San Francisco, California

Alma’s May Bracken, born May 7, 1917, Albany, New York

After Alma was born in New York, Alma’s parents moved briefly to Portland, Oregon and then to California where Durward got a job at Saint Francis Hotel. The family lived in California for the rest of their lives. Alma had a happy childhood although, apparently the family moved a few times, which meant that Alma frequently changed schools. She complained that she got behind in school work, especially mathematical principles, due to this disruption.

One story she told was that her father, who was mild mannered and kind did once give her a spanking when he heard her speaking unkindly about one friend with another little girl. Her father told her that she had just played a few days ago with the girl she was talking poorly about and that this was a sign of disloyalty. She got one of the only spankings of her life. She took this lesson to heart.

As a child Alma loved to read.