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CHAMPION MOTHtOF THE UNITED STATES
HAS 21 CHILDREN OJJEST IS 5 -
BY NIXOL.A GREELEY-SMITH.
T4W. Albert Stretch o Somers,
Potato?. J-f fa Moth1 31 cM
drto4rtiblx the champion mother
of the whole wdsrid! Albert 4Btfc9th.
whp has the job of provWLfor what J
is doafetlea the largest orttMtratered,
one-fathered fajalj li -tfiBaitiited
Statas. Ik a carodfi&r. Hettttn his
married Hf e afthe ge of ? 4ty& for
twenty-eight yeas has $vd the
problem of buying food aayClothes
for what is rerily a wfi&le, My, or jat
aay rate a 3tyJe to(p ot little
Stretches. V
Frop his tfrcgfttt waffltoas to
preWoe Bight kee orlfoa.a dy!
Oa Saturday when lrieesary
tQteF hi tWa dyst, provisions, the
SStfiai family- takes -fifteen Usages,
tw B(3le ham or four sides of
baafafT'or Oft ga&-ecoa6&K four togs
otlamb1 'Oaly twf & Stretohee
aa TKg a hdwenotr, but -whan I
hiOfeith the mammoth family at
jfctttes point last week t&e meal was
perved to thetyelay& of. fceople. The
Strptch family Baslievjfer Had a meal
where everybodjr&teatlhe same time,
and at the same table.
The eldest of the; mtrftkudinous
Stretches is a daughter, Pearl, 26.
She is TH&TriedTHui, hasfour children.
May, the second daughter Is 2Z and
engaged to be maided. She is one of
the prettiest gifl I.haVe ever seen
ad has .chestnut hair sq long and
thidk that a hair toafc man would i
give ner a tortus to. say bib aonrum
gtewit. .
Four striwartson Albert, Wil
liam, Frank anaEom are grown up
an,d help their jfether at .the carpen
tering trade, or .when business is
alack Bupport tbfemselves by fishing.
Mrs Stretch,, whoh as added ahild
a year to her jewel collection just as
waaitnrer .woitiiki a"" kh nnj
Christmas to their $100,000 string,
with and deepen with mother love
every time her glance falls on one of
her human pearls. t ---'
And there are so many Stretohear
nher little home that no nk$er '
..where she looks, she is sure td -gee v
one? or them. Bobby, the golden-haired,
"biuis-eyei baby, is ijot, quite five, .
Then, there are Walter, Kaymond,
Lucy Jlejen Tom Fraak, "William,
May, Albert that's allI remember. i
But it took me five minutes to shake -Jgp
hands all around when. J ame awayi '
When LAiked the clear-eyed, bronzed '
fatherstttf'ail the Stretches how he
had solved the- prdbletn of the Ugh
cst of'Mi-kig for 24 year he replieV
with atremor vi tenderness ta kla
voices -
"Dent'sdfcme. Ask my wife. Shes-s
a fniraclei Allood mothers are mlra- ,
clesl" . ffiV.
'tt-m 1.4.r. .hj"f, lkM' Um:
l. JBSU pttn-vj juuu,; tB.i
Stretch awered in hersotQthersy
vvivic, -mm noioy umcn .rrucp ne t
had nothmg hut mush Jo gure themsH
"Bnt wey always haiaojirl
mush !"Jte father interrupted "I al?
wayspwod i nay wife. Uewever Jse
T?e sarej'Jet-R not sunt mem ;;on
food.'" -
"Just irmne hat tho one prob- '
lem ofbuyiftg-shpee for sornany lHtla-5
o&es-.rouet-'-mean," Mr. Stretch re-
siimedv "And then before we ived
to. the seashore we had sickness anst &
decjors' bills. But God helped us. And'
the little fellows helped each other T
Why, as soon as my little girls were-
five and six years old the fmeet game &
they knew was 'helping-mother wash i 3
the thshes They qeed to cparrel fer ?&
the privilege" T
She glanped about the little diHing-. 'J
room thronged "With hr sons anitl
daughters and her eyes grewjdisj. v
"God btesfi them," she said as a
tear trickled-dow her cfefefe and the
ine, father. Vatchmg her, echoed In a
a comelv woman, with a fresh com- husky voice, ''Qfld'Wsja themJ Hur-
ptexion and deep blue eyes that glow J ray for tbemr "
