When Mary Van Beke was growing up in the 1920s, she lived in Newark, N.J., and was the oldest of four children. Her parents were immigrants from Europe. And as Mary tells her son, Charles, her parents managed a modest life for the family, until an accident changed everything.

在20世纪20年代，玛丽·范·贝克成长生活在新泽西州的纽瓦克市。她是四个孩子中的老大。她父母是欧洲移民。正如玛丽跟她儿子查尔斯说的一样，她的父母一直朴素地生活养家，直到有，一切都改变了。

 

Mary's father, William Luis, was just 29 when he died; Mary was 5."He worked for an electrical company, and he was standing in water — and someone dropped a wire and electrocuted him," she tells Charles.

玛丽的父亲，威廉·路易斯29岁就去世了，当时玛丽只有5岁。她跟查尔斯说，“他在一家电气公司工作，当时，他站在水中，掉下一截电线，把他触死了。”

 

When William died, Mary's mother was pregnant with her youngest sister."And so my mother had to go out to work, wash clothes and clean house to try and feed four children," she says.As for clothes, the children wore whatever Mary's mother, Eva Hornyak, managed to bring home from the households where she worked.

威廉死时，玛丽的妈妈身怀六甲，腹中是玛丽的小妹妹。她说，“从此，我妈不得不出去工作，替别人洗衣服、打扫房子，以养活我们四个孩子。”玛丽的母亲，伊娃·霍亚克从户主那里讨来什么衣服，她的孩子就只能穿什么衣服。

 

"I don't ever remember going to the store to get a pair of shoes, 'cause Mama couldn't afford it," says Mary, now 94.Still, her mother, who had grown up in Czechoslovakia, taught Mary and her siblings to take pride in themselves."I'm not saying that we looked dowdy," Mary says. "She said, 'You don't have to be dirty to be poor.' I always remember that."

现年94岁的玛丽说，“在我的记忆中，我们从未进商店买过一双鞋，因为妈妈买不起。”然而，在捷克斯洛伐克长大的妈妈还是教导玛丽和她的姊妹们要以自己为荣。“我是说，我们看上去并不邋遢，”玛丽说道，“妈妈说过，‘虽然穷困，也须整洁。’我对此念念不忘。”

 

But eventually, the four children needed more than their mother could provide. They were growing up, and there wasn't enough food to go around.Mary says that her mother "had to place me in a home where I would work for my keep. And I would come home every other Sunday. And this is how we tried to survive."

但是，母亲所提供的并不能满足四个孩子的需求。她们在成长，食物不够吃的了。玛丽说，她妈妈“只好把我安置在一户人家工作，让我自己养活自己。我每两个星期，才有一个星期天可以回家。我们就是这样生活下来的。”

 

"How long did you work for that family?" Charles asks.

查尔斯问，“你在那户人家干了多久？”

 

"Two years, 'til I was 16," Mary says.

玛丽说，“两年，一直干到我16岁。”

 

And she has a vivid memory of her last day on the job.

对于这份工作的，她仍记忆犹新。

 

"Mama worked across the street from there, washing clothes. And it was a hot summer day, and she was walking down the street. And I ran to the front door and called her in, to visit with her."

“妈妈在街对面洗衣服。那天酷暑难耐，她沿着街道朝我走来。我跑到前门，让她进来，跟她闲谈。”

 

The two talked — but the visit didn't go down well with Mary's boss.

我们两人聊了下，但这次拜访让玛丽的雇主不开心。

 

After Eva left, Mary says, "Mrs. Blaisdell said to me, 'Don't ever let the help come in the front door!'

伊娃走后，玛丽说，“布莱斯德尔夫人对我说，‘以后别让帮手进家门！’

 

"And I said, 'Well, I don't want to work here if my mother can't come in the front door.'

“我说，‘如果不允许我妈妈进这个门，我也不想在这儿干了。’

 

"And I packed my little suitcase and came home. I can remember that so well."

“于是，我整理了我的小行李箱，回家来了。这一切现在还历历在目。”

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