The chronicle., 1962-05-10


man, it means q lot Of work
for his wife"
Not that she isn't used to a
lot of work.
Until the campaign she did
her own cooking. Cooking is
a pleasure; cleaning a neces-
sity" is her theory.
During tn e summer sh e
spent weekends on the hust-
ings with her husband, Rich
ard, while the oldest son Bob
by, "a, was home from law
school to take care OF his small
brothers and sisters. BY late
August he was exhausted.
When household help arrived
in September, she threw her
self into the campaign.
But bills weren't paid, beds
weren't made, snowsuits from
last year were shabby and
needed mending. I'd have to
take a day off and take care
of things at home," she recalls
with a sorry shake of her head.
"As governors wife I'll do
all l can with the entertaining
but ! can't jaunt off around
the state. ! won't do that to the
family again."
When she started out max
ing wifely speeches, she trieu
talking from notes jotted on
filing cards. This was the pro-
fessional thing, she was told.
After a few sad experiences OF
cards cascading to the floor,
she decided to just get up and
talk.
The results were often ire
sistible.
One quote, savored for
weeks by the crowd at a DEM
ocratic rally, referred to the
fact she had attended New
Jersey College for Women,
now Douglass, and went like
this:
"As was coming to New
Brunswick tonight and saw all
the Rutgers boys crossing town
for dates with the Douglass
students, I thought to myself:
If l knew then what / know
now, oh what whale Of a
time / could have"
Not at all impressed with
her own Importance, she some
times gives her distinguished
husband an affectionately hard
time in anecdotes.
This is the way she recalls
their first meeting, when she,
the young widow of Air Force
Capt. William Murphy with
three children, and he, a wi
dover with four children. met
at the home of a mutual friend
during trick-or-treat forays of
their offspring.
'He said oh, Mrs. Murphy,
you should get into public life.
1t would be a wonderful in
terest for you. I'll come down
tomorrow night and talk to
you about it, After we mar
ried, you never heard a tune
change so fast. Woman's place
is in the home, and all that.
I'd say When is this public life
going to start for me?' and
he'd say oh, that was just a
come-on'."
When they were married,
six months after that 1854
Halloween meeting, he was on
the bench of the superior
court. She wanted him to stay
--''it was such a regular life''
but because of college COM
ing up for the youngsters, he
resigned to 60 into more lucra-
tive private practice.
Their family enlarged--first
Brian, now 5, Helen always
called Honey, now 4, and a
third expected in May.
When you've got seven,
you're in so deep it doesn't
m a Ike any difference any
more" she laughs.
I'm the only one of us five
children not allowed to 60
home to mother - my family
is too large" she says. Moth
er is only So and very good
looking. My next baby will be
her 23rd grandchild.
Mother says You and Dick
have big mouths We prefer
to think we're informed and
articulate. Mother really likes
us, but she's not impressed"
For relaxation, the Hugheses
read travel sections and spend
hours arguing over the most
attractive route around the
world or some other massive
project. II read anything -
gross tonnage, the building of
a banana boat in Jamaica, "
confesses Mrs. Hughes. 81 get
a vicarious thrill. 10 like to
take a steamer trip. but
couldn't take off with this
family. It's just q little dream
I'm going to have instead of a
rocking chair when ! get DID,"
She reads three books a
week - anything that comes
off the nreSs - ssnnt lnnnhair.