I loved seeing that letter from Dad; its so him. I
picture him sitting in that One Battery Plaza office in
his suit, he was quite the professional.
Bill, loved your memory of riding up with him in the
club car to NYC. All of my siblings have precious,
perhaps poignant memories of riding the train to NY with
him. I remember the plush deep red velvet upholstery in
his club car where he would say hello to everyone as he
makes his way to our seat. The lovely African American
waiter, was his name Baxter? or Roosevelt? or something
like that? would bring us sodas with little swords laden
with cherries. And he'd bring Dad a scotch.
Does one still take the Staten Island ferry to Manhattan
at the end of the train line? That was very exciting
being with Dad amid the hustle and bustle of getting on
and off trains and boats; and that was a huge adventure
for me especially the time it was just Dad and me...one
of the few times I remember having him all to myself.
After visiting his office and looking out the window and
meeting his secretary, we would go off to either shop or
go to a museum. Actually, it was on one of these trips
where we went into Schraft's and saw Uncle Paul. That
was probably the last time I saw him, probably 1965 or
1966. He was very handsome and had a soft smile. He
looked alot like Dad.
Once in lower Manhattan, it was a short walk to his
office. We went through a very old church and cemetery
on the way, and he would put his hat on as we entered
the property and tell me the hat was to protect his head
from getting pooped on by the birds in the trees. Can
anyone tell me which church that might have been? We
always had to dress up and wear dresses and patent
leather shoes and for some reason, I'm remembering that
butterscotch that Dad used to eat, though cant' remember
the name...they were wrapped individually in silver
foil?
While an adventure for a young kid, I'd like to note
that Dad made this trek which was a 2-hour (in the best
of circumstances) door-to-door commute each way every
day for 25 years. I remember once it broke down in the
swamps up by the Raritan River for two hours in a
snowstorm or something like that. Mom was really
worried. No cell phones in those days to communicate. It
wasn't an easy commute.
Bill, I remember staying in one of your rooms (Johnny or
you) when I visited one summer. You were grown and gone.
I loved your mom very much. She was so beautiful,
well-coifed and elegant. Her makeup fascinated me. I
have a funny memory of driving in a car with her. Reggie
and/or one of my sisters may have been in the car too.
Anyway, we had this conversation about how we should
chew our food, every bite, 25 times...that was the
healthy way to eat. (She must have just had a meal with
me...being one of seven kids we would eat our food very
fast, some would say inhale our food, so we could maybe
get seconds!) Try it sometime. Anyway, that moment has
stuck with me.
Anyway, thanks for the memories,
Megan 1/8/2010
Kevin 1/8/2010
Great memories, Megan
Baxter was the name of
the club car waiter...he'd serve coffee and Danish
in the am and cocktails coming home...dad played
bridge on the train 2x per day for 25 years, which
is why he was an excellent bridge player.
The train would end in
Hoboken and dad would take the ferry to Wall
Street...now most people today take the PATH train,
although many people do take the ferry
The Rumson Sullivan's,
especially Greg & I, are the fastest eaters in the
US...the 1st finished the main course would get
1st pick of dessert...then 1st finished(Greg & I)
would get the ends of the couch to watch TV...BTW,
Greg & I were angels with our 4 younger sisters
Love Kevin 1/8/2010
Kevin 12/31/2009
"As Laura
said, Dad loved sports, yet was an ok
athlete, I surmise However, he couldn't
play sports as a teenager as he had to
work after school to make $$ to give to
the family to make ends meet.
Anyway in
1925(when he was 16) he went to a
semi-military summer camp in Upstate NY,
which he loved, a Fresh Air type
situation....his baseball team won the
championship and, unfortunately, dad got
sick and was hospitalized when they gave
out the trophies...and he never got one
as they lost his.. he was totally
bummed, yet kept it hidden for 65
years....when he was almost 80, he told
me the story, saying he never won
anything in his life...he was
sad.....So, in a rare brilliant move of
mine(helped by God), I went out and got
a big trophy and had it inscribed with
the correct info. We gave it to Dad
several weeks later on his 80th
Birthday...as Laura said, he and all the
kids were crying...I still get choked up
about this 20 years later
It was
beautiful!!!"
Kevin 12/31/2009
Laura 12/31/2009
"Dad was a very good
"self-made" man who was
passionate about his faith,
family, and friends and
sports. He was very funny
even hilarious at times.
Very popular in social
circles.
Edzo was a loving man with a
big heart.( better be on his
team) He was passionate
about some causes and esp.
education.
He helped found "Christian
Brothers Academy" w/ the
Christian Brothers and 10
other dads where Kevin, Greg
and Mark and many friends
all flourished both
academically and sports
wise.
Ed also LOVED
sports.......
Aside from his lack
of formal education
he was very
disappointed that he
never got to play
high school sports/
received a trophy (
due to family
obligations) .
Kevin presented dad
with a sports trophy
when dad was about
80(?) and dad cried
like a baby ~ so
did everybody
else.....want to
tell this story
Kevin?
It was one of
the most
emotional
moments of his
life.
...
Once again,
Kathleen and
Mary thanks for
all of the
hours spent in
researching our
family's
history. Want to
get into the web
pg more soon.
Kev, thanks for
condensing some
main highlights
yesterday
......."
Laura 12/31/2009
