I was the oldest one in the house. I had a sister and three brothers under me. My father hired a housekeeper who secretly drank all day long. She was constantly beating us for any little thing and sometimes for nothing. She was supposed to sleep at our house but rarely ever did. She gradually cut down her hours and when I was about ten she stopped coming at all.


That was the year I watched my sister burn to death because of an accident at home. My father used to turn the furnace off or just keep the house at 55 degrees to save on fuel costs. The house was very drafty and we were always cold. Most of the time it was so cold I just wanted to stay in bed under my layers of blankets. My sister and I slept in the same bed. We were only 10 1/2  months apart. My sister's name was Ramona. My mother named all the girls in our family with the letter R. When my mom was alive my mother dressed us as if we were twins.

 I remember that Ramona told me she was cold and wanted to go downstairs to lit the oven. Our  oven was a coal and wood burning stove that was converted to gas. When we lit the stove the flames would pop out at us. Ramona's flannel nightgown caught fire when she lit the stove . She started running. My brother John heard her screaming and he woke me up. By the time we got downstairs Ramona was all in flames.  We didn't know about drop and roll to put the flames out. I told my sister to go into the shower which put the flames out.

 No adults were in the house. We didn't know exactly what to do. My brothers walked to get the closest help.We might have called 911, I don't remember I was in shock. Ramona was shivering.  She said she was cold and went back upstairs putting an old army blanket around her. When the paramedics finally came and removed the blanket a lot of her skin came off with it. She went to the hospital but she died as a result of 3rd degree burns over most of her body.Gangrene had set in.

My sister was well liked in the neighborhood. She had no problem sharing her penny candies if she got any. That was just the opposite of me. I used to wonder why she was so kind. She was known for being generous and almost angelic. She was outgoing and had many friends. She wanted to be a singer. She was always singing songs that she got from the radio.  I was not as outgoing. I preferred to stay home and read. I greatly missed her when she died. It was like a light went out in my life. At her funeral, the funeral parlor was so full some people had to stand because no seats were available. Everywhere I looked the people were in tears.