Who would have thought that this 1958

Who would have thought that this 1958 Country Squire Ford wagon (color was beige)would become a delivery room on Saturday, January 18, 1958 at 10:30am. I was 14 when this special day happened. My mother was carrying her 3rd child, back in those days you did not know the gender until delivery. It was about 9:30 that morning and my mom said she felt it was time to go to the hospital, but she felt fine and took her time getting ready and had a cup of tea upstairs. My dad had gone to work to Almacs to get overtime this Saturday and she was going to go with my Aunt Hilda (Rea) and Uncle Joe, who would drive. I was to stay at home with Nana. (Who knew that Nana would be come instumental in helping me become a woman that morning, but that is another story. Nana kept telling her to leave since Lying in Hospital on Smith Street was about 30 minutes away. Nana said "I had 5 children and the time in now. The doctor is wrong" My mother said she had seen the doctor yesterday and he said it would be at least another 2 weeks. They finally left about 10:am with my mom in the back seat.
When we received the phone call later that morning we found out that my mom did not make it to the hospital before the arrival of my baby sister. she had a serious labor pain as they drove past Holy Rosary Church in Providence. As they turned towards the Hospital entrance my sister was born in the car at 10:30am. Immediately Rea ran into the hospital for help. They asked if the baby was crying. As they came out they heard the yells and told Rea everything would be fine.
My Mom and sister were rushed into the hospital to be care for by the professional OB-GYN staff. When the doctor was called his words were "I'can't believe it!"
This was a day we would all remember so clearly.

This January 18, 2008 Maureen Jean Pacheco Sweeney became 50 years old. It seems like only yesterday that this all happened. On Friday, January 8, 2008 a Surprise Birthday Party was given at the K of C hall in Riverside, RI for all her family and friends to celebrate this special occasion. The theme was "Life is a Beach" There were decorations around this theme and an orange life preserver to be signed by everyone attending.

Below are the photos of the evening that was enjoyed by everyone,

February 11, 1967- the night that changed my life!

February 11, 1967- the night that changed my life!

The pick up line, "Do you come here often?" was said to me many years ago. I can remember that Saturday, night February 11, 1967, as if it were yesterday. It started by me going with my friend Angie, a fellow teacher from Meadowcrest Elementary School in Riverside, East Providence,RI, to our Saturday night dance club, The Grist Mill in Seekonk. Massachusetts. I had a rough day handling 42 fifth graders (back then we had large classes and no assistants) and really didn't want to go that night, but she pleaded that we wouldn't stay long and that she wanted to see Carney, that she had met the previous Saturday. We had a pact that we would always go together and leave together. I agreed. That night was a night of older men, whom I danced with and with whom I didn't want to build any relationship. Since I was not enjoying the hours, I decided I would spend the rest of the time in the ladies lounge. As I walked towards the room I was met with "Do you come here often?"He was rather tall and good-looking and wearing a smart-looking camel hair blazer. We chatted awhile and then he asked me to dance, after all this was a dance hall. He literally swept me off my feet. It was a waltz and was he fabulous. It seemed that we were a couple that came from Arthur Murray studio. We were great.
That moment I said to myself "I found someone I would love to know better and I could spend the rest of my life with this one man"
My moment of dreaming was broken by his question, " I would like to call you, would you mind providing me with a number? "He asked me for my number and said he would call, that was February 11, 1967. We were married on June 28, 1969. Just made our 38th wedding anniversary this past June. By the way, John is still a fabulous dancer and the waltz is a our favorite dance along with our favorite Anne Murray's song , May I have this Last dance"

Remininsing our past Easter 1974

It is Easter 1974 and John Michael is 3 and Mark Alan is 6 months. We would dress up and go to St Judes Church, Front Street, Lincoln, RI on Easter Sunday. John would get me a beautiful orchid corsage to wear on Easter outfit. The boys were always so good in church. I would give John Michael one of his hot wheel miniature trucks and he would play with it during the mass, driving it along the pew. I cannot believe how faded these photos are, since they were in a photo album.
The cake I made for Mark Alan's First Birthday was a head of a dog after our shepherd, Duke age 2.

What a way to spend our honeymoon evening.......

It had been a most wonderful memorable extremely hot 90 degrees June 28, 1969. The 11:00am wedding was at St Francis Xavier Church in East Providence, RI with Fathers Rego and Diogo officiating. Following photographs being taken at Slater Park, in Pawtucket, RI, we gathered family and friends at the Falstaff Restaurant in Seekonk, Ma. We were scheduled to leave for Greene Airport, in Warwick for a 7:00 flight to New York to meet the Franconia Cruise line to go to Bermuda for our honeymoon. At about 9pm we were still in the air flying in circles and hovering above New York Laquardia Airport. We told the crew that the ship was leaving at 10:30pm and we were going to miss the departure. They had us talk ship to shore with the Captain of the liner, who told us he could wait only until 11pm, the latest, so he would not disrupt his schedule. They red tagged our luggage so we would be the first to get off and a cab would be waiting to take us to the pier.
We held our breath and prayed for a safe landing in time to meet the time frame, however this was not going to happen...that was the time the air traffic congestion was occuring. Our American Airline could not get a clear for landing from traffic control, there were too many planes in the air waiting to land and that they had to wait their turn. As the time progressed to 10:00 then 10:15 we knew we would be staying in New York and not leaving with our ship.
When we landed John and I went to the American Air line office and requested a solution to this situation. There I was in my purple going away outfit with hat and corsage sitting on my Samsonite luggage waiting for John to come out and tell me what was happening. It was now past midnight. What a way to spend your honeymoon evening.......
Resolution was that they would fly us out on Monday, June 30th to Bermuda to meet the ship. They would put us up in the Lexington Hotel in New York City for Sunday, June 29th (now my birthday) All in all it wasn't so bad, however we spent our honeymoon in New York City and Bermuda.
Strange occurence though, my wedding announcement stated that we would be going to Bermuda with a short stay in New York. WEIRD.....

Granted permission to get married.......

It was December 5, 1942 and a young couple was granted permission by the Catholic church to get married during the Christmas season because the young man was leaving in 7 days to Fort Devins as an enlisted army soldier. That couple were my parents, Mary Kathyrn Medeiros, daughter of Manuel C. Medeiros and the late Anna Medeiros to Edmund Joseph Pacheco, son of Virginia Camara Pacheco and Manuel R. Pacheco.


They met at a roller skating rink in East Providence and then worked together at the American Lace Company in Pawtucket, where my Dad worked in shipping and my Mom was a thread drawer. My mom's birthday was August 25, 1922 and my Dad's, March 27, 1921

Inherited genes from Grandfather and Great-Grandfather

At the age of 14, our son, John Michael built a free-standing shingled wooden 12ft by 12ft shed on a cement slab in our rear yard with no carpentry training except for assisting and watching his grandfather in the past. This project was scheduled to be built during 1986 summer vacation with his grandfather, however unexpectedly his grandfather (my father) passed away on June 10th. Saddened by this John Michael told his father and me that he would still build this shed. This shed was built with so much love that we felt that his grandfather was with him giving him the knowledge and ability to complete this project.
These internal carpentry genes come from his grandfather, Edmund Joseph Pacheco and his great-grandfather, Manuel R Pacheco, who were professional carpenters their entire lives. In the early years they worked as Pacheco and Son, building many houses. Later when Manuel died, Edmund continued working as a carpenter building and repairing Almacs supermarkets on salary rather than maintaining his own business.

Another project John completed at an early age was re-doing the basement of his church as an Eagle Scout project. A major project he did along side his dad (who also was not trained in carpentry) was to gut out the front and partial sides of a building we purchased to become our real estate office. I have included these amazing photos in the slide below.

2007 Christmas Dinner at the Sweeneys

The family tradition has been to have Christmas Dinner at my sister, Maureen and brother-in-law, Carl's house in East Providence, RI. They have been doing this for over 10 years. Each year they always outdo the previous year with so much food and choices. They have always had a sit down five course meal that you enjoy tremendously. They prepared a turkey, roast beef and ham. All so delicious. They prepare everything with so much love. No diets and portion control on this day.