Five days of labor!

In October 1946 I was a freshman student at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, California. I had come home from the War in the Pacific in January. My wife Jackie and I lived on campus in a 500 square foot WWII housing shed. The shed had been used during the War in naval housing at Port Hueneme down by Ventura.

Jackie was due (I had been home for nine months). Off to the Mountain View Maternity Hospital we went. We did not know it but Jackie was to have five days of labor. I can remember sitting by her bed in the labor room. My chair was up against a door into the delivery room. For five days we listened to Ladies giving birth. I had never heard a human make such terrible cries of pain. I could hear like I was in the delivery room. I have not heard such a sound again. The most noise Jackie made were loud moans. You know how stoic Choctaws are.

Dr Livingston said that Jackie had a lazy muscle. After the delivery I went to Jackie's Grandmother, hugged her, and cried my eyes out in relief. I thought "I have not had my socks off in five days."Jackie went through much more than not changing socks! Jackie gave birth to our other three children in a normal manner, thank goodness.

I think the doctor's bill was $100. I was told that if I applied that the county would pay the hospital bill, because I was a veteran, a student, and had low income. I told them absolutely not. We were not going to take charity. We would pay our bills. I am sure that today I would apply. How we have changed!

More baby pictures.

It was worth it.