Never underestimate the "difficult" child!

My mother was the sixth of eight children.  The first two were twins, Agnes and James.  Sadly, Agnes did not survive.  Her next brothers and sisters came quickly,  Mary, Paul and Mildred.    My mother, Margaret, arrived on the planet in 1922.   Shortly after my mother was born, her baby brothers, Edward and Jack, came along.  My mom was her younger brothers' favorite playmate and partner in crime..

This stained glass window is from St. Colman's Catholic Church in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania.  It is my mother's childhood church in her hometown of Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania.  It's likely that my grandparents, aunts and uncles saw this window each and every Sunday... and then some...

While my mother's other brothers and sisters were in school, my mom and her two younger brothers found their way into lots of mischief around the house...

One of my mom's favorite stories is when one of her younger brothers got the wild idea to take my mom's little wooden sewing box up to the attic and fill it with hot coals....  Eddie was curious to see if he could catch the house on fire...  Meanwhile, my dear grandmother, Agnes Regina, was hanging clothes out in the backyard.   Fortunately, my mother, at the age of 5, had the good sense to lead her baby brothers to safety, outside and up the hill to watch the fire...

My mom's big brother, James, A.K.A. Buddy, came home from high school for lunch and noticed smoke coming from the attic.   He alerted my grandmother about the emergency.  Fortunately, they were able to put out the fire.  It took a while to figure out that my mom had taken the two younger boys up on the hill to watch the fire...  They were unharmed...  I'm sure my grandmother and uncle worried about their safety...  Okay...  It was not the best idea, but my mom saved the day leading her baby brothers to safety....

My mother has never forgotten that her oldest brother tried to blame her for this shenannigan, even though it was her younger brother's idea...    Buddy argued that Margaret was the oldest and should have known better....After all, she was FIVE...   When my mother's father came home from work that night, they held court.  My Grandpap questioned everyone involved.  In his very calm and quiet manner he ruled that my mother was not at fault.  She was only five years old and could not be held responsible except for her good sense to get Ed and Jack and herself out of the house and out of harms way...

Unfortunately, I was never able to meet my grandfather.  He died five months after I was born.  This is just one of many stories my mom enjoys telling me.  I treasure and cherish these stories...  Here is St. Colman's Church back in the day as my mom remembers it...