First Kathie Scott was born. Then there was Gary Vogt. Next came Johnnie Reitinger. Our's was due the end of May so we called it "Memorial Day Sutton" Eddie was determined to have a boy and when Eddie Jr. was born on the 27th of May, 1943 he was the biggest baby of all our friends. A dubious honor, I'm sure. However, he did weigh almost nine pounds and was the biggest baby in the hospital. The nurses called him "Pork Chops".

I never knew what work was until Eddie arrived. I took it all very seriously and spent all my time caring for him. He cried a lot the first three months and so did I. He would go to sleep as soon as we would take him for a ride in the car. Soon we discovered that just sitting in the car with the motor running would do the trick! He was the first baby on both sides of the family so he created quite a sensation.

Our social life dropped to nil. We did nothing but take cars of that kid for the rest of the year. It was worth it all. We all loved and enjoyed him and for 49 years he has been a wonderful son.

1944 was a memorable year indeed. Even though the war was going on we had a great time in Mantoloking. Eddie was a little over a year old and into every thing. I had lots of help and it was a relief to me. Mamma loved caring for him. One of his first words was "fwy"(fly). They were awful! He also would point out at the ocean and say,"bow" (boat). He was in training pants. We and he did a lot of mopping with paper towels. He finally caught on!

My little date books go back to 1938 but there are two years, 1944 and 1945 that are missing. Hallmark did not issue them I guess. We just did the usual-took care of the kid and socialized with our neighbors in Seaside Park. Again thank goodness for Mamma. And thank God the war ended at last. I had some first cousins in the service and they all returned safely.

next: Carolyn
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