Under One Roof (1970s)

you play come out and with me and bring your climb up my apple tree sh down my rainbow slide down my door we'll be jolly friends forever more there there little darling daddy will be home soon home from work did you have a good day John and elra coffee pot want some guess what Marty turned over for the first time today Carrie Jordan elra [Music] this is the story of family of man the father of woman the mother of child the product of their Union the object of their love family man woman and child together growing playing learning milk to drink bread to eat clothes to wear a a warm house songs to sing books to read these are a part of family a part of one of the most pleasing and difficult challenges Under the Sun the challenge of setting up goals and earning through hard work hard play and careful planning what is needed and what is wanted the challenge of living in a changing world a world of machines and Rising prices a world demand in expensive education for all who are to have a [Music] chance this is the true story of Three Families families talking about themselves their lives their needs their dreams men women and children trying to meet the challenge of family under one [Music] roof Mrs beatric Edwards delivered her first child at age 16 her last child at 41 a quarter of a century of childbearing altogether four sons and Seven Daughters 11 living children as far as I'm concerned about a big family it's nice to have providing if you can provide for them but in our case sometimes we felt like we hadn't provideed for them like we should have on count of jobs you know if you have a good study income coming in and can kind of meet your responsibilities there's not that word intention so much responsibilities and worry feelings which are well known to Carl and beatric Edwards as the mother and father of 11 children children who need a place to sleep and need to be clothed and fed about the biggest problem we have outside of P dead is we have a food problem we are not able to buy all the necessary Foods we supposed to buy for them I found that pile mil works pretty good but I kind of use the canned milk to make the cream it works out pretty good when they'll drink it we have some that drink it and some that won't 11 children needing to be clothed and fed 11 children needing to be cared for and wanting to be loved a heavy burden for Carl and beatric Edwards a big job for any two [Music] people when they were small the oldest one took care the next one and the next one took care the next one and it was also down the line and then each child is different and you don't know who's getting the most affection because one might feel like he's not getting enough affection and other might feel like it's not getting enough affection and so it's just a little toss in between there then of course in our case I'm out working and someone's taking care of my children you see my husband not working so someone's taking care of her children so that's just the way it goes that's just the way it goes not a lack of love but so little time to spend with each child a love which must be shared among 11 children leaving few hours in the day to give each child the love and attention he needs so little time for so [Music] many [Music] supporting 11 children means Working Day and Night Carl Edwards Works days as a janitor in the public school system beatric Edwards works the night shift in the housekeeping Department of the local hospital 11:00 p.m. to 8:30 a.m. laboring during the sleeping hours to help clothe feed and educate her [Music] children to my way of thinking not every child is college material and in our case I don't think we'd be able to afford to send three or four to college at one time time I tell them the best thing to do is get a high school education then go and take a business course for themselves where they can go to work clean and come back home clean not like me go to work clean and come home dirty that's [Music] right beatric Edwards has come to recognize the problems that go with the family that grows too large too fast keep them fat and barefooted yes sir don't agree with it at all although sometimes I think I was that lady with so many of them because at one time I had three owers at one time at one [Music] time [Music] it was some kind of bir control device out but it's just one of those things but if the bir control pill was out and I do mean if it was out I would have used it because it would have been no more than taking as friend I would put it where I'll have to see it and wouldn't forget it I'm aware that the birth control pill doesn't serve Every Woman the same but you take the birth control pill and if it doesn't agree with you your doctor will straighten that out for you you put yourself on a good doctor you know and he can advise you whether you have one or two or three according to your health course I was under some I'm good doctors too and they advised me too but from 11 you see I didn't pay them no attention when I should have let's go in the house and change all night huh let's go I like what a family here I know did they had two children they got those children up to about the ninth grade and then they started two more children well when those two children were out of high school they still had those two children in the home family plan is the answer I should say about two or three that's the limit and I don't mean two at one time or three at one time either no [Music] sir with young children still at home beatric Edwards will have heavy respons responsibilities for years to come going about her life as she has but looking ahead to the Future when her own children from first to last have made their own places in the world I don't have much outside activities I go to church occasionally I do all my visiting on the street and as I say I like to go to ramage sales and thrift shops [Music] I'm looking forward so I can travel even if I have to travel with a cane I want to fly I want to ride on a boat or a ship or whatever it is I like Hospital I like Hospital work I want to be so where I don't have to do the type of work I do now I want to be so I can be solid like a great lady a volunteer [Music] worker [Music] like beatric Edwards Maggie Johnson became a mother for the first time at age 16 I've gotten married when I was 16 and the baby was born before I was 17 I didn't want any I thought but my husband he said that he would like to have four I said all right four but then when I got the fourth one it looked like I couldn't stop at age 25 Maggie Johnson had given birth to eight children one child every year for 8 years it finally gets you down I think you should wait at least two or two and a half years at least but I didn't and then finally at last I just started getting weaker and weaker and I knew it was against me so then the doctors they kept telling me I was going a little too fast for my age so I thought it was time I'd better slow down and then I had a miscarriage one of the children died and then after that I wasn't strong anymore the mother should have time to get her strength back and then I guess the mother has to be healthy to have healthy children with seven living children between the ages of 1 and 8 Maggie and Ralph Johnson together as man and wife and with the advice of their doctor decided for both the mother's health and the future welfare of an already large family that they would have no more children one thing is everything is so high in everything and it takes so much to feed and close a bunch of children now you got to have enough space for the boys to have a room and the girls to have a room and then especially in the winter time when the weather is bad theyve going to play and they've got to have some space to play in I want all of them to go to school to finish school and as far in college as they possibly can it's so important now it's so important now today at 31 her youngest child seven Maggie Johnson Works long and hard to help support her School Aids children by day a teacher Aid in the elementary school were six of her sons and daughters are enrolled in grades 1 through 7 from 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. each night a factory worker Ralph Johnson works from sunrise to sunset in the shipping Department of a local Furniture firm at night he too is a factory [Music] laborer it takes so much and I'm so sure if both of us didn't work that we couldn't make things meat cuz with everything as high as it is we just couldn't make it I've always worked you know as the babies get big enough I'd go back to work 7 years have now passed since the birth of their last child and free time is still a dear thing for the Johnson's yet during the last few years since their decision to practice birth control Maggie and Ralph Johnson have come to know a greater enjoyment of their relationship as man and [Music] wife really when you got when you got a little baby it takes up most of your time they was also so little like a little Hubble at one time one wasn't much bigger than the other them when we had the little ones we could never go [Music] anywhere [Music] when we was first married I just thought I just couldn't stand him to use anything but I was sort of get sort of ball up I just every time I was just so sure and I just didn't want to right then and now when I feel like I'm not well like I can relax better and it's a lot different I think when you feel that you isn't going to get pregnant you have a tendency that's a little different feeling there cuz then before I just felt that just every time I was going to get pregnant which I did I guess and now when you feel that you eating I think you enjoy it a lot better [Music] Joan Cannon aged 29 is the mother of four children aged 9 7 5 and 4 months for Joan and her husband Jim a construction worker supporting and rearing two sons and two daughters is a day-to-day matter it's a matter of what we're going to eat and so forth instead of thinking about the future every day is the same I usually get up very early and we have breakfast and two of the children go to school and then I clean house and I wash clothes and I cook and our meals aren't very interesting because we use a lot of foods like Dy beans and that isn't bad but it involves more work we never consider things like TV dinners because they're more expensive I'm always very tired when the day is over I enjoy it I'm glad to say because if I didn't it would be very unfortunate but I would like to have spare time for myself alone just to be bored spare time for herself time to enjoy her children I don't have time to actually play with them and I think they would like that very much and I think it worries them some for me to be so busy with the chores continually well I don't have any rag dolls or anything like that but I have some doll that I've had for many years and I don't call them dolls I call them children just like elra calls his Bears their names are Marta Greta and Martha I usually have them dressed but sometimes I don't have clothes for them so they have to stay in bed but I always give them breakfast I'm sure to do that but most of the time they have clothes because my mother seems to think it a hobby to iron so they don't have to to stay in bed much sometimes I bring them in the living room and I take very good care of them I feed them I take them to the hospital if there's any emergency or injury once Mara the smallest and the youngest one swallowed a bottle of kerosene so you can be sure that I had to hurry her off to the hospital and I don't even know what the doctors did I was so upset well I don't know what's going to happen but but maybe I'll be a good future Mother after all I think it is very important to have spare time it doesn't take very much to make me happy but if I can just visit a friend occasionally it makes so much difference it's very difficult to even think about how I'd enjoy myself if I had the time for Joan the responsibilities of the mother in the home for Jim Cannon as father the concerns of supporting his wife and children because of Med medical bills loss of work and the day-to-day expenses of buying food and clothes for four children the Canon family has recently had a hard time making ANS meet Jim and Joan are concerned about the future of their family we've thought about limiting our family off and on ever since we've been married when we think about uh can we afford another child should we have one since Martha the baby was born I think both of us now have made a definite decision not to have more because it would be an impossible situation if we did it's going to be a necessity from now on things are pretty hectic right now and even if we were to find ourselves better off a little more stable well the family is more or less complete now with Martha [Music] ANS families thinking back looking ahead aware of the responsibilities of the world in which they are living and the demands on their own lives as father mother and child Under One Roof everything is so high in everything and it takes so much to feed and clothes a bunch of children now it's a matter of what we're going to eat and so forth a big family is nice to have providing if you can provide for them I want all of them to go to school to finish school and as far in college as they possibly can it's so important now so they can go to work clean and come back home clean not like me go to work clean and come home dirty that's right the mother has to be healthy to have healthy children but I would like to have spare time for myself alone just to be bored I'm looking forward so I can travel but now when you feel that you E I think you enjoy it a lot better Family Planning is the [Music] answer [Music] oh