third grade – I went back to work again. I worked over at MCP (Medical College of Pennsylvania) for twenty years.

WM: What did you do there?

MB: I worked in the Registrar’s Office at the Medical College.

WM: So about what year are we talking about that you started?

MB: What would that be?  My son was born in 1966, and he was about nine, so mid 1970s.

WM: So tell us about MCP back then, who who was in charge of it?

MB: Well, they have the doctors who were in charge. Really. I don’t know about the higher ups.

LD: Was it Medical College of Pennsylvania yet or was it Women’s Med?

MB: It was MCP, yeah.  They had Ann Preston Hall, which was the nurses’ building, and EPPI was part of it too. It was a very pleasant place to work. It was very nice.

WM: Did you know Lucy Iannitto, because she worked there, I think.

MB: Oh yeah, I know Lucy. She worked there. And Mary Festa was the chief cashier.

LD: And Marie Kinsinger?

MB: She worked in the operating room, right? Yeah. Lot of lot of people worked there.

WM: Yes, a big employer.  What did you do as Registrar?

MB: I was the registrar for the college. We kept all the records for the students – all the way up:  1^st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year – at the medical college.  I took care of the graduation and all things to do with the school.  You know, collecting the grades, and setting up the meetings.  It was an interesting job.

WM: Did the curriculum change over the twenty years that you were there? Were there changes?

MB: I’m sure it did, yeah. And when the computer came in, there was a big change.  Everything was on computers instead of paper.

WM: So did you have to learn the computer or did that eliminate your job?

MB: You had to learn it when the system went in.

WM: And were the students male and female at that point?  About how many women?

MB: I guess it was the half and half, to tell you the truth.

WM: Do you remember that Grace Kelly’s mother had fundraising events there?

MB: Yeah, I wasn’t involved in that; no.

LD: Did you attend it, though?

MB: No.  She was more involved with the school of nursing. She used to invite all the nurses.

LD: I remember the spring fair at the hospital every year.

MB: Well, when Linda’s husband worked there, they had a couple of fairs, right?  He worked in maintenance. Yeah, my son-in-law worked there; my son worked there. They hired a lot of young people.

WM: What kind of jobs did they have there?

MB: They were in the emergency room, registrars, and stuff like that.

WM: So a big local employer.

MB: Oh, they were a BIG local employer.

LD: Half the neighborhood worked there.

MB: They did, really!

LD: The loading dock, secretaries….

MB: Everything, everything!

WM: So when you when you were really little – talking about local employers – was Dobson Mills already closed?

MB: Yes, I don’t remember anything.

WM: How about Hohenadel Brewery?

MB: That could have been. Yeah, it could have been at when I was young, you know. I didn’t have anything to do with beer then, right? (laughter)

WM: Was the trolley here?

MB: The 52? Sure. Yeah.

LD: Did you ever take it over to Germantown to go shopping?

MB: Yup.  We’d go to Rowell’s, Allens, Woolworth’s 5 & 10.  Flagg’s to buy our shoes, right on the corner. Linton’s Restaurant was there, right?

LD: Was Penney’s there yet?

MB: Penney’s. Yeah. I remember Penney’s when my kids were little.

WM: Did you tend to go to Germantown for your shopping rather than downtown?

MB: Half and half, I guess.  We used to take the kids for a walk over there to Penney’s.

WM: Did you?

MB: Yeah, that was an afternoon walk to Germantown.  You know, from here to there.

WM: How would you go?

MB: I guess we’d go different ways over, maybe over Queen Lane, Wissahickon, maybe over to Wayne Avenue.  It was safe to walk then. I don’t know if I’d do it now.  I’ve had a nice life here.   I like East Falls.

WM: What changes have you seen over the years?

MB: Well, it seems like, you know, where we live on the street here, there’s a lot of single people who buy houses and then they turn them over more quickly than they used to.

LD: And how about the disappearance of the stores.

MB: No stores.  No grocery stores. We used to have a couple of them now, now just NouVaux – my daughter loves it there.  Nancy is a fan of NouVaux, and then Joanne too – they both like to patronize it.

WM: Can you tell us the names and ages of your six children?  

MB: Right now? (laughter) OK. Well Nancy is – how old are you Nancy, 66? 67?

Nancy: I’m 68.

MB: 68, and my daughter Pat is 66, and Linda is 65. And George is 62, right?

Nancy: 64

MB: And Joanne is, what, 62?  And Joe is 58.

WM: They all went to Saint Bridget’s?

MB: Yeah, and Pat went to MCP School of Nursing. Nancy went to Roxborough School of Nursing – she went after she was married, and she went on to work. George went on to work also. Joe went to La Salle, and Joanne worked also.

WM: That’s a lot of work for you, raising six children.  Did you meet with the other mothers? Were you all helping each other?

MB: Oh yeah, Library. Saint Bridget. Girl Scouts. Boy Scout troop. Oh yeah.

WM: Oh, really? Were you the leader?

MB: I was a den mother for the Boy Scouts for the first one.  The second one wasn’t allowed to join! (laughter)

LD: Were you involved with the kids down at McDevitt at all?

MB: Not too much, not too much.

WM: Any special holiday traditions that you had that involved the neighborhood?

MB: What do you think, Lin? No, not really. Halloween was fun. We just sort of were with our friends here, and the kids had their girlfriends.

LD: Do you remember any parades?

MB: When I was young, having the parade from Saint Bridget and going up to the park afterwards, right?

LD: McMichael Park?

MB: Yes.

WM: What did you do there?

MB: I guess we had games – stuff like that, you know. It was nice.  Everything was good.

WM: Growing up, did you associate with the kids that went to the other schools like Mifflin and Penn Charter?

MB: Not too much, not too much. I guess it was segregated that way. But your friends were the ones who you went to school with, and there were enough of them.

WM: Do you remember anything exciting that happened here during your years here?

MB: I don’t know. Nothing outstanding, thank goodness. No accidents; life went on.

WM: Where was your voting place here?

MB: The voting place used to be up on Henry Avenue, then we changed to the library.

WM: The Water Department. Was it there?

MB: No, it was like a little house up on Henry Avenue and we used to vote there.  It wasn’t there too, too long. And then they changed it back to the library.  I worked there for a number of years too, with the voting, yeah.

WM: Oh, did you? Did that change over the years?

MB: Well, it was a very long day, to tell you the truth, for the ones who were there. Linda came and helped too.  It was just such a long day, you know. But it was fun seeing all the people coming in.

WM: You got to know them all?

MB: Oh, yeah, yeah. Well, the people who came in were right from our street.

LD: So it was from 7:00 in the morning till 8:00 at night?

MB: Yeah, a LONG day.

LD: Did people bring you lunch?

MB: Oh yeah. Well, my son-in-law, he was a Committee Man. Yeah. So, you know, I think you would like, I guess, to have your own people.  So when we left, we all left.

LD: They had the big books that you signed your name in.

MB: Mm-hmm.

WM: So it sounds like you were quite involved, even with six children.

MB: Well, that was after they’d grown; it wasn’t when they were young.

WM: Are you active now at Saint Bridget?

MB: I’m not too active now, no.  As a matter of fact, sometimes I can’t get to church unless somebody takes me.

WM: Did they bring communion to you?

MB: No, but I could. You know, we go to the shore over the summer…

LD: She sells chances to everyone.

MB: Oh yeah!  That’s right, I am involved.

WM: What is that for?

MB: Well, it’s a little fund for….

LD: Repairs to the church.

MB: Lyda can’t even get me a winner. (laughter)

WM: Do you sell them every Sunday?  How does that work?

MB: Well, it used to be every week, and now, since Covid, they used to have people in church selling them, but now they don’t have any sellers in church…

LD: Well, we have one on Saturday – Kathy Trimber. It’s just like a lottery, and once a month, we check the chances to see if there’s any winners. There’s consolation prizes. And then there’s the big winner.

WM: Does the church make much from that?

LD: Not a lot.

MB: Yeah, it’s a little bit.

LD: Not a whole lot, but it is profitable enough to cover the cost of printing the chances and minor things – like you couldn’t put a new roof on the church.  Just minor repairs.

MB: It’s for the church fund. Now you know, they used to sell them up at St. John’s in Manayunk and that was a big deal. But ours is not that big a deal, and who I sell them to, is mostly by family.

WM: How did you feel when the school closed?

MB: Oh, heartbroken. My grandchildren were in it at that time. Yeah.

WM: And where did they end up going?

MB: To IHM (Immaculate Heart of Mary in Andorra)

LD: Yeah, my daughter moved here so her kids could walk to school – that was in April and the school closed in June.

MB: Yeah, Linda had her grandson in there.  It was sad.

LD: Yeah, it was awful.

WM: Any other memories you’d like to share of living here?

MB: I’ve had a happy life living here.

LD: If you think of something after today, you can always let us know.

MB: We are pretty thorough, don’t you think?

WM: Yes, thank you. Thank you so much for helping us.

                                                                              END