Blanche Alice Gagnon

Blanche Alice Gagnon was the child of Onesime Gagnon (1892) and Rosa Yvonne Michaud.

Blanche, just exactly as you knew her. Loved to have fun raise hell and didn't mind getting tilted but

strong, hardworking, frugal and focused; Al was funloving, a free spirit, friendly but could be very
focused when he wanted to be; Rita, serious, shy (she won't admit this) focused, bright, tough and
direct; Norman was less serious but not raucous, focused when he was interested, like the USMC
but all of them very honest, straightforward, dependable and had their shit together.
11.  Blanche left to be a housekeeper in Mass when I was born, she was 15.  She always liked to
say that it was because I was so ugly and she knew that with another mouth to feed that there
wouldn't be enough food for her to eat so she had to leave to find a way to eat.

Rita got a job at Stone Record’s place as a cook, where she earned $3 a week. She was very hard-working, and was a good saver. Of all of the kids, she probably had the most money, and was serious about how it would get used for her future. She remembers the time that Bill and Blanche had decided that they wanted to walk 4 miles into town, to the beer hall, and get a beer and dance. They didn’t have enough money, and asked Rita to borrow 10 cents. Rita, who did not approve of such a frivolous way to spend the money she worked so hard to earn, refused. They eventually borrowed the money from Albert, who was much more cavalier

About this time, Blanche was about 15 and had decided to leave home and go to work. Now for many years, she would tell Bobby that it was because he was so ugly as a baby. However, the real reason was probably more because her sister had left and gotten married, there was a new baby in the house, it was the depression, and she wanted to strike out on her own, and relieve the family of the responsibility of having to feed her. It also satisfied her sense of adventure. She moved to Boston, and got a job as a housekeeper and nanny for a Jewish family, and worked there for a while. She left when the husband made a pass at her. With her references, she was able to get another job as a housekeeper and nanny in the Boston area. She was earning good money in those days, and would sometimes take the train home, bringing presents for Norman and Bobby, who were small.

On Easter Sunday, April 5, 1942, Blanche was married to Walter (Bud) Galuza. Six months later, Bud was called to war, and was gone until 1945, when they all came back around the same time at Christmas.

Irene & Al visiting in Maine, Blanche went to work, Blanche left the food for Mom to cook, Bud was a lumberjack, he said where’s the rest of it, as soon as Blanche came home from work, he said make me some supper. Meal for Bud – fried fish, potatoes, vegetable

62Trip to Italy with Rocky & Claudia, saw Pope, lost luggage