CANAL STREET, DEEPWATER, NJ (18)

Mary's house was two stories and was on a little bit of a slant.  It was old.  But it was warm and cozy,and full of toys from her four children.  There was also a lot of laughter as well as crying.  Smells of breakfast foods like bacon, pancakes, coffee and oatmeal and laundry soap were abundant.

"Oh my what a busy household!"  Edie thought. "No wonder that Mary is so thin!"

Then a big dog ran through the kitchen with child chasing it with half his diaper off.  More smells.

Canal Street, Deep Water NJ (17)

Susan thought, "Oh Goody!"  She hated school.  The kids were mean to her and made fun of her because her clothes were hand-made and not in style.  Plus, the lady from the Red Cross would come get her to get her shoes.  They were the ugly, brown tie-up shoes. The girls would ask Susan if those were the shoes the Red Cross Lady got for her and would go away laughing. They would never ask her to play with them.  Furthermore, the lunch ladies would always ask loudly if she got FREE LUNCH.  They already knew she did, but the asked anyway every day.

And not one of the girls ever sat close to Susan at lunch.  They said she smelled.  Her mother bathed her every night, but they didn't have a tub.  She hand-washed her.  Edie always said you could be poor, but, there was no excuse to be dirty.  Soap was cheap.

Even the teachers were mean.  Because Susan was slow, the teachers either ignored her or yelled at her if her grades were poor. Susan was dyslexic...But no one knew what that was in the 40's.

CANAL STREET, DEEPWATER, NJ (16)

   One night it rained really hard. The roof started to leak over the bed. Edie and Susan were wet and cold. The stove went cold too. They got up and went to the kitchen and the roof was leaking out there, too. Edie growled, "Oh no. Where do we start?" There were seven leaks. "Susan, grab anything, pots, bowls. I can't get down on that wet floor. Put the pans where the leaks are coming down. Do you want to play Old Maid?"
   "We can't sleep in our bed," Susan asked.
   "Sure," said Edie, "If you make some coffee. You're going to miss school tomorrow, you know."

CANAL STREET, DEEPWATER, NJ (15)

   Edie and Susan laid in bed all night listening to the radio and looking at their beautiful Christmas tree. The candles made such beautiful shapes on the decorations. They looked like they were moving. To Susan this three foot tree was the most beautiful tree in the world. The tree sat on the dresser and Edie took one of the two white sheets they had and put it around the tree and dresser. Susan found some pine cones and put them around the bottom of the tree. I better save room for a gift that Santa is going to bring. Maybe this will be a good year. 

CANAL STREET, DEEPWATER NJ (14)

   Well, the tree went in the bedroom window. And between Susan and Edie they made beautiful decorations with the colored paper. Prettier than the store bought decorations, the neighbors said. They lit two candles in the window with the tree.