Cheaper by the Dozen

My mother and I went through old family photos today and we came across some history of my father's family. His paternal grandparents (Lewis and Teresa) were merchants that owned a store on the Esopus Creek in upstate New York. They had 12 (yes TWELVE) children--one of which was my grandfather, Parker. I love that name---it is my dad's name, also. If Wudgie's mother had been a boy, I would have named him Parker. I never knew my grandfather Parker as he passed away suddenly when my dad was a young boy.


Here's a photo of the old family homestead.

I would kill for a house like this now. It probably had beautiful hardwood floors, fireplaces and a grand old country kitchen. And a lot of bedrooms. 12 kids.







Here's the clan in 1906. The kids all had great names, too. There was Mamie (there's that name again- this time on my dad's side), Abel, Lewis, Jr., Peter, Walter, Lillie, Nellie, Tessie, Jennie, Ira, Odell and my grandfather, Parker. He's the young lad kneeling in the first row on the right.

Just think, back to school meant buying 24 shoes. No wonder my great-grandparents owned their own store.