Avis R. Murray, Gloucester resident and member of the USTA Hall of Fame, letter to the editor: “Reflecting on times past and present during these trying times”Gloucester Daily Times, April 22, 2020

“During these difficult times, it has given me time to reflect on times past and how blessed we are for the present modern conveniences.

Since I am in the classification of “elderly,” I recall growing up in the late 1930s and early ’40s and how things were then.

It was during World War II and I recall my mom and gram closing curtains at night and we all had to stay indoors as there was a threat of German submarines possibly in our harbor and ready to bomb us. Our parents never showed any fear, so we naturally just thought we were closing our curtains cause it was nighttime.

During those days we had electricity, heat by coal furnace, one radio for entertainment and news, our refrigerator was an ice box and milk was delivered to our door by a milkman. We also had a party line for a telephone — so many rings and it was for us.

Running hot water was a treat during the winter months, as we had a stove that held a tank that was full of oil, which heated our water tank. In the summer seasons we heated a pot of water to have hot water when we bathed.

We saved the grease from cooking as we turned it in and got a couple cents per pound. We also stood in line with our rations to get various foods.

With everything happening in the world right now, we can feel blessed in some ways as we have iPhones, iPads, computers, the internet, TV, lights and heat.

We have brave workers out there to help us daily — health workers, police, firemen, grocery workers, transportation workers, convenience and package store employees, gas station helpers, take out restaurants and coffee shops, volunteers who are delivering food and those who are working to provide the delivery packages for the elderly, and people helping in every way they can.

We need to wear a mask but we can go out and take walks, keeping the 6-foot distance. We can take rides, walk the beaches, ride a bike, and enjoy the fresh air.

We have a stimulus checks coming to us from the government, we have a mayor who is keeping us abreast and caring about our safety, a governor who is so passionate and fighting for all the equipment we need to help those affected by the virus and also equipment to keep all our health workers safe…”

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