A Home Of Our Own

We would spend seven years in this house. To put this in perspective, I moved from Tonawanda before I was eleven. I lived in Royal Oak for seven years, at Adrian College for two, in my parent's new home in Clawson for two weeks, at the seminary for three years, Morrisville for two, Darby for three, and Kensington for under two years. Seven years represented real stability in my life!

Gary had found us an affordable post-WWII rowhouse in East Oak Lane/Olney, a northern Philadelphia neighborhood. The block's original owners were primarily WWII refugees from Europe, including Polish Catholics and East European Jews. This home's original owner had died, and her daughter, a social worker, wanted to meet with us and talk about the community.

We bought a home at the worst possible time, with an interest rate of 15%. 

She called it a 'pocket' community, an economically stable neighborhood surrounded by lower income areas. The neighborhoods to the south, east, and north were primarily African American of varying economic status. To the east was Olney, the location of a burgeoning Korean community.

view of our block looking north from the front door

View of  our block looking south

Our block was made up of original owners in their golden years, policemen and firemen and nurses, and several young childless two-career couples. There were families of all nationalities and color, and even a house rented by students attending the nearby Philadelphia School of Optometry.

Our home

A few blocks down our street was the northern terminal of the Broad Street Subway, offering an easy ride into Center City. A train station was a block away.

Our new home was three stories: the ground floor was accessed from the 'alley' where the garage, laundry and furnace room, and a family room was situated. The first floor held a living room, half bath, dining room and kitchen. The second floor held three bedrooms and a full bath.

The house had been beautifully maintained by proud homeowners. But not our style! There was a pink master bedroom with a very bright, deep pink carpet. Every year we redecorated a room. We took up the worn living room carpet to discover pristine oak hardwood. We installed the first dryer in the house.

My full-time sales job was with a family business. They had hired a female intern who had proved very successful. The owners wanted to recruit more women salespeople. The present salesmen were coming to retirement age but held major accounts like Jefferson Hospital. Another woman, Darlene, and a young man were hired soon after me.

My boss's daughter was a writer for Saturday Night Live; his wife knew I was writing and seriously suggested I divorce Gary to marry a rich Jewish doctor who would support me so I could write!

I was given thick books with all the local businesses and told to drum up new accounts. I have never liked talking on the phone. I tend to be shy in new situations and around new people. Women were just beginning to enter careers in outside sales. The 1980s would see a huge growth of women salespersons. I found several books on women in sales and worked up my courage.

It was the 80s and a power suit for women was required. I bought a navy blue Brooks Brothers suit, oxford cloth button down shirts with ribbon ties, a good pair of heels, and a briefcase to hold my order sheets, pens, calculator, and catalog of office supplies. At night I read the catalog over and over, memorizing important price lists.

Most of the buyers were men and I was met by smirks. One man held up his pencil and asked about costs. "Ticonderoga HB2--" I identified the pencil and told him the price breakdown by units. He held up his tape dispenser. I rattled off the brand and the prices by units. I got a sale.

I went into the working class areas, playing the sales game the way I did Monopoly: lots of steady small clients instead of a few big ones. One client was Neatsfoot Oil in Port Richmond. The woman who ordered supplies liked me, and I had to always come on the day her church had a luncheon and she would treat me. But I also visited Center City businesses with plush offices.

Darlene recruited me to be a Mary Kay saleswoman, so I also had a side business and several recruits of my own.

Gary worked for the life insurance company only for several months. He realized he was not able to close a sale. His pastoral skills did not translate to business. He applied for a job at the Glenmeade Trust Company, part of the Pew Memorial Trusts, for a position as a Religious Grants Officer. The interview seemed to go well, but he waited for several months before he heard back and was hired.

Gary's new job was situated at Rittenhouse Square, one of the five public squares in the original city plan by William Penn. Across the street was the Curtis Institute of Music. This location is the setting for the beginning of the movie Trading Places!

When I was in Center City I would meet Gary at the end of the workday in the Rittenhouse Square park. One day a silver-haired man in a business suit sat down on the bench next to me and we chatted. The conversation took a turn when he asked what my plans were for later in the day. I said I was meeting my husband. The man asked what my husband did for a living and I said he was a clergyman. The man turned a bright red and was soon off! It was then I realized he was not just being friendly. My Midwest friendliness often was misinterpreted!

I was very naive but also nonplused when encountering men with indecent objectives. Mary Lou and I were meeting up at the Free Library on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and I was looking at display cases of rare books. An elderly, respectable but shoddy, man started chatting with me. He invited me for a drink, and when I declined he invited me to his apartment, explaining he had an old-fashioned European regard for women. The more I resisted, the more explicit he got! I was in near laughter when Mary Lou finally arrived. Another visit I ran into a man I knew from Temple and we walked back to Center City. On the way, he said he had an apartment nearby and perhaps we could meet up for sex!

One day I was shopping at Encore Books downtown, totally immersed in the books. I heard heavy breathing behind me and turned to find a business man exposing himself. He apologized. I went to the counter to inform them of this man's presence. Another Encore location brought another encounter of the same type, but this time a teenager. After graduation, I did research at Temple's library. One time a man came up and asked if I wanted to meet at the end stacks. Another visit and I realized a man was following and watching me. I began to think I should not be around books without an escort.

During 1983 and 1984 Gary was asked by the Conference to be an interim pastor for churches that were closing. Ebenezer UMC was in the Fairmont section of Philly; Taylor Memorial was in North Philly and was being reopened as a Hispanic church. So he had a second job as well, helping churches celebrate their past and make peace with the future.

In 1982 the Mastersingers performed the Mass in B Minor by Bach and in 1983 Elijah by Mendelssohn and Hodie and Dona Nobis Pacem by Vaughn Williams.

One of the soloists that The Mastersingers had hired, Noel Velasco, was in The Tenor’s Suite by Joseph Summer. We saw Virgil Fox perform on the University of Pennsylvania organ, the Peking Opera, and in 1983 Concert for Humanity with conductor Ricardo Muti, Andre Watts, and an address by Jonas Salk. We saw Peter Pan starring Sandy Duncan at the Academy of Music. Also, a one-man play about Woody Guthrie, several plays by Federico Garcia Lorca, and Dracula: A Pain in the Neck.

Philadelphia Museum of Art

We were members of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I had my favorite paintings: Fish Magic by Paul Klee; Carnival Evening by Rousseau; In the Luxembourg Gardens by John Singer Sargent; the Impressionist gallery; and paintings by Corot, Courbet, and Van Gogh.

We still sometimes visited Longwood, but also went to Valley Forge, and Temple University's Ambler Arboretum.

Just north of us and outside the city limits in Abingdon we discovered a shop that sold British imported foods and bakery items. I loved Eccles Cakes and pork pies. We drove out to Plymouth Meeting and King of Prussia malls. We bought chairs and tables at the first American IKEA store in 1985.

In my poetry, I was still dealing with Nature vs the Manufactured and urban life. A visit to a nearby park resulted in this poem:

Tookany Creek

By the waters of Tookany Creek
late summer, the oak and tulip
dipping low over the scattered gold
of a late afternoon's sunlight
and dry burnt grass,
the air cooling, nearly pleasant:

Children's voices split the air from far off,
the furtive sounds of cruel games.
They hide in the tunnels of the trash-strewn river-side
shouting words gratefully unheard.

Downstream, the river pools brackish
caressing the carcass of an abandoned automobile,
a strange island, the scarred victim
of youth's dark, incommunicable terror.

By the endlessly journeying singing creek
whose ageless song wafts gently
upwards through the leaves
and down the dry beaten paths,
angels and devils united play
mocking those who search for divisions
in what by nature was created one.

Pippin and I on vacation to the Finger Lakes

We took Pippin on walks to the Philadelphia School of Optometry campus just a block away. There were large green lawns and a tennis court. Pippin loved to find lost tennis balls to bring home. Sometimes we let him run off the leash.

One beautiful, glorious, morning I took Pippin for a walk to the school and let him off the leash to play fetch. He saw a stay dog on the sidewalk near the busy street, quite a way off, and he started to run to the dog. I called him and he stopped, but then when I caught up but before I could hook the leash on, he ran off again. 

Pippin ran into the street and was hit by a car. He died instantly. The driver of the car and his family were shocked. I lifted Pippin up and wrapped him in my military surplus trench coat and carried him home in tears. I had to tell Gary, who was completely unprepared. I felt completely guilty for Pippin's death. I lost confidence in my judgment and became super vigilant.

We soon went to another pet store where another black and tan dachshund claimed us. He had Kennel Cough, but we didn't know it. We named him P.J. or Pippin Junior. He was so unhappy alone in his box that we brought him into our bed. He never left. Night after night after we were asleep he would burrow under the bedding at our feet and crawl into bed with us. When he grew hot he came up at our heads and walked back down to lay at our feet. P.J. would be the last dog allowed on the bed!

P.J.

P.J.

After P.J. got over his Kennel Cough we discovered his true personality. He was not cuddly and needy. He was Top Boss and was ready to run the household. P.J. loved to have his belly scratched. He would get on my lap and flip onto his back, legs in the air so I could tickle his belly. It was humiliating!

P.J.'s X-rated sleeping preference

P.J. needed stimulation in the form of playing fetch. He was deadly serious about the game. He would get into position, his eyes never off the ball as we hid it behind our backs and changed which hand it was in. We would pretend to throw it. We could not fool P.J. The moment we finally tossed the ball he would jump up and catch it.

The Harrison Building from an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

My employer was in the Harrison Building on Filbert St. The building was old, dusty, and antique. In 1984 the Harrison Building burned down and it was no surprise. The desks were on a balcony overlooking the main floor, once a showroom. Some days I was in the building for a short time and I parked in the alley behind the building. A delivery truck backed up and crumpled my Bug's fender. We took it to a body shop and fixed it up. A few months later another truck backed into it again.

One hot summer day I found a dead dog under the car. Some employees took the body and threw it into the excavation where the Gallery mall was being expanded just in front of our building. You can see the Galley building site in the movie Blow Out with John Travolta. In fact, that movie is full of the Philly we knew at that time.

My employer moved into a newer place and converted to a stockless system. Customer's orders came right from the supply company. No longer could I grab orders for personal delivery. Customers were disgruntled about the wait time. Monthly parking rates were much higher near this location. 

I was told it was time to go on straight commission. My sales amounted to about $20,000 a month then, but my take-home pay would be $12,000. If sales declined, so would my income. Our VW was about ten years old and we needed a new car. I didn't see how I was going to make that $20,000 advertised when I applied to the job. There was too much competition in town. I decided to find another job. My boss offered me an inside sales job. 

Instead, I applied for a job as an assistant manager at a Center City stationary supply store, Ginns. I could commute to work. There would be little need for a car. We could walk to a grocery store at Broad Street, and being the only white face didn't bother us. We could walk to downtown Olney to CVS. Who needed a car?

I was on the new job only a few days when a call came into the store asking for me. It was my old boss's wife checking up where I was employed. She reminded me of the non-compete clause in I had signed-- under pressure, being told I was not to talk to anyone about it. I explained to the regional store manager that I could not contact my previous customers. I am sure he hoped I would bring my business with me.

The store manager and the other assistant manager were younger men. I had outside sales experience, which made them envious. We all had stocking jobs to do, and I was given the worst job in the store: hauling cartons of paper upstairs to restock the shelves.  I wore a skirt and was not a strong person, but I was not going to let those men prove me weak. I just carried those heavy boxes upstairs. They hated preparing the end of day accounting and gave me the job. I was never a whiz at math and it took all my concentration to add the daily sales and money and make them match. I only had an adding machine to work with. One young sales clerk loved to interrupt me while I was working. 

Gary and I at a Ginn's office gathering

One day Nero Wolfe the conductor stopped in while in town. When I saw him sign his charge card I was so excited.

The experience of riding the Broad Street Subway into Center City every day gave me a lot of time for observation and quiet time to think. People did not talk to each other, or even look at each other. I wrote this rather abstract poem:

Summer

sun
     light glints,
                    springs
from glass
                     blindingly.

Sun-blind
              herds forge
       into civilization
wild as humanity.

Diesel aroma
          and cacophony calls
                 craze
like old porcelain

                                until perception,
                       overwrought
pleads for blinders

seeking
           singular solitude
 an autistic aura
                       of aloneness.

Fast racers delve into dank dimness
willingly compressing
the sea into Fundy,
maw of a Cyclops hungering for their fullness.
Inside the belly of the beast
reduction reigns
all are without form and
void.

(Breathe on me breath of
God? One puff to make me
human anew. )

Strobe-lit travelers,
angels unawares,
I ask you:

do the lilies neglect to notice
sisters shooting sunward,
brothers budding
from the common bulb of birth?
And the leaves of the sycamore,
do they cringe when breezes
crush them into common branch?
Even the ants salute one another,
and the bees dance their story.
And if God’s early attempts out-distance us---
well, what then?

Cyclops heaves a sigh
opening
spewing forth its heavy portion.
All scatter
like wind-blown thistledown
or water spewed by the fountain.
Emptiness.

The sun is still high.
Glass glistens in gutters.
A child’s shout
pierces humid heat,
echoes down the empty street.

I was always scanning the want ads for a better job. I saw an ad that a weekly alternative newspaper was looking for an advertising sales person. I was hired. 

The editor attended the church we were going to. The owner had been a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. The paper covered Philadelphia nightlife, the arts, restaurants, and news. Advertisers included a tarot card reader, macrobiotic retailers, colonic flush providers, and many restaurants.

At first, I worked from the Germantown office, calling clients and setting up visits. Several things impacted my decision to become an independent contractor, working from a home office.

First, my boss used language while talking to friends on the phone that was unprofessional. I did not want that talk in the background when talking to clients. And he made several suggestions that were inappropriate. What was it about the 80s? Later we would call this behavior harassment. 

For two years I worked an extra job in October through December to raise Christmas gift money. I did telephone surveys in the evening. 

Gary and I both got free tickets through our jobs. We saw Issac Stern from a balcony seat above the Academy of  Music stage, close enough to see the sweat on his brow. Gary was working with grants for the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. and The Bronx Zoo, and took me along when he made visits. I got tickets to see the Preservation Hall Jazz Band playing Zydeco.

We had joined the First United Methodist Church of Germantown, known as FUMCOG. We both attended when Gary was not an interim pastor, otherwise, I went by myself. Dr. Ted Loder was minister for 37 years at FUMCOG. He was known for his sermons, original prayers, and for addressing social issues of civil rights, integration, poverty, and world peace. He had attracted liberal minded persons from within and outside the church and the congregation was integrated racially and economically.

One of the associate pastors, George, was a friend from The Methodist Federation for Social Action. He asked me to help him with the youth Sunday school class. The teens were a diverse group drawing from the top schools and included unchurched, Christian, and even a Jewish member. After a year George went on sabbatical and I led the class alone. The kids would decide what they wanted to study and I created lesson plans. 

Around 1984 I changed jobs again when I saw an opening at the Lutheran Publishing House at 2900 Queen Lane--the same location where I sent so many orders when I was managing the seminary bookstore! I was hired as a copywriter-copyeditor.

Meantime Gary was under pressure at his job. There were changes in leadership and staff were being replaced.  A clergy friend alerted him to an opening at the United Methodist Committee on Relief, part of the denomination's mission board. The job was in New York City, near Grant's Tomb, Columbia University, and Riverside Church. He got the position in November 1984. 

The coming years were some of the most stable of our married life.

Nancy Juggles Being a Minister's Wife and a University Student

Me and Gary 1975. I had a 'shag' haircut.

I was still twenty-three years old when I became a full-time minister's wife in June 1975. Gary had been accepted into the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church. His first full-time church appointment was at Morrisville United Methodist. As an Associate Pastor, Gary was in charge of Education and Youth ministires.

Morrisville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, was one of the earliest settlements in the state. A few blocks away from the church was the Delaware River and across the bridge was Trenton, NJ. It was a lovely community.

Gary's salary of $7,400 more than doubled what we had jointly earned while at seminary! 

Our first parsonage 

We moved into the 'old' parsonage that had been designated for the senior pastor before a new parsonage for the senior pastor was built across the street. After living in a college dormitory and a two-room apartment we did not know what to do with all the space in the tri-level house!

We had a rocking chair, a record player, several hundred books, and a few bookcases. We were lucky that the parsonage was partially furnished. My folks bought a bedroom set from friends and hauled it to us. The Hostetters gave us a couch for the family room. We picked up rummage sale items, turned in Green Stamps for a lamp, and purchased a desk with a hutch.

Off the dining room was a screened-in porch. We spent most of our summer on the porch, listening to music and reading. The rest of the time, Nasturtium and I were in the family room, and I used the home office as my space for sewing. The house was surrounded by beautiful azaleas and rhododendrons.

Me and Nasturtium

That first July 4 a parish family invited us to join them for a picnic in a park. It was the kind of informal outing I had grown up with. We had our first Tastycakes and learned that out East no one knew what 'pop' was. It was 'soda' from now on!

Sid, Ellen and Mark Hostetter

Mark and Ellen Hostetter were from Pennsylvania Dutch country. This would be Mark's last pastorate before retirement. When he began his career a pastor made a few hundred dollars and was moved to a new appointment every year. Pastors would learn where they were being sent a few weeks before move-out! Mark had served across the country before returning to Pennsylvania.

Their only child, Sid, was our age and taught high school science. Summers he worked with the famous Jack Horner at his Montana dinosaur dig, and he loved spelunking. Sid's pet iguana had grown too large for his apartment so his parents kept Iggy in a huge aquarium in the parsonage. We had our litter box trained bunny. The congregation had great fun with their new ministers' strange pets!

Ellen took me to minister's wives meetings. Ellen had been a teacher when she fell for 'the reverend'. She loved being a clergy wife.

On holidays the Hostetters invited us to their home and we enjoyed Pennsylvania Dutch hospitality with seven sweets and seven sours. A few hours after gorging on dinner Ellen would serve sandwiches with the leftovers and a desert.

I found a fabric store just down the road. Also in town was a great mom and pop pizza place and a fish market where the owner helped us learn about Bluefish, Croaker, and Porgies and explained how to cook fish whole. I missed my garden fresh veggies, but we visited local farms to pick our own strawberries and peaches. We still baked our bread.

Gary and I are on the far right with the vacuum we won.
Gary and I both are wearing jackets I made.

We bought a microwave oven from Jerry Plavin's. It was large enough to cook a turkey, which we did once. When we bought the microwave we were entered into a giveaway and won a Hoover upright vacuum!

Across the street, next to the Hostetters, lived a childless Russian couple who had immigrated to America after WWII. Nadia was a teenager when she was taken to a Nazi farm as forced labor. She volunteered to go in place of her father, as he was needed to provide for the family. It appears she had been sterilized by the Nazis. After the war, she met her husband, who had also been in forced labor. They were given the choice of immigrating to Canada, the US, or South America.

Gary and I in front of the Morrisville UM Church

After Gary left for work in the morning, Nadia would rush across the street to visit with me. She asked, "why two priests" were needed at the church. And she insisted I have a child. She would tell me to ask my husband what to do to have a baby. She did not understand my plans for finishing my education. Nadia could not read, write, or drive.

Morrisville UMC

Gary had his own office with a Mr. Coffee machine. Doris Burkhardt, the church secretary, complained that he was so quiet in his rubber-soled shoes that he was always sneaking up on her. I wonder that the smell of the coffee he always had in hand didn't give him away!

Sanctuary of Morrisville UMC

Mark intended to share responsibilities with Gary, but the Staff-Parish had different expectations. They wanted Gary full time with the youth. Gary and Mark were concerned this would limit Gary's experience and preparedness for his own church.

The church had a huge youth and children's ministry that Gary was in charge of, including two youth groups, Sunday school classes, a mid-week program with a meal and Bible study, retreats, confirmation class, and a youth choir and youth musical! We loved the church youth, many of whom were my younger brother's age.

With the change in youth pastors many volunteers left and Gary had to rebuild the leadership. I helped out with the youth groups and mid-week program. I also played piano for the children's worship service on Sunday during adult worship service, sang in the choir with the youth musical, participated in Bible study classes led by Gary, and when not teaching, joined an Adult Sunday School class.

At times I came into conflict with church members. One time in Sunday School class we were discussing 'insiders who felt like outsiders' in the church and I mentioned that the youth felt that way. In particular, they wished worship was more joyful and upbeat. A youth parent scolded me saying the kids would grow up and accept tradition. And Gary was pressured to be like the last youth pastor, playing baseball with the youth. We learned how the idolization of a leader makes it difficult for their replacement who is compared instead of appreciated for the strengths that they bring.

I did not want to wait a year before returning to school and sent out applications in the fall for winter semester. My reference letters were from METHESCO professors who attested to my preparedness and participation as an auditor. 

It was very unusual for a married woman to return to school after a break in those days. Most women in their early twenties were eager to start a family.

I applied first to the University of Pennsylvania. They suggested I enroll in a special program for women returning to college, and if I succeded in it I could then apply as a regular full time student. I also applied to LaSalle University and Temple University and was accepted by both. Temple cost less, and I enrolled in classes to begin January 1976.

To commute to Temple, located in North Philadelphia, Gary drove me to the train station and I got off the train a few blocks away from campus. It was not a nice neighborhood, so I always was alert walking down that empty street. The campus was huge!

I had to juggle the role of pastor's wife and youth leader with a full college schedule. When I had breaks I spent my time feverishly sewing.

Temple University

My first semester I had Literary Criticism, which was very helpful to me as an English major. Studies in Shakespeare ended up being a Freudian approach. I loved Studies in the Victorian Age. I also had a history class on the Reformation. Professor Schwoebel broke the class into groups to research an aspect of the Reformation. We were to present what we had learned to the rest of the class using multi-media and non-lecture techniques. I was in the group studying John Calvin, but I became most interested in the Anabaptist movement. A year later I discovered that my Gochenour ancestors were Swiss Brethren, an Anabaptist group!

Gary's one year probation as a Deacon concluded with his ordination as an elder into the UMC.

Gary's ordination class June, 1976. Gary is fourth from the left.

Fall of 1976 I took The Novel from Defore to Austen, which was great. I enjoyed Modern British and American Poetry and made several friends. One was a gay Hispanic poet who told me horror stories of Catholic education in Philly. I needed a language and took Elements of Latin. The teacher said I had an odd pronunciation, and I realized I was influenced by how my choirs pronounced Latin when singing.

Spring semester 1977 I had an honors course on John Milton which required three papers; the professor really liked me and I got an A. I also had my second semester of Latin and a self-created class on writing curriculum in which I was mentored by a friend I had met in Victorian Studies class. Murray was fascinated to know a Protestant. So many of my classmates were Catholic and Jewish that I was often a novelty to them!

That fall I had Honors Topics in Religion which looked at Myth and History in the Old Testament; Studies in Drama in which we studied the first and last plays of three major playwrights; and an Honors English course on James Joyce's Ulysses for which I wrote a 50 page paper on Bloom in Nighttown from a Jungian approach, which got me an A. The professor had the class to his home for an Irish meal with Guinness Stout. I loved the course Folklore in America for which I wrote a paper on the culinary roots of American cooking. The professor encouraged me to consider grad school.

My last semester in Spring 1977 I had Colonial American History, American Indian Ethnology, Studies in Drama: Religion and Literature; and Advanced Honors Jane Austen--the class that really changed my life. The Studies in Drama was team taught with the professor who taught Myth and History. The class visited different churches, including Gloria Dei, the early Swedish church, Christ Church where our earliest Colonial ancestors worshipped, a Black Pentecostal church in North Philly, and Beth Sholom, a synagogue designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. We also had a Seder meal.

I had a poem published in the literary magazine.

Our pet rabbit adjusted to the move nicely. Nasturtium loved the large family room as 'her place', with a litter box in the utility room. I would come home and find Nasty Buns sleeping on the end table next to the couch. She would wake and run circles around my feet. If I took her outside she was terrified and crawled on my shoulder, hiding her head under my hair.

Nasturtium

When we were away Ellen would take care of Nasturtium. But the bunny would attack Ellen, nipping at her ankles. Ellen always wore a dress, nylons, and high heels so she had no protection! Ellen had to come into the house with a broom to swish Nasty Buns away! When we cared for Iggy we had no such problems!

At Christmas break, Gary and I drove back to Michigan to see our families, first stopping at Tonawanda, NY to see my Grandmother Gochenour and family. Then we drove across Canada to Gary's folks home in Grand Blanc and then down to Clawson to see my family. The second Christmas trip, we left Tonawanda and drove into a heavy snow storm. We finally pulled into a hotel and went the rest of the way home the next day. That ended our Christmas homecomings.

Our first visit back to Michigan my Grandma Ramer was living with my folks. Mom put us in the hide-a-bed in the family room, which was open to the kitchen. Gary had forgotten his PJs that year, and when we woke my Grandmother was sitting at the kitchen table, eating her toast and tea, watching us. Gary couldn't get out of bed!

Before our first anniversary, my grandmother had been set up on a blind date with Milo Fisher, a widower of 25 years. He came to the door and Grandma answered, but he said, "I am here to see your mother." He thought Grandma was my mom! Grandma was only in her early fifties. Almost a year after Grandma had caught my wedding bouquet she married Milo.

Grandma and Milo Fisher at his Birmingham home

During our time in Morrisville, we loved to take the train into Center City Philadelphia and explore the city. We walked from one end of the city to the other, looking in the huge department stores--Gimbels, Lit Brothers, John Wanamaker's with it's inner court and organ concerts, Strawbridge & Clothier-- and shopping at Reading Terminal Market where we first ate Tabouli.

We visited the Philadelphia Art Museum and stood in line on Friday afternoons for cheap seats in the 'nosebleed gallery' to see Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

1776 musical program

The Bicentennial celebration in Philadelphia was exciting. We saw the musical 1776 for free. We visited the historical museums and Independence Hall.

1776 musical stage on Independence Mall

A new museum for Benjamin Franklin opened, and we visited his grave. We saw the Rodin Museum and I often went to the Free Library. There was the Edgar Allen Poe house, Betsey Ross House, and Elfreth Alley. At Head House Square's New Market we saw vendors selling crafts, including miniature quilts. I loved to have ice cream at Once Upon a Porch in Society Hill; the restaurant decor included porches were customer enjoyed their ice cream.

On the Fourth of July, we went downtown to see the fireworks and free concerts. One year we saw the Beach Boys perform on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

On Christmas Day we went to Washington Crossing State Park and saw a reenactment of Washington Crossing the Delaware.

Reenactment of Washington crossing the Delaware

Reenactment of Washington Crossing the Delaware

We visited the Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve and learned to identify Eastern wildflowers. We drove to Princeton, NJ, passing cranberry farms, to visit an antique and used book shop. Our first trip to New York City we took a bag lunch which we ate in Central Park, then we saw The Fantasticks. We also saw Yentl, visited the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Modern Museum of Art.

The youth group made trips to Asbury Park on the Jersey Shore and the Hostetters took us on day trips to Cape May and Ocean Grove. The Hostetters took us to Lancaster, County where we enjoyed family style meals.

The craft revival was in full swing during the Bicentennial. Gary and I took macrame classes and made hanging plant holders. I tried my hand at needlepoint, hooked rug making, and Crewel embroidery.

Gary and I in the Morrisville parsonage back yard, 1977

Our second year at Morrisville I wrote elementary school curriculum for Vacation Bible School with an ecology theme. Gary and I also helped create the church's first elementary school age retreat.

We had joined several small groups. One group met monthly for a world food dinner. The other was a support group. A man in that group was involved in Serendipity small group training and we took the training.

For summer vacation we went camping. We intended to go to Nova Scotia but fell in love with Acadia National Park in Maine. We made it to the Bay of Fundy. We saw the tide come in. But we also got soaking wet and spent a night in motel room drying out. Then we turned back for Maine.

Mark Hostetter suggested that Gary should not stay an associate too long. Gary let it be known to the District Superintendent that if the 'right church' came up he was willing to make a move. The Cabinet contacted him about going to a church in Darby, PA and Gary accepted.

It was a sad day when we left the great youth we had come to know and love, and the wonderful friends we had made.

After two years in Morrisville, we were moving again. I was 25 years old. We had no idea that two pastors had already turned down the Darby appointment.

Guilty Until Proven Innocent? Damaged by Lisa Scottoline

Mary DiNunzio, South Philly born and bred, has risen to partnership in Bennie Rosato's legendary Center City law firm. If Bennie is the strong and sure leader of her practice, Mary is all heart--and lots of righteous indignation.

Mary was the Neighborhood Girl Who Made Good, so she got her self-esteem from being universally beloved.

Mary has a big case and a wedding weeks away when an elderly grandfather comes into the office. His orphaned grandson, an engaging ten-year-old with Dyslexia, is accused of attacking a school aide and they are being sued. Patrick reveales that the aide molested him. Mary takes the case. Discovering the school has failed to offer Patrick the help he needs to learn to read and become successful she arranges for his admission into a private school.

That evening Mary stops by their house to find the grandfather has died and Patrick is in denial. Stepping in to help, Mary becomes emotionally attached and can't let go. She decides to become Patrick's foster parent to ensure he gets the help he needs.

But is Patrick as innocent as he appears? When a fraught Patrick holds a gun on the Department of Human Services case worker who wants to separate him from Mary he is classified as a threat. The police even suspect Patrick of causing his grandfather's death by an overdose of insulin.

Damaged is the newest Lisa Scottoline book in the best selling Rosato & DiNunzio series. It is geared to shed light on the complexities of child welfare, the intricacies of the foster system, and the challenges facing special needs children. Most of the novel revolves around Mary's fight to become Patrick's foster mom.

The subplot offers suspense and thrills after Mary starts piecing things together. Meanwhile, her fiancée is out of town and unaware of Mary's decisions. What will Anthony think when he returns to find Mary is committing to parenting a child without his input? Will their relationship end as they realize they are not operating as 'married', but as individuals make decisions alone, not jointly?

The issues Scottoline address in the novel are important and readers learn along with Mary. This does slow the book down, but the tension of what will happen--and what did happen--drives the reader's interest. Mary's delightful family and neighborhood friends are always fun and add lighthearted comic moments.

Read the first chapter at http://scottoline.com/book/damaged/

Read my review on Scottline's previous book Corrupted here

I received a free book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Damaged
Lisa Scottoline
St Martin's Press
$27.99 hard cover, $14.99 ebook
Publication August 16, 2016

Some of My Favorite Hankys from My Collection

In 1993 I saw an ad for the book Handkerchief Quilts by Sharon Newman. That photo on the cover of a handkerchief quilt was all it took--I started collecting handkerchiefs immediately! I did make a quilt like on the cover, and then several more patterns from the book. But I did not know where to stop, and have ended up with about 800 or so handkerchiefs in my collection! Some are for keeps, some are to use for quilts. Here are some of my favorite 'for keeps' handkerchiefs in my collection.

1) Boy's Arctic Walrus Hunters Handkerchief
This on eBay find is so cool!. It is a child's handkerchief in its original box, with its originally glued on tag and the gift tag. In 1911 Howard White received this Christmas gift from his Uncle Eddie.

The handkerchief is not politically correct by today's standards by any means! No way would anyone today give a child an illustration of  men clubbing walruses! But in 1911, Arctic and Antarctic exploration has all the romantic appeal and excitement that space exploration had in the 1960s.

In November, 1911 Robert Falcon Scott began his race to reach the south pole before Roald Amundsen.. Before submitting to the elements in early 1912, Scott left a last entry in his diary: "I do not think we can hope for any better things now. We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker, of course, and the end cannot be far. It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write any more." Roald Amundsen successfully  reached the pole. Previous polar explorers included voyages by Peary and Cook, and in the 1840s the lost Franklin expedition captured British attention as expeditions to find Franklin were sent out one after another. The Arctic and Antarctica explorations caused huge national and international excitement.   

What little boy would not have been thrilled with this handkerchief!

2) Herbert Hoover Campaign Handkerchief

This silk handkerchief was described on eBay as a circus elephant. Well, I did not believe for a minute it was a circus elephant. It was obviously a Republican political hanky. I bid on it-- and then did research. The blanket on the elephant's back has a prominent "H" and a smaller "C". That lead me to look at Herbert Hoover.

In 1929 Herbert Hoover was elected President of the United States, with Charles Curtis as his Vice President. Today we mostly hear about Hoovervilles and Hoover's failed policies regarding the stock market crash and the ensuing economic disaster we call The Great Depression. What we forget to tell our school children is that Hoover was a compassionate man who organized humanitarian aid to Europe during and after the great World Wars, feeding friend and foe alike. Curtis was a supporter of the five-day work week with no reduction in wages, enabling job sharing, as a solution to the lack of jobs during the Depression. Some day I will donate this to the Hoover Historical Center, as they had not seen it before. It gave me great satisfaction to know I recognized an important bit of textile history!

3) Korean Mission Handkerchief

There are literally millions of these embroidered hankies of two pig-tailed girls playing on a teeter totter. They are found everywhere. I had one in my collection but thought nothing of it until this collection appeared on eBay. The letter and booklet with the handkerchief told the story of am amazing mission in Korea called Operation Hanky.

"Father Al" Schwartz was a Roman Catholic priest assigned to Busan, Korea in 1957.  In 1963 he initiated Operation Hanky Self-Help Embroidery Program, employing 3,000 impoverished women. The women were given cloth and embroidery thread, and the work was done in their own homes.  His early experience as a Fuller Brush Salesman led him to develop a letter campaign with a hanky as a premium. The appeal had a one out of three success rate of response, compared to a 7% response before adding the handkerchief. In 1964 there were one million mailings!

Father Schwartz used the proceeds from Operation Hanky to build a hospital, two dispensaries, and orphanage  and old-age home, a school, a day care center, an irrigation project, and a cooperative farm program! In addition he granted funds to hospitals, leper colonies, orphanages, schools and charities across Korea.

Is it any wonder that Father Al is being vetted for sainthood?

4) Declaration of Independence Handkerchief by Tammis Keefe

Tammis Keefe is one of the best known and most collected textile designers. In the recent past her rarer handkerchiefs have sold for between $50 and $100! When I started collecting her handkerchiefs, they could be found at flea markets and garage sales for a quarter or a dollar. Find out more about Keefe  at http://www.tammiskeefe.com/ . Keefe designed souvenir handkerchiefs for many cities and tourist attractions, including Philadelphia. 

We moved from the Midwest to Philly just before the Bicentennial, and it was amazing place to be during those years! We wore "Ask Me" pin-back buttons as we spent our Saturdays visiting the many museums and events, proud (although new) residents. I don't recall many tourists actually asking us anything. As a girl I was interested in Colonial and Early American history. Being in Philly we had the chance to visit the historical sites we had read about.

So this hanky reminds me of those great days in Philadelphia.

5) "Meet Me At the Eagle: Handkerchief

Another Tammis Keefe favorite of mine, which I have in four color ways, is this Meet Me At the Eagle! 

We used to ride the subway, trolley, or el to downtown Philly for shopping. In those days, Lit Brothers, Strawbridge & Clothier, Gimbel Brothers, and John Wanamaker had massive stores a few blocks from each other. http://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/department-stores/ has a great history of these stores. There is nothing like shopping in one of these old department stores. They are beautiful. They have whole floors dedicated to whatever you are looking for. They had women's lounges to rest your weary feet. 

Wanamaker's can be seen in the movies "Mannequin", where the hero saves the store owner as she leaves the store and in  "Blow Out" with John Travalta crashing into a display window. You can read more about Wanamakers  at  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanamaker's

After moving to Philly we soon learned what "Meet me at the Eagle" meant. Wanamaker's Grand Court was  amazing! It was built for the Centennial Exposition to lure in tourists from across the world. it includes one of the world's largest pipe organs. And it included a massive bronze eagle that came from the St Louis World's Fair. Soon people were arranging to "meet at the eagle". Wanamakers is now Macy's, but the eagle is still there. 

I think I will do a few more posts on some of my favorite handkerchiefs. This has been so much fun!

Independence Day

My quilt life has been put on hold for quite a few months as we packed, moved, unpacked and settled into our new home. Next week I hope to finally start to set up my quilt studio!

In 1976 we were living near Philadelphia. It was a wonderful time to be there! We spent all summer taking the train to downtown Philly, and walking from one historical sight to another. We saw the musical 1776 performed for free on Independence Mall. We wore buttons saying "Ask Me", declaring to the tourist that we knew our way around.


When several years ago I saw Bicentennial era embroidery patterns on eBay, I had to buy them. And I made my quilt, Bicentennial Memories.

The images include George Washington cutting down a cherry tree; Independence Hall, a George Washington medallion, the Liberty Bell, and  Betsy Ross sewing the flag. Thomas Jefferson was adapted from clip art. Martha Washington is a vintage Redwork pattern. The last two blocks are the American eagle and the flag of 1776. The red and white fabrics have a small cherry print on them.

In my collection is a hanky and scarf from the Bicentennial.

One of my favorite hanky designers was Tammis Keefe, and I have collected the Philadelphia souvenir handkerchiefs she designed in the 1960s. They feature famous landmarks. Here is her Liberty Bell, and Independence Hall.

Another souvenir hanky of Independence Hall:

I had always an interest in early American history, but being in Philadelphia during the Bicentennial really increased my interest. I have read such books as David McCullough's 1776, which details all the battles of that year...something I would never have considered previous to living so close to history!

Happy Birthday, America. And best wishes for many more to come.