Outwitting Sr. Mary Reparata

There is a story about Ray that MUST be shared.  When young Ray was finally released from Bethesda Hospital at the age of 11, he was not placed in school at the age-appropriate grade level.  Back then no one tried to accommodate you.  If you left school at second grade and returned three years later, it was back to second grade with you.

Such was Ray's plight.  Not only was Ray not exactly thrilled at the prospect of being in school with much younger students, but apparently Sr. Mary Reparata was not too thrilled either.  She quickly came to view Ray as a "troublemaker."  Ray's daughter told me that one day, Ray's class was taken into the church to go to Confession.  (You have to be a Catholic of a certain age to remember this).  When it was Ray's turn to enter the confessional, Sr. Reparata opened the door to where the priest was and told him that he was about to hear the confession of Ray Ryan, implying that it had better be good (in terms of number of sins).  Ray dutifully made his confession and the priest told Ray that for his penance, he had to say a rosary every day until his next confession.  For those not in the know, a typical penance for a kid might be to say "Three Our Fathers and Three Hail Marys" -- a total of six prayers.  A rosary has almost sixty prayers.

Ray accepted his penance and walked over to the next confessional.  He then said the expected refrain, "Bless me father for I have sinned, my last confession was two minutes ago."  Ray had figured out at a very young age how to outwit and outsmart Sr. Mary Reparata.  Why is the thought so pleasurable for me?

Well, we've come a long way -- the Church has actually given its imprimatur to an iphone app to help you prepare for Confession (now known as the Sacrament of  Reconciliation).  Here's the description from the app store. (Click to enlarge)

What would Sr. Reparata think?

Still need a smile? Check this out:



Cartoon Credit:  Purchased for Blog Use

Bone Tuberculosis? Who Knew?

Rose Batchelor, Florence Boisseau, Bea Lammert and Ray Ryan

About a month ago, I was contacted by Pat Biederman, daughter of Ray Ryan.  Ray is my Great-Uncle and brother to my grandfather, Roy.  He is the youngest of the nine Ryan children and brother to James N. Ryan (recently profiled).  I remember Uncle Ray but knew little about his life.

Pat's stories about her father touched me.  She told me that her father had suffered from bone tuberculosis from the age of about eight to eleven.  Bone tuberculosis?  I'd never heard of that.  Through reading I learned that, in fact, it does exist although rarely.  The problem was that at the time young Ray contracted it, there were no antibiotics for this bacterially-based disease.

Pat told me that Ray's TB manifested itself in his leg and that he lived at Bethesda Hospital for three years.  He was in a wheel chair and treatment involved bone grafts.  Apparently treatment was progressing when Ray, sitting on the hospital porch in a wheel chair, called to a large dog he saw. The dog enthusiastically ran to Ray, knocking his wheel chair over and down some steps.  Treatment had to start over.

When Ray was well enough to return home, his father had died leaving the family in extreme poverty.  His father, while running for mayor of the small village of Elmwood Place, caught pneumonia and died.  Pat told me that when Ray returned home it was near Christmas.  When Ray asked about Christmas his mother told him that Christmas died with his father.  Ouch!

Ray was initially unable to walk to school at St. Aloysius.  Miraculously, a large St. Bernard dog showed up out of nowhere and befriended Ray.  They called the dog "Buster."  Ray would literally ride Buster to school each day.  Pat said that Ray's mother would call for Buster each day when it was time for Ray to come home from school and tell the dog to go get Ray.  The dog would meet Ray at school and ride Ray home.

Over time, Ray's ability to walk improved and he no longer needed to ride Buster.  Buster seemed to be disappointed that he was no longer needed and vanished within two days, never to be seen again.  The family felt that it was some kind of miracle that the dog appeared out of nowhere when needed and disappeared when no longer needed.  No one ever knew where he came from.  Pat said that Buster was a familiar site in Elmwood and known by everyone to be Ray's dog.  Despite searchers for Buster, he was never found.

Ray walked proudly for the rest of his life, despite a limp and eventually having to use a cane.  Everyone remembers his great sense of humor and what a wonderful father he was.  In the next post I'll tell a priceless story Pat shared with me that left me wishing that I had known him better.

Raymond Mathew Ryan and "Etta" Wulfekuhl

Raymond Mathew Ryan was the 9th of nine children born to James Hugh and Rose.  He was born on August 3, 1904 and was baptized at St. Aloysius Church in Elmwood Place. His brother (and my grandfather), Roy, was four years older than Ray. But as Roy is in my direct line, I will discuss him last.  

Ray was only nine years old when his father died and seven when his older brother James died.  His parents had already lost two children to scarlet fever.  From a young age, Ray lived in a family where things were  quite difficult financially.

Ray married Henrietta "Etta" Wulfekuhl on October 3, 1928. As newlyweds Ray's mother, Rose, continued to live with them in their home in Norwood.  In the 1930 Census, Ray's occupation was listed as "paymaster for a paper company".  As I understand it, life was not easy for Ray and his wife, Etta as they apparently lived in a few rooms on the second floor of a building with their three children.  Over time, however, Ray and his wife achieved the middle class dream.  Ray built a couple of homes and he and his wife had three beautiful children: Mary Agnes (who married Vincent DiBenedetto), Patricia Ann (who married Robert Beiderman), and James Hugh (who married Peg Hoffmann).  The picture below includes Mary, Ray, Jim, Etta, and Patsy.

I hope to update this when I've had the opportunity to connect with Diane DiBenedeto, another family historian married to a descendant of Ray and Etta.  My Aunt Evelyn remembers both with such fondness.  She says that Etta was a truly joyful woman and one she admired greatly.  Apparently she had a tremendous sense of humor and exuded a calm, self-confidence.  Ray eventually worked as an "efficiency expert", working with factory workers to improve productivity.  The picture below portrays a family that emerged from difficult times to achieve the "American Dream".

One of my favorite pictures was taken by Bill Batchelor, Jr. It includes three of the Ryan sisters (Rose, Florence and Bea) and their brother, Ray.  The only thing that would have made the picture better for me would be if it included my grandfather, and their brother, Roy.

Here is a picture of Ray and Etta. What a handsome couple!