Whenever I was with my Tanta, it was an adventure. Sometimes she took me to South Philadelphia where the pushcarts were lined up for endless blocks. Peddlers, mostly immi- grants, were selling every conceivable thing that might just command a dollar or two. Those were great days. Breakfast at her home was spectacular. It seems like I could have eaten a dozen eggs! And for dinner, I could eat a half dozen ears of corn. Her children loved to have me around, too. They all called me ‘Doc,’ because I said I wanted to be a doctor. I would play checkers with Harry and Morris, but I could never beat them. I was surrounded with love from Tanta and all her children. They were all much older than me. Morris was the oldest. He had hundreds of copies of National Geographic magazines. I used to spend hours on end leafing through them. He was single most of his life, but finally got married.
Uncle, Stephen (Bar Mitzvah), Dorothy, Mary Shuster-Lesnick (Tanta Mary), Herman, Rose Shuster-Lesnik
Harry remained a bachelor all of his life. He worked for Consolidated Freight Forward- ers as an expert on Bills of Lading while living with his mother. He was devoted to her, as were all of her children. An odd fellow, he never flew in a plane. If he went anywhere, it was always on the train. I think their son, Ruby, was my favorite. He became a labor organizer in the ladies’ stocking trades. He took me to baseball games. We both loved baseball. We would see The Philadelphia Phillies play in Baker Bowl. At the time, it was just a fenced-in field on Broad Street with a single grandstand. Meanwhile, the A’s (Philadelphia Athletics), played at Shibe Park, known later as Connie Mack Stadium. Those were the days. I have loved baseball my entire life. I remember watching Connie Mack, the Phillies owner, and manager, in the dugout. He always dressed in a black suit with a tie around a collared shirt and a straw hat. It wouldn’t matter if it were the heat of the summer, he always wore this outfit. Ruby was married a couple of times. His widow, Agnes, lives in Philadelphia. She is in her late 90s. (As of this writing now over 100.) Rose became an artist who worked for a wallpaper company. She was divorced with no children. She also spent many years as a dance teacher. Late in life, she became virtu- ally a recluse. I am very proud of the fact that I stayed in touch with her during those years. My weekly phone calls to her went on for years until her death.
Rose Lesnik Mellor Daughter of Mary Shuster - Lesnick
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