The Fun Side of the Family

Young Alzada much preferred her father’s fun, free-spirited relatives, the Weavers, to her mother’s, the Giffords, who were more formal, reserved, and proper. Alzada went on frequent overnight visits to both sides of the family, and loved her aunts and uncles on both sides but, as a child, she felt most at home among her down-to-earth Weaver extended family.

By comparison, visits with her Uncle Frank Gifford and his wife Helen (who lived in Springfield, Massachusetts, 100 miles west of Fall River) were no fun at all! The day began with a compulsory dose of disgusting castor oil, mealtimes were stressful (with proper table manners of prime importance), and early bedtimes were the rule. Aunt Helen was kind and affectionate but compulsively neat and permitted no deviation from the strict decorum she imposed.

Frank and Helen had a happy marriage and one child, Patricia Louise Gifford, who must have been the neatest, geekiest kid ever growing up an only child under all those rules. Cousin Patty was only one year younger than Alzada, but she still took naps every day, so Alzada had to take naps, too, and during visits, she would get homesick and want to return home. When they became teenagers, the cousins had some good times together. Of all Alzada’s cousins, Patty’s wedding was the only one she attended.

Alzada’s Aunt Caroline Gifford came to live with Helen and Frank after the death of her husband, William Ormerod. Caroline had no children and spent most of her free time sewing and reading by a single dim lamp. She, too, was very particular about furniture, table manners, and tidiness. Alzada found her odd and boring.

But the Weavers, on the other hand, had personality, laughter, activities, and lots of rambunctious children. Alzada loved her frequent visits to Uncle Raymond Weaver, her father’s brother – even though she had to use an outhouse. Uncle Raymond and his wife Catherine lived on a farm in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, with their six children, Alzada’s cousins: John, Parker, Emma, Beatrice, Harold, and Ida, who was her age.

“Let them have fun,” the Weavers said. “When they grow up, we’ll get new furniture.”

And the children did have fun! These exuberant cousins were allowed to do almost anything. They jumped on the beds and furniture, they ran wild on the farm, playing in the barn and riding ponies, and they never ran out of ideas for instant games, which Alzada always joined in.

She also visited another of her father’s brothers, Uncle Isaac, in Lexington, Massachusetts, his wife Annie, and their four children: Lavinia, Johnny, Sherman, and Viola (who was Alzada’s age). She had wonderful times with these cousins too, playing games and sliding down a big hill across from their house, but perhaps one of her fondest memories was the player piano in their home, where she would sit and move her hands over the keys, wiggling her fingers, pretending to be the grandest of pianists!