Part 1

Springtime never came early enough back in those days, or so it seemed for the hard working people who lived in upstate New York during the depression. The Rafferty family was one of those families who waited not so patiently for the long days of winter to melt into Spring. The slightly warmer weather was a hopeful time; a time when mothers could push the kids outside for longer periods of time and the fathers could put the plow in the hands of their sons who had grown like weeds over the winter. The long cold winters grasp was finally beginning to lose it's hold and peoples spirits could once again see Gods greatness as the tiny buds of new life sprung from the ground. Hope was starting to have life in the hearts of the men who worked their fingers to the bone just to have enough for their family to get by. Kids no longer had to trudge through knee deep snow to the school house up the road and after school boys and girls would linger at the creek on the way home. No one was in a hurry to get back to chores after being cooped up inside for months.

George Rafferty had taken a job at the butcher shop in the next town over to make ends meet for his growing family.
He was a well respected man and most everyone who knew him would testify that he was an honest, hard worker with integrity. The slight limp in his walk wasn't noticed because George was also a proud man who held his head high and rarely showed defeat. These traits of a strong work ethic and stubborn pride were passed to his children which provided the foundational blocks of tenacity in trusting in Christ when challenges were faced. His wife, Gladys, was pregnant with their sixth child and ready to give birth in March.

By the time Bev Rafferty was born in March of 1937, the depression was in full swing. Times were tough everywhere and even the rural roads of North Chemung were not immune to the effects of that era. The jobs people had were held onto with iron fists and vacation time or time for the birth of a child was not a luxury that most would dare to take. There were many unemployed people willing to work and taking time off was viewed as a weakness which might result in losing your job. George was not willing to take that chance when Gladys went into labor.