A Walk Down Memory Lane

Memorial

2007-08-03T13:41:00.000-07:00

My mother, Jean Steinhart, died on the morning of May 3, 2007, at home in Wyncote, PA. My sister, Wendy Coleman, was at her bedside. I was at the Hilton Hotel in New York City at the time.

Jean lived a full life - 89 years. Her 90th birthday would have been last week, on July 28, 2007 (I'm finally getting around to posting this on August 3rd).
Wendy and I have heard from so many people since our mother died. It's been very heartwarming. We thought 40 or 50 friends would come to the memorial service a week after her death, but instead there were almost 100. More than 30 people have contributed to UNICEF in her memory, which means a lot to us because the work UNICEF does was very important to Jean.

Jean's life was a blessing for all of us, especially her children, her grandchildren, and her sister, Ellen Solomon. Ellen has now moved to Bethesda, Maryland to live with her older son, Dick, and his wife, Ann. [Photo, 1941]

Silver Bay, New York: 2002

2007-04-21T18:06:00.000-07:00

Jennifer Coleman and Jean at Silver Bay, August, 2002.

Skidmore Graduation: 2002

2007-04-21T15:16:00.000-07:00

The Coleman family together for dinner before or after Megan's graduation in 2002.

Franklin Awards: 2002

2007-04-21T14:59:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken on the day our cousin John Cahn received a Franklin Science Award from the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. I believe this was taken at the Four Seasons Hotel. From left to right, Paul Rosenau, Anne Cahn, Jean, Charles and Ellen. John couldn't join us for lunch - he was meeting with the other scientists at the Franklin Institute.

Jean with Jordan Steinhart: 1997

2007-04-21T14:52:00.000-07:00

Some of the best pictures of Jean are those taken with her grandchildren. Here you can see how proud she was, and no doubt Jordan, looking right at the camera, was happy to get the morning service behind him. Ten years later, he's a handsome college student and his Hebrew is still flawless..

Jean and Ellen: 1997

2007-04-21T14:45:00.000-07:00

Jean and Ellen at Jordon Steinhart's Bar Mitzvah in 1997. This was a long day for these ladies, but they would never miss a good party.

Jean's 80th Birthday: 1997

2007-04-21T14:07:00.000-07:00

Jean's 80th birthday party in the summer of 1997 was held in the back yard of Chuck and Eileen's home in Wyndmoor. Almost 50 friends and family members attended. The food was amazing - There were lots and lots of pictures on display, some music, lots of fun.

Patrick Dooley and Jean: 1996

2007-04-21T13:57:00.000-07:00

Having dinner with Jean is Patrick Dooley, Eileen's dad, Christmas, 1996 at the home of Liz and Michael French in Radnor. Jean's wearing a party hat that popped out of a snappy-tube, actually a fancy party favor. Very festive, don't you think? Most likely this picture was taken by one of Eileen's sisters.

Statue of Liberty: 1993

2007-04-21T13:53:00.000-07:00

Another nice picture of Jean and Harvey taken in either 1993 or 1994, as both dates appear on the back of this picture. We lost Harvey on April 21, 1994.

Jean and Harvey: 1986

2007-04-21T13:44:00.000-07:00

There being no more slides from way back, this begins a progression of pictures slected from a huge collection of photographs, very well organized, kept in Jean's closet. According to the note on the back of this picture, it was taken at Ron and Sally Wallace's home in 1986.

Not the House We Rented: 1986

2007-02-27T18:35:00.000-08:00

I wanted to send Alice a "family picture" from Cape May. As a joke, we posed in front of this dilapidated shack on the beach near the sunken concrete ship, Cape May Point. I believe this picture was taken in 1986. Sitting: Kay, Jean, Wendy, Fred, with Jennifer in his lap, Steve, with Rachael. Standing: Harvey, Carly, Megan, Nick, Emily and Charles. Mark, who would be less than a year old if this picture was taken in 1986, is not in the picture.

Jean on the Beach: Cape May, NJ: 1986

2007-02-27T18:33:00.000-08:00

On the beach in Cape May, not far from the house we rented: Summer, 1986. I may still have this same beach chair after all these years.

Wendy, Jennifer and Jean in Cape May, NJ: 1986

2007-02-27T18:13:00.000-08:00

This was earlier (than the previous picture) in the year, 1982 - in Cape May, New Jersey. with Megan taking a bike ride with Wendy. This may have been the summer when we rented the biggest house we could find in Cape May for a week or two.

Family Photo: Lake Kezar: 1982

2007-02-26T19:29:00.000-08:00

On the shore of Lake Kezar, the summer of 1982. Left to right: Nick, Megan, Wendy, Emily, Carly, Harvey, Jean, Fred and Charles.

Carly and Jean, Lake Kezar: 1982

2007-02-26T19:26:00.000-08:00

Carly and Jean on the "beach" on Lake Kezar, summer of 1982. I love this picture, because it conveys the kind of engaging and respectful relationship Jean had with all the kids.

Front and Pemberton Streets: 1982

2007-02-26T19:23:00.000-08:00

Alice, Charles and Jean standing near the corner of Front and Pemberton Streets in Queen Village. Jean is holding a child's life jacket, most likely Carly's, then age 5.

Lake Kezar, Maine: 1981

2007-02-26T19:19:00.000-08:00

Inside the Rosenau cottage on Lake Kezar. Jean and Harvey rented this cabin for a month for quite a few summers in the 1970s and 1980s.

Jill and Kevin's Wedding: 1977

2007-02-26T19:16:00.000-08:00

At Jill and Kevin's Wedding, 1977.

With Carly and Emily: 1977

2007-02-22T19:24:00.000-08:00

This picture was taken at Jean and Harvey's apartment a few weeks after Carly was born (January, 1977) - Jean, Gretchen, Carly, Charles and Emily.

Jean with Stuart Meyers: 1974

2007-02-22T19:22:00.000-08:00

In the living room at 7620 Lafayette Avenue, Jean with Stuart Meyers - same party, 1974. Everyone was wearing name tags!

Alice Harris: 1974

2007-02-22T19:20:00.000-08:00

Taken at the same party in 1974, Alice Harris on the front porch at 7620 Lafayette Avenue, most likely saying something like, "Don't take my picture again!"

Wendy and Fred: 1974

2007-02-22T19:15:00.000-08:00

Taken in the living room, 7620 Lafayette Avenue, in the spring or summer of 1974, possibly a "meet and greet" kind of party a year before Jean and Harvey were married (that was September, 1975).

The Harris Family in Florida: 1973

2007-02-22T19:12:00.000-08:00

Jean, Harold, Alice and Ellen in Florida, Winter, 1973

Picnic in Florida: 1973

2007-02-20T18:42:00.000-08:00

Sitting at the picnic table next to Jean, wearing a red coat, is Edith Levi. The man standing off to the left, near the cars, is Frank D. Levi, Sr. Most likely, this spot is somewhere in the vicinity of Palm Beach.

7620 Lafayette Avenue: 1970

2007-02-19T19:58:00.000-08:00

Our family's house in Melrose Park - in a picture taken in 1970. Our parents bought the housein 1948 and Jean lived here until the mid-seventies. When she married Harvey Steinhart, Jean sold the house and moved to his apartment at the Wyncote House.

Jean in Florida: 1970

2007-02-19T19:56:00.000-08:00

Jean in Florida, winter, 1970. The picture may have been taken in Sarasota, or in Palm Beach.

Harold and Alice Harris in Florida: 1970

2007-02-19T19:45:00.000-08:00

Harold Rosenau Harris (1888-1980) and Alice Selig Hariis (1890-1991) in sunny Florida, winter of 1970. My grandparents were regular winter visitors to Sarasota, Florida. This is a Kodachrome slide, processed by Kodak. Most likely Jean took the picture.

Charles' Penn State Graduation: 1969

2007-02-19T19:38:00.000-08:00

Jean took this picture of me following commencement at Penn State, June 1969. This was a very emotional day for me and Jean - we knew my father would have been proud of me today. The location is Penn State's football field, Beaver Stadium, which was much smaller (capacity 40,000) then than it is today (100,000).

Penn State Creamery: 1969

2007-02-18T11:38:00.000-08:00

Gretchen, Jean and Charles, sitting on a bench near the Penn State Creamery. Most likely, this was June, 1969, around the time of commencement. The watch I'm wearing was a birthday gift gift from my parents, in 1968, which they bought in St. Thomas. I still have the watch, and it still works, kind of. And the Penn State Creamery still makes the world's best ice cream.

Charlie & Jean in the Virgin Islands: 1968

2007-02-18T11:19:00.000-08:00

My parents went to the U.S. Virgin Islands for a vacation during the winter of 1968. Charlie's looking pretty trim in this picture. He died of a heart attack in July of the same year. I wonder who took the picture?

Family Group: 1967

2007-02-18T11:11:00.000-08:00

When he got "semi-dressed up," Harold wore a bolo, like the one seen here. From left to right, Charles, Alice, Harold and Jean. It looks like I'm wearing cargo shorts. It's possible this picture was taken in the back yard in Melrose Park.

Jean Visiting Camp Kabeyun: 1967

2007-02-18T11:02:00.000-08:00

My father took this picture on a Sunday, the only day staff members at Camp Kabeyun wore "whites." During the summer of 1967, I came down with a unspecified liver infection, caused by taking butazolodin. I remember my parents visiting me that summer, after I was released from the Lakes Region General Hospital. In any event, here I am with Jean at the Woodchuck's dock, it's a beautiful day and you can see the camp's Chris Craft runabout parked under the roof of the boat dock.

1967: Abracadabra, A Diploma!

2007-02-18T06:57:00.000-08:00

At Wheaton College commencement, 1967, an unidentified man performs a magic trick behind Wendy's diploma, with Jean and Fred watching. Amazing how much my daughter, Emily, looks like Wendy at this young age. And how about that Zebra-looking dress off to the right? Very fashionable for Norton, Massachusetts in 1967.

Wendy's Wheaton College Graduation: 1967

2007-02-17T14:46:00.000-08:00

Wendy's graduation from Wheaton College, 1967. Although Jean and Charlie were there, I was taking final exams at Penn State and not attending Wendy's graduation. My father, who took this picture, died a year later.

Father, Son and Nittany Lion

2007-02-17T14:23:00.000-08:00

This Kodachrome slide is stamped "Nov 65" - my freshman year at Penn State. While I was a student, my father came up to Penn State once in a while for continuing education programs sponsored by state-wide insurance organizations. This could have been one of those visits.

Wendy, Jean and Charles at Penn State: 1965

2007-02-16T18:28:00.000-08:00

On the mall at Penn State, during my freshman year, or more likely at the orientation weekend preceding my freshman year.

Dick and Steve: 1964

2007-02-16T17:40:00.000-08:00

Dick and Steve Solomon in the dining room of 7620 Lafayette Avenue in Melrose Park. This looks like a family dinner, perhaps a birthday celebration. We were usually dressed up for these special occasions. Dick was in gradduate school at the time (University of Michigan) and Steve was just starting college (Hillsdale College).

Jean with Rose Sterne - 1964

2007-02-15T19:32:00.000-08:00

This could be one of the last pictures taken of my paternal grandmother, Rose Seidenbach Sterne (1874-1966), sitting in the backyard of 7620 Lafayette Avenue with Jean. No doubt Charlie took the picture, probably on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. This being 1964, I was then 17, old enough to drive. The 1962 Pontiac in the foreground was my father's car. It had a three-speed stick shift on the column and he drove itt o work every day. The Studebaker Lark, my mother's car, also had a three-on-the-column. That was the car Wendy and I would drive when we needed one. The Lark was one of the ugliest, geekiest car every made. Our lives would have been different had we been driving a Studebaker Avanti.

Wendy Returns from Walden: 1961

2007-02-15T19:19:00.000-08:00

Wendy can be seen walking down the stairs, arriving at the Philadelphia International Airport from Boston after spending the summer at Camp Walden. The plane's triple tail is a distinctive feature of the Lockheed Constellation - this plane was the "Super G" which Lockheed began to produce in 1955. She didn't know it at the time, but Wendy was travelling on a classic airliner.

Wendy the Equestrian: 1960

2007-02-14T19:08:00.000-08:00

\Wendy, at age 15, shows perfect posture, as does the horse, age unknown, in a picture dating back to 1960 that our father took at Camp Walden in Denmark, Maine. Wendy says this was her favorite horse at Walden, named "Tony."

Rumpus In the Living Room: 1950

2007-02-14T18:37:00.000-08:00

1950: This rare picture, most likely taken by our father, shows Charles's unsuccessful attempt to strangle Wendy in the living room of our home on Lafayette Avenue in Melrose Park. I was three years old at the time and showing signs of becoming a brat. Wendy appears to be sucking on a lollipop, most likely a butterscotch flavored lollipop from Galls Candies, a store near Fifth and Olney Streets, not far from the original Stetson Hat factory. Galls went out of business long, long ago. They made great lollipops and the best milk chocolate in the world.

Welcome!

2007-02-14T18:34:00.000-08:00

Deep in my mother's office closet resides a collection of very old slides awaiting rediscovery and new technology. Some of them were taken by my father. One by one, I've been looking them over, trashing the meaningless ones and saving the gems. Worth keeping - and scanning - are some that go back more than 50 years. They'll be added here as I find the time to scan and post them. CS 2/14/07