<TITLE>22. Par 78-82</TITLE>L-78 She'd asked her mother. And I don't know what happened in there, but anyhow, we got married. So...
When we got married, it was--it was a marvelous little old... I remember we was married down here at Fort Wayne, Indiana; we went home. I didn't even have... You know what, we...
I rented a house for four dollars a month. You can imagine what kind of a house it was: four dollars a month. Someone give us an old folding bed. How many knows what an old folding bed is? My, I seen Brother Ryan put up his hand. He slept on it enough; he ought to know. So he give us an old folding bed, and mama give us a little old iron bedstead little later on. We... First we had two rooms.
And I went down to Sears and Roebuck and got me a--a breakfast set that didn't--was painted. I think it cost us about three or four dollars. And I painted it yellow with a great big green shamrock on each one. And she was laughing at me, I will never forget it, about being an Irishman, painting the shamrock on it, and so forth.

L-79 And we didn't have very much of the worlds goods. I went over to Mr. Weber, a junk dealer, and I bought me a stove for seventy-five cents and it cost me a dollar and a quarter to put new grates in it. I fixed it up; we went to housekeeping. Well, we were happy. We didn't have very much of the world's goods, but we sure had one another, and the love of God was in our heart, and that's all we cared about. And I tell you, that's what really means something now. Yes, sir.
I look around; I'd hear somebody say, "Isn't that a beautiful home?"

L-80 I said, "I don't know." Home is the not the house; it's the order of the house that makes the home. That's what makes home. No matter if it is a shanty, whatever it is, if--if--if the order is right on the inside, and godly, it's more of a home than if you had a palace somewhere. I'd rather live in a shanty and be happy, than to live in a palace and be unhappy. That's right.
So I remember then very well, we went ahead. And after while, God gave us one of the greatest little gifts about a year after we were married. My, poor little boy, which is standing in the back of the building now, he--little Billy Paul, he came into the world.

L-81 And I remember how we'd go on. I was cutting up with her, and I said, "Now look, you know what we are going to call this? I said, "I believe he will be a boy. If it is," I said, "Now, for German..." She was a German, and--and I was an Irishman. And I said, "We will call him Heinren for German, and Michael, Heinren Michael."
She said, "Oh, Bill, my, that's sounds horrible." So I... We went ahead and we was going on like that. And when God brought us the little boy, how happy we were together. Went on, and life went on.
After while John Ryan, back there come into my life. I met him. He asked me to come to Dowagiac one day where--where he lives over there in Dowagiac, Michigan. Said, "Go on a little vacation." We saved our money and everything. And I had about oh, maybe ten or twelve dollars saved up.

L-82 I'm fixing to come to the end of the story now, just in a little bit. I'm know I'm holding you; it's just I got about ten, twelve more minutes to be out on time. But we come to Dowagiac. I've tried to hold myself up and hit the high spots now. Now pray for me.
When I went to Dowagiac with Brother Ryan back there, I went to his home, a little humble home about like I lived in. His wife, but she would sware by him. He had a fine boy. And so they made me very welcome.
And on my road back home, going back home, I come through Mishawaka. And I looked out there, and there was the groups of people swarmed out there, and cars, and Cadillacs, and Fords, and cops trying to keep order around. I thought, "What's going on here?" And I hear them just singing, you know, and going on. My, everybody screaming and hollering. I thought, "Well, is it a funeral, or what's going on?"


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