Even when the family was at the height of their popularity, Maria would not let them rest. The ten children (Maria and Georg had three children together) toured up to eight months a year. During the summer they worked their Vermont farm and ran a music camp. The isolation of a life on the road or on the farm, combined with constant work and Maria's volatile temper, took its toll. Rosmarie, Maria's eldest child, suffered a nervous breakdown and her mother sent her for electro-shock therapy. Another daughter ran away to elope. Before long, Maria was forced to hire non-family members for the family singing group.
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