The story goes that dad moved us to Maryland to follow a job opportunity and to get away from his mother-in-law. How much of that was due to my grandmother's personality vs my father's personality ... is unknown. Gram was French/German and Dad was Cjeck/Polish. They probably butted heads at times.
In this picture was taken in Astoria, New York right outside our apartment (September 1951) when I was 4 years old. It probably was taken within a year of our move. My most vivid memory of this time was learning to roller skate. I clearly remember the feeling of rolling uncontrollably down a city sidewalk with increasing speed while a parent or an aunt walked quickly backwards in front of me, arms outstretched waiting to catch me if I fell.
Terror is usually a memory of note - even at 4!
Another memory is of Thanksgiving. We celebrated this holiday several times at my Great Aunt Grace and Great Uncle Otto's apartment in New York City. In this picture (1949) I am 2, but it was repeated enough that the memory stuck. The remember the room being filled with a lot people. I also remember the curved arched doorways. Seeing this picture I now see that the room was very small. I think the dining room table was set up in the living room - probably the biggest room of those tiny apartments. To a small child it must have seemed like a crowd. :-)
Memories of my childhood become more complete after we moved to Maryland.
1 comment:
Pictures write the history of our youth. Mine are kept in a box for the next generation to sort through. I've printed the digital ones and put them in the box. All digital pictures are saved online. Mom left me a box of her pictures when she passed away in 1999. Gatherings are usually a good memory as it becomes a family celebration. I remember everything looking so big, until I look at a picture or revisit someplease and see it wasn't big at all.
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