A Blue Norther blew into the Houston area toward the end of January, 1940. A Blue Norther is a Texan’s way of describing a cold front that can drop temperatures dramatically, up to 2030 degrees Fahrenheit in a few minutes. It usually shows up as a dark, blue black, curtain sharply defined against a cloudy sky. It arrives with a ‘whomp’ caused by the strong winds that are pushing it, with cold rain, sleet, or snow close on its heels. The one that arrived in the middle of that January brought a snowstorm that left about 8 inches of snow on the ground. The days following this storm were clear, but very cold.
Clear weather meant Daddy was able to work so he was on drilling rig not far from Houston in a town called Beaumont. Mother was near her delivery date, and with Daddy out of town, she decided to leave Houston and go to her mother’s house in the nearby town of Humble, Texas.
Humble was a small town of less than 2,000 and for years had gotten by without a hospital or clinic. That ceased to be a problem at the end of 1939 when Dr. Hayden McKay decided to build a clinic. The little clinic was in the final stages of construction when Mother got to Humble.
During the weeks between Mother’s arrival and her first delivery pains, the final stages of construction of the McKay Clinic were completed and an the official opening was scheduled. Mother went into labor before that official ceremony could take place, but they went ahead and opened the doors for her, so on a very cold January 26th in 1940, Dr.Hayden McKay delivered
my sister, Anet, She was the first baby born in the clinic.
Daddy was up on the rig when they brought him the news that a he was the proud father of a new baby girl. He immediately caught a ride into Houston. He arrived at his house unshaven and wearing overalls that were covered with black oil, mud, and concrete; his boots were equally filthy. He refused to take the time needed to shave and clean up, and ask his mother to take him to Humble right away. For some reason, she could not or would not drive him all the 26 miles. However, she did agree to drive him about half way and drop him off on Old Humble Road at the Epsom Downs Drive In Theater. In spite of the freezing weather and standing snow, she left him by the side of the highway expecting him to hitchhike the rest of the way to Humble. He tried to catch a ride but nobody would stop for him; he was too dirty and his bristly beard only added to his image of a dangerous stranger. .With no other choice, he wound up
having to hike each and every one of those 13 miles.
When he finally walked into Mother’s room, she was furious. She immediately lashed out at him, “Where have you been? You knew I was in labor. I can’t believe you missed the birth of your own daughter.” Daddy said nothing. She continued, “Can’t you do anything right? How dare you show up looking like this?” Daddy said nothing. Mother didn’t let up a bit, “Couldn’t you’ve at least cleaned up?” Daddy said nothing. “Well, say something.”, she said.
Dr. McKay had come in the room when he heard the yelling. After watching Mother eat Daddy out for not being there, he said, “Doris, can’t you see that this man is too cold and too tired to talk?”
That shut Mother up. Then, she says, she felt so guilty she couldn’t stand it and began to bawl. She said she couldn’t stop crying long enough to tell him how sorry she was for doing him that way. But, things did get better. Daddy warmed up, Dr. McKay went and got my sister, and, in spite of the dirt and the mud on his overalls, Mother gave him a kiss and he finally got to hold his brand new daughter.
Mother was kept in bed for the remainder of her seven day post delivery recuperation. That was standard practice then. Since the clinic had no place to fix food, all of my mother’s meals were picked up at a boarding house across the street. Dr. McKay had been in practice for only a couple of years so he was a young man. A young man who loved to play tricks.and one of his favorites was to serve Mother her dinner along with a big jar holding a pickled kidney, or similar body part..
Mother was the perfect foil; she screamed and carried on just as he hoped. And the pickled body parts kept coming. He loved the reaction he got from his little acts terror, but he also had a softer side. He would pick up my sister, and holding her in his arms, he would sit in the cozy waiting room, rocking away the evening hours, and swapping stories with his buddies. When it came time for Mother to leave and take her new baby home, the clinic came up short.
There was no ambulance. The problem was solved easily enough when Dr. McKay got on the phone to his friend who owned the Mortuary. Mother and Anet traveled the four of five blocks from the clinic to her mother’s house in the town’s new hearse.
Mother loved to tell this story about Anet being the first baby born in the McKay Clinic. That clinic closed soon after the death of Dr. McKay, and it is now a very respected museum. I know Mother would be very proud.