Babcia Cried

BABCIA’S TEARS OF JOY Babcia cried. I have never met anyone who could shed copious tears of happiness like Babcia could. Babcia cried when Myron Floren performed one of her favorite songs on his accordion on the Lawrence Welk Show. Babcia cried every September when a new Miss America was crowned. I was allowed to … Continue reading Babcia Cried →

A Family Grocery in Polish Camden: Memories of Leona Burdalska

1545 Mt. Ephraim Avenue Camden NJ about 1950 AUDIO INTERVIEW: LEONA BURDALSKA LARGE Leona Burdalska Large, born 21 October 1931. Left us on 2 January 2023. With daughter Deborah Large Fox Audio File transcript 19 APRIL 2017 L: Leona D: Deborah Deborah: This is my interview with Leona Burdalski Large, my mom, and she is … Continue reading A Family Grocery in Polish Camden: Memories of Leona Burdalska →

Holy Kiełbasa, or Why Mrs. D Ate the Butter Lamb

When I was a child, and for many Polish Americans today, having the kiełbasa blessed by the priest was important on Holy Saturday. We ate kiełbasa year-round--with bread for lunch and kapusta for dinner or plain for snacks--but eating the blessed kiełbasa? Only on Easter Sunday. I don’t know if having the kiełbasa blessed is … Continue reading Holy Kiełbasa, or Why Mrs. D Ate the Butter Lamb →

THOSE WILDWOOD DAYS

Is there any food memory more visceral, more redolent of childhood, than that of eating a melting ice cream sandwich, with a gritty coating of sand, on a hot Jersey beach while sticky rivulets of vanilla ran down your arm? “Fudgy Wudgy Man!” We could hear his call before we could spot him on the … Continue reading THOSE WILDWOOD DAYS →

I WAS A BLUEBERRY THIEF

AUNT JO AND UNCLE JOE “Don’t worry! I know the farmer. He doesn’t mind if we pick his blueberries.” Uncle Joe Siligato waved away my father’s concerns as Jimmy and I jumped into the back seat of the Oldsmobile. Unsafe and unsecured, we held on to the seat rim as Uncle Joe hit the gas … Continue reading I WAS A BLUEBERRY THIEF →

CONFLAGRATION: THE TRAGEDY OF LAURA JAKUBOWSKI

By Deborah Large Fox LAURA During the last week of July 1940, the residents of Camden NJ sweltered in a heat wave with temperatures reaching nearly 100 degrees. The sun beat down on the alleys and brick row houses of the hard-working people, who got little relief from open windows and noisy fans. The employees … Continue reading CONFLAGRATION: THE TRAGEDY OF LAURA JAKUBOWSKI →

Uncle Bill’s Stetson Fedora

Uncle Bill and Aunt Katherine Landy visit us at 1127 N. 19th Street in Camden NJ on Christmas Eve, 1956 My job, when company arrived, was to take the guests’ hats and coats upstairs to my parents’ bed. All the men wore fedoras. All the women’s coats smelled of Chanel No. 5 or a popular … Continue reading Uncle Bill’s Stetson Fedora →