Under the Hand of God

By R. J. DeFrank

About the Book
In Under the Hand of God R. J. DeFrank recounts his life growing up and the things he did and didn’t do because of the grace and thought of God. Everything in this book is based on true events according to the memory of DeFrank, and he feels fortunate to be alive. His love and trust in God have seen him through all the ups and downs of his life. No matter what, trust in God.
About the Author
R. J. DeFrank is a hard worker. He likes working on cars and trucks, playing pool, metal detecting, and occasionally likes to go to the bar to see certain bands play. He has always been interested in antiques and treasure stories. DeFrank is happily married with one daughter, one stepdaughter, and a stepson. He also has six grandchildren. Other family members include his ninety-four-year-old father, two brothers, and one sister, along with plenty of nieces and nephews. DeFrank has never been part of a club, preferring to be independent, but still has many friends. Having worked in construction from a young age, he is now semi-retired, living in Delaware.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dorrance Publishing Company
• Release date: Dec 14, 2023
• ISBN: 9798890275462

Book preview

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The contents of this work, including, but not limited to, the accuracy of events, people, and places depicted; opinions expressed; permission to use previously published materials included; and any advice given or actions advocated are solely the responsibility of the author, who assumes all liability for said work and indemnifies the publisher against any claims stemming from publication of the work.

All Rights Reserved

Copyright © 2023 by R. J. DeFrank

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted, downloaded, distributed, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented without permission in writing from the publisher.

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Under the Hand of God

Well, I have to start somewhere. Our entire family was always close by. I mean close. My father’s parents had ten children and lived on a farm in Boothwyn, PA. My grandfather owned 200 hundred acres but sold it because my grandmother at the time did not like riding in the wagon being pulled by horses over the creek that they had to cross to get to Marcus Hook market. So, my grandfather sold the property he owned and bought forty acres on the other side of the creek. Through the years, they farmed the property, raised pigs, cows, horses, chickens, goats, etc. They grew tomatoes, corn, lettuce, etc. They were farmers.

My father was the last out of all the children. He was a sickly child and was not supposed to live past five years. Well, he did and is still going. As of today December 25, 2022, he is ninety-three years old and turns ninety-four on January 22. He always said God was watching over him. He went through some rough years. My father and his family were hard working people. My father was the youngest of ten and his mother died when he was five. He was in and out of hospitals and had the flu all the time. He was brought up by his sisters Betty, Mary, and Leana. Then his brothers were Louie, Mike, Dominic, Marty, Tony, and Frank. A nice sized family.

Well, years went by and after a while, my grandfather split up the farm property into four-acre parcels and gave each child a parcel. Then over the years, their children built houses and had families. There were a bunch of us. My dad Albert and my mom Nancy with four children, David, Albert, Bob myself, and Renee. My Uncle Tony and wife Aunt Mary, who worked at a mushroom farm, had five kids Mike, Marion, Anthony, Christine and Kathy. My uncle would do all kinds of cleanouts and junk collecting lived right next door to us. The next house in line was the old farmhouse that my Uncle Mike and Aunt Anna owned, but they lived in Boothwyn. They had two sons, Mike and Morris. Next was my uncle Frank who worked for BP Co. and Aunt Sally who did hair dressing but lived in Boothwyn. They had a son Louie that they adopted from my Uncle Louie. Then came my Aunt Mary who worked on the weapons line during World War Two and Uncle Eddie who worked for the water company. They had two children, Barbara and Eddie. Next was my Aunt Betty HM and Uncle Bill who worked for Sun Oil. They had one son, Lewis. Followed by Uncle Marty, a very good welder mechanic, and Aunt Anna, who worked at the mushroom farm. They had six children Marty, Anna, Billy, Franny, Liz, and then Michele. Next was my Uncle Louie who was a true farm man, trading animals. He was divorced and had three sons Joe, Morris, and Louie, who was adopted out to Uncle Frank. Then there was my Aunt Leana who did real estate and Uncle Mike who worked at Sun Oil. They had three children Mike, Linda, and Shirley. At the beginning of the road was my Uncle Dominic, a backhoe operator and welder, and Aunt Anna, who was a HM. They had three children, Rosanne, Jimmy, and Maria.

 One day, my mom and dad got a call from an advertisement office and were asked to do a commercial for a kelvinator washer machine and improved Tide detergent. They agreed. So, the adventure began. There was my father, mother, my brothers David (eight years old)yrs old, Albert (five  years old), myself (three years old), and our sister Renee (one year old). Then the two cousins who had to go with us all to keep us all together. It was a trip. I don’t remember it, but I’ve been told that I was a little rascal and would not cooperate. Sometime during the trip, I got lost and they were looking for me all over the place. Well, they found me and all went well. The company had to do a second shoot and decided to come out to where we lived to do the shoot. Things went better at the house. If you ever travel, and you see those little booklets called Remember When with the year on it? Our booklet was Remember 1963.

One time at a picnic at our house, I was about six years old, got deadly sick. I was throwing up and had a high fever of 103. One of my older cousins who was a nurse told my parents I had eaten or drank something that was making me sick. I had drunk from a dirty pond the day before. They rushed me to the hospital; it was Memorial Day. Thankfully, everything worked out. My mother told me a few times I had broken my arms three times each. I had very soft bones. I would pick up metal toy trucks and the bone would break. It took years to correct. Finally, the bones strengthened and healed. Once I was playing with our German Shepard who was tied up. Well, the dog ran around me, and the chain squeezed me. My mom thought I was going to die. I wasn’t hurt that badly and healed fast. Then another time my brothers, sister, and I were being watched by my cousin Linda who was eight years older than I. Some man came to the side door and was trying to get in the door. My cousin and I were holding the door shut. And I kept screaming at the man to just leave. Suddenly, he left. Thank God for that.

 When I was seven, my dad’s cousin decided he wanted to build a gas station close to where we live. It was right off Highway 322. At the time, there was a three-story house there. So, my two uncles Dominic and Mike decided that they would pull and push the house over.