Mombo’s Blog

Today this is the feast of the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. I was watching Mass on EWTN, and that got me thinking about my own baptism. I was born in St. Henry, at home, in the house on Main Street. I’m not sure when I was baptized, but I do know that Mom often said that Rita Bruns, who lived also in St. Henry, was born on the day after me. We both had home births by the same doctor, Dr. Otis. Mom would say he recorded births whenever he got to Celina courthouse, and that he messed up on the dates. Regina, Rita’s mother, agreed with her. I believe Rita was born on Columbus Street where we moved to when Mom and Pop moved back to St. Henry before the Depression that Pop foresaw coming. I was a little tot, I think about four years old.

I do know that my godparents were Aunt Stella Steinbrunner and Uncle Herman Lefeld. Stella was the wife of Mom’s brother John, and Herman was the husband of Pop’s sister, Anna Seitz. The house where I was born still stands in St. Henry and is still a very nice home. My sister-in-law Ruth Bernard (Buff), brother Bob’s wife, lived in that same house when we lived on the corner of Columbus Street and Sycamore Street. Our house is still there, too. I do have a picture of our house as I remembered it as a child. My brother, Uncle Jack, gave me copy of this old photo. Certainly a special day in my beginning when I was baptized in 1925 in St. Henry Church. Thank you, Lord, for the blessing. Father Pavone, who had the Mass today, said, “You have three days to celebrate–your birthdate, your date of baptism, and your conception day, when your life began. Also know that you are nine months older than you thought.” Ha! Ha!