“Best of Birthday Greetings to Our Denny, Jr.”

KAREN with  big brother, DENNY … on his GRADUATION DAY”  “1953” …  This PHOTO is taken in front of the “German St. Vincent Orphanage Gymnasium” …  7401 Florissant Road, Normandy, Missouri.

   We were in line to get on the “FERRIS WHEEL”  one of the attractions on the grounds of the  “ORPHANAGE”  to attract lots of  Visitors to and for this  “Graduation-Picnic occasion.”

“If only this Photo would have been in color… You could see the terrific  super and  fantastic  shade of  “RED HAIR”  and  those freckles that DENNY has.”

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“This is with MOM and the three of us… February 1946  as our baby sister,  “EVE KAREN  Francisca McClarren” was born on the 16th… and when “MOM and DAD” took our sister to the  “HOLY NAME CHURCH” to be baptized… and  were asked what the baby’s  NAME will be…  he was told  “EVE KAREN” … the Priest said … “there is not a   “SAINT EVE KAREN” … DO you have a DOG?” … “I  need a  “SAINT’s  NAME” ….So as not to hold up the ceremony… “MOM remembered that  a “Francisca CABRINI”  was in the NEWS … as just having been canonized a  “SAINT” …  so that is  “HOW”   our sister “KAREN” received her  long and full name.

This was an “IRISH PRIEST” and his “IRISH brogue”  was so strong … “you could  hardly  understand  what he was saying as the word “DOG” really sounded like “DOGUE!”

“This is “KAREN” with DADDY…. and of course the three of  us  – DENNY – ME  –  TOMMY … in the area where the “APPLE”  trees were growing…  every so often one of  us kids… would run down and get a handful of  ‘apples’  for friends but…  for some of the kids…  they could not eat the green “apples”  they would  get… a good case of the “runs” to the bathroom.”

That “SAILOR” outfit that  “TOMMY”  is wearing  is the same  “outfit” that  “DENNY” wore on his solo trip to “OHIO”   when he was  only “four years old”  … I did write about that trip a couple of times  earlier… and posted the news-paper clipping along… giving all of the particulars of the   long “trip”  that little  DENNY took … all by himself …  when “DADDY” had to go to  “CALIFORNIA”  to work on the  “NAVY SHIPS”   during WWII …  just some the exciting things that the  “McClarren”  children did during those “hard” times… and we  all have  lived  a long enough  time to tell about it!

“Just some of the memories of our little sister, EVE KAREN” … just good to have a few  old  PHOTOS …  for a “BACK-up” otherwise…  no one would believe…  half of  the good old days… when we were  in the bad and hard times of  a  “WAR” and what  “AMERICANS” all did to help  our “COUNTRY”  WIN… but we  “ALL”   just did that which  we could… and  we always felt good…  for what we were able to do.!”         D.V.


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