100 Years of Family Secrets: - Years 1901 to 1937

Sarah was a beautiful baby. She had green eyes and curly black hair and lily white skin and very petite.  Her mouth drew up into a perfect little red bow whenever she wasn't smiling. Sarah learned early how to get what she wanted. 1

You see, she was Daddy's little girl. Her Mother was rather distant, busy in her own business. She didn't have much time for children. Daddy was in the family shipping business. He was part of a well known Philidelphia family. He didn't exactly have to work, he just went into the office every once in awhile, to sign papers and attend meetings. 2

Sarah got whatever Sarah wanted until, at the age of 12, Sarah's little brother entered the picture. Things changed then. Daddy gave so much attention to his baby son, Johnny, that he did not spend so much time with Sarah anymore. Sarah would do mean things to Johnny sometimes, like pinch him on his fat little leg. 3

That is about the time when Daddy started to pay a different kind of attention to Sarah. This is when the petting and touching changed. Sarah was so happy for any kind of attention from her Daddy that she did not mind the new things he had her do with him.
Mother did not even notice anything had changed, she was too busy with her business.
                                                *********4

When Sarah turned 15, Daddy started becoming verbally abusive to her, calling her horrible nasty names and not wanting to come near her anymore. This pretty much broke Sarah's heart, but she sure wasn't going to tell her Daddy that. She started sneaking out of the house at night and seeing boys. This was also about the same time that she started cutting school too, and smoking and drinking. That is when Daddy put her in an all-girls Catholic School. But that just made Sarah sneakier.5

Daddy got sick and died not long after Sarah's 16th birthday, and Mother and Sarah and Johnny had to move in with Nana. Nana was Sarah's Maternal Grandmother and was from the "old country". Funny thing was, Sarah felt kind of funny about Daddy not being there anymore. Part of her missed him so much and she felt sad he was gone. But another part of her was glad he died, which made her feel weird, not guilty, just like maybe she was this different person than everyone thought she was. At least she didn't have to go to school anymore, they no longer had the money for it.6

                                                 *********7

When one of Sarah's boyfriends told her where she could get a job as a dancer in a club, she went for it. She told Mother she was taking typing classes at night to become a secretary. That is where Sarah met Dick. No really, that was his real name! Well, his real name was Richard, but everyone called him Dick. Dick was 12 years older than Sarah, a professional gambler and race car driver. 8

Dick took one look at 17 year old Sarah and named her Betty, Betty Boop. It was love at first sight for both of them. Three weeks after they met they ran off together to New Orleans and got married. Mother thought Sarah was spending the weekend with a girlfriend, which was a joke because Sarah didn't have any girlfriends. 9

Sarah cut all of her beautiful hip-length hair off, and announced to the world that she was a flapper! Dick bought a house in Camden NJ and promptly left soon after their marriage to do something called "Rum Running". Sarah continued to dance at the club. She wore these fancy beaded and fringed short dresses that showed off her petite but beautiful legs, and she would wrap her large breasts tightly because being flat-chested was the style.10

Dick would come home a few days each month. He was busy with his gambling and car racing and rum running, it did not leave much time for Sarah. But Sarah did not mind so much as long as he kept bringing home the gifts. Once it was a mink coat he won at a poker game, and another time it was a three carat diamond ring he bought in Miami. 11

************12

They had their first baby in 1923 and named her Anna. Anna was beautiful, but not dark-haired like her mother or father.  She had white-blonde hair, straight and fine. That made Dick question what Sarah was doing with her time at the club. Sarah convinced him the baby was his, but it was the beginning of an eventual breakup. 1925 brought June, another beautiful little girl, this one had the curls of Sarah, and the light brown hair that ran in Dick's family. Sarah had quit her club dancing by then and was a full-time "homemaker", which was rather easy to do with a fully staffed house. 13

The next baby was a boy and lived less than 24 hours. This devastated both Dick and Sarah. Dick was away as usual with the next baby, a boy born in 1927. She named him Curtis, and he had fine black hair on his head. He was born in a hospital because Sarah did not want to lose another baby. He was not breathing when they delivered him. A nurse quickly got a basin of hot water and another basin of cold water. The baby started to breathe after being dipped several times in each basin. 14

****************15

Dick still had not come home after Curtis was taken home and it was time to Christen him. Curtis was 30 days old when the whole family came to visit and have input in what his Christian name should be.  It was about that time that Sarah was told to get out of her home.  It seems Dick did not buy the house after all, it was rented and way past due.  So Anna and June went to live with their Great-Uncle Teddy and his wife Aunt Gertrude.  They never had any children so they lavished their attention and money on the young girls, sending them to a very exclusive private school.16

17

Baby Curtis stayed with Sarah.  They moved in with Mother, who, when Nana died, became the new Nana.  Oh, by the way, Nana's business was flourishing.  You see, Nana was a psychic and crystal reader.  They all lived together in a huge house about three blocks away from the Ocean City Boardwalk in NJ. 18

19

Sarah soon got a job with Boeing near Philadelphia, and took an apartment there.  When Curtis was four, Sarah sent for him to live with her. 20

21

************** 22

23

During the day, Curtis would spend time with a woman two doors down that had 6 kids of her own.  At night, Curtis would be with Sarah and whomever Sarah was entertaining that evening.  Many times when Curtis would wake up during the night with a nightmare, Sarah would bring him to her bed and he would sleep between her and whomever was staying the night with her.  24

25

This is how Sarah could afford the expensive perfumes and clothes and beaded bags and diamonds on a clerical salary. Curtis started school that fall.  He was a popular boy from the start.  Everyone wanted to be Curtis' friend.  He was this plump black-haired boy, jovial and polite and quite personable to his elders, and wild and fun with his peers.  Sarah gave Curtis whatever he wanted, no questions asked.  Curtis was use to getting what he wanted when he wanted it.26

27

*************28

29

When Curtis was 10, a policeman came to visit Sarah.  Seems ten-year-old Curtis was passing bad checks around town with her signature on them.  That is when Sarah found out that Curtis had been cutting school and running with the boy-gangs, pitching pennys and flipping the electrical leads on the trolley cars for fun.  But Curtis drew the line at taking money from little kids, so that is how he came up with forging his mother's signature on check he stole from her pocketbook when she was not looking.30

31

By this time, Sarah's younger brother, Johnny, was grown up, married, and working as a gym teacher at a military school upstate. His older sisters were 13 and 14 and came home to live with their mother and Curtis was sent to Uncle Johnny's school to learn discipline for the first time in his short wild life. 32

33

It was about this time when Nana, on her deathbed, told Sarah the truth.  Sarah was born out of wedlock and her birthday was the same, but the year she was born was 1899, not 1901.  And more, that Daddy was not her natural father.  She also told Sarah she knew the whole time what was going on between her and Daddy and needed to be forgiven before she died.  Sarah just stood there and said nothing while her mother took her final breath, unforgiven.  Sarah did not even shed a tear for her mother.34

35

Here ends the first installment of 100 years of Family Secrets.36

37

38

39