Buchner Photos

My Husband, Bob Buchner, on the day of his First Holy Communion.

He is seated next to his maternal grandmother, Sally T. Carney - a character if ever there was one!  When I first started dating Bob, I remember her singing little dirty ditties, such things as "I knew knew a girl who dressed in black, she did the boogie woogie on her back." She also described how she wanted to marry a guy named, Eddie, and although she was quite young (Sally T. Wallice, at the time)  she stomped her feet and jumped up and down and said, "I don't care what you say, I'm gonna marry my Eddie" and she did! After a drink or two she told really interesting little stories about her life, such things as how she and her Eddie would do "it"( i.e., the wild thing)  all over the house!"  This was of course after they were married, at least that is the impression I got.  Sally T. Carney was a very strong and powerful woman.  She gave birth to my mother-in-law, Loretta Gloria Carney Buchner and 11 years later after about 13 miscarriages finally gave birth to her second child, Sally T. Carney.   Grandma Carney use to say she would look at herself in the mirror and call herself names such as "you smuck" because she couldn't carry a baby to term! 

Bob's younger brother, Eddie Buchner, is seated on Grandma Carney's lap, although he does not appear to be too pleased about it.   Bob believes that the boy on the other side of the bench (in the shorts), is a kid named Freddy Hegenbach (or something like that).  Freddy lived very close by on a local farm. 

Bob was born on June 7th, 1947 therefore I assume this photo was taken around the Spring of 1953. Bob received his First Holy Communion at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Astoria, Queens, but I can only imagine the party was held at Grandma Carney's house on Wallice Court in Huntington Station, Long Island.  Grandma Carney's father was a builder and since he built the few houses on this little dead end Street in Huntington Station, he named the street, Wallice Court, after himself.  He also built houses in Brooklyn, NY but I believe he ended up getting swindled ( I'll have to check with Bob).

Christmas Past - 1950

The Fries Family did not sit for a formal Christmas Card photo this year because my brother, Martin Joseph Fries, was not at home.  Earlier that year, he fell as he walked toward his highchair in our kitchen.  He said he tripped, but the grim reality was that he was experiencing the effects of the dreaded Infantile Paralysis, better know by every parent across the USA as Polio.  I was only 5 years old at the time but events that are heavily laden with sadness, heartbreak and terror, somehow leave an indelible brand in one's brain, even if that brain is only five years old.  I remember the exact position of the highchair and the shock and alarm that permeated the room.   I heard the rapid talk between my parents and knew the family was in crisis.   Our trusted, family physician, Dr. William Carrington was contacted and his recommendation was to take my brother to King's County Hospital immediately for a spinal tap in order to confirm the suspected diagnosis.  I remember holding onto my mother's hand for dear life as we walked the perimeter of Kings County Hospital while we waited for the procedure to be done.  I remember the feel of the sidewalk beneath my feet and the high foreboding fence to our right side.  My mother didn't say much. My father was inside with his baby, Marty.   When we got back to our house at 62 Interboro Parkway, Marty was laid on the living room couch as we waited for our parish priest to arrive to give him a special blessing.   He had been summoned from St. Michael the Archangel, Jerome St, East NY Brooklyn.  The priest blessed Marty using the relic of a little girl from our Parish, who had recently died.  This gave great comfort to my parents and later on I heard that the progression of Marty's paralysis stopped as soon as he received this blessing.
Marty was taken out to Port Jefferson, Long Island to St. Charles Rehab Hospital/Home run by an order of nuns known as the Daughters of Wisdom.   He was admitted for extensive physical therapy and resided there for many months.  It was a sad and lonely time at the Fries residence.   The photo above was taken on Christmas Eve on my Grandma and Grandpa Fries' enclosed front porch when my brother was allowed home for a few days over Christmas.  Marty is the little guy with the snazzy tie sitting in the center.  When he returned back home permanently on Good Friday the next year, he was very disappointed to discover that the Christmas Tree had been removed. 

Christmas 2017

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