Auntie & Uncle Steve
My dad’s mom, Elizabeth died when she was only 35 yrs old from curvature of the spine. She had fallen down the cellar steps some time prior and developed this condition. Dad’s father Howard, was distraught with three children, Russell, Lillian, and Betty, and became an alcoholic. Dad had to quit school and get a job to support his family. He got a job with the railroad. One day he was injured when a fellow worker accidentally hit him in the mouth with a sledge hammer knocking out his front teeth. Dr. Stephen Watson the head of the Taylor Hospital in Moosic, PA (who delivered me) was married to my Dad’s mother’s sister. I only knew her as Auntie and him as Uncle Steve. They had a beautiful house on a corner in Moosic, PA and he was a family doctor and surgeon, appointed to Taylor Hospital in 1906. They were a very sweet and wonderful couple who loved each other immensely. Every summer I would get to go to them for a two week summer vacation from about five years old. I had a tea set I loved and even had a picture of me serving tea on the back steps of their house. I enjoyed having a tea party. Auntie and Uncle Steve were probably the wealthiest people in town and he would accept jars of canned food from people who could not pay. He had his office in one part of this huge home. He smoked a pipe and I used to love the smell of his tobacco. They had a dog named Juno, a brown and white setter. Juno knew how to smile, it was hilarious! Uncle Steve would say,“Smile Juno!” Juno would lift up his jowls into a great big smile. I loved this. I’ll bet Juno was happy when I left as I had him smiling all the time. I am still laughing! Auntie was a very elegant and classy woman and very loving. Whenever she was not happy with my behavior, she would say,“Marilyn, you are the limit!” This I heard a few times like the day I decided (I was about 7 or 8) to branch out and look over the town. I walked for hours all over Moosic which was quite a small town. I guess they were frantic by the time I got home. I still remember laying in bed at night and hearing a train whistle in the distance. I made a friend there, a girl I met on the same street and we spent a lot of time together every year.
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