field day . . family history day

jason, korrina and i had such a fun time walking around the village and the lower east side and attending a tour of the baldizzi apartment at the tenement museum today. and it was a very hot and humid day . . stopping in places with air conditioning was a welcome break.

(jason and i first stopped at merriweather on our way east to say hi to chanda who was working-

and to get an iced coffee and iced mocha.)

our tour guide was named annie and she was a good speaker and kept our attention with warm anecdotes about adolfo and rosaria baldizzi from palermo, sicily.

photos of family members who lived in the buildings decorate the walls . . 

korrina is looking at a photo of josephine baldizzi, adolfo and rosaria's daughter, who grew up in the tenement (she was born the same year as my dad, 1926, and lived in the building until 1935).

looking through the window of the kitchen to the small living room which was also a bedroom.

josephine remembers her mom always busy moving around the kitchen, never sitting down . . cooking, cleaning, keeping everything tidy. her dad taught her and her brother how to play checkers and rummy . . 

and they would listen to the radio together.

this is a photo of rosaria at the garment factory she worked at. she was undocumented until 1948 when she finally became a citizen (many undocumented immigrants first had to travel to canada and then re-enter to begin the naturalization process).

annie is pointing out baldizzi family members who attended the museum on the special night in 1992 when their story was established.

many family members still visit the museum to share stories with their descendants and with museum visitors.

the iron stove that josephine would cook on with the coal bin to the right on the floor . . 

and with a large enamel coffee pot and white enamel bowl sitting on the burners.

afterwards, we walked through essex market and then . . 

along essex street to the pickle store (on our way to hester street) . . 

korrina and i had full sour pickles and jason a hot sour pickle . .

on hester street . . 

at meow parlor . . 

where we said hello to this sweet one in the window . .

we were on our way to meet greg and chanda for dinner at moustache on 7th avenue. we stopped at ferrara's on grand street, between mott and mulberry to show jason our favorite spot for little juleaften, and then stopped at mcnally jackson bookstore on prince street (both places cooling us off wonderfully with their cold air conditioning).

by bedford triangle park, i ran into sacha and charlotte who were walking east along houston street. they finally were able to meet korrina (all these years i've known them and they hadn't met her), and they were also able to meet jason. charlotte had been in italy and both were going to visit sacha's aunt in new jersey, so hopefully in two weeks we can get together, maybe with reina and anika too.

back to dinner with greg and chanda at moustache restaurant . . 

they served us delicious complimentary baklava for dessert.

showing jason our library which was once a courthouse designed by frederick clarke withers and completed in 1877.

korrina heading to the union square train station and home . . 

jason and greg with 120 fourth avenue in the background; once the site of my grandfather's tavern in 1911.

now everyone has gone to sleep and i still need to go rinse off in the shower. zuzu has been sitting on my lap, licking my salty right arm as i type. i also need a glass of water. it's been a fun day.