IMMIGRANT DAUGHTER #11

I did not get an opportunity to publish this before Christmas and I will just do it now and ask you for your patience.

I am going to pick up where I left off on meeting the man of my life. I know every one is busy with the busyness of Christmas cooking and preparations enjoying the spirit of Christmas. I am enjoying a Christmas Blessing with grand children and my youngest daughter. The first picture is the man of my life.

I left off telling you C.C. came to town every chance he could when he did not have duty at the naval air station. I met him in June and the summer passed quickly. Between work at the restaurant, and my free time with C.C. no one else mattered and before you know it C.C. got his orders to attend air control mans’ school in Olathe Kansas.

C.C. told me he had to be there by January 1, 1950 and I said “Not without me, you're not”.

We laughed because he said, "Are you proposing to me?" I replied, "You can call it what you want, because I am not letting you get away from me." We talked about how the Lord brought us together.

 We did not have much time to arrange a wedding even if it is just family. This caught him off guard because I then told him that he had to go and ask my dad if he could marry me. And ask for his blessing. We both knew it would be okay because C.C. was always there but nevertheless he had to ask.

One Sunday dad was playing solitaire at the kitchen table and C.C. asked him if he could talk to him. Uncle George was still living with us and was at the table kibitzing while dad played cards. C.C. saw he was not going to leave so he just sat down and spilled out his plans. Now my father was accustomed to C.C. being around and was kind of expecting it so the answer was yes. I was 19 years old and the baby of the family.

When the relatives (pictured to the left) heard of the marriage they bombarded my dad telling him he should not allow the youngest to get married until her older sisters were married first. I was so proud of my dad when he told them he is in charge of his family not them. He came to  America to be free and not tied to “old” customs. They raised their families the way they wanted without his input and he will finish raising his the American way. We were off to a good start because we had my father's blessing.

 I never cared about wearing a bridal gown and chose to wear a brown suit with baby doll shoes and C.C, chose to wear his one and only suit which was brown. We knew it had to be a small practical affair because we would be making plans for my travel by train to Kansas. The military would move C.C but we had to make the arrangements for me, his wife. He was too low on the military ranking for the government to pay for my move so we were on our own. We learned early on how to pinch pennies.

Here are pictures of our wedding in N.J. and dad and moms’ in Greece. I am glad my dad did not abide by the Greek wedding vows. Traditions really were different. Old country weddings lasted weeks and we did not have that much time. My oldest brother and his girl friend were best man and bridesmaid. She went to school with me and her honor was she never missed a day of school in twelve years. My best friend was away at college and could not attend the wedding.

 

We married in October in the same church Tippy use to sneak in and hide under the pews waiting for my dad to leave. It was a small group of family and friends. All those attending the wedding came to the house afterwards for cake and ouzo. Ouzo is a Greek liquor that taste like licorice. The Greeks always ate sweet cake with it.

 Now my honey never saw any of the Greek customs especially the way they celebrated different occasions. When they passed the ouzo to everyone they waited for the groom to take the first swallow and they would follow. Well C.C. took a sip and then they joined I gulping it down laughing and speaking Greek, which left C.C. stunned telling me later he never saw “old folks” drink like that. I guess at that time he was wondering what kind of family he was getting into. You have to understand we did not see our relatives often because we lived in N.J. and they were in New York City. and celebrations were few and far between because dad was not a drinker or a traveler.

We went to New York City for our honeymoon and then came home and prepared to leave the next day for a four-month stay in Kansas. We were young, happy and had a lot to learn which I will tell you later. Until next time, I am Immigrant daughter.

The True Christmas Spirit

The Christmas season is upon us and the stores participate wither they believe in the Birth of Jesus Christ or not because it is all about money. I choose not to buy anything from merchants who do not believe. It is so easy to know where they stand because they say happy holidays and nothing about Christmas and the birth of our savior in their  voice or decorations, I keep this boycott going through the rest of the year.

Some time ago a friend sent me the following in her Christmas card. I kept it these many years and I would like to pass it on to you.

           

            10 FREE gifts for Christmas (You don’t even have to shop for them.)

1.  The gift of LISTENING - Why not give this valuable gift to someone who lives alone?  And you must really listen.  No interrupting, no daydreaming, no planning your responses.  Just listen.

2.  The gift of SIGNS OF AFFECTIONS – Be generous with your hugs and gentle squeezes of the hand. Let these tiny actions demonstrate the love inside YOU.

3.  The gift of a NOTE.  It can be as simple as "I love you," or as creative as a sonnet.  Put your notes where they will surprise your loved ones.

4.  The gift of LAUGHTER - Just cut out a cartoon or clever article. Your gift will say, "I love to laugh with you."

5.  The gift of a COMPLIMENT – A simple “You look great in blue” or I like your hair” or “Good supper honey” can be the greatest value to those who may feel they are taken for granted.

6.  The gift of a FAVOR – Help with the dishes, clean out the basement or a closet .

7.  The gift of LEAVING ALONE – There are times in our lives when we want nothing better than to be left alone. Become more sensitive to those times and give solitude.

8.  The gift of a CHEERFUL DISPOSITION – Try to be cheerful around those you love especially.

9.  The gift of a GAME -- Offer to play your loved one's favorite game.  Even if you lose, you will be a winner.

10.  The gift of PRAYER -- Pray for those on your Christmas list.  Praying for someone says, "You are so special to me that I talk to God about you, thanking HIm for His Gift."

IMMIGRANT DAUGHTER #9

I want to tell you about my 16^th birthday and why it was so important. I wanted to get my driving license because dad bought a new car on my brother’s safe return from his tour of duty in the Navy. It was a Kaiser automobile and we girls did not want to be left out of getting our turn to drive it.

I needed to have someone take time to teach me beside my brothers who were always too busy. My one brother had a friend who was one year older than he was that had an old Hudson car with a stick shift. He took me under his wing and taught me to drive before I turned 16 so that I could go take the test on that day.  That's him on the right in this picture.

 I passed both the written and driving including parallel parking with flying colors. My dad was so impressed that he arranged for me to drive him to Reading, Pennsylvania so he could visit some of the Greeks he brought over to this country.

I learned on flat country roads and when I got to Pennsylvania there are hills and more hills. When I had to stop on top of a hill with my foot on the clutch and the other on the brake so I would not stall or roll back my heart was in my mouth many times. I do feel now that it made me a better driver. 

My second sister learned on Mr. Millers’ Buick Roadmaster with an automatic transmission. Now my third sister was not in a hurry to learn how to drive but when she did she bought herself a Chevy.

 You can imagine just how much we are alike even though she is seven years older. We worked in the restaurant together and knew how to have fun and work at the same time,. She had a good attitude and took things in stride.

My best friend B.J. in high school, her dad owned the drug store across the street from the restaurant and when we worked after school and evenings we were able to wave at each other.  That's her on the right. Their store had a soda fountain and many of the kids use to meet there and when the restaurant had a lull I use to run across the street to join in while keeping an eye on our place. Like I said had my sister had a good attitude and did not mind.

 In fact when B.J and I wanted to skip an afternoon study hall she use to write us both an excuse. We left school early many times.  About these notes one day she played joke on us and we did not know it until we got to school. She wrote,” Dear Mr. Walzer please use one of the other excuses because I am tired of writing them. ‘

 I want to mention here the fun my sister and I had with each other and the regular customers. We had one in particular that like to play jokes on us and of course that worked both ways. His name was Gordon and he worked as a foreman in the service department of an automobile dealership. He came in on his coffee break at the same time every workday.

One day he did not show up and every time the different regulars would come in they would ask where is Gordon? When Gordon did show up he didn’t sit at his usual place at the counter where we had his coffee waiting but came in and slid in a booth where a lady was sitting all by herself. Gordon was very quiet and not being the talkative person that we saw daily. Come to find out this was his wife. She had heard so much from the shop people about the “girls” down at the restaurant that she had to come in and see for herself.

She was a good sport and realized it was all in fun and then she too would join in the fun.

The man who owned the cigar store always came in for coffee and we called him “grand pop”. He always wore a felt hat no matter what the temperature. He had many hats but one in particular was an old brown one . The men always removed their hats when inside and use to put them on the counter in front of them. One day when we were in our fun mood we kidded Grand Pop about his hat being too warm for the day and we would help him by making it air conditioned. I took his hat and cut holes all over the hat making it look very funny. It seemed that some of the people who knew him well got involved and would say here’s a spot for us to cut another hole. He was a good sport and I am thankful that he liked us.

 I guess I am getting carried away with some of these stories. But I wanted you to know my sister is 86 year old and although she is not as lively as she used to be, she is still lots of fun. As I talk to her on the telephone and remember some of these stories we laugh a great deal. Neither of us can hear too well and miss a lot that was said because we both wear hearing aids, but we thank the Lord for good memories.

Until next time, I am Immigrant Daughter still having fun!

IMMIGRANT DAUGHTER #8

I talked my 2^nd sister to go to the lake with me on a hot Sunday afternoon. As I mentioned before my sisters did not like the outdoors as much as I did and after some coaxing she came. I had at my disposal every Sunday a new panel truck thanks to the owner who owned the department store. This first picutree is of him, that same sister, and me.  He was a dear friend of the family that came in the restaurant for coffee and I used to clean his glasses and couldn’t understand how he could see out of them. I understand now because I wear glasses that get very dirty before I clean them and when I do I wonder why I waited so long.

We went to the lake after church and no sooner than we got in the water a thunder storm let loose rain and the life guard ordered everyone out of the water. We ran for our vehicle and decided to wait to see if it stopped. The truck with the department stores’ name on it was parked under the trees. The car that was parked next to it had four young men in it and they rolled down their window and asked if we had a match. We did not smoke and I automatically said no. To my surprise my sister pipes up and said yes she had one and that led to more conversation. We found out they were from the Naval Air Station down the road.

The rain did not look like it was going to stop so we invited them to follow us home for lunch. Now when we came in with four sailors in wet bathing suits carrying their clothes we had to explain this to my father who was reading the paper in his easy chair. My other two sisters were home as well so we fixed lunch and had an enjoyable afternoon playing monopoly. That is how I met the man of my life. My father was very strict about boys and dating, but never objected to company as long as he was present.

C.C. found out my work schedule and hitched hiked to town if he didn’t have the money for the bus ride. We went to the lake every chance we could. I found out C.C. was in the Navy waiting for assignment to air control mans’ school which would not be for awhile. He was working as an airplane mechanic. He was an orphan that called Michigan home.

I have a lot more to say on this later because my life took a drastic change. Until next time, I am Immigrant daughter.  

IMMIGRANT DAUGHTER #7

I need to tell you about a dog we had that loved my mother. Now I know, we all have pets that love us but I am talking unconditional love that was put to the test.

When my mother was in her down spiral Tippy was by her side constantly.

I don’t know how long we had Tippy but I do remember Tippy was mom’s dog and just tolerated the rest of us.  My father was not fond of pets. Oh, he put up with them because of mom. Someone brought mom a little kitten and Tippy welcomed the company to curl up with while sleeping.  Tippy learned quickly who was boss in our household and  he followed my dad everywhere and I mean everywhere. When dad went to the Town Council, V.F.W., Board of Education and political meetings Tippy would follow him in and wait under his chair being extremely quiet. He never barked or growled so he wouldn’t be thrown out.

It was easy for Tippy to follow because we walked everywhere. The only one he would wait for was dad. When he followed us to school as soon as the bell rang to go in Tippy would leave.

On Sunday when we walked to church he would follow us, but not be allowed to go in.  He would patiently wait until someone else came and as soon as they opened the door, scooted in crawling under the pews until he found where we were sitting. He sat quietly until church was over,

When mom was in bed for that year Tippy stayed by her side except to go out when he needed. The day mom died and the undertaker was called and carried mom’s body out  to the hearse, the dog seemed to know she wasn’t coming back and that afternoon Tippy ran in front of a car and died on the spot. I will never forget July 18.1942 . I lost both my mother and her dog who loved her so much.  I am, IMMIGRANT DAUGHTER.

IMMIGRANT DAUGHTER #6

My older brother Tommy, when mom died, ran off and joined the Navy. He was just old enough and guess what? He was in the Navy! He ran away from nbeing a “cook”. The Lord does work in strange ways to teach us. Will we ever learn? Probably not.

By the time I saw my brother again a lot of time passed. I was enjoying life growing up. My sister Sophia had a friend who knew of the situation of mom and she felt she needed to educate Sophie and her sisters about babies. I was included and that is how I learned about the birds and bees. Even though we had a maternity home next door, that’s the first time I had heard this, and as “Paul Harvey would say, "Now for the rest of the story”. 

Sohpia had two husbands who worshiped the ground she walked on but never had children. She was a diabetic  who never took care of herself and it is sad because she died when she was 50 years old.

My father had a younger brother who was a diabetic that died because he drank too much.  He was a handsome young man, so when my dad was diagnosed with diabeties when he was 70 years old his life took a drastic change. He was good size around the waist because of all the good Italian bread and food he ate. When the doctors in the hospital told him what he could and couldn’t eat he came home and never ate the old way again especially the bread. He then would only eat wheat bread and no donuts or pies. He did love his fat El Producto cigars and chewing on those seem to help. His discpline gave me a good example because I became diabetic when I was 22 years old.  

Until next time, I am Immigrant Daughter.

Immigrant Daugther #5

In the 8th grade we had to make our graduation dresses in sewing class on a treadle sewing machine.  I was sort of handicapped, not having my mother around to help me.  What I am about to tell you made me cry at the time but now it seems kind of funny.

One of my sisters took me to buy the material and I picked white pique.  It seemed heavy enough to take a lot of tearing out of seams because I did not like doing this without help at home.

The first instruction from the teacher was to shink the material first.  I did this and hung it on the line and it hung pretty low to the ground.  The dog we had pulled it off the line and drug it all around!  Four yards made quite a banner for him to run with and drag it on the ground.  I was crushed because there wasn't any money to buy new, and I had to go to school with damp material because it did not have enough time to dry.  After a long year of struggle making this dress, the picture above is what I looked like.  A perm in my hair helped.

I finally made it to high school and was so glad.  I knew I did not want home economics after that dress I had to make, so I chose the college course because most of my friends were in that course.  In September of 1944 we had a hurricane that uprooted the tree in front of our house.

My brother Tommy joined the Navy so we took a picture of it to send him.

In high school I played field hockey and basketball.  I guess I was in good physical shape because I was on the varsity squad in the second year of high school.  My brother, Andrew, played football and basket ball and Dad used to come and watch him play both sports.  Andy was short but wiry and played really well.  He had all the girls chasing him.

When I graduated high school my dad who was a town councileman and on the Board of Education, had the privilege of handing the seniors their diplomas.  What an honor for me!  Here is a man who taught himself to read and write in the most beautiful script penmanship, and he was my father!  Now I was the one who was proud.

The senior class spent three days in Washington D.C. and for me to go I had to borrow some of my sisters' clothes.  Oh, I had some clothes because by that time Dad was giving me a salary of $15.00 per month; and needless to say, as a girl I spent most of it on clothes.  I can remember my first pair of high-heeled shoes.  They were brown suede platform ankle straps.  I remember learning to walk in them.  I must have given everyone a good laugh watching me walk to church.  I will tell more on myself next time.

I am Immigrant Daugther.

Immigrant Daughter #4

Back again with the saga of my family.  I ended on a sad point but, believe me, there are a lot more good and happy moments than sad.

When  dad and mom closed the store on Saturday night around midnight, his sister and husband would drive over from Vinland to play cards. They played  Pinochle, men against the women. Pinochle is a great card game and I love to play it and in later years I never could find anyone who knew how to play. I remember there were many words spoken out loud with lots of yelling over cards played. My father hated to lose especially on what he considered a dumb play. This game has bidding to find out who names trump. It is played with a pinochle deck.  In case you are not aware, there are no cards under 9 making 48 cards in the deck. It takes a lot of counting and remembering what suits were played. It is really good game using your brain.

We had a neighbor who was a nurse who ran a nursing home delivering babies. The doctors use to have their patients go there instead of the hospital. This nurse was very large and had a special car made just for her.  I would call it limousine today. It had to be roomy to carry her around.  When we got a ride in it we were impressed by all the gadgets especially the cooler, when she gave us a cold soda.                                                         

This nurse, whose name was Cotty, had a pet goose named Dilly who was mean and would attack anyone who dared to enter her territory.  I was afraid of Dilly who was no “Aflack” goose that’s for sure. Cotty watched our house like a hawk and would make sure mom and dad knew what was going on at our house.

My oldest sister never like housework of any kind and washing clothes only happened when everything she owned was dirty. It would take her all day because using a wringer washing machine had to have the water dumped out and new water added for clothes that were not colorfast. Well when she stood outside at the clothesline she would hang out about 25 panties and as many bras and slips. Cotty couldn’t stand; it she would yell from her screened porch “what’s matter Sophia run out of money to buy new ones”.  Plus she had many other items of clothing on the line. Ladies wore silk stockings then and they were easy to wash in the sink, but not Sophia she had umpteen hanging on the line.

Sophia played the piano and could sing. She had an operatic voice that was pleasant to hear. We had on old black ebony upright piano that we use to gather around to sing. Those were fond memories and I think the new generation lost the family closeness with all the new sound systems available to listen to. The Desert Song and Rosemarie and many other love songs are things of the past.  I can still hear my sister singing “I Promise You” at my wedding. Those are good memories.  Until next time, I am Immigrant Daughter’

Immigrant Daughter #3

 Continuing on with the story...  The whole family worked in the restaurant. I, being the youngest, had a job peeling a pot of potatoes every day. Needless to say I do not particularly like potatoes to this day. We all had different jobs at different ages. You can see I was the lowest rung on the ladder and got the least popular job.  One thing funny about peeling potatoes: in the back room I would sing crazy ding a ling songs and one day my father couldn't stand to hear such nonsense. He came yelling at me in Greek that if I can't sing anything but garbage to shut up.  At that moment I started to sing "Onward Christian Solders" and I thought, "Now I did it" and that I would get spanked. He got so mad that I heard things in Greek that I can not repeat.

Growing up in the restaurant allowed us to meet many different people making it easy to talk to strangers. My sister Electra and I worked more in the restaurant than any of the others. I will just tell you some of the stories that I can remember. It was so long ago from 4 year old to 79 that is a long span to remember things in order. But I am game to tell it,  if you are to hear it.

Dad and mom moved the restaurant across the main street to the corner across the street from the train station. The commuter trains from Atlantic City to Philadelphia stopped in Hammonton several times a day taking the people to and from work out of town. The restaurant was larger and we were busier. Mom and Dad did all the cooking, we were all older and our life changed.                

We were in the new place about 8 months when mom slipped in the kitchen on a piece of fat and broke her hip.  Now our back yard neighbor doctor was out of town and mom went to a doctor covering for him.  Well he did not agree with her about her hip and said she just bruised it. It kept hurting and when doctor Elliott returned he suggested she go the the hospital in Philadelphia. She had been there many times, I didn't know it then, but she had both breasts removed because of cancer. She rode the train or bus to go to the hospital. With a broken hip it must have been very painful. We did not have a car. I can relate to that as I am recovering from a broken right hip and I went to the emergency room in a very comfortable Honda Accord. The doctors and nurses couldn't imagine why I didn't call 911 for a more comfortable ambulance ride. 

I was 11 years old when this happened and as I said my life changed and not for the better. My mother was brought home with a body cast that started under her breast area to the end of her right foot. With the house being three stories mom's bed was moved down into the living room that had a square bay window so she could look outside. She enjoyed watching the kids passing by going to the Roman Catholic School that was just around the corner from our house. She laid in that bed for one whole year . Electra had the loving nurse instinct and had her bed brought down to the living where mom's bed was to take care of her needs. She had it doubly hard because my dad took that bed and called up to Electra to come down when mom needed anything. She had accepted the responsibility without a whimper.

I must interject here that my mother was so well loved that when the Roman Catholics had their  holiday  parades walking the religious statues from the church down to main street and back again, they made a special detour going back to the church passing our house and letting mom see them. We were not Roman Catholic but the priests knew mom was a believer and very devout and they would come in and pray for her.

The restaurant still required the same amount of time, but now we had mom at home who needed meals and going to the bathroom, which required the bed pan duty.  The three of us younger children still had to go to school and we had to adjust getting up time  and working at the restaurant but loved sitting by the bed listening to mom's stories. I can't remember anything but loving words from mom' I never heard "why me Lord".  She just accepted whatever happened as her lot. I had the job of running home with her lunch during lunch time from school and helping during rush hour and gulping down my lunch.

This hung on for one full year and then mom died. She was 45 years old. I was 12 years old. I will never forget the Greek custom of the family sitting up all night with the body and kissing it before they closed the coffin. Believe me that is a custom that is changed in my belief. Until next time I am Immigrant Daughter.

Immigrent daughter 2

Continuation of immigrant daughter blog…..there are so many things to write about. Here is a picture of front of the cigsar store,  My one sister is taking the picture and I don’t know where my oldest brother was at the time.

 I want to say that my father was the boss.  There was no talking back, and when he spoke it was the last word period. Growing up you knew where you stood in the family.  When my two oldest sisters went to work they would bring their paychecks home and turn it over to dad and he would give them an allowance from it.

My second sister was a booker keeper in one of the factories.  Back then bookkeepers had lots of responsibility of payroll, keeping taxes paid and attendance hours of workers.  She knew each and every worker that worked in the factory. She was good and so honest that the owners wanted to have her baby sit their children.  When she was asked to sit for two families on the same night, she would recommend her younger sister.  Now this is my third sister who worked in the restaurant and was still in school so this is how she got to baby sit. 

This third sister was smart in school, all A’s. It was hard for me being the youngest following a sister who was so smart even with the years between us because teachers never forgot other family members especially being the only Greek family in town.  We walked to school all twelve grades at the same place, three separate buildings. I heard so many times, “Why can’t you do like your sisters?”  Like I said being the youngest of six was not the best at times.                                                                                                                                

I mentioned to you my father taught himself to read and write English.  He went on to be elected to the Board of Education whenI was in high school. More about that phase of my life later.

                                                                             

In the last post I had a picture of the first restaurant and a picture of me inside the restaurant behind the counter as a little girl.  I was able to run out the back door to play outside in the large yard behind the restaurant. The family played ball, and dad would come out and bat the ball over the barn and we would have to go find it.  One day, instead of the ball going straight over the barn, it went to the right and broke a window in the doctors house.  Dad ran in and left us kids out there to face the music. The doctor was kind but his wife was not.  She never gave the balls back but after she cooled, down the doctor would throw the balls back in the yard.  I think he knew who really broke the window.

Here is a picture of mom and kids out back in the yard.

My sisters are just a year apart then after two years my brother and another two and a half years my next brother and another two years I came in the picture. I really can’t imagine what she went through. I thought I worked hard but I can’t hold a candle to what she did.

See you later, until next time  I am immigrant daughter.                                                    

Introducing My Story

Greetings from the south!  I must tell you I am not from here originally but consider this my home by choice.  My parents were both Greek immigrants and have quite a story they passed down to six children. I am the youngest and I can tell you I did not have the hardship on me that my sisters and brothers had.

This story is about my father who was hidden by his mother so that he would not be taken to fight in the Turkish army.  When he was a child it seems that the Turks were in control of Greece and they just would take the boys no matter what age to fight in the army.  After she hid him she made arrangements to ship him off to America where he would be free. 

He knew no English and I do not know the particulars of just how he got here but when he did he was 17 years old. I really don’t think he knew for sure just how old he was. But he ended up in the army in America. He loved his new country and was proud to be an American.  After the army he made his home in Pennsylvania in the coal country working in a candy making process.  He worked hard and long hours saving money to send for his brothers and sisters who wanted to come to America. He eventually opened his own candy store in Ashland, Pennsylvania, called Candyland.

His mother and one married sister chose to stay to Greece but two brothers and three sisters came plus many friends who are relatives . My father taught himself to read and write English.  Some of the ones he brought over chose not to learn and stayed in the Greek community. My father went back to Greece to marry my mother and brought her brother and two sisters back to America. My father was a worker and paid the expense for all of them. Of course until they could find work he let them help making candy until they went on their own.

He was not satisified to stay in Pennsylvania, because it was getting like the old country he left behind, so he moved bag and baggage planting his family in a small town in New Jersey that was all-Italian. We were the only Greek family and so they called us the “Greasy Greeks” because my father had a family restaurant. 

He needed to because he had six children to feed.  He and my mother made a name for themselves with their cooking and baking.  They had an ongoing waiting list for their pies.  It seemed like they were gone before they made it to the customers in the restaurant. I can still taste their coconut custard pie and to this day mine does not compare.

I need to tell you how my father opened up without any money. It wouldn’t happen in this day and age. He went first to scout out the town to make sure it was small, with  working class people. Factories that made men and women’s clothing, coats and suits.  In fact there is a famous men’s suit called Hammonton Park suits made there and shipped out to expensive men’s clothing outlets.  They did not sell any to the local people.  My oldest sister was a hand finisher in the factory.  They are the ones who hand sew the lining  and labels in the jackets. We lived two blocks from the factory. 

My father went in to the cigar store and asked the man who owned the building that had a double side that was empty.  My dad went in and asked the owner if he could sell hot dogs and sandwiches in his window.  They used to build buildings with big deep front windows that they would advertise what they sell like dress shops putting clothes they sell in the windows so people would be enticed to come in to buy items. Now dad did not have any money for rent because he spent what he had on the food to sell.  The man was kind and after hearing dads’ story he let him because dad said he would pay him from the sales.   Here is the first restaurant, next to the cigar store, around 1936:

That progressed into renting the store next door and opening a restaurant and hiring one waitress while he and mom did the cooking. This quiet life lasted for several years. In the meantime dads’ sister and husband moved into a town just 20 miles away and they too opened a restaurant only theirs wasn’t a small family restaurant. Theirs was a larger and fancier establishment. I wore many of their daughters’ hand me downs which were pretty fancy. My mother made our clothes so you can imagine how I loved getting those hand me downs. I now realize how hard my mother worked making clothes in her spare time after working long hours in the restaurant.

The next phase of my life was a sad time.  My dad moved the restaurant across the main street to a larger place that was on a corner right across the street from the train station. Our town was a place that the train had lots of commuters going to Philadelphia and Atlantic City.  Our town was located about 30 miles from each. Dad received the contract to sell bus tickets because buses came through town every hour going either way. That helped business because the bus company paid well. The restaurant opened at six am and closed at midnight. They were long hours, as I mentioned before my dad was a hard worker who had a hard working wife by his side. All of us six kids worked in the restaurant. We ate all of our meals  in the restaurant.  We were never closed except Christmas and Easter days.  The only thing we did at home was sleep.

The picture to the right is of me at the restaurant about four years of age...probably working alreadY!  I am hoping to share with you  this time in my life in future.