Lessons Inherited

North Chemung,  New York was a great place to be  during the depression.    Tree-lined roads meandering through the hillside climbed in elevation with each mile, giving one the sense they could leave all their cares behind.   The country store at the end of the road was the place to not only buy a loaf of bread but to find out  the latest news.  Whether it was about the neighbor who had another baby or how Roosevelt was handling the country, someone always had an opinion.   One thing everyone could agree on was that winter was always too long and springtime never came early enough.   At the one room schoolhouse up the road the kids were getting antsy watching the snow melt.  The  boys knowing that thawing snow meant long hours in the fields plowing and other springtime chores, but they also understood that warm weather also meant fishing and swimming in the creek.  Nobody complained though because everyone recognized  that working and helping out was what kept the farm running and that was enough of an incentive for just about anyone.

    The Rafferty family was one of those hardworking families.  My grandfather, George Rafferty, had taken a job at the butcher shop in the next town over to make ends meet for his growing family, on top of his job as Justice of the Peace.  George was a well-respected man and most everyone who knew him would testify that he was an honest, hard worker with integrity.   The slight limp in his walk wasn't noticed because he was also a proud man who held his head high and rarely showed defeat.     

    In 1937, my grandma Gladys was pregnant with their sixth child and ready to give birth in March, and by the time my mother  Beverly  Rafferty  was born , the depression was in full swing.  Times were tough everywhere and even the rural roads of North Chemung were not immune to the effects of that era.  The jobs people had were held onto with iron fists; vacation time or time off for the birth of a child was not a luxury that most would dare to take.  There were many unemployed people willing to work and missing work was viewed as a weakness which might result in losing your job.  George was not willing to take that chance when Gladys went into labor.