Today my Poppi (my paternal grandpa) would have been 107 year old. I didn't know Poppi, a born-and-bred New Yorker (Lower East Side–Brooklyn–Union Square), as well as I would have liked to. He passed away when I was fairly young and I was too into myself to realize how many wonderful stories he had to tell and how much history he could impart on me. What I do know is that he was a hard-working, handsome, dapper man with a twinkle in his eye, a joke at the ready and a scratchy mustache.
Noni and Poppi created a fine little family (my dad is the tall stud in the foreground–loving the socks and tie):
(My dad is on the right – he loves his little bro)
While this is technically Poppi's day, I can't ignore my Noni's contribution to the family. She was one of those rare ladies with a career, who contributed to keeping the family afloat through The Great Depression; she was an intelligent, patient, proud and regal woman, who helped me with my history homework; she only wore the sharpest of royal blue or deep purple skirt suits and the snazziest jewelry, whether it was costume or real and she always timed the intake of her coffee and pastries so "they came out even." She was quite a vision: I remember beaming with pride when one of my childhood friends told me she looked like a queen. She did:
Last spring, when I wrote about the passing of my maternal grandma, I neglected to include this wonderful picture of all four of my grandparents together in my parents' apartment in the 1970s:
Left to Right: Grandpa Killmer, Poppi (Max Scheer), Grandma Killmer, Noni (Yetta Scheer)
How great is that photo? The two couples came from completely different worlds – Grandma and Grandpa were life-long small town Southerners while Noni and Poppi could not possibly have been more New York – but they got along famously. I remember my grandmothers (both tall, stately women with lots to say), would talk for HOURS. Their vastly different backgrounds and life experiences somehow manifested in four adults who had oodles in common. I'm a lucky lady to have had such wonderful grandparents!
To my dear Poppi, a happy 107th birthday!
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