How would you like to be weighed in a dishpan just after being born? Well,
up on the Iron Range, Mrs. Rafferty, the midwife who delivered me at home,
did just that. I imagine that the dishpan was probably the only item
available to do the job. It's a story that has followed me through life. I
remember when I was seven or eight years old and went with my mother to
Rafferty's Bakery. From behind the bread display, Mrs. Rafferty said, loud
enough for everyone to hear, "Oh Hilda, is this the one that we weighed
in
the dishpan?" I hid behind my mother's coat and nearly died of embarrassment.
You see, in my hometown of West Virginia, a small community about two miles
outside of Virginia, Minnesota, I was the tenth child born to the Bogie
family. At the time of my birth on September 20, 1923, there were eight
children living at home and still three more to come. There were always kids
around in the house.........
