Sister Dorothy
East Falls Historical Society Oral History Interview
Interviewee: Sister Dorothy (SD)
Interviewer: Wendy Moody (WM), Lyda Doyle (LD), and Marie Filipponi (MF)
Interview: April 27, 2023
Transcribed by: Wendy Moody, EFHS
Note: This transcription includes information from an earlier interview of Sister Dorothy with Robert Rabinowitz on Nov. 30, 2017, as well as some written memories by Sister Dorothy.
WM: It’s April 27, 2023. We’re in the home of Lyda Doyle. Lyda Doyle, Marie Filipponi and Wendy Moody are interviewing Sister Dorothy about her memories of East Falls. Sister Dorothy, thank you for coming.
SD: You’re welcome; it’s a pleasure.
WM: Thank you for being willing. So we’ll start at the beginning; tell us when and where you were born.
SD: I started on 3124 North Shedwick Street – Shedwick Street now being in East Falls. Oh, very important note – then when I was about four, I moved up to Vaux Street.in East Falls.
WM: Do you know the address?
SD: 3519.
WM: When were you born?
SD: February 10, 1939.
WM: Were you born in Medical College?
SD: No, I was born in my home. My mother had troubles with hospitals with her first children, so she just decided she was going to deliver her last two at home.
WM: How many of you are there?
SD: Well, she had five, but my first two brothers died very young. I grew up with one brother and one sister.
WM: Was there a midwife?
SD: My aunt was the midwife. I mean, she didn’t have the knowledge of it, but she was there helping my mom.
WM: So you were four years on Shedwick – is that near Allegheny?
SD: Yes. It’s the lower part of East Falls.
WM: What was your church?
SD: St. Bridget.
WM: Did you walk there from your house?
SD: All the time, yes.
WM: So tell us about your early years down on Shedwick. What do you remember about that?
SD: Well, when I was on Shedwick Street, I was kidnapped.
MF: Seriously?
SD: My cousin was outside with me, and I was on a tricycle and the milkman came by and got out of his truck and took me off my tricycle, put me in the milk truck, and took off. Of course, my cousin yelled in to my mom. Well, the whole street was running after the milk truck.
MF: How old were you, Sister?
SD: I think about four. No, I was three, maybe.
MF: Do you remember it?
SD: Oh no, I don’t really remember too much of it. It’s what everybody talks about.
WM: How were you rescued?
SD: Well that we’re not all sure of. I think what happened was, a group of people were running and, you know Shedwick Street, all around it are small streets. I think he saw he was going to be caught so he just let me go.
WM: We’re starting with an adventure! (laughter)
SD: And I say thank God for that!
WM: So your other two siblings were younger?
SD: No, they were older. My sister was fifteen months older than I, and then my brother was fifteen months older than her. I had two brothers who died as babies.
WM: So, at age four you moved to Vaux Street? Tell us about that.
SD: Well I was just a child. I was on my porch playing and I saw this girl walking up the street with a loaf of Bond Bread. I remember running out down the path to her and said, “Little girl, if I carry your Bond Bread, will you be my friend?” Because I didn’t know anybody. We grew up saying “the Bond Bread Friends.”
All: Aaaaww…
WM: How sweet; how touching. So is the 3519 block of Vaux near the end where Medical College is?
SD: No, it’s more like where the store is – Tilden Market. It’s between Tilden and Ainslie.
WM: Tell us about your house.
SD: My house was a small row home – in fact it’s one of the smallest in East Falls for some reason. Everybody says “Oh, you grew up in that small home, but it was very large in love and happiness.” It had a front porch and back yard. It was the friendliest street in the Falls. New Year’s Eve my relatives in the Uptown String Band played at the corner of Vaux and Ainslie.
WM: Were your parents the first owners?
SD: No, no.
WM: Do you know when it was built?
SD: No, I do not know that.
LD: Which side of Vaux were you on – the Tilden store side? (nods yes) Ok, you were on the upper side of Vaux so you didn’t have to go up the high steps.
SD: I just had to walk up a little path and we had a couple of steps to get to the porch.
WM: Do you remember any of your neighbors?
SD: I remember them. Yes, very much.
WM: Which families were near you?
SD: Well the Bakers lived right next door to me and there were a lot of young children – the Bond Bread children lived around the block on Ainslie Street, and in the back we had a great big driveway – I mean the cars drove this way or that way, or they could drive straight out and they parked their cars – they had a garage under their houses.
WM: So could you play back there.
SD: Oh yes! We played ball; we played kick-the-can and we played rope – Double Dutch. On the right hand side they had a big hill to go down to their garage so we skated a lot.
LD: Roller skating, right?
SD: Yes. Well, we ice skated too, down at Gustine, but we roller skated in the neighborhood. I rode down that hill on my skates – people couldn’t believe it – but there was a little straight section before you reached the garage – I knew how to turn real fast (laughs). These big boys came around because they heard I did it. They said, “You didn’t do that!” and I said, “Yes I did – I’ll show you.” Because I wasn’t afraid. But I went down that time and turned, and there was a big hole in the grate, so my wheel went in the hole in the grate, and my body flew, and my head went in the garbage pail.
MF: Oh my God.
SD: The lid was off, and there was nothing in the garbage pail, but a loose piece of metal that went right near my eye and slid right around the bone because nothing ever happened to me.
MF: How lucky you were that it didn’t go into your eye.
SD: Very lucky!
MF: How old were you?
SD: I was maybe seven.
WM: How many years did you live in that house?
SD: I lived there for 14 years. When I was 18 years old, I answered God’s call to become a religious sister. I entered the Sisters of Saint Joseph.
WM: So since you’re talking about playing, tell us where else you played in the neighborhood.
SD: Mostly we played there, but we also went dancing as a teenager – I can’t think of the word – it’s right on Henry Avenue – Abbottsford Project!
LD: Their community center?
SD: Yeah. So, I would always go to the dances there, but I didn’t play too much over there. But as I got older, I went to all the dances over there. My father used to say, “Be sure you come home with the same person you go with.” (laughter)
MF: Did St. Bridget have dances?
SD: No. the school was kind of new when I was there.
MF: So this is the old school?
SD: No, this is the new school, but it was kind of new then. The old school is really old. And they didn’t like too much activity in the new school.
WM: What did you do at Gustine?
SD: Ice skated. Forever. I was always ice skating in Gustine.
WM: Was it crowded?
SD: No, it wasn’t real crowded. The fun was they had a big barrel with a fire, so we had our marshmallows, and when we got cold, we just burned the marshmallows around the fire. I remember one time there was an ice storm. All the streets were covered in ice. My friends and I met on my porch, put on our skates, and skated through the streets all the way to Gustine Lake without worrying about cars. We had so much fun.
Also, Gustine was a public waterhole for those living in East Falls during those hot summers before air conditioners were invented.
WM: Did you go to the Bathey?
SD: No, I never went to the Bathey because we went down to the shore for the whole summer. We were not rich, but my mother was smart. She saved 50 cent pieces all winter – no one was allowed to spend a 50 piece – it had to go in the vacation can. That was our rent for Wildwood. We would be down there for the whole month of July. In August I went to Absecon, New Jersey. My aunt had a house, a dock, and a boat. We fished and crabbed in the bay. Other times we went horseback riding.
WM: What was your first movie at the Alden Theater?
SD: Bambi. I got so upset – I was very young, maybe five. When the mother got shot and Bambi got into the thick of the woods and he said, “We made it mom!” We made it mom!” and his mom was already shot. I cried! And when I went home, I was so upset my mom tried to talk with me.
WM: What a sweet mother. What do you remember about the Alden?
SD: Well,
the Alden had two rows going down each side and a large middle row of chairs. In the middle – that’s where all the lights were, and the movie came from that onto the screen.
WM: Did you buy candy there?
SD: Of course, I’m a candy-holic!
WM: Were you ever thrown out of the Alden?
SD: Yes. I was thrown out once – we were talking and carrying on. I was warned a couple of times. I wasn’t always the one who always did it, though; everybody was doing it but for some reason he liked my face. And one time I said to my group “I am going to sit all the way at the end by the wall. I don’t know what you all are going to do but I’m not going to open my mouth. Not once.” I knew this guy was going to come down and what did he do? He flashed the light on me. “You! Out!”
MF: And you weren’t even talking then.
SD: No. I kept my mouth shut the whole time. I told him “I wasn’t even talking!”
WM: Do you remember Hohenadel Brewery?
SD: Oh, I sure do. We loved to roller skate all through East Falls when we were children, but we always stopped at Hohenadel.
WM: Was it operational then?
SD: It was operational then. From a high window beer would come flying out and kids were there like little birds with their mouths open (laughter) trying to get the drip of the beer.
WM: Did you ever go inside?
SD: No, but we had fun – we’d say, “We have to hit Hohenadel’s!”
MF: I wonder why the beer would come out?
SD: I don’t know. They might have had a spray or something up there. It went through the windows, and when it was warm, the windows were open, and spray would come out.
MF: Or maybe they saw you coming and wanted to give you a little taste! (laughter)
WM: Tell us a little more about your parents – what did your father do?
SD: My father was a welder; my mother was a housekeeper and an interior decorator.
WM: And where did he work?
SD: At the American Pulley Company on Wissahickon Avenue/Fox Street. I don’t think it’s there anymore.
MF: Were they both born in the states?
SD: My parents were both born in East Falls. Dad was born in 1901 and my mother in 1902.
WM: Really! Do you have any memory of things they told you about their growing up here?
SD: My mom lived on Ridge Avenue where the twin bridges are today. Her father had a nice home on Ridge Avenue and a stable there where he had horses. He was a huckster who sold fruits, vegetables, etc. Because he used to have to go through East Falls, he had a big wagon drawn by horses. He was a very happy man doing that. Some relative of his, when I was akid, would come around with his huckster truck. He would call all of my friends into the truck – we could take one of anything – banana, orange, whatever. He always gave us a treat in the middle of the day.
But what I wanted to tell you about was that he had a sleigh also. And it was so cold in my mom and dad’s life growing up, that the Schuylkill River would freeze over and they could take the sleigh and the horse on the Schuylkill River and ride it. She said the island in the middle of the river was called St. Peter’s Island. They used to picnic there.
WM: Do you know how your family ended up in East Falls – either side?
SD: I don’t know that. My grandmother came from Ireland and my grandfather did too. She owned three houses in East Falls. Their three daughters were born in Ireland and my father was the only male in the family and he was born in Philadelphia. His sisters were much older when my dad was born, so he really grew up
with his nieces and nephews – he was the same age almost. When my grandmother died, she gave everything to my father. His two sisters lived in the homes my grandmother owned, and my father went to each sister and said “As long as you’re alive, these homes are yours” so two of my father’s sisters lived in two of my grandmother’s houses.
WM: What street were they on?
SD:Sudgens Row. And he stuck by it – I mean, the houses were theirs.
MF: Did your parents get married in St. Bridget?
SD: Yes.
MF: And they went to St. Bridget School?
SD: Yes, they went to St. Bridget. Sister St. Anthony had been at St. Bridget forever – she taught my father in school. I had requested three names when I entered the convent, but none of these choices were given to me. By then, Sr. St. Anthony had died and that is the name I was given by the convent.
LD: They were in the old school?
SD: Oh yes, they were in the old school. The new one was built in my day. And I was so happy because my father was very generous and when that was being built, we used to have carnivals – different things in the school yard – it wasn’t really a schoolyard, it was dirt – for the fundraiser. Like, they would have a lot of activity in there, so my father gave each of us $20 to spend, and that was a lot in those days.
WM: So where was that?
SD: Right at St. Bridget where the parking lot is now. It was all dirt.
WM: Can you describe that event?
SD: Oh, it was so much fun! They had two things you could ride – they couldn’t fit too many things. But a lot of wheels that you could spend money on and win stuff.
LD: What did they call this event? Was it Mardi Gras?
SD: No, I don’t know what they called it – I just went to it. It was fun for all of us. When I got older, I asked my father, I said “Dad, why did you give us so much money to spend there?” because when we went down to Wildwood, he wasn’t so generous on the Boardwalk. (laughter). He said “Sweetie, it really wasn’t for you, but I’m glad you enjoyed it, but we did it for the church.”
WM: That’s great. Going back to playing, I heard a rumor that you would drink from the Kelly’s hose?
SD: Oh yes, I did! That was in McMichael Park there. We would play there once in a while, and when we were thirsty, we went over to Grace Kelly’s back spigot and turned it on with our hand – this is what you used to do in my day – cup your hands and just drink the water. So Mr. Kelly came out one day and we all ran. But the next day he had a big cup there and it had “Children, please use this cup – it’s much cleaner than your dirty hands.”
WM: Did you ever meet the Kellys?
SD: Well, I saw Mr. Kelly at his back kitchen door. I met Grace Kelly after she went to Hollywood and everything – not as a child. She went to Ravenhill Academy.
WM: How did you happen to meet her?
SD: Well, I met her because her mother wanted her to come back because we were going to have a fundraiser for Women’s Medical. She wanted her to come to draw people for the fundraiser. So Grace was in a big area and she was talking to everybody, and then afterwards I went up to her and told her about her father – what he did when I was a child. She was so happy to hear that.
WM: Was this held at the hospital?
SD: Yes, at the hospital.
WM: Can you describe that event?
SD: The only thing I really know about is that Grace Kelly was going to be there. The other parts I can’t remember.
WM: I know her mother was very involved.
SD: Oh, her mother was very involved not only with the hospital, but she was also involved with her daughter. If she heard any rumors from Hollywood, she’d fly over (laughter) and that was the rumor through East Falls.
MF: Were you in the convent when you met her?
SD: Oh no, I was still a child. After we were drinking from the hose, it was Mr. Kelly who had the drinking fountain put in McMichael Park. A week after that whole scene, he had a fountain put in the park.
WM: And where was that? Is it still there?
SD: In McMichael Park – right on the corner of Henry Avenue and Midvale. There is one in the park now, but I’m not sure if it’s the same one.
MF: I think it’s still there. It doesn’t work.
SD: Because every time I used to pass it, I’d think of how I stole water from their back yard.
WM: What did you play in the park?
SD: Oh everything – ball, baseball. When I got older, I went to the park just to see what smoking would be like. I remember saying to my father – of course it was school time and we weren’t really allowed out at night – we had to do our homework and all – but this one night we were all going to gather in the park so I said to my dad, “Dad, can I go to Sodality tonight?” and he said “Oh sure” because it was a religious event. So instead of going to Sodality, I went to the park with my friends, and everybody tried it and that was it. I tried it and never had another one. All you had to do was inhale and… but other people inhale and love it. I inhaled and almost choked to death.
WM: So let’s go to St. Bridget – tell us all your memories of going to school there – teachers, class trips, playground.
SD: I remember in 1st grade we would go into the old church on Stanton Street for puppet shows and plays. My first grade class was very large, so we had half the class going in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. This classroom was in the convent on the bottom floor in the back. Sister St. Anthony would come in to relieve our teacher for a while every day. I think it was to give her a break for a cup of coffee. And I loved the class trips because you could either go by car with your family or you could go with the Sisters – I guess buses or you could walk.
WM: And where did you go?
SD: To Woodside Park. It’s not there anymore.
WM: Tell us what you liked at Woodside Park.
SD: First let me tell you how we went there. We walked, and went over Falls Bridge, then we climbed up – it was all like woods, really, in my day. Where Woodside Park was, was all woods at one point. So we went all through the woods and got to Woodside Park – it was a straight line. Of course, you had to climb some things – the nun had to be young who took us! (laughs)
WM: Did you go through a tunnel?
SD: No, never went through a tunnel.
LD: Was the railroad there? Did you go over it, under it? Was the bridge there?
SD: The railroad was there, but we went over more on the side where the water fountain came out, because there wasn’t a lot of brick, it was just more dirt, and you went up over the railroad tracks. No, the railroad tracks were on top of me, or beside me. I don’t think I ever went through the railroad tracks. We went right over the Falls Bridge and then this section was all trees and woods – it was a straight line right to Woodside Park.
WM: So what were your favorite things there?
SD: I loved the dangerous things! (laughter)
WM: What were the names of the roller coasters?
SD: I don’t remember the name of the roller coaster, but I was on that roller coaster a lot! And I liked the cars that would whip.
MF: The bumper cars?
SD: No, I liked the bumper cars, but there were also ones you would sit in and go around – you had to hold on to a wheel – you whipped right around in your seat.
LD: It would go like this (motions) and when it got down to the corner, the end, it would whip around.
SD: That’s what it was called, I think, the Whip. And then I loved the bumping cars – that was fun because you had to really maneuver the car, and if you really wanted to bump somebody, you had to be aware of who was around so you could get to “bump” really hard the person you wanted to bump.
WM: Sounds like you were a spunky kid. Was there music there and dancing there?
SD: There might have been, but I wasn’t aware of it.
WM: What did you like eating there?
SD: I don’t even remember eating.
WM: Did you swim there?
SD: No, I never swam.
LD: Did you go on the motorboats in the water?
SD: Oh yeah, I’ve been on the motorboats.
WM: So you would do this once a year at the end of school?
SD: Well, the school did it once a year, but we were close, so my parents took us there a couple of times. And when I got to be a teenager, we wanted to go to – not Woodside Park, but Willow Grove Park, so we would all go in front of our parents and say “Oh, I wish we could go to Willow Grove Park tonight” or “I wish we could go soon.” We’d say, “My parents are great, your parents are great, I bet they will be so happy to take us.” We would do that to remind them – and they did.
WM: How did Willow Grove Park and Woodside Park compare?
SD: Oh, Willow Grove Park was much better!
WM: In what way? More rides?
SD: Yes, it was bigger.
WM: I heard that Woodside had fireworks that you could see from East Falls?
SD: Oh right, yes it did! We used to sit on the curb and watch the fireworks.
WM: Right from Vaux?
SD: Yeah, you could see it.
WM: So tell us more about St. Bridget besides the trip to Woodside.
SD: Ok. I loved the Sisters there, and when I was in 8th grade, I was in charge of the selling the cards to the school for fundraising. So, it was Christmas and Easter, mostly. At Eastertime when I was selling the cards, I went through every room to see if anyone had any orders. And I had to fill out the orders and bring them back to the classroom. But one day I went to Sister and said, “Sister, I have a lot of orders. Can I have a friend to help me?” And she said “Dorothy, just take whoever you want.” So I took my friend out and we were real fast and we took the cards real fast, and when we were all finished we went up on the roof of the school and played cards for a little while! (laughs)
LD: So one of you had a deck of cards on you?
WM: And access to the roof?
SD: We always had cards – you never knew when you had a chance to play cards.
MF: What card game did you play?
SD: It wasn’t Crazy Eights, it was something else. I forget. We didn’t play that much.
WM: Who were some of the teachers?
SD: Sister Helen Marie, Sister St. Clement, Sister Rose Alivia – she was my favorite.
WM: Why was that?
SD: Because when I would sneak out of the room – I sat in the back – and I used to go through the coatroom and go down and get some water from the water fountain – a beautiful water fountain and a beautiful floor…. and when they made the apartments years later, they kept all that.
WM: What were the floors?
SD: Marble, it looked like. And the stairs, too, were the same way. And the stairs are the same for the apartments. It was really beautiful. But anyhow, when I was walking back to get into the room, a door opened and I saw this Sister walking through – I saw her habit – and it would have been just the two of us in the corridor, so I ran into the 7th grade room – I had to get out of the corridor (laughs) and I walked over to Sister Rose Alivia and I said “Sister…” I was standing there for a minute, and she said “Dorothy, what do you want?” And I said, “Do you want the truth?” (laughter) “Of course I want the truth!” “Well” I said. “I want you to go out to the corridor to see if Sister Helen Marie was still out there. And she said, “Well how did you get out?” So I told her how I got out and that I was going to get water down at the fountain. And she said, “Well, I will do that for you, Dorothy – I had her in 7th grade – “But you must promise me never to sneak out again.” And in those days if you did that, then you kept the promise. Kids today would probably break it. “Please Sister, you can keep me for a week or a month after school, but please don’t do this” and she said “Well that’s your choice.” And I said “Alright.”
WM: Did you have recess?
SD: Our recess yard was the little area right outside the old convent. Also, we had to go outside of the convent to go to the bathroom. It wasn’t completely closed in during our time. It was a little cold but nobody complained.
WM: So would you say you were a child who got into trouble or pretty obedient? How would you describe yourself?
SD: At times I just got the urge to do something. Oh yes, that’s probably why I had charge of the cards.
LD: So you made your Communion and Confirmation at St. Bridget?
SD: Every sacrament. I remember my Confirmation Day. It was very different from Confirmation days today. We processed in church and went up the aisle with an eighth grade student behind us as our sponsor.
WM: Ellen Sheehan said – tell me if this is right – that your 8th grade class – 1953 – was the 100th graduating class at St. Bridget?
SD: Well I wasn’t 1953 – that was my brother – I was 1957.
LD: Do you remember any of the festivities for the 100th anniversary?
SD: Not really.
WM: Do you remember any big events there at St. Bridget?
SD: Just the fun in the schoolyard and going at the end of the year to Woodside.
WM: Didn’t they just have a celebration of their 170th?
SD: I remember that one. Lots of fun!
WM: What were your biggest takeaways from that?
SD: Meeting people. I just love the people. It was a nice event to see everybody that I miss.
WM: So when you were at St. Bridget, you were just in the new building?
SD: No. When I started first grade, they were building – or they didn’t have room anyhow in the old school, so I had to go to the convent for first grade.
WM: Was it crowded? A lot of students?
SD: Yes. There was a big room – the sandwich room (note: the room where St. Bridget parishioners make sandwiches for the needy)
WM: How many kids in your class?
SD: In first grade? I don’t know. It was half a day for a while too. We had morning classes and afternoon classes. There were a lot of children. We couldn’t fit in the convent together. I would say about 80 children.
LD: So they might not have opened the new school yet, and the old school was overcrowded, so that’s why…
WM: What year did the new one open?
SD: I guess 1940 something… (Note: 1949)
WM: When did you graduate?
SD: I began school in 1945, so maybe 1947, because I still went to the old school before I went to the new school.
WM: Do you remember your first day in the new school?
SD: Well, I had seen the new school, but the first day in the new school was so wonderful because I felt like I finally made it (laughter) because I had been in the convent, and then in the old school. And in the old school, the bottom part was made into three classes, so there was a middle section where people had to walk through to get to this classroom, so I was just so happy I was in a regular school.
MF: You don’t know what grade you were in when you went to the new school?
SD: Yes, I think I was in second grade.
MF: Was there just one third grade?
SD: No, we had two of every grade, because there were that many children.
LD: When I was there, we had three of every grade – the post war baby boom.
WM: Were the Sisters strict? Did you have just nuns for teachers?
SD: I had nuns for teachers my whole time. I never had a lay teacher. I don’t remember any bad feeling about it, or any bad situation that happened – except me… (laugh)
LD: Did you have any inklings that you wanted to go into the convent?
SD: None whatsoever.
LD: Did that happen in high school?
MF: Did you go to Hallahan?
SD: I went to Little Flower. For 5 years, the girls went to Little Flower because evidently Little Flower needed girls, or maybe Hallahan was too crowded. I don’t know, but we were switched over for only five years. After that they went to Hallahan, but my five years, no. My mom wanted me to go to St. John’s in Manayunk with my sister.
LD: Did you take the bus?
SD: I did, to Little Flower.
LD: Where did you get the bus in East Falls?
SD: I got the Z bus at Henry and Ainslie Street. Then I went to the depot where I had to walk down to Erie Avenue and get the 23 trolley. And the trolley took me right into the depot across from Little Flower High School.
WM: So when did you first get the feeling that you might want to go into the convent?
SD: I felt the feeling for the first time at Benediction during the morning at Little Flower High School. I was 18 years old.
WM: How did this happen?
SD: Honestly, that’s when I believed there was a God.
WM: Did He just come to you one day?
SD: Yes, one day. I was at Benediction.
WM: About how old were you?
SD: I was a senior, and my girlfriend said “Oh, let’s go to Benediction and I said “Ok” and I went. And when I walked out of that room, I said to my girlfriend, “Mary, you will not believe this, but I felt God was calling me to be a nun.” And she said “Oh no; we’ll never go to that prayer again!” (laugh)
MF: That’s the last time we go to Benediction!
SD: And we both got detention!
MF: Because you were in church?
SD: No, we were out of church, but we were in the hallway at school, where we were supposed to be quiet.
WM: Can you describe what happened after you felt this message from God?
SD: I was really kind of mad at Him. I said “Please, God, you already have my sister.”
WM: Oh, you have a sister who is a nun?
SD: Yes; she’s two years older than I am. I said “That’s enough! Your way for me is not my way for me, it’s a different way!” So I talked to Him like that because I could tell he was giving it to me. And I could tell I was pushing away. I had to give in, and I said to my cousin at Thanksgiving – I wanted to tell my family. I said, “If I give in and tell my family, maybe I’ll feel different.” So I did – I told my family at Thanksgiving.
WM: And you were 17?
SD: I was 18 when I entered. And when I told my family I was going to enter the Sisters of St. Joseph, my brother jumped from the table, went out the front door and slammed it. And I said to my mother “Mom, what’s wrong with him?” And she said “I don’t know. Your brother never acted like that. Ask him when he comes back why he is so angry.” So when he came back, I said “Bill, why are you so angry that I’m going into the convent?” and he said “Well, I’m really gonna tell ya. Do you know, Nagle, that if you go to the convent that means my kids won’t have cousins!” He was so upset that his kids wouldn’t have cousins. It just blew it for me. I said “Bill, you’re not married yet!” but he said “I will be.”
WM: So were your parents receptive?
SD: Oh they were very receptive. They would be receptive if I came home from the convent too. They would just want me to make a choice that was good for me, and they would help me out with it.
MF: Before you got this feeling at Benediction, did you have an idea of what you wanted to do after high school?
SD: Oh yes, I wanted to get married and have children. I wasn’t thinking about working. The big thing was I loved children so much and I said, “I could not wait to see my own flesh and blood.”
MF: Did you have a boyfriend, Sister?
SD: Oh yeah, well, I had one who lived on Henry Avenue – he had a motorcycle. I used to ride on the back of his motorcycle, and I went to the movies. We used to go to the movies – boys and girls together.
WM: At the Alden? We’d love to hear about that.
SD: Yes, at the Alden movies. We would go in there and we would sit together – boys and girls. I just happened to be sitting next to this boy, and he put his arm around the back of the seat and I didn’t like that – to be hanging on me – or hold my hand; I didn’t like that holding my hand stuff. The row in front of us kept turning around laughing, because they all knew I didn’t like that. And I said “What is funny?” And they’d say “Nothing” but kept turning around and laughing. He got away with that, but when we got out of the building, he gave me a friendship ring. Do you remember the friendship rings?
All: Yeah.
SD: That meant we were going steady. I was so taken aback and I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, so I took the friendship ring and everybody was so happy and the next day – no, that night, they said “Let’s go to Woodside Park!” As couples, they had boyfriends in the crowd, so when I got the ring they said “Let’s celebrate – let’s go to Woodside Park this weekend.” Everyone said “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!” When I went home, I went to bed and I said “What the heck did I do?” Why would I take that friendship ring? I didn’t want to go steady with him. I just didn’t have the nerve to tell him. So the next day, I gave it back. So I only went steady overnight. (laughter)
WM: Are you revealing his name?
SD: No (laugh). He had a nickname – it was Catmangenie. That’s what we called him.
WM: So what happened next – did you go into training?
SD: No, what happened next was, I graduated from high school and my mother helped me get all the things ready for the convent – I had to get a trunk and some other things and I said to my dad “I’ll work this summer to help with all this.” They have to pay a dowry when you become a Sister. So while you’re there, it’s like you went on vacation, and they have to pay a little something. I knew that, so I said “I will work this summer and get a job and help with the money” and my father said “Peach, you will not work – you only have this summer. You enjoy it!” So I said “Oh alright!” (laughter)
WM: Where was your training?
SD:At Mt. Saint Joseph Novitiate in Chestnut Hill. Right there at the Mother House where Chestnut Hill College is. The Villa is not too far from there. So we got packed up and everything. I was having a hard time, and my mother kept saying, “Dorothy, look how far you went – are you sure you want to go?” I said “Mom, I don’t want to go.” She said “Then don’t go.”
WM: You were having second thoughts?
SD: Oh, I never had a first thought! Really, I didn’t want a part of this at all. And I really fought it. I said “Mom, I have to go.” She said, “Not if you don’t want to; I don’t know why you’re doing it.” I said “Well, talk to HIM because He’s doing it to me!” My mother said “Dorothy, you know” – she got really serious – “I don’t think I can let you go to the convent.” I said “What?“ She said “No, you have to start a life with some sense of joy and happiness, but you’re bitter. You can’t start a life feeling that way.” I said, “I have to do it, and I’m sorry.” So later on in the summer, I heard the Gospel and Jesus went to his Father and said “Father, take this from me (the Crucifixion); take this from me, not my will, but Yours be done.” So I said to my mom, ”Mom, you will let me go to the convent. “Oh, will I?” “Yes, you will. I still don’t want to do it, but I’m going to the convent the way Jesus went to the cross. Because I’ve been saying the same words Jesus said. I don’t want to do it. Those words, not my will, but Yours be done – I have to see if His will be my will. So, I have to try it.” So, she said “Oh alright, you win.” I was a Novice for two years; then I went out on a mission.
WM: Was it feeling right once you got there?
SD: Feeling right? To me it was a miracle, because I was still feeling funny and I went out to the Novitiate, and walked through the Novitiate, and I looked around and I became at peace. I still had to work through things. At 18, I called God a selfish God. I said “Listen, God, you already have one of us – go to another family!”
WM: So after that you went back to St. Bridget as a teacher?
SD: I had the experience through life – I was a 1st grade teacher, a 2nd grade teacher, a 3rd grade teacher, a 4th grade teacher, a 5th grade teacher, a 6th grade teacher, a 7th grade teacher, an 8th grade teacher, and I was a principal BEFORE I went to St. Bridget.
WM: And where did you do all that?
SD: Mostly all inner city. Thirteen years at Holy Name in Camden, New Jersey. Real rough and tough. I loved Camden so much. The people were loving and caring and the children were a joy to teach.
LD: So they had a convent there where you lived?
SD: Yeah. And all the druggies were being beaten to death. I was there for a week, but did I look out the window? No, I ran out the front door and I went to the guy with the bat, and I said “I’m sorry. I can’t let you kill these people. And he said ”Listen lady, you better leave. I’m out of $1000 bucks.” And I said “I don’t know what it’s like to be out of 1000 dollars – it must be a hard thing to feel – but I can’t let you kill these people.” And then I said to him “I’m gonna help you out now – the people in that house called the cops and they’re going to be here any second, so if I were you, I’d run.” So he did. And then we took the children to the hospital.
WM: How did you happen to go back to St. Bridget? Did you have to apply to go back?
SD: Oh I know how I got to St. Bridget.
MF: Are you allowed to request where you want to be?
SD: No, you didn’t request where you wanted to be, but if you were in a place where you would not be happy, you could request to be heard at a meeting about it. We would not be sent to inner city if you felt it would be wrong for you.
WM: Tell us about teaching at St. Bridget?
SD: Oh I loved it. I was much older, and I taught children who had a hard time with math and reading and needed more help. I was a child in St. Bridget and now I was a teacher at St. Bridget. I had a good size classroom, but each class of children was very small.
WM: You were a specialist?
SD: I was not a specialist, but I sure felt special teaching a small group of children who wanted to learn. So I had a small group come in every day and I just loved it. I was so excited with that group. In my earlier years, I taught 110 children in an auditorium! This experience taught me to be a creative teacher. I learned a lot of stuff myself as a teacher – I taught the children who were really bright to review certain things with the group and they did. It was so great. Each group was doing something all over the room, and I had my own little group here, and that’s the group I kept making sure they were understanding everything.
WM: It sounds like you were a fun teacher.
SD: I would like to think I was. When the Archdiocese had teachers’ conventions, they asked me to be one of the teachers helping with creative ideas in the classroom.
WM: Do you remember some of the techniques you used that the kids liked?
SD: After every two subjects, I let the children walk around the room and whisper to each other to give them a break before they would have to listen again. I set a timer for three minutes. When the timer went off, they quietly went back to their seat and got ready for the next class.
WM: Did your school interact with the other schools in East Falls?
SD: No.
LD: Do you remember any of the parades – like July 4th?
SD: I don’t remember them because I wasn’t here. I was always down at the shore. We had other parades, though, that went up to McMichael Park, like Memorial Day. Those parades were fun. We all paraded up behind the band and we finally got to the park and did what we wanted to do. St. Bridget’s owned the rights to McMichael Park on the 4th of July. They had parades up Midvale Avenue and lots of activities in the park that day
WM: What changes did you see in St. Bridget over the years?
SD: Well, I didn’t see much change in anything, really. Everything was about the same when I was there. The church was about the same. Now Father Kelly came, and he fixed up the church a lot physically.
WM: Physically?
SD: Yes, physically he did a lot for the church.
WM: How about Vatican II – did that change things?
MF: We said Mass differently.
LD: They changed the altar so that the priest faced the people.
SD: Yes, they changed the altar.
LD: No more Latin.
SD: Thank God! No more Latin because I love hearing the words of the Mass. The words at the Mass in English helped me to know God’s love more deeply.
WM: Tell us about getting ready for your mission.
SD: I was in York, Pennsylvania, and when I was going there, I said to my mom, “Mom, I don’t even know where York, Pennsylvania is. I hope you can get there.” She said “Don’t you worry, honey. If we can’t get there by bus or any public transportation, we’ll hire a helicopter. We’ll make sure we get there.” Anyhow, I was in York. I want to tell one other story. For the first three missions I was in York, and my dad asked all the Sisters privately, when I wasn’t around, “Do you think my daughter is really happy?” and they said “She’s so happy and she makes everyone else happy. She’s VERY happy.” So after those three missions, he never asked me again.
MF: Your family was really interested in your happiness.
SD: They were. My mom and dad were good parents. In fact, I felt my parents treated me fairly and we knew how much they cared about us.
WM: Tell us about some of the pastors at St. Bridget and the impacts that each made.
SD: The priests were wonderful – they came into the classrooms, they went around, they visited – I wish it would happen in today’s world. They cared so much about the children. And they would come out in the schoolyard a lot and talk with you and be involved. But the church years ago was much different than it is today.
MF: Was Father Murphy like that? Were you there when he was there? He’s the first pastor I remember.
SD” No I don’t remember him.
LD: Do you remember they’d go door to door to all the houses in the parish to bless the house and you would give them a donation?
SD: And one time, when the new school was being built, some people would come around and you would buy chances. If you gave a quarter and won, you’d get $25; if you gave 50 cents, then $50. My father would always give a dollar. We had just had our porch cemented so I had to put the dollar on the broom. And I said “This is luck, you know” and we won $100! My mother was out doing something so my dad threw the $100 all around the living room floor and he said “Now when your mother comes in, go along with me.” So my mom came and said “Where did all that money come from!” and my dad said “Money? What are you talking about?” And I said, “Yeah mom, there’s no money on that floor.” And she said “I see money and I’m going to bend down and pick it up. And I’m keeping it!” (laughter)
WM: Do you have any memories of the library?
SD: I didn’t go to the library except for a drink. I didn’t take a lot of books out. I read, but didn’t really go to the library.
MF: You had a thing for water fountains!
WM: Yes, at school, at McMichael Park, in the library! What about the shopping district; what do you remember?
SD: Kelly’s Corner on Conrad Street where you could buy different things. Conrad and maybe Indian Queen Lane. I remember buying my skate wheels on Conrad. I remember Tilden Drugs and Caldwell Market on Vaux. For groceries, Tilden Market. Young’s Store, a grocery store, at Vaux Street and Sunnyside. It was a private home and – their downstairs floor – they made a store out of it.
MF: What did they sell?
SD: Everything. They had a big freezer there. Canned goods. It was a great store. My thing was, they had a big barrel of pickles, and so when I was skating through East Falls, I would go in and say “I’m going to take two of those pickles; please and put it on my mother’s bill.”
WM: Was there a place named Buchanan’s on Vaux?
SD: There was a Buchanan’s Ice Cream Store.
LD: On Indian Queen Lane and Vaux.
SD: The reason I know that is my father loved ice cream, so whenever we wanted ice cream, we would say “Ah, who’s in the mood for ice cream?” and my dad would say “I am.” I’d say “Good answer!” and then each of us would get half a pint at Buchanan’s.
WM: Any special stores you remember on Ridge or Midvale?
SD: Let me think. I didn’t go down Midvale much to shop. There was a 5&10 down there and I went into that 5&10 – and what was the place right across?
LD: Major Drug.
SD: Major Drug. We would go down there sometimes after church. And the hardware across the street, but we had a hardware store on Conrad Street, too. Probably where that restaurant is now.
MF: What restaurant?
LD: On the corner of Bowman and Conrad, for a while, there was the Epicure Café.
SD: Yeah, we used to go in there.
MF: That used to be Claytons.
SD: I only knew it as a restaurant when I went to St. Bridget. I used to go into that hardware store all the time to get wheels for my skates. We skated so much that you could see the wheels wear out, so we had to buy new wheels for our roller skates. And my mom would say to me all the time “Dorothy, please – I know it’s nice that you share your skates but share both of them! I always have to go with one shoe to be repaired.” (laughter)
WM: All these years in East Falls – what changes have you seen? What do you think of East Falls?
SD: When I went back to work at St. Bridget, there were not many changes, really. It was as beautiful as I left it. It almost seemed it was untouched. And now it’s touched. They’re ruining East Falls.
WM: You mean the new apartment buildings?
SD: Yes, it’s terrible. I could cry when I see them. When I was there, those homes on Midvale from Vaux Street to Henry Avenue – that also was a lot. It was ground. That was the biggest change – the development. And it’s way worse now.
LD: You should live in Roxborough. We have 40 new apartment buildings!
SD: Wherever they see a space, they’re going to develop. It’s sad.
WM: Any special holiday traditions?
SD: Halloween was always fun. Back then we practiced our tricks before we got our treats. Christmas was a big holiday in my family when I was a child. But Thanksgiving was really the most important in my family as far as celebrating. My mom had a glass of some kind of liquor, and we all had to praise God for something and thank Him for something. So we all had to do that. And when you did, you passed the wine to the next person. Everybody at the table praised God.
WM: Where did you get your Christmas tree?
SD: I don’t know, but it always was a nice full tree. It was so beautiful, and my mom always put my brother Danny’s toys under the tree. We were allowed to play with them on Christmas Eve, but after that, hands off. It was a big thing with my mom.
MF: So your brother got over being mad at you?
SD: Oh yeah, he got over it before he had children. He was a good brother. So good that my sister used to drive the nuns all around, and my sister would go to my brother and say “May I have the keys to the car? I want to drive the sisters someplace.” “Oh sure” and he’d give her the keys to the car and she’d go out. She had the car more than my brother had. I remember being in the living room and his friends came in and said to my brother “Would you do us a favor? Would you ask your sister if you could have your car this weekend?” (laughter)
LD: Do you remember families and neighbors all sitting out on their steps?
SD: We didn’t have steps, but we had a front porch – we were all on the front porch. My dad asked me to go down to Sunnyside Avenue and pick up Mrs. (I forget her name) to bring her up to our porch, because she didn’t have a porch. They really shared a lot with people.
LD: Everyone knew all the neighbors.
SD: Oh yeah, there was no air conditioning, so everybody was outside. And that’s another thing – my parents would say to us “You’re welcome to join us any time, but you have to speak, and you have to wait for your turn to speak. We don’t want to hear you take over the crowd.”
WM: Was there ever any friction that you remember between the Irish Catholics and the Italian Catholics?
Absolutely not. I was so hurt – the first time I even knew that the friction existed, I was a nun and I was down in Cape May and there was a priest there and I went over to speak with him because I knew his family that lived in East Falls. I said “I hear your family is living in East Falls” and he got so angry and he said “Yes they are, and I wish they weren’t there.” I said “Why?” and he said “Well, newcomers are not welcome there.” I said, “Listen, I lived all my life in East Falls, and I never witnessed that.” And he said “Well you’re lucky. Did your family move into a home there?” I said “No, they were always in East Falls.” He said “Then you’re a Fallser.” That’s the first time I heard that. “A Fallser?” “Yes, East Falls belongs to the Fallsers.” And I said “I’m really sorry for your family, but I have never witnessed that. Never. I didn’t even know it existed.”
MF: Did he think it was an ethnic thing –like Irish or Italian – or just because they were new?
SD: He made me feel – well, yeah, I’m sure it was that too – if you’re an ethnic person coming in – so anybody who just moves into East Falls, like the Italians, lived on Stanton and the Irish lived all over. That’s another thing – the Italians – I never knew that either until when a nun, I was in the home of an Italian and I told her that story and said “That can’t be true” and she said “It is true.” She said the Italians were not allowed to move past the railroad tracks.
WM: But St. Bridget attracted Italians and Irish.
SD: Oh yes. No problem within the church at all. And that’s what this Italian family told me. I asked if they felt funny in the church and she said no.
WM: And when the housing development, Schuylkill Falls, came in, was there any impact?
SD: Oh no. I don’t remember anything there between kids.
WM: Did the residents there go to St. Bridget School?
SD: Yes. Some of them. They had their own school too.
WM: Over the years were there changes in the church? Less attendance? Are as many people going to church?
SD: There’s a big difference. Very big difference. Our church was packed.
LD: There was Standing Room Only in the back.
SD: Packed. And little by little, even teaching, not only St. Bridget, but all over, little by little, you could see that the children were really not a part of the parish. Because the parents weren’t part of the parish. I had learned that the parish was very important.
WM: Do they now zoom the service? You don’t actually have to go?
LD: That was during Covid. They still do it, but that’s where it started.
SD: I didn’t know they were still doing it.
MF: So you were still there teaching when St. Bridget School closed?
SD: Oh yes, I was there when St. Bridget closed. I was at Manayunk first. I taught there when I came to Philadelphia, but I lived at St. Bridget.
WM: How did you feel when the school closed at St. Bridget?
SD: Devastated. Absolutely devastated.
WM: You tried to save it.
MF: There was a contingent of people who did try.
SD: There was a man on Warden Drive (John Grady) – he did everything. He even got aerial views. He faxed all the records of both places – this was when we were going to combine with Holy Family in Manayunk. This man did everything. He spent so much time. He went down to the Diocese and showed them everything and that still didn’t work.
LD: Because they couldn’t have sold Holy Family for what they got for St. Bridget.
SD: Exactly. I remember saying to everybody – “They’re going to close two schools very soon” because no-one was going to go to Holy Family.
LD: They were going to charge $700 more per year per child and they said “If we had known that, we could have kept our own school open.”
WM: Where did you live at St. Bridget?
SD: I lived in the little building in front – in the house close to the rectory.
LD: There was the big building – the old convent to the left of the church and then the building they’re in now is the new convent – the little one.
WM: And you had responsibilities teaching as well as in the church itself?
SD: Yes.
WM: Anything else you want to share?
SD: I forgot to say, a lot of the Philadelphia A’s used to live on Penn Street because of the closeness to Shibe Park. Also, Connie Mack was a parishioner of St. Bridget. His funeral was here. He died in 1956.
WM: Your overall impression of East Falls?
SD: East Falls was the greatest place to grow up in. Everybody cared about each other.
END
