Raising a brood | Local mother, 92, recounts life with 14 kids

May 09, 2008 10:17 am

— By TOM LAVIS
TLAVIS@TRIBDEM.COM
Jennie Washabaugh laughs heartily about a June day in 1934 when she and her husband William Sr. had to borrow 10 cents in order to pay $2 for a marriage license.
“We went to the Cambria County Courthouse with $1.90 to buy a license but came up short,” said Mrs. Washabaugh, 92. “We borrowed a dime, got the license and went across the street to a Protestant church to get married.”
That dime has paid huge dividends as the couple raised 14 children during their 56-year union, which ended in 1988 when Mr. Washabaugh died.
Washabaugh said she will be content to celebrate Mother’s Day today without fanfare or presents.
Washabaugh and her oldest daughter, Janet Lamison, 70, share an apartment in Upper Yoder Township.
Lamison said her mother has dedicated her life to being an example of self-reliance and hard work, and being a person who can overcome any obstacle.
The Washabaugh siblings range in ages from 54 to 73. Five of Washabaugh’s children – Robert, Donald, William Jr., Wayne and Cindy – are deceased.
Present at the interview with The Tribune-Democrat were daughters Patricia Lester, 65, of Conemaugh Township, Somerset County, and Nancy McDannell, 63, of Roxbury.
“Mommy and dad didn’t even have a honeymoon,” Lester said.
Washabaugh quickly interrupted her daughter to say that her husband had to go to work, while she and the two members of the bridal party returned home.
“We (the newlyweds) rode in the rumble seat back home so he could thumb a ride to work later,” Washabaugh said.
Looking at the matriarch of the Washa-baugh family, few people would guess her age. She enjoys good health except for an occasional flare-up of arthritis.
Her hair is short in a contemporary style and she was dressed in a fashionable blouse and capri pants. She frequently wears jewelry, including pierced earrings.
“Mommy has a shy demeanor but she’s always smiling and quick to laugh,” Lester said.
When asked about the size of her family, Washabaugh responded by saying: “My husband and I talked about it and planned to have two, a boy and a girl,” she said.
“But we had two boys and then a girl and they just kept coming after that.”
Mrs. Washabaugh came from a family of 10 children.
It was love at first sight when Washabaugh saw her husband-to-be at a cousin’s house.
“We liked to dance, and when the kids got old enough to watch the younger ones, we would sometimes go out on Saturday night,” she said.
They enjoyed going to the Harmony Club in the 8th Ward or the Rocking R in Jennerstown.
“There was always music in the house, and dad would never allow us to date, so we danced with each other,” McDannell said. “Mom played organ and piano, and we would sing or put on our own plays in the house.”
When Lester was 18, her parents required that she double-date with a sister in order to go out with a boy.
“It didn’t take us long to figure out to hide one vehicle and then split up for the evening,” Lester said. “Years later when our parents found out, they weren’t too upset.”
The family resided for the most part in a home along the Somerset Pike in Conemaugh Township.
In those days, there were no elaborate vacations. Leisure time meant going fishing or enjoying family picnics or taking a ride in the family car.
“We used to love to stop at Alwines for an ice cream,” Lester said.
The family owned a large Cadillac with a wooden bench added to the back seat in order to accommodate all the children.
“When we would stop and all the kids would pour out of the back, we got some strange looks,” Lamison said.
“The most often-asked questions were: ‘Are these all yours’ and ‘Is this a church group?’ ”
William, whose nickname was “Big Chief,” worked for Gautier Division of Johnstown Plant, Bethlehem Steel Corp. It was one of three jobs he worked to support his family.
He would measure and install window blinds and later became an expert at other window treatments.
“Dad was strict and never let the kids have candy, just fruits and vegetables,” Lester said. “We always had food. While we may not have had a lot, we never felt deprived.”
Much of the credit goes to Washabaugh, who spent countless hours baking, cooking and doing laundry, her children said.
“Mommy would get up at 4 o’clock in the morning and bake 13 loaves of bread, which didn’t last long,” Lamison said.
“There was always the smell of homemade bread and freshly brewed coffee in the house.”
Washabaugh also made cakes and potato pancakes from scratch and always had turkey at Thanksgiving, ham at Christmas and a beef roast for Sunday dinners.
“When we went to school, my mother would sew all our dresses by hand and often used precut patterns from W.T. Grants,” Lamison said.
Lester said she and her sisters were stylish in their collared dresses, some of which had ruffles and bows.
“I could make a dress for about 50 cents,” said Washabaugh, who never used a sewing machine to stitch the garments. “I got a sewing machine later, but never used it. I preferred sewing by hand.”
McDannell said it wasn’t an easy life for such a large family, but it was a good life.
“When you go through difficult times together, it makes things easier,” she said.
The other Washabaugh children are Ronald, Elizabeth City, N.C.; Richard, Tire Hill; Genevieve Wills, Somerset County; Karen Feathers, Stoystown; Virginia Kist, Camden, N.C.; and Dennis, Westmont.
Washabaugh has 47 grandchildren, 69 great-grandchildren and 26 great-great-grandchildren.
“I’m proud of all my children,” Washabaugh said. “There wasn’t a bad apple in the bunch.”

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