"Cheaper by the dozen"

Ask my parents... and they probably would not have agreed with the idiom cheaper by the dozen.  We were maybe not as poor as a church mouse but growing up in a parsonage (a house provided for the attending minister and his family ) did not make us rich, either.


My Dad's first congregation was in Prince George, Virginia.  Jan (Skipper, Skip, John) was their "only child" and he was quite the little prince-
first born son, first grandchild, first nephew...you get the picture!
They moved  to Steubenville, Ohio in 1949 and I arrived shortly thereafter.  (Judith Ann, Judy Ann, Judi-  second heir to the throne, first daughter, first grand daughter, etc.)

The "perfect" little family.

Then along came a succession of "spare heirs"  that seemed never ending.
The twins arrived in 1952:  David (Buddah, Bude) and Mark!!  Then three more sons:  Daniel, Stephen and Nicholas.



My parents certainly had a biblical theme going.

I finally got my first sister (Lois Ann) in 1959, the year we moved to Lakewood.  At nearly ten years of age and after six brothers, I was over the moon with excitement!
Check out my early Vidal Sassoon haircut!  Wasn't I the trend setter? (Actually it looks a bit more  "bowl on the head" or institutional  in design)  My Dad saved money by also taking on the role of "barber" in our home. I can still see the sad faces of my brothers as they waited their turn, standing in line like sheep to the slaughter!

Laurie Ann (Lauren)  arrived in 1961 and two years later came Beth Ann - who was to be the tenth and final Kucera offspring. That brought us to an even dozen.
This is our beloved Lakewood parsonage.
We spent our wonder years growing up on a busy main street (Madison Avenue) right next door to the church. Filled with pianos and endless "hide and go seek" hiding places, we spent hours playing in the pews, and exploring the balcony and many Sunday school rooms.  What  adventures we had!
Our home was also directly across the street from a park, pool and library! How lucky were we?!
There were officially only 4 bedrooms to divide among the twelve of us, but we improvised and learned to share quite early in life.  Bunk beds and cribs helped make the best of tight quarters and later on, as the boys grew older and more independent,  they took up residence in the basement.

to the left of our home was church

Nic lived under the laundry chute and Jan had his own "playroom" complete with a fireplace.  The "twins" later inherited this room when Jan left for college.  They turned it into quite the Hippie haven.
I still remember them slipping in girl friends through the narrow windows like letters into a mailbox!
They decorated  with peace symbols and other 60's paraphernalia. Visitors to the den of iniquity dipped their hands in paint and the walls were plastered with psychedelic hand imprints.  The music played on relentlessly, the base pounding up through the very ceiling. I remember one song in particular by Iron Butterfly ( In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida)  that clocked in at just under 17 minutes.

I remember my Dad always yelling in vain,  'Tone it down!"

The illegal entrance to the "playroom"... before they put in safety glass windows!














We had an actual picnic table in the kitchen to accommodate our growing numbers, but perhaps the most daunting task was arranging the bathroom schedule.  Only one tub for 12 had its limitations, although in "the good old days" it helped that you usually only bathed once a week, on Saturday night.  If you were last in line, the water was quite "used" and the soggy towels left you more wet than dry.

But despite the minor inconveniences, we always had food on our table and a warm, safe place to sleep.  Our "stay at home" mom kept us in clean, ironed clothes and you never lacked for playmates.
We all lived happily ever after in a beautiful loving home and made special memories that would last a life time.

 Here we are in the 1970's (our hair styles certainly give us away!)

"The Parents" as we affectionately refer to them.

One of the last family group shots taken before my father passed away in 2001.

The ten siblings taken the year my Mom passed away in 2009