MARK MEETS HIS GREAT-GRANDMA….1959

Yes, 1959 certainly was a year of beginnings and not least of these was the birth of our first child. It was a sultry, hot July in New York City and Dick and I spent the last few days of my pregnancy at the movies. I don’t have any idea what we saw…I just know that it was the only place with air conditioning!

Mark was almost a 4th of July baby but we had our celebration early when he made his appearance on the 3rd. He was an excellent baby and one of my favorite memories was when he was just 3 weeks old. We’d brought him with us to our favorite Italian restaurant in the Village. The bar was up front and the dining room and indoor Bocci court were in the back. Most of the men at the bar knew us and they insisted on keeping “lil Marco” with them while we ate our dinner. He was passed from one old guy to the next in typical Italian style and I don’t think he ever had so much attention again.

Near the end of the year we made a trip to Brattleboro, Vt. where we visited his great-grandma…my Grandma Prentiss. She was a very spry 93 year old and you can see how thrilled she was to be holding the latest of a long line of great grandchildren.

Grandma was an amazing woman. She was a rugged New-Englander who never complained. Her avocation was photography…and since that was Dick’s profession they had a lot to talk about. In her day she used glass plates and Dick marveled at the quality of her photos.

She took this picture of me in 1933 when I was just about the same age as Mark and when I see the two pictures together we could almost be twins. Grandma also took this picture of her two daughters in 1896! That’s my Mother on the left with her sister Helen.

I was so glad that we made the trip to Vermont. It was our last time to see Grandma…she died as she had lived…quietly and without a fuss.