Mom and Dad had broken up when I was pretty young, so as a result, we spent Saturdays with Dad. Most of our Saturdays were spent at the Bronx Zoo, or the Museum of Natural History, always ending with a mac cheese and tuna concoction for dinner.
One Saturday, I must’ve been 6 or 7 years old, we must’ve slept over the previous night. Dad woke Larry and me up at some ungodly early hour for a “surprise”. On a very cold winter day, Dad walked us from his apartment about 6 blocks to the “surprise”—my great Uncle Henry’s bakery on Broadway.
We liked Uncle Henry. He was tall, and quiet and seemed to genuinely enjoy when we kids were around on holidays. He was my paternal great Aunt Peggy’s husband, and together they had two teen sons. Peggy seemed to spend a good portion of her time taking care of my grandmother Kitty, who was mentally unstable. I was told that after my paternal grandmother watched her toddler daughter die from burns, she lost her mind. The whole time I knew her, she would call me Ruby; her best friend from high school. “Ruby, are we going to the movies tonight?” “Ruby, have you seen Larry?” “Ruby, you look so nice.” As a child, I found this highly annoying, but now I see how sad this all was, and how Aunt Peggy was her savior.
Anyhow, back to the bakery.
We knocked on the front door and Uncle Henry popped out from the back where the ovens were through the still closed-to-the-public storefront. He gave us hugs and kisses and brought us back to where the magic happens. It was every kid’s dream! Uncle Henry taught us how to make beautiful frosting roses on wax paper and let us eat every one of our imperfect creations.
As we started to feel the effects of the sugar, the bells on the front entrance rang as someone unlocked the door and let themselves in. When we looked up, it was my great Aunt Betty.
But wait! Aunt Betty was from mom’s side! What the heck?! How did they know each other? Well I guess they’d worked together in that bakery for years. And were very good friends.
Many more kisses and hugs and roses later, Aunt Betty shoved too many cookies in our pockets and sent us on our way.
It is a memory I remember vividly and will always cherish.
Marie O’Neill Folz
family memoirs blog 
Hey Marie, great job. I love your story. I believe your the first of your generation to contribute to the blog. I’m glad you did because you gave me a glimpse into your life that I would have had no idea about, for instance, our connection with Aunt Betty and the bakery world she worked in for many years. In my blog contribution “Little Memory Glimpses” I tell a story about Aunt Betty and how she was an integral part of my young life. Please continue your efforts. Any scoop you can provide on Mom will certainly be well received. Again welcome and thanks. Billy
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Hi Marie, just catching up with the recent entries on the blog and was so excited when I saw you had written one! I really enjoyed your story. It brought back so many fond memories of Aunt Betty. She was always so generous with gifts. I vividly recall her giving me a pretty satin box that had 7 pair of underpants in it, each monogrammed with the day of the week. Who else could surprise a ten year old like that. I remember your Uncle Henry too. Such a kind and gentle man. So, terrific job on the blog. Keep ’em coming. I’d love to hear your remembrances of grandma and grandpa. Love, Aunt Margaret
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