‘Oh, My Wonderful and Darling Mom’: Blogger Spotlight

Money was tight for Elita Sohmer Clayman’s family growing up.

Her family lived in a small row house. Her mother made all food from scratch, and to make extra money, she worked as a typist, writes Clayman on her blog on Towson Patch.

Clayman’s mother typed so much she would wear out the underarm material on her dresses, and rather than buying a new dress, would sew patches on the underarms.

That’s why Clayman, now 79, said she recalls seeing a pair of beautiful blue suede shoes as a teenager and thinking she would never get them.

At nearly $13 in 1948, they were just too expensive, she said.

“One day before Christmas, Mom said to me that she wanted me to meet her downtown at the main street of department stores on a Thursday night,” Clayman wrote. “Little did I know that Mom intended to buy these for me for the holiday season. She tried so hard to give me the nice things she knew I wanted but I never asked for. I tried them on, and she said to the salesclerk, ‘Wrap them up. We will take them.’”

“I felt like Cinderella at the ball. …Oh, my wonderful and darling mom. She had money to spend on a fourteen year old with a pair of almost thirteen dollar shoes and she wore patches under her arms.”

To read the full account of Clayman’s recollection, click here.

Do you have memories of growing up to share, or stories to tell of experiences that made you who you are today? Blog about it on Patch. Email Community Editor Lisa Rossi at lisa.rossi@patch.com to get started.