Jerry Koehler’s Birth (1941)
Having lived in Belleville for a year, Mary has found a local doctor as the family’s physician. Dr. Charles Baumann has been seeing Mary during her pregnancy. However, he leaves town right before Mary is about to give birth. Begrudgingly, Mary returns to the doctor she had when she lived in East St. Louis and the man who delivered Gwen. The problem is that Dr. William Crotty has a reputation as a heavy drinker. Having no choice, Mary nevertheless has Dr. Crotty deliver Jerry which goes off without a hitch. On Tuesday, August 19, Gerald Thomas Koehler is born. Jerry is born at St. Mary’s Hospital in East St. Louis at 6:20 p.m. Thirty-four-year-old Mary has arrived at the hospital just 50-minutes before the delivery of her 7 lbs. 7 oz. baby. Jerry is brought home to live in the house on Meadow Ave.
Ten-year-old Gwen stays at Nora (Flynn) and Frank Young’s house in St. Louis when Mary goes into the hospital for her delivery. Gwen does not know that her mother is pregnant. This is both a sign of the times when pregnancies are not discussed with the children and the fact that Mary does not obviously show her pregnancy. After Jerry’s birth, Orval calls Nora’s house and asks to speak with Gwen. He tells Gwen that she now has something that she …show more content…
In 1934, with the Great Depression in its fifth year, Fred Koehler along with eight other Caseyville men, is hired by the Village of Caseyville to work six hours cleaning ditches and repairing roads. He is paid $.60 an hour for a total $3.60. Other than picking up odd jobs here and there, Fred is unable to find a steady well-paying job. Every year he continues to grow food in a garden. He also makes and sells sausages. He brings some of his homemade scrapple to Orval and Mary’s house. Gwen especially loves it. Scrapple is a pork-based breakfast food made from pork and cornmeal. It is fried and then served with butter and syrup.
Having lived in Belleville for a year, Mary has found a local doctor as the family’s physician. Dr. Charles Baumann has been seeing Mary during her pregnancy. However, he leaves town right before Mary is about to give birth. Begrudgingly, Mary returns to the doctor she had when she lived in East St. Louis and the man who delivered Gwen. The problem is that Dr. William Crotty has a reputation as a heavy drinker. Having no choice, Mary nevertheless has Dr. Crotty deliver Jerry which goes off without a hitch. On Tuesday, August 19, Gerald Thomas Koehler is born. Jerry is born at St. Mary’s Hospital in East St. Louis at 6:20 p.m. Thirty-four-year-old Mary has arrived at the hospital just 50-minutes before the delivery of her 7 lbs. 7 oz. baby. Jerry is brought home to live in the house on Meadow Ave.
Ten-year-old Gwen stays at Nora (Flynn) and Frank Young’s house in St. Louis when Mary goes into the hospital for her delivery. Gwen does not know that her mother is pregnant. This is both a sign of the times when pregnancies are not discussed with the children and the fact that Mary does not obviously show her pregnancy. After Jerry’s birth, Orval calls Nora’s house and asks to speak with Gwen. He tells Gwen that she now has something that she …show more content…
In 1934, with the Great Depression in its fifth year, Fred Koehler along with eight other Caseyville men, is hired by the Village of Caseyville to work six hours cleaning ditches and repairing roads. He is paid $.60 an hour for a total $3.60. Other than picking up odd jobs here and there, Fred is unable to find a steady well-paying job. Every year he continues to grow food in a garden. He also makes and sells sausages. He brings some of his homemade scrapple to Orval and Mary’s house. Gwen especially loves it. Scrapple is a pork-based breakfast food made from pork and cornmeal. It is fried and then served with butter and syrup.