My father was then sent to a copper mine. Copper was in short supply during WWII. So after school, they used to send the kids out to find as much copper as they could. We collected cans and everything we could find.

My son has been two wars. He fought against the Germans, and he also went to Vietnam. Today, he’s a car dealer in Santa Cruz. His name is Nolan. He’s a real Irishman!

We got to a mine called Copperopolis, which is where my father worked. When that gave out, we moved to Marin County. We rented a house from an elderly couple who were very kind and very sympathetic to our situation. They wanted to adopt me.

This couple was quite wealthy. They told my parents that I would be the heir to their fortune.

My mother said: “no, she is my daughter and I want to keep her with me.”