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The Book of Me, Written by Me–Prompt 2

I am participating in the weekly project that lasts 15 months created by Julie Goucher from Anglers Rest. It is a great way to document my own life.

Prompt 2: Your Birth

  • Do you have any baby photos?
  • Where were you born?
  • Who was present at your birth?
  • Dimensions?
  • What day was it? Time?
  • Did you have hair? Eye colors
  • Are you a twin?
I am the first born of six children. So there are lots of photos of me and I have my baby book to reference from.
I was born in Concord, California at the Concord Community Hospital, located at 2540 East Street.[1] This hospital later became Mt. Diablo Hospital and is now part of the John Muir Medical Center, the Concord campus.[2] According to my birth certificate, I was born at 6:40 p.m. My parents at the time were living at 35 Harbor Drive in West Pittsburg (which is now called Bay Point). My father was 23 years old and a service station attendant at Mel’s Associates.



I weighed seven pounds, ten ounces and had a height of 19.5 inches.[3] My hair was dark and long and I had hazel eyes (wonder what happened to them?). My complexion was dark and smooth and I had a nice, full shape of head. My mother wrote in the baby book, “Beautiful baby!” and the doctor’s comments, “Told a friend of his that Lisa was the most beautiful baby he had delivered.” The doctor was Dr. L. (Lee) H. Lorenzen, M.D.
There were announcements in the local newspapers. I have copies of the clippings but no knowledge yet which newspaper they were in.

 
 
I was baptized May 9, 1954 at Queen of All Saints Church in Concord, California.[4] I was named for St. Elizabeth and St. Suzanne. Father Daniel O’Brien conferred the sacrament and my godparents were Uncle Eugene Soares and Aunt June Soares (my father’s sister).
I was an only child until 22 Aug 1956 when my brother, Steven Thomas, was born.






[1] California, Department of Health Services, Department of Public Health, Vital Statistics, Certificate of Birth, Contra Costa Co, 1954, Lisa Suzanne Hork.
[2] Marvin A. Epstein, M.D., In Sickness and Health: The Progress of Medical Care in Contra Costa County, 1951-2000, Contra Costa County Historical Society, Martinez, CA, 2000, p 24-26.
[3] Baby Book of Lisa Suzanne Hork, called “Life’s Milestones,” filled out primarily by her mother, Lela Nell Hork, beginning in March 1954 through about 1961, and by Lisa Hork in later years.
[4] “Christening Held for Lisa Suzanne Hork,” newspaper clipping, date days after 9 May 1954, clipping part of the Gorrell Family Collection; privately held by Lisa Suzanne Hork Gorrell, [address for private use].



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