The "Time-Tested Wedding Traditions" Story

It was an ordinary day.  And...the ordinary days all seem to be the same as they drag on and on.  To relieve some of the boredom, I began to go through some of the cabinets in our wet bar in our living room.  One cabinet had a variety of yearbooks from the high school from which I graduated as well as a few from the high school from which my wife Carol graduated.  At the bottom of the pile was the big white album with gold lettering across it which read "Our Wedding."  Grabbed it and headed to the family room to share it with my wife.  It's been quite a few years since we leafed through it, and it's always fun to share our thoughts about it once again.  As we went through it, page by page, we spent time reliving some of our wedding over again.  Some of the photographs brought back old wedding and marriage sayings which are old-time wedding traditions.  

Carol in the church entrance before the wedding.

We talked about not seeing each other on our wedding day until, while standing at the front of St. James Episcopal with my best man, my brother Steve, seeing her coming down the aisle with her dad.  Her flowing long-sleeved gown filled most of the aisle and her dad looked so proud as she held his arm.  She said she was wearing something old and something new which was a saying that was necessary to bring good luck into your marriage.  

Our wedding party.  One the few color photos we have.

Her white gown was picked because white dresses were supposed to be virginal and pure.  Actually, I didn't realize you could buy a wedding dress in any color but white, but it wasn't until the mid-1800s that white became popular.  Carol told me you can still buy a colored wedding dress, even black!  Carol had a maid of honor (unmarried female), a matron of honor (married female) along with three bridesmaids.  

Carol after our wedding was over.

I had a best man, my brother Steve, and 4 ushers.  Having bridesmaids and ushers dated back to Ancient Rome when having a bridal party was required to be witnesses to vouch for the couple.  Actually in many cultures, bridesmaids acted as incognito bodyguards and all dressed the same as the bride to prevent kidnappers and thieves from taking off with the bride.  At the end of the wedding ceremony we exchanged wedding bands which we still have to this day.  Long ago, men didn't wear wedding rings.  

Our wedding bands which we still wear today.

It wasn't until the 1940s that men's wedding rings became socially acceptable and were seen as a romantic link between married couples.  I still wear the original ring that I got from my bride on our wedding day over 50 years ago.  Actually, my knuckle and finger have grown to the point where I can't remove it!  Someone will have to cut it off after I die.  

Thousands of computer chads fill the air.

Another custom of getting married is the tossing of the celebratory rice as the bride and groom leave the church after the wedding.  Years ago in Ancient Rome, wheat was the best signifier of fertility, with rice taking up its role in Europe in the Middle Ages.  Lentils, oats, peas and other grains were also popular.  At our wedding, guests threw little chads of paper from the computer printers back in the mid-1960s.  They were so small and hard to clean up that the church later banned throwing them.  

Our wedding cake.

At our reception, which was held at the church's Parish House, the women's club at the church prepared the food and the large wedding cake was beautiful.  Carol and I kept the top layer of the cake and put it in our freezer at our first home at Manor House Apartments.  On our first anniversary we thawed it out and had a piece to celebrate.  Don't remember it tasting as bad on our wedding day as it did on our anniversary.  Saving the top layer of the wedding cake was a tradition begun in the early 1900s, but it was said back then that it was to be eaten at the birth of a first child.  If we had waited for our first child to eat it, the cake might have killed both of us.  Wedding traditions are neat to talk about and look back on from time to time.  And the more wedding anniversaries we celebrate, the more fun it becomes.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Carol with her mom and dad, Grace and Charlie.

Me with my dad Paul, mom Dottie and brother (on right) Steve.

PS:  On June 17, 1967, Carol and I were married at St. James Episcopal Church in downtown historical Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  We recently celebrated 53 years of marriage!  We shared a box full of red roses and some greeting cards for our anniversary!

The "Colorful Meals" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Cleaning some of the shelves in our living room for something to do to avoid the boredom of being confined to the house during this stressful time of fighting the coronavirus.  As I cleaned the shelves above our small sink in the living room, I admired once more the many pieces of vibrant Fiesta Ware that my mother had given to us over the years.  Carol and I very rarely use the plates and dishes since they are more valuable sitting on the shelf than they are sitting on the table full of food.  Fiesta Ware was designed by Frederick Hurten Rhead for the Homer Laughlin China Company in Newell, West Virginia.  It was first introduced to the public in 1936 at the Pittsburgh China and glass Show.  

A variety of colors of plates, saucers and cups.

Some of the original colors were red, yellow, cobalt blue, green and ivory.  One of my favorites, turquoise was introduced a year later.  What made the pottery interesting was that you could buy all the different plates and dishes in just about every color, therefore the chances of your neighbor having the exact same collection was rather slim.  And, being that most people in the mid to late 1930s weren't wealthy, you could buy a few pieces at a time instead of having to buy an entire set all at once.  Mr. Rhead's art deco design made it look as if pieces had been formed by hand on a potter's wheel instead of being mass-produced.  In my hometown of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, my mom was able to buy her collection of Fiesta Ware at the downtown Woolworths which was the first Woolworths to open in the United States.  

A gravy boat sits in a celery dish.  On the right rear of the
photo is a set of three mixing bowls while a serving
bowl is on the left rear of the photo.

She could buy individual pieces as well as a 24-piece place setting which sold for about $11.  The Homer Laughlin China Company produced more than 1 million pieces of Fiesta by 1938.  In the 1950s many of the pieces could be bought in soft pastel colors while brighter colors were made in the early 1960s.  But, there was some talk about the old orange-red glaze that was used.  It was called by many "radioactive red" and was made in the early 1940s.  One of the key ingredients of the glaze was uranium and was restricted to government use for nuclear bomb research.  At that point, red Fiesta disappeared, but did eventually make it's way back on the shelves in 1959.  The pottery reached it's peak in 1948 when 10 million pieces were purchased.  Fiesta Ware was retired in the early 1970s.  

This photo shows the serving bowls with a
serving platter.

But, in 1986, when it became popular with collectors, Bloomingdale's partnered with Homer Laughlin to reintroduce the colorful pottery.  The new line became known as Post 86 and is lead-free and safe to use in the microwave and dishwasher.  The Fiesta Ware that Carol and I now have is always hand-washed and is never placed in the microwave for fear it may cause sparks.  We still use a few of the pieces we have from my mother at special occasions such as Christmas and Easter dinners.  Didn't happen this Easter, since we didn't celebrate the holiday with our family due to the coronavirus.  Check out some of the pieces we have stored in our cabinet in the living room.  They still are beautiful and heavy.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

My favorite piece is this serving bowl that has handles and a knob on the
top.  Original casseroles featured details such as these hand-applied handles
and knobs that added to the value of the piece.  

The "Paint-By-Number Makes Art Accessible To All" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Walking the halls of Moravian Manor with my mom looking at the latest painting she had hanging for all to see.  My mother, Dorothea, was a resident of Moravian Manor, a retirement and nursing home in nearby Lititz, Pennsylvania for close to 10 years.  She first went there after she was trying to take care of my father at their home in Grandview Heights and got a hernia while trying to lift him.  Dad followed her to Moravian Manor shortly after she entered the facility so he could be there with her.  Little did we know that he would pass shortly after and mom would become a permanent resident, since she couldn't manage a large house by herself.  She grew to love the home and most of the residents who became new neighbors to her.  Our church also held monthly services at the home and gave me a chance to once again go to church with her.  I spent many a day visiting and eating lunch with her in the cafeteria where you could get a sandwich, bowl of soup and a drink for under $5.  For many years mom did watercolor painting and once at Moravian Manor decided she would like to try the paint-by-number pictures.  

One of my mother's paintings.  She was known in the
neighborhood as Grandma Woods for her style similar to
Grandma Moses.  She eventually used the Paint-by-Number kits.

I purchased a few landscapes for her and in no time she was enjoying painting once again.  Her friends would all compli- ment her for her skill which made her try even harder to succeed.  Before she became interested in watercolors, she had spent many hours on the paint-by-number pictures that were the creation of Dan Robbins, an artist who created the first kits and turned the paintings in a 1950s sensation.  

The cover of the Paint-by-Number kit.

I had recently read that Mr. Robbins died in early April at the age of 93.  Many thought his paint-by-number kits were just a novelty, but he was celebrated by the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of American History shortly after coming up with the idea of painting between the lines.  Mr. Robbins had been working as a package designer for the Palmer Paint Company in Detroit, Michigan in the late 1940s when he came up with the idea for the paint-by-number pictures.  He claimed his inspiration came from Leonardo da Vinci.  Leonardo was supposed to have used numbered background patterns for his students and apprentices, so Dan decided to try the same thing.  His first attempt was a still life that his boss at Palmer hated, but encouraged Dan to try some landscapes which his boss liked much better.  The Craft Master paint-by-number kits weren't embraced at first, but with people such as my mom taking a liking to them, they began to sell and peaked at 20 million in 1955.  Everyone had a chance to paint a bit of Americana and I also got into the fad by painting a few myself.  It gave everyone a chance to be an artist even though you may not have had any skill.  Those living in the "cookie-cutter" society were able to paint pictures and actually frame and hang them on the wall in their home.  Mr. Robbins eventually designed Happy Meal toys for McDonald's.  As for my mom she found that she could continue with her love of painting even though she didn't draw the original herself.  

Mom celebrating her 85th birthday with her great-grand kids.

She lived to be 90 years old and still enjoyed the Paint-by-number kits until her last few months.  As we walked the halls of Moravian Manor you could find one of her framed paint-by-number prints in most hallways.  I haven't visited since she died eight years ago, but I'll bet they still grace the walls of the assisted living section of the home.  The paint-by-number kit that Mr. Roggins developed made just about anyone a painter and spred the arts across the world.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

The "Happy Mother's Day" Story

Happy Mother's Day, from Larry

It was an ordinary day.  Ordinary for many, but for those living in the United States, and perhaps the country where you may live, today is Mother's Day.  Today we honor motherhood which is observed differently throughout the world.  In the United States,

Anna Reeves Jarvis, the founder of Mother's Day.

Anna Reeves Jarvis of West Virginia help start Mother' Day when on May 10, 1908 she sent 500 white carnations to Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Graftonin in honor of her late mother Ann.   Anne is usually seen as the "mother" of Mother's Day for creating the movement that led to the eventual proclamation in the United States.  Anna also began Mother's Work Clubs to teach women how to properly care for their children.  These clubs later became a unifying force in a region of the country still divided due to the Civil War.  Then in 1868 she organized "Mothers' Friendship Day" where mothers from both the Union and Confederate sides gathered to promote reconciliation.  It was said that these days were the forerunner of our modern Mother's Day.  Two years later abolitionist and suffragette Julia Ward Howe wrote the "Mother's Day Proclamation" which was a call to action that asked mothers to unite in promoting world peace.  She actually called for a "Mother's Peace Day" to be celebrated on June 2 each year.  In the late 19th and early 20th centuries Mary Towles Sasseen and Frank Hering worked to organize a Mother's Day thus giving Frank the name "the father of Mother's Day.  

Julia Ward Howe wrote the "Mother's Day Proclamation"

Then came that day in May of 1908 when Anna sent the flowers to the Methodist church in West Virginia.  Happened to be the same Sunday that thousands flocking to a Wanamaker's store in Philadelphia for a retail event.  Well, Ms. Jarvis, who never married or had children, was so excited about the turnout that she pushed for Mother's Day to be added as a national American holiday.  Four years later states and towns adopted the event as a holiday and finally, in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a measure naming the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day.  Families began celebrating by giving the "Mother" in the family a day off from activities like cooking and household chores.  I have no doubt that retailers and florists pushed for the day to be made a holiday.  Today Mother's Day is celebrated in many nations around the world.  Everywhere from Thailand to Ethiopia families gather around the matriarch of the family in celebration of motherhood.  Then in 1968 Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King Jr., hosted a march on Mother's Day in support of underprivileged women and children.  In the 1970s women's groups throughout the USA used Mother's Day as a holiday to highlight the need for equal rights and access to childcare.  Hopefully today you will honor your mother with at least a card or kind words.  Anyway, where would we be without all the mothers in the world?  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "The Memory Painters" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Happened to pick up one of the Lancaster County Historical Society publications that I recently purchased at the book sale held at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and began reading a story about Hattie Klapp Brunner who was an antique dealer as well as artist.  

Hattie Brunner

Her artwork reminded me of the style of painting used by Grandma Moses and "Dottie" Woods, my mother who began her painting career in her 70s.  Hattie Brunner was born in nearby Reinholds, East Cocalico Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania on November 27, 1889.  She was one of eight children born into a farm family and began working at the age of seven after her father died.  She took a job caring for an old woman and later was hired on a farm in return for room and board and a salary of $1.00 a month.  When she turned 10 she took a job as a house servant in West Cocalico. She had an intense love of music and graduated from the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music and was the church organist at Swamp United Church of Christ in Reinholds from 1912 to 1918.  Eventually she married and she and her husband operated a general store in Reinholds for many years.  

Grandma Moses

She and her husband Raymond also dealt in antiques.  It wasn't until 1957 that Hattie started painting watercolors after being encouraged by her husband's grandson.  It was a Sunday when she presented her grandson with a set of watercolors.  While sketching a farm scene, the seven-year-old had a problem drawing a horse.  Hattie helped him with the drawing and afterward her grandson pleaded, "Now, Grandma, you paint!"  She painted strong, colorful, nostalgic scenes based on memories of her life in Lancaster County.  She worked mostly in her sewing room or kitchen where she painted on a flat surface.  

"Dottie" Woods

She was a prolific painter who completed more than 600 watercolors as well as hundreds of greeting cards before her eyesight began to fail.  Her paintings were what she called "sofa size", 10"x 14" and 17"x25" in size.  She died August 2, 1982 at what at the time was St. Joseph's Hospital in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Hattie Brunner was what was known as a "Memory Painter"; a painter who had no training, was past middle age and experienced a past that was inspiring.  She, Grandma Moses and "Dottie" Woods were all "memory painters" whose style and paintings look very similar.  All three experienced a past that inspired them and whose memories were a storehouse of all they knew about the world.  I realize I may be a bit prejudiced by placing my mother with Hattie Brunner and Grandma Moses, but that's OK, since this is my story.  After viewing some of the work of all three, you too may agree with me.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - The first three paintings were painted by Grandma Moses, the second three paintings were painted by Hattie Brunner and the last three were by "Dottie" Woods.  All three were members of the "Memory Painter" classification.

The "My Mom: She Was One Tough Little Old Lady" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Carol was talking on the phone with her longtime friend, Marg, about all of our recent medical problems that we have been experienced.  Telling Marg that I had to stay overnight in the hospital when I had my Cryosurgery for prostate cancer, but was just listed as an outpatient, since insurance will totally cover it that way.  Then we began to talk about hospital stays and my mom's stay at the Lancaster General Hospital when she developed a hernia from trying to lift my dad into his home hospital bed when he was ill with cancer.  

Photo taken at Crystal Beach, Maryland showing my mom
surrounded by family.  I'm standing to her right with my
brother Steve to her left.  Sitting o the log are her sister,
only a year older then me, on the far left and my two cousins.

The resident hospital doctor said she was too old to be operated on for the hernia and they were going to wait until the hernia receded and then release her.  Day after day passed with only IV fluids for mom.  We finally told the hospital they needed to release her or operate. They released her and we found a nursing facility to take her for recovery.  They began to give her soft food and in no time she was gaining strength again.  In the meantime we had home nursing care for my dad and when he found out mom was in a nursing home, he wanted to be placed in the same nursing facility.  Wasn't long before the were in rooms across the hall from each other.  Dad finally succumbed from his cancer and I decided it best for mom to stay where she was getting excellent care.  

Mom sharing her 85th birthday cake with her great grand-kids.

She wasn't too happy about it at first, but did eventually enjoy the many new friendships she was gaining.  Then it hit her again.  While trying to move something in her room, the hernia reappeared.  The nursing facility had her taken to the  Heart of Lancaster Hospital where they operated the same evening and repaired the hernia.  She was up walking around in about eight hours, wanted to be taken back to her room.  So, how do you explain why one of Lancaster's premier hospitals. Lancaster General, chose not to operate while a smaller and less traveled hospital made the decision to operate immediately and made mom's life bearable once again.  If only it had been done four months before, she might have been able to return to her treasured little home with screened-in back porch.  If only Lancaster General had known how tough that little old lady really was!  I think of her often when I look at her paintings that resemble Grandma Moses paintings and how she wasn't afraid to try just about anything.  Yes, she really was one tough little old lady who loved life, right to the end.  Love you mom!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "The Shot Heard Round The World" Story

Bobby Thomson of the New York Giants has just hit a homerun off
Ralph Branca of the Broklyn Dodgers to win the 1951 National League.

It was an ordinary day.  My dad is screaming at the TV!  "He did it!  He did it!" he screamed over and over.  Mom came running from the kitchen thinking it must have been something I did that made dad mad.  Not so!  I never did a thing my dad didn't like!!  Just ask my brother who calls me Moses.  Seems dad and I were watching the final game of the 1951 National League Playoffs to determine who would play the hated New York Yankees in the World Series.  Dad loved watching baseball games on TV, but in this case he had the radio on also, since he liked listening to announcer Russ Hodges give the play-by-play description of the game.  Our favorite, the Philadelphia Phillies, had faded into a distant third late in the season so dad and I had to root for the Giants.  

Bobby Thomson of the New York Giants.

The Giants were playing the equally hated, at least in our house, Dodgers when a Giants player, Bobby Thomson, hit a 3-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning winning the ball game and sending the Giants to the World Series.  The game was the first ever nationally televised game and we were watching it on our little black and white television.  On the chimney, atop our two-story duplex, was the neatest contraption that made our TV picture much easier to see.  Dad had climbed up on the roof earlier in the summer to attach it to the chimney.  In the bottom of the ninth the home-team Giants were behind by three runs.  They scored a quick run and after one out, had two men on base.  The Dodger's pitcher, Don Newcombe, was pulled and Ralph Branca was brought in to pitch to Bobby Thomson.  

Ralph Branca of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

On deck for the Giant's was my all-time favorite player, Willie Mays, who was in the running for "Rookie of the Year." It was decided to pitch to Thomson instead of walking him and pitch to Mays, even though Branca had struck-out Mays twice in the first game of the three game series a few days ago.  Well, the rest is history as they say!  On the second pitch, a fast ball inside, Thomson hit it over the left field fence at the Polo Grounds.  Radio announcer Russ Hodges called the play … There's a long drive … it's gonna be, I believe … The Giants win the pennant!  The Giants win the pennant!  The Giants win the pennant!  The Giants win the pennant!  Bobby Thomson hits into the lower deck of the left-field stands!  The Giants win the pennant!  Mom came running, screaming what was wrong.  Well, I tell you this story today since Ralph Branca, the goat of the game, died a few days ago at the age of 90.  I don't remember much of the game except for the screaming on the radio and of course mom and dad screaming. Many stories flew around during the ensuing years after the game.  Thomson's home run became entangled in accusations  of a sign stealing operation conducted by the Giants.  Several players, it was reported, had confirmed that they stole opposing catcher's signals for much of the season via a buzzer system using a "spy" telescope in the center field clubhouse at the Polo Grounds.  

Bobby Thomson crossing home plate after his home run.

Thomson said no one ever told him what pitch Branca was going to throw to him.  Branca disagreed when he heard the accusa- tions.  He said Thomson knew exactly what pitch was coming.  Over the years Branca and Thomson appeared together at old-timers' games, baseball dinners and autograph shows.  Much of the money they made was donated to charity.  They became close friends and at one appearance on the 40th anniversary of the history homerun, Thomson remarked that "Ralph didn't run away and hide."  Branca responded, "I lost a game, but made a friend."  Branca eventually grew resigned to being known solely as the classic goat of baseball history.  Not many know that he won 21 games when he was 21 years old or that at the age of 25 he had accumulated 75 wins.  Great baseball player in any person's mind.  And … Bobby finally cleared his conscience by telling Ralph that he knew what pitch was coming that fateful day.  Bobby Thomson died in 2010 at the age of 86 and a few days ago the other part of the historic story duo died at the age of 90.  The homerun was known as "The Shot Heard 'Round The World" and the game is one of the few memories I have of my very early childhood.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - check out the video of the play.





  

The "Pilfering Pneumatic Canisters" Story

Mr. William Murdock
Inventor of the pneumatic tube system 

It was an ordinary day.  Just got back from the bank after making a deposit at the drive-through.  Turned off the engine and reached for the deposit slip on the passenger's seat only to find I had the entire drive-through canister sitting next to me.  What's bad is it isn't the first time that's happened.  For some reason when I stop at the drive-through and have other customers behind me in line, I try and hurry my transaction and that's what happens.  I have always returned the canister the following day and taken it into the bank.  I"m always thanked and told that I'm not the only one who does it.  

Women making change at a pneumatic system.

Now, my story today has to do with the canister and the system that is used to deliver the canister into the bank and back to the car again.  Called the pneumatic tube message system and was invented in England in 1836 by William Murdock who also was given credit for inventing the oscillating cylinder steam engine, gas lighting, steam gun and made a number of discoveries in chemistry.  

A drawing of an experimental pneumatic elevated
subway from 1867.  The beginning of the subway system?

It was in 1854 that Josiah Clark was issued a patent "for conveying letters or parcels between places by the pressure of air and vacuum."  In 1893 the first pneumatic system was established in the U.S. in Philadelphia by Postmaster General John Wanamaker who had previously employed the system in his department store.  The U.S. Postal System utilized the pneumatic system of office mail delivery in many U.S. cities until the last system in St. Louis was stopped in 1953.  In 1861 the London Pneumatic Despatch Company built a system large enough to transport people.  

Photo taken in Lancaster, PA showing women making
change and using the pneumatic tube system at a local store.

In 1865 the Duke of Bucking- ham, the chairman of the company, was blown through the tube to Euston, a five minute trip.  By 1870 an actual subway beneath the streets of New York began working.  Known as the Beach Pneumatic Transit and featured one car that ran a city block.  As for me, I can remember the use of pneumatic tubes or canisters in many of the department stores in downtown Lancaster, PA.  I loved going to Watt & Shand's or Hager's or Garvin's Department Store and watch my mom pay for her purchases with cash and the clerk putting the money in the canister and sending it to who knows where.  

This is a view inside Lancaster's Watt & Shand Department Store in downtown Lancaster.  It's listed on the photo as being the basement of the store where the pneumatic tubes would lead and where change would be made and sent back to the customer in the department above. 

 As I stood next to mom, I could here and perhaps tell where the metal tubes were moving in the ceiling.  In about a minute or two the canister would return with mom's change.  How that tube knew exactly where to go and return to still boggles my mind. All those stores are now gone from downtown Lancaster as well as the pneumatic tube systems they once used, but the local hospital, newspaper and banks still employ the pneumatic systems.  And, I'm sure they have an extra supply of canisters for customers like me that forget to put the tube back in the system and drive away with it.  Seems they were never able to patent a unit that would stop the pilferage of their canisters by customers such as me.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Oh yeah!  This is the pneumatic tube system that I have pilfered the canister from a few times.  They know by now that they may have to replace the canister when the little white car with the bald guy goes through it. I usually return it the next day!

 

The "Memories From The Green House On Janet Ave." Story

Rear door still has mom and dad's name plate on it.

It was an ordinary day.  Just took a few photos of the back porch, turned to head back into the kitchen and there it was.  The little ceramic plaque, perhaps two inches by five inches on the home's rear door, with the flowered details around the edges that read across the center ... "Woods". Wow!  I said to Beth, "You still have that plaque on your back door.  How neat!"  

A small wooden replica of 944 Janet Ave. which was made years ago.
You can see the shutters on all windows and shrubs in the foreground

My story today actually started a few weeks ago when I received an email from someone named Beth.  She told me in her email that she and her husband had purchased my mom and dad's house at 944 Janet Ave. a few years ago and at the time of viewing the home with their realtor had found mom's recipe file in the kitchen.  

944 Janet Ave. as it appears today.  

They told their realtor that they loved the home, but the file would have to be part of the deal, since she felt something of my mom should remain after having lived there for so long.  Their realtor passed the information on to my cousin Susan who was also a realtor and was handling the sale for us.  

Living room as it now appears.

I was fine with that and was just glad I could sell the home, since dad had recently died and mom was in a nursing facility.  Mom died a few years ago and after her death I had totally forgotten about the recipe file. That was until the email.  Beth was reaching out to me and offering the recipe file back if I wished to have it.  

Dining room with the recipe file sitting atop the table.

I asked my wife, Carol, if she would like to have mom's old recipes and we both agreed that it would be interesting to see what was in the files. I returned the email to Beth and said I would love to have the file returned once again.  A day or two later Carol and I left for Stone Harbor, NJ for a week of vacation with my brother and sister-in-law.  When I told my brother, Steve, about the file, he was more excited than me.  He loves to cook and had tried for the past few years to make mom's special meals without the help of a recipe.  

Mom's favorite room, the kitchen looks much like it
did before we sold the house.  

He was anxious to see what dishes he was going to be able to enjoy once again.  Well, today I pulled into the parking space on Janet Ave. and walked the same pathway to the front door that I had walked for quite a few years.  House is still the same pastel green and white that it had been since 1964 when mom and dad purchased it from Miss Frances A. Coventry.  Much of the shrubbery in the front of the house was gone, which I found was due to a water problem and the necessary grading needed to correct it.  

The bamboo, which covered most of the fence in the background,
is now thankfully gone.  Dad's lawn has now been turned
into a garden for fresh vegetables.

The bamboo garden in the back yard, which was a huge burden for dad for years, was finally gone.  The rear yard was now broken into small plots that are used for raising a variety of crops, but the entire atmosphere of the house and grounds was as if mom and dad were still living there.  As I followed Beth through the front door it was as if I was going back in time.  The living room, with the wood-burning fireplace and half wall of gray wooden cabinets was still the same.  

Mom's favorite, the back porch, still is inviting and
as beautiful as ever.

The beautiful hardwood floors, which mom and dad had covered with area rugs, were just as beautiful as ever.  Then, as I walked into the small dining room, there on the table was the piece of history I had come to retrieve.  Before I retrieved it, I finished looking at mom's kitchen and her favorite ... her large rear screened-in porch.  She loved that porch and took great pride in her collection of bird houses she had hanging around the edge of the porch.  

The much anticipated recipe file has now been
returned to the Woods' family to be enjoyed by
more generations of mom and dad's relatives.

Many family parties and meals were served on that porch over the forty-something years she and dad lived at 944 Janet.  If she were still alive, she would be happy to see that it is still in the same condition as when we sold the house.  Beth showed me the basement as well as the second floor which both still remain much the same as I remember them.  The black and white bathroom floor is still in place and as nice as ever and the bedroom that Steve and I shared looks exactly as it did when I moved out in 1967 when I got married.  As I walked back down the stairs, there on the bottom post of the railing still sat the small glass jewel, or mortgage button, that dad had so proudly placed in the railing after they had paid off the mortgage on the home.  After an hour or so, I accepted the file from Beth and made my way back the pathway to the car.  I may never step in the green house on Janet Ave. again, but the memories of my visit today will stay with me forever.  Thanks, Beth for sharing the green house on Janet with me one more time. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.