Jane was born in 1935 and raised as an only child. Her parents, George and Dorothy Moody, brought

Scamper, a wire haired fox terrier, home the same day that Jane was born. Scamper became Jane’s

constant companion, accompanying her to school each day from her private nursery school thru third grade

of public school. Jane could not understand why Scamper was not allowed inside her nursery school, but he

was always waiting for Jane when school let out.

 

Jane had started nursery school at the age of two. The other children were all frwell educated Anglo families.

But Jane’s elementary school classroom was filled with children speaking Italian. Their families were all from

southern Italy.  The only other Anglos in the classroom besides Jane were a Polish girl and a 13 year old

Black American who was held back year after year due to his poor academic performance. Jane felt sorry for

him. So sitting in front of him, Jane would lean to one side so that he could copy off of her test papers. They

were never caught!

 

When Jane asked her mother if she could bring her Polish friend to play with her after school Jane’s mother

said “no.” Jane asked her mother if it was because her friend was Polish. Her mother was shocked at such

an assumption saying “no” that it was because her friend always had a runny nose.

 

The first major event in Jane’s life was to watch a hurricane while standing on a sofa in front of a picture

window. She faced a pine tree that was tottering back and forth. It was uncertain whether it would fall,

crashing into the house, or fall away from the house, tumbling down its front lawn. Her parents, of course,

were somewhere else, trying to prepare for the hurricane. Little did Jane know that 80 some years later

hurricanes would become a common event in her retirement home in Florida.

 

Far more welcome than the hurricane had been, also in 1938, Jane attended a summer camp, Camp Kiniya,

in Milton, Vermont, where her mother was a camp counselor. Too young to be a real camper, Jane hung out

near the riding stables, and somehow managed to get herself on a horse and learned to ride. This

became Jane’s favorite activity for the rest of her life.

 

At home in Middletown, Connecticut, where Jane’s father was a professor of Romance languages at

Wesleyan University, Jane was completely spoiled. Wesleyan was a men’s college, so Jane’s babysitters

were always college boys, eager to get on the good side of Jane’s dad.

 

Lest she be spoiled, Jane’s parents thought that perhaps they should adopt a brother or sister for her. But

first they thought it only fair to consult Jane.

 

But Jane, at the age of four, had just endured the visit of a two year accompanying his parents on a visit

to Jane’s parents. Her reply was unequivocal: NO!

 

By the early 1940s life turned exciting., Practicing for the possibility of air raids, sirens would sometimes ring

at night. Blackouts could follow, keeping the family bunkered down in hallways. Air raid wardens, volunteers

in the neighborhood , would check to see that no ambient light escaped from any house.

 

But life in Middletown ended abruptly in 1943 when Jane’s dad, seeking a promotion, moved the family to

Baltimore. Jane attended a private Friend’s School, tuition free due to her mother becoming a teacher

there. Jane felt unchallenged saying that third grade in public school in Connecticut than private school in

Baltimore. The tragedy for Jane was that pets were not allowed to stay with families in university housing

there. So Scamper had to stay behind with friends in Middletown.

 

But come World War II, in order to avoid the possibility of being drafted sometime in the future, and

consigned to being a foot soldier, Jane’s father volunteered to join the office of War Information (OWI).And so

the question became what Jane and her Mother would do next.

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