Page 197 - Always Virginia

Always Virginia 185

Jack: What was your dog’s name?

Mary Pearl: Don. He was a Saint Bernard. Oh, it was mine. I
had him from the time he was a little puppy. He sure was a pretty
dog, but he was too mean for the city.

Jack: You started to say your mother said something about him?

Mary Pearl: She told me I had to get rid of it. I couldn’t have
it. Aunt Nell gave it to me, bought it for me.

Jack: What year did your mother die? [Honorah Anastasia
Lawler McDonough]

Mary Pearl: Mmmmmm. I have to stop and think now, when
did she die? I don’t know, Jack. My dad died first [in St. Louis].

Jack: What year did he die?

Mary Pearl: ’53, I guess.

Jack: Your dad didn’t die in 1953.

Mary Pearl: No, Daddy [her husband Bart] died in 1953,
didn’t he. [Actually, Bart Day died February 13, 1954.] Ohhh,
Virginia, do you remember when my dad died?

Virginia: When I was six months old. February, 1920.
Mary Pearl: Yes, he died in February—February 11. I re-
member that.

Jack: And your mother died how much later?

Mary Pearl: She lived with me six years [in Kampsville] and
then she died. But she was never happy. I didn’t ever think she’d
live that long, because—I don’t know—my dad just gave her ev-
erything. I did the best I could, but I couldn’t wait on her hand
and foot like he did, ’cause I had five kids to take care of. She came