Aunt Wanda, Mr. Steve, and the Grace Manor Cotton Buddies

By Dan Callahan and Wanda Grace

This book tells the story of all the children who have been left behind and, through the compassion of others, were given a second chance at life and a loving family. There are some things money can't buy. Love and that special bond of family should be cherished above all else. This book is a tribute to those individuals who go above and beyond and how the children are able to grow and live loving and productive lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9798889606611

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Aunt Wanda, Mr. Steve, and the Grace Manor Cotton Buddies

Dan Callahan and Wanda Grace

Copyright © 2023 Dan Callahan and Wanda Grace

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2023

ISBN 979-8-88960-645-1 (pbk)

ISBN 979-8-88960-661-1 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

To Mom and Sally, we couldn't have made it without you.

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Epilogue

Aunt Wanda and Uncle Dan's Closing Thoughts

About the Authors

To Mom and Sally, we couldn't have made it without you.

Introduction

The story you are about to read is about Aunt Wanda and Mr. Steve, as told to me by her brother Dan. Wanda, although coming from humble beginnings, went on in her life to touch the hearts of thousands because of the love and compassion that she shared with her family as a child.

This could also be about your sister, brother, or any other family member who has given you the faith and the inspiration to become the person that you are today. Family is what defines, molds, and encourages us to see the world not as it is but as it could be.

Dan stated that there has never been a person of such compassion and full of love for their fellow man as his sister Wanda. She would stop and offer a kind word and a helping hand to everyone. She is unique among us.

Chapter 1

Wanda came from a simple low-income family with two brothers and an older sister. Their father had left them when they were very young, leaving their mother to raise them on a bank teller's salary. Yes, life was tough. But that is when, as a child, you really begin to understand what a family can do when they come together as one to overcome the obstacles that are placed before them.

Mom's father was in the Navy and was never home. So he had her placed in a home for children when she was very young. She never spoke of her mother, her father, or her life in the home. We all knew that the memory would hurt her if we asked. We never knew our grandparents or family of any kind on either side of our parents' families. Our whole world consisted of just the five of us.

Mom also knew that if anything happened to her, we would be left homeless, probably separated, and put in foster care. I truly believe that her love for us was what kept her going all those years, teaching each of us the value of a family and the commitment required to keep the family together.

Sally, who was seventeen when our father left, was the oldest. Ronnie, who was a year younger, was very gifted with his hands and could fix anything that had a motor. I, the second brother, was eight years old, and Wanda, the baby of the family, was only seven.

Everyone worked to help take the pressure off our mother, Irene, to keep a roof over our heads. Sally had a hostess job after school. Ronnie got a job at a gas station where he could learn more about motors. Sally also had to take care of Wanda and me when she was not working, not a fun job for a teenage girl who was given no time to do the things that most teenage girls her age wanted to do. She was always very special to us, and we loved her very much.

Wanda and I were expected to keep the house clean, do the dishes, do the laundry, take out the garbage, and keep the outside of the house looking nice.

Mom had one simple rule: If you made a dollar, fifty cents went into the household budget, twenty-five cents went into the bank, and the last twenty-five cents was your spending money. There were no extra allowances. You worked for what you needed. Mom was careful to help us understand the difference between needs and wants.

Through the years, money was always very tight, but somehow, as a family, we survived.

When Sally and Ronnie graduated high school, they each got full-time jobs. With no extra money, college was out of the question. Ronnie decided to enlist in the Air Force where he got formal training as a mechanic for large equipment. Every month, he sent part of his paycheck home to help Mom take care of the family. I am sure he needed the money, but that was not how he was brought up. I guess he and Sally never knew what a difference they made in keeping the family together and how much we loved them.

As Wanda and I got older, we were able to help a lot more when it came to working and contributing to the finances. I had two paper routes, a television guide route, a lawn mowing service, caught and sold crabs, and a snow shoveling business.

On Saturday mornings, my friends and I took our carts that we made and headed to the A&P Grocery Store. The customers would give us fifty cents if we hauled their groceries to their homes and took them to their kitchens. Then it was back to the store for the next customer. On a good morning, we all averaged around six dollars. Between that and the other customers I had, weekends were go, go, go. There was no playtime. With Ronnie gone, as the man of the family, it was my responsibility to make money and take care of the girls any way that I could. Everyone did their part to keep our home together.

Wanda had a natural ability for food preparation, so she became our chef. To be honest, we had tuna casserole three times a week. To this day, I still will not eat tuna fish. Wanda enjoyed sewing and had a lot of babysitting jobs. When Wanda and I had any free time, we made pot holders and went door-to-door selling them.

Mom was an excellent baker and made delicious desserts almost every night when she came home from work. Our home was a favorite gathering place for every one of our friends. I have to believe in part that this was due to always having wonderful cream puffs, cookies, pies, or cakes in the house. Mom was very popular with our friends because of her kindness, her ability to make everyone feel welcome, and her great sense of humor.

That sense of humor was pushed to the breaking point on some occasions with some of the antics that Wanda and I got into. Once, Wanda's best friend, Susan, and I got into a cream puff battle in the kitchen. Needless to say, soon there was a huge gooey mess from ceiling to floor. Wanda, so she told Mom, was an innocent bystander and just watched in amusement as the battle between Susan and I raged on.

When Mom came home and walked in the door, she just stood there with her mouth open wide and eyes bulging at the disaster that was once her pristine kitchen. Needless to say, the three of us, that's right, including the so-called innocent bystander, spent hours on the ladder and on our hands and knees scouring the entire kitchen to our mother's satisfaction. After the cleanup, Mom was laughing as loudly as we were at the magnificent cream puff battle of the sexes. The only question Mom had for Susan and I was, Who won?

We both laughed and said, I did!

Chapter 2

When Sally was around twenty years old, she was out one night with her girlfriend at a local restaurant called the Dutch Mill. Across from their table were two soldiers from the local base. One of the soldiers, as he was staring at Sally's friend, said to the other soldier, I'm going to marry that girl.

Several weeks later, that same soldier ended up on a blind date with Sally instead of her girlfriend. The soldier's name was Chuck. After their date, he began frequenting where she was working. They dated for several years and finally got married. The irony of the story was that Chuck's friend ended up marrying Sally's girlfriend.

I know, like every young girl, Sally probably dreamed of a grand wedding. But the monies for such an event were monies we just did not have. So she and Chuck exchanged their vows in the local chapel in front of a small group of close friends.

We all truly wished she could have had that dream wedding. She had always been there for Wanda and me, and if there was anything we could have done to make her dream come true, we would have done it out of love for her. But even more, if her dream had come true, she would not have had a dad to walk her down the aisle.

After they were married, Chuck came to stay with us. He and Sally had the third floor of our old house to themselves. Shortly after, Chuck left the Army and got a job with a large food distributor. When cans were bent or the labels came off, he was able to bring them