Sylvia's Stories Move to Merrick I was born in Williamsburg. It was 184 Cliver Street in Brooklyn. And then when I was 18 we moved to Bensonhurst to a four-family house. My brother, my father, my mother, and we adopted my grandma. It was from Bensonhurst that Harry and I got married. Harry and I got married, and we lived in Flatbush, on Ocean Avenue. And that’s where I became pregnant with Steve. And then we moved to Clarkson Avenue--135 Clarkson. And that’s where I conceived DeeDee. And in 1951 we moved from there. March 3, 1951 was when we moved into this house. Steve was 10 and Deedee was 6--not even 6. Anyway, we used to drive out every Sunday, to see how the house was coming. They were building it. So we would come out every Sunday--it was our outing--to see how everything was going. God. I never thought we’d live here that long. But I grew up here, really. And so did the children. And Harry. We really grew up in this house. Even though we were already married and had two children. This is where we grew up, and this is where we learned to love each other even more, and respect each other. So that’s how we came to live here, in Merrick. We examined the schools, and they were good. And we learned that we were living four blocks from the railroad station, and that was good, because Harry was always late. And not only were the schools good, they were very close by. And the street is a nice one. I think there’s just one other couple on the street who are the original owners. With all of the wonderful things, and all of the bad things that happened, this has always been a happy house. I’ve always felt when I came home, even when I come home alone, I always feel the house is embracing me. When we went to sell the house, I sold it for $5000 less than I could have gotten, because it had to have somebody here who would love this house the way I do, and the way my children do. I’m going to miss this house terribly. I really am. But then it was good to me. And I just hope that the people who bought it enjoy it as much as we did. The Den This really is the room I live in. I love this room. This is where I really love to be. I read in here, I sew in here, I watch TV in here. I think this is my most favorite room in the whole house. And it has more of me than all the other rooms, although all of the rooms are rooms that I decorated, so I feel pretty proud of it. Living Room The bookshelves—those bookshelves were built in for me by a man named Fred Entler, who was absolutely an artist. He did a beautiful job. Every part of it is done with such love and care. And every time I walk in here and see those book shelves with the books and the pictures…. I really hate to leave, but I have to. And everybody who came in to look at the house talked about the bookshelves. And also, he built the bookshelves in the den. One of the things I like best about this room is the fireplace, which we used every Sunday. We would put the chairs around the fireplace, and we would read poetry. And I would bring in trays, and we would eat here. And it was such a warm (and I mean warm), wonderful feeling. After School This was a house that all the kids came to after school for cookies and milk, because I think I was the only mommy around who was here to listen to the tragedies, and the joys of childhood. Because I was here to listen and help. And it was a time I would not change or exchange for any job, any anything. 'Cause this was where I was happy. Dining Room This is the dining room, where we had some wonderful parties. Always small—it's not a very large room. And we would have maybe ten—eight or ten people here. I loved being part of the pleasures of serving and eating and talking. One of the very sad things I remember—the weekend before Harry got sick, he was sitting over there. He was always so articulate. And all of a sudden—it must have been during the Vietnam War because all of a sudden he couldn't think of the word for the Vietnam War. And I remember sitting here and saying, "something is wrong, because Harry just can't seem to be able to get that word out." And the following Monday, I was called from his office to tell me that he couldn't talk, and they were sending him home. So I called the doctor, and they took him right to South Nassau Hospital where the opinion was that he had had a stroke. I wish it had been that, but it wasn't. It was a brain tumor. And that's what I remember. That's the sad thing I remember here. And the only sad thing. A very joyous room. Everybody was eating and talking and having fun. Deedee's Room This was Deedee's room. And when Deedee comes here, she is again 16 years old, and she makes me promise that I won't open the door and clean it while she isn't here.