Peggy gets a black notebook

Peggy gets a black notebook

1915 "Peggy , come take your baby brother , I can't settle him."

Ten year Peggy sighed and closed her composition book. She thought she had a few moments to work on her story, but with eight younger brothers and sisters she was "Little Ma." There was never enough time for going to the library , reading and writing her stories. Someone always needed a clean diaper , feeding, bandaging or watching while Ma cooked, cleaned , sewed and fine washing and ironing for elegant ladies for extra money.

Life in a three decker tenement in Providence , Rhode Island was harsh. Her father worked on the docks pretty steadily , but there was never enough money for food, clothes and shoes . Some Friday afternoons , Ma would curl Peggy's blond locks with rags . Peggy knew that it would her task to fetch Pa from the corner tavern before he spent his wages buying drinks for his cronies. Peggy was to smile prettily and sing some Irish songs before cajoling Pa to come home.

Ten year old Peggy promised herself that she would not became her Ma- old and worn out with too many children at age 39 .She made a plan to become a maid for an elegant lady who lived in a lovely home on the hill.

1922

Peggy secured a position as a ladies maid with a wealthy family in Providence. She had her own room in the attic and a uniform for each season . She spent her half days off at the library devouring the encyclopedia and dictionaries . She kept a journal , writing lists of books to read and plans for the future.

The family's nanny was leaving service to be married very suddenly . Peggy heard whispers in the kitchen , but paid them no mind. She asked her lady if she could be the nanny on a trial while the family stayed at their summer home in the Connecticut countryside

1925

"We shall be sorry to lose you , Peggy , " her lady told her . "The children adore you ."

Nanny Peggy spent three years with the children. It was wonderful to learn alongside them . And the house was filled with books that she was free to borrow. But Peggy met a 35 year old farmer at a grange dance during the Connecticut summer . Love blossomed .

Peggy found herself mistress of a 200 acre dairy farm on a dirt road in northeastern Connecticut . Life was very different from Providence. There was a hand pump in the kitchen, an outhouse in the backyard , and few neighbors. Her husband was in the barn, the garage , or the fields all day . It was a good life. Soon they had two daughters. She taught them how to read and write long before they went to the one room schoolhouse.

She tackled her duties with gusto . She overcame her fears of the cows' big hooves, the mangle on the hand cranked washing machine and belching coal stove. She learned how to drive !

1943

Tragedy. Peggy was widowed at 38. Her daughters were teenagers . She had the farm, but how could she manage to keep it going on her own? Rationing meant no gas for the tractor , so she plowed the fields with Tom and Jerry , the plough horses. Life was very hard. She could try to rent the farm and move to a city to work in factory, but the girls were in high school.

She saw a sign in the post office that the Connecticut State Police were recruiting candidates. She dressed up in her best suit and her last pair of stockings and went to apply.

" It's a man's job. You won't make it in the police academy. You are too old ." Peggy heard all these remarks and many much more crude . She promised herself that she would prevail --and she did. She graduated from the Connecticut State Police Academy in 1944 , one of four women in her class.

On her first duty day, she pinned on her new badge and got her small black police notebook . Over her 20 years of service, she filled many small black notebooks , but nothing equaled the thrill of her first notebook.

In rural Connecticut in the 40' s and 50's , many towns did not have local police forces . State police officers were the first responders for crimes and social problems. Peggy used her notebooks to write reports, but she also noted needs for shelter , food, clothing , and child care . She would alert local welfare organizations . She was respected for her compassion .

Peggy served in the Connecticut State Police from 1944 to 1964 .Her notebooks have long since disappeared , but her proudest possession was her badge . Her badge was framed and was by her bedside when she passed away at age 89 . What a life journey it was from Providence tenements to state trooper; punctuated by small black notebooks and a life long love of learning .