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Frances Hauptman talked about when she was a little girl, living in fear of her abusive father.
A cold wind blew across the more than 100 people gathered Thursday night at Heartland of America Park as Hauptman told the chilling tale of her life of abuse. She was the keynote speaker for the 10th annual candlelight vigil, "Building Bricks From the Ashes."
Hauptman is the director of domestic violence services at Catholic Charities in Omaha.
While she was growing up in south Omaha, her father worked for the railroad and her mother in a meatpacking plant.
Hauptman said she would wait, listening for the yelling to begin. One morning, late for school, she tiptoed around the house trying to get out without waking her father. He woke and beat her with a wooden broom handle until she lost consciousness.
After graduating from high school, she moved to Reno, Nev., and became involved with a man who became abusive. One night he was beating Hauptman and the police were called. An officer told her she deserved a better life.
She left the man and found help at a domestic abuse shelter.
Thursday, she urged anyone who knows an abused woman to reach out and help her get out of the situation.
"One of the reasons I am standing here today is because a cop told me I didn't have to live like that," she said.
(C) 2005 Omaha World-Herald. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved
