Kathryn at ages 2, 20 and current (I'm not telling)

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I came into being about 30 minutes after my identical twin sister on February 1, 1927 in Wilmington, Delaware. No one, not even the Doctor, expected me until I arrived. From then on, everything Jeanette and I wore was identical - first the diapers, then the little shirts etc., etc. For you see we were "identical". We grew up in relative comfort because my father worked through the depression as a machinist for the Du Pont Company, In fact, he built a new house in the middle of the depression - quite a feat and an exceptional bargain.

We were the second family of kids - my Mother was 43 when we were born. We had two older sisters and an older brother - at least 15 years between older sister Marjorie and the twins. The new house was located on the North end of Van Buren Street almost at the end of the trolley line in an area with lots of running and playing room for the two of us, and the neighbor kids, and the dogs which were an integral part of out family life.

The biggest problem we twins had was trying to agree on what to wear each day - we were required to dress identically except for the little name pins we were allowed to wear so other people could tell which twin they were to. This grew into a real problem because Jeanette was slow and methodical and I was always ready before she was - I then had to twiddle my thumbs until she was ready. One of our favorite tricks was to exchange pins once in a while just to see how many people we could fool.

We were always together and found that there were several other sets of twins in our classes as we progressed through grade school and Junior high school. Finally to Senior high school just two blocks from home - P. S. duPont high school. And the after school soda shop about six blocks from school Patsy's.

This is about the time that my sister and I dated a couple of high school guys - Alvin and Walt. They were OK but nothing to brag about. All they wanted to do was go skating at the roller rink. The bigger of the two, Walt, played football and basketball for the high school so was pretty well known around the school. Trouble is he was so shy that he never said anything but he did smile a lot - he didn't even know how to dance. We didn't go out regularly, but he finally got around to asking me to go to a couple of the Senior high school proms. We even danced a little - Then the next thing I knew, all of the guys left for the services. We exchange a few letters but that's all there was to it.

The beginning of the second World War rationed many of the fun things of high school in addition to the staples of life like gasoline, sugar, meat, shoes etc., etc. Still we were able to get around using public transportation that ran in front of the house at good old 2913. There were many pleasant times at the USO dances with the boys in service.

I graduated from Beacom 2 year college as a stenographer and found a job as a legal stenographer that required working six days a week for something like $60 a month. And I had to give Mother part of my pay for room and board.

At last W.W.II ended and the world brightened up again. A year or so later my girlfriend and I went with her parents to an amusement park in nearby Pennsylvania - Lenape Park. We were resting in one of the covered pavilions when this guy comes up to me and says Hello - I almost fainted because it was Walter- a bit older and much more confident. That was the real beginning.

We started dating regularly - he even bought me a pair or shoe skates so we could go skating more often. I remember one time at the rink when we sat down to rest and he pulled out a cigarette and lit it - I asked him if I could have one too -- he all but fainted but recovered and calmly lit one for me and handed it to me. Thereafter, he would light two, one for each of us.

The more we dated the more we wanted to be together - I was soon a regular part of the Jerominski family affairs. Trips to Baltimore to visit Aunt Mary and her 10 children and resulting grandchildren. Trips to local beaches on Sundays with his family to enjoy the water and sun and each other. Picnics where all of the Polaks would gather to eat, drink and have a good time.

Then he popped the question and we set a date - even though he still had a year to finish at the University of Delaware. It was a lovely day for our wedding (see the wedding movie) and everything worked out as planned. My family had a tea tottering reception at our house and his family had a Polish wedding reception at his house at the other end of Van Buren Street - and we could hear them if we listened even though they were over two miles away.

We finally got away to the train station to take the train to Washington D.C. for our wedding night at the Raleigh Hotel. As we approached the station we heard them already there and having a Polish good time. We waved to them as we boarded the train to start our new life together. We spent our first week together at a lovely 24 room summer home (of neighborhood friends) on Chesapeak Bay.

You know, I had to wake Walt in the middle of our wedding night because my legs were cold - I asked him to rub them to warm them up - - I have not had cold legs or cold anything since ---

After Walt finished school we headed to Seattle - it was the only job offer we got. We had a wonderful and adventurous trip across country in our first car (a 1936 Chev) to the great and beautiful Pacific Northwest. While Walt checked in at Boeing, I took a bus downtown to look for a job. I found just what I wanted as a legal stenographer and started immediately. We settled into a small rental near Lake Washington and enjoyed life for almost a year before I found out I was pregnant.

Life took a more serious turn for us now and we started looking for a more permanent place to live. We found a development of new houses in the North End of Seattle and were able to move in just prior to Christmas - our first arrived two days after Christmas of 1950. Thereafter, I was a full-time housewife taking care of the home front as our family grew to four in Seattle, five in Brigham city, Utah, and six in New Orleans Louisiana. But we longed for the wonderful and friendly Northwest, so we moved back to Seattle to raise our family. That was one of the best moves we ever made. We thought it was an ideal place to raise a family. After the kids finished school, we headed for the one place we wanted to settle in for our retirement - a Condo on the Beach in Cocoa Beach, Florida."

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