Christmas would always be a difficult time for Daddy, never able to cope with or understand “Baby’s” (as Joel was called) death. He turned to alcohol as it dulled the pain and sorrow of loosing a child. Daddy’s drinking would be the biggest “bone of contention” throughout my parents’ marriage. One that he and Mom never resolved, he was not a mean person when drinking, but he made bad decisions, and it affected our lives in many ways.
Alcoholism was a problem that Daddy shared with his two brothers and later his son George, also became its victim, all heavy drinkers. He stayed away from alcohol most of the time, but he could not have a social drink. One drink led to another, then another; he turned to alcohol in times of high stress, such as years when wheat and cattle prices were low. These things didn't seem so bad, when alcohol took off the edge. When drinking, Daddy bought luxuries for his family, luxuries in the form of a new car, when our old one was still in very good working order. It made some rough times for our family especially for Mom, because she was the one who had to juggle and stretch the dollars, to pay the bills at the end of the month. I remember some, not all, Christmas's, not because of Santa Claus or presents, but because Daddy was drinking and our house was in turmoil. Mom always came down with a migraine headache and stayed in bed. My older sisters and brother took care of the rest of us. As I grew older I came to understand that he drank at Christmas time to hide the memories, the Christmas of 1936, when they lost their little boy, Joel. to be continued...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
The following photos, mom has written on the back of them...Left to right---
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