Hilary, Hugh's sister and my sister-in-law, was reading my blog last week and she noticed something interesting:
"Hugh and I both have mothers-in-law with a June 10th
birthday. So, I added that tidbit of information about your mother into
my family tree and one thing lead to another and I came across a nice
picture of your maternal grandparents. I thought you might want to see
it…Oh, and wish your mother happy birthday from me."
Hilary is a geneaology buff and has created a a huge family tree of her and her husband's family, which includes nearly 1,500 people. I was so excited to see this photograph of my grandmother and grandfather Anna and Samuel Wander. And I was touched that it's included in my sister-in-laws family tree. We called them Nanny and Poppy.
Nanny was born in 1898 in Cohoes, NY. Her mother died when she was a young girl, a trauma she never forgot. She moved to Westminster Road with her father, a stepmother and three stepbrothers. She studied education Adelphi University and briefly worked as a kindergarten teacher.
My grandfather was born in Albany in the late 1890's. He started a plumbing business called Hercules Chemical Company and was a lovely, kind-hearted man who was always well-groomed from head to toe. The company still exists, it was run by my Uncle Jay for many years, and it says on their website: "Sam Wander was known for “walking the
tracks” when he started Hercules in 1915. He went diligently and
enthusiastically from town to town, on foot, selling Drain Pipe
Solvent, Hercules first product. His creed was “I’ve got to take care
of my customers.”
Nanny and Poppy were married in 1920
at a fancy hotel in Manhattan. This picture must have been taken around
that time. She told me stories about their honeymoon; I believe they went
to Cuba on an ocean liner and she was seasick the entire time. They lived with their daughters, Rhoda Hortense and Edna Mae (my mother who was teased "Edna Mae Wander but not very far") in a two-family house in the Midwood section of Brooklyn and later moved to a single family home on Avenue J, where they lived for many years. Later they moved to the Fifth Avenue Hotel in Greenwich Village in the 1960's to be near my grandfather's business on 14th Street My grandmother worked with Poppy at the company.
My sister and I actually spent our first year of life in that house on Avenue J, while my parents looked for an apartment in Manhattan. There are pictures of us in our enormous twin baby carriage being strolled down the streets of Brooklyn.
Once Nanny and Poppy moved Manhattan, I spent many Saturdays with my grandparents and have a vivid memory of going to the Central Park Children's Zoo with my grandfather when a llama ate a banana out of his pocket.
After my grandfather died in 1967, I spent just about every Saturday with my grandmother. She'd take my sister and me out to lunch at the Automat on 57th Street or Schrafts on Madison Avenue.
At the Automat, I'd always have mashed potatoes and carrots from the steam table (and probably a piece of layer cake from one of the the coin operated compartments).
At Schrafts I'd order a turkey sandwich on rye bread with Russian dressing. Funny the things you remember. And for dessert: a hot butterscotch sundae.
We always went to see the exhibitions in the basement of the Hallmark store, which used to be on 56th Street and Fifth Avenue, right next door to Doubleday, another great bookstore no longer in operation.
We'd also go to FAO Schwartz and look at the Steif animals on the first floor. I always longed to own the life-sized giraffe. Nanny did buy me a much smaller one that I still have.
One time Nanny said, "There's a group called The Beatles on the steps of the Plaza Hotel across the street. Would you like to go see them?" I guess she was curious.
The year was 1964 and we had no idea who the Beatles were so we declined. I imagined these large bugs. Can you believe? One year later I remember watching the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show and screaming along with all the girls in the studio audience. The next morning my cousin Meg called, "Did you see them? Did you see them? Did you scream?"
The Fifth Avenue Hotel became One Fifth Avenue, an elegant coop apartment building int he 1970's. I frequently had dinner with my grandmother in One Fifth, the restaurant on the first floor. She ate there every night and it was a beautiful Art Deco style restaurant with a nautical theme and was quite the chic place to dine in the late 1970's and early '80s for the likes of Patti Smith, Robert Mapplethorpe and others in the downtown scene.
Nanny always dined at 6 p.m.. at the front table near the dessert display. The Maitre'd, whose name was Richard, always said, "Mrs. Wander you look so lovely tonight."
And she always did. The young staff was so nice to her there. Many were gay men in the arts who later died of AIDs. The restaurant was generally empty when we dined there because it was so early. She'd tell us stories about her life in Cohoes and the sad death of her mother. I can still feel the texture of her soft skin when I held her hand.
I was so happy to see that picture of Nanny and Poppy that my sister-in-law found. Thanks, Hilary.
