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Carol Krauss Marvel
Married for 47 years to Ernie Marvel (Nether Providence ) We have a daughter and 3 sons. They have given us 6 granddaughters and 2 grandsons, ranging in age from 19 to 4. My work experience started at Elwyn Market (with my buds Danny Hayes and Johnny Snyder), PECO during the summer after graduation, then, as a young married, makin' hoagies at Bevan's Deli in Media. Then I stayed home to raise the little Marvels. Along with our own kids, we were foster parents to 5 children (3 newborns for 3 months each, and 2 school-aged for a year each). All along, I kept the books for our family business. But then, after a decade or 2, I tried my hand at taking the Real Estate courses at Penn State, Lima. R.E. work used up every free minute of my life, and I was earning essentially the same $$ per hour as I earned babysitting in the 60's. Well, that's what my 1099-Misc. said! Woke up, moved on. Actually, I retired to the homestead, went back to just keeping the books. Next thing, I decided I wanted to drive an 18-wheeler. Got started doing that in 1992. Drove in all but 3 states in the lower 48. Saw a lot of country and loved every minute of it. Back home to stay in 2003 when my husband got ill. So now, here I am, keeping the books for my sons who took over the family masonry contracting business, and caring for Ernie who has had some really tough health problems. As for driving, well, suffice it to say that I can drive a whole lot better than I can My travels have taken me with a high school soccer team to England, where my boys were trounced as if the Brits were holding us personally responsible for the Revolution; to Germany, where our daughter, a trauma nurse in the U.S. Army, was stationed during her husband’s deployment in Desert Storm (By then her rank made her “Captain Marvel” Hoorah!); to Belgium, Italy, Australia and Mexico on vacations. Met a whole bunch of nice people, saw sunsets on 4 continents, paddled around near the Great Barrier Reef, shopped where the only form of communication was a smile and an open purse, and was delighted to learn that the stars were beautiful wherever I was, even though I couldn’t name even one constellation. Never got around to learning them. Hmmmm. Think it’s too late? LOL My hobbies USED to be crafty things but since my Cub Scouts have all grown up and moved away, I content myself with surfing the web, reading, cooking for 2, keeping a fairly low profile, working diligently on my family tree (thru the internet’s vast and valuable resources), making lists of things I need to remember (with an index of where I put all my lists ), and catching the interesting new movies on cable. Well, at least until the third or fourth break for commercials. Then, next day I call around to see if anybody I know can tell me how it ended. Oh, and then there’s bird watching. Well, in truth, I only watch the ones that flock to my all-they-can-eat bird feeder. And I swear: THEY are watching ME. Presumably to make sure I get to the store for their considerably pricey (and heavy!) bags of seed. So, there it is: really short clips of my not-so-short life. It has been fun. I hope to be with you at the 50th reunion. If not, catch ya’ at the next one.
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