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Note: Kathleen, or Kitty, served as a telephone operator, for many years, in the Plainfield, N.J. office. She was called back during WW2, because of an operator shortage. She also worked, part time, as a salesclerk for a department store in Plainfield. During her courtship years, she double dated with her sister, Marge. George and Kitty, and, Harold and Marge, planned a double wedding at St. John's Church. Shortly before the event, Clara Gray's husband, Joseph Marren, was killed in an auto accident. The wedding was postponed, then went ahead. Clara moved her family to Philadelphia and took employment with the Jersey Central Railroad. George and Kitty lived in various apartments in Dunellen and Plainfield, before buying a small house on Front Street, in Dunellen. George commuted to work in Plainfield, by a succession of used cars and the Public Service busses, out on Bound Brook Road. During the Depression, Harold worked for the W.P.A., paving Bound Brook Road. Money was tight and, for a time, John "Sonny" Duffy, lived with the Stitchers, in the small house at 643 Front Street. He was a natural piano player and amused the family with his tunes. He was also a natural artist and amused the Stitcher children with his sketches. Kitty struggled to make ends meet on George's modest salary and times got worse, during WW2, when food rationing came into effect. Mostly, during the War, George's used klunkers sat idle in the garage, for lack of gas, tires and repairs. His 1937 Chrysler had an engine overhaul, once, in the 1940's, and lasted until war's end. The local supermarket on West Front Street, in Plainfield, was the scene of dickering over meat points and coupons, late in the war, and young George was brought along, by Kitty, to carry the groceries. Working at odd jobs, George Jr. accumulated funds for a 1930 Ford Roadster, because his mother declared he would "have to do it on his own" if he wanted a car. She also insisted he purchase his own auto insurance policy, from an agent friend in Dunellen. Kitty taught her children many valuable lessons, by example, and was always a source of comfort and support. She also interested herself in the problems of family members and friends. Flashing a bit of "Irish temper", occasionally, she was never one to let anyone run over her, roughshod. When she died, it was a huge loss to her children, whatever their ages.
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