The baby was due in December and we tried ordering a crib and mattress and other sundries from Montgomery Ward. They refused to sell to us. Sears, Roebuck did a landslide business with us as they received postal money orders for payments. Many of us ordered hot plates, flannel shirts, galoshes, laundry racks, buckets, brooms, washboards, saws and soap along with the baby tub, crib and mattress. Winter was fast approaching and we were all issued surplus hats with earmuffs attached and navy wool pea jackets. We were a comical sight in our oversized clothing, but they kept us warm. Coal for the potbellied stove was dumped in measured amounts on the side of the latrine and we all made a mad dash for it, some days doing without as there were those who took more than their share.
It was snowing heavily on December 24, our first winter in Topaz, when our daughter made her dramatic entry into this world. She was a breech baby, and during the delivery the usually calm, gentle doctor threw his implement on the floor and in frustration and anger, exclaimed, “What are they trying to do to our people!” Going through a natural birth, gritting my teeth through the pain, and swallowing back my tears, I softly said “Let’s get along with this.” The lights went off and the water pipes in the building froze as the storm went on relentlessly and there was a clamber of activity as every member of the hospital staff were in attendance.