Piotr Smyczynski 1872 - 1948 (AKA Peter Smith)
Antonina Smyczynski 1878 - 1965 (nee Nowak, AKA Anna, Antoinette)
This is the grave for my Great Grandparents, Peter and Anna. They were both from Poland. They were my Mom's Paternal Grandparents. I first saw this tombstone last year. My Dad, Emma and I went on a little tour of all the graves that he and my Mom would hit on their Christmas and Easter rounds. He wanted to make sure that one of us knew where everyone was to continue the tradition. It was very important to my Mother that each grave be visitied and have a grave blanket for Christmas and some flowers for Easter and Mother's Day.
This was our first stop. This is Holy Redeemer Cemetery in the Bridesburg section of Philly. It's a very cool cemetery, if you are into that sort of thing. It has a big fancy entrance and it spans several city blocks, but the streeets continue through it. So to get to this grave, we drove into the entrance off of Richmond Street, then through a portion on the cemetery and then crossed a street, drove through another section of cemetery and then crossed a street. I think it's pretty neat. We went there first because it is right near the Betsy Ross Bridge, quickest for me to get to! My Dad had to remember how he could tell where the grave was and told me that years ago my Mom couldn't remember where it was. Her parents took her when she was young, but she couldn't place the plot. She found out that she had a cousin that worked for an affiliated cemetery and she looked it up for her. Peter and Anna have been on the rounds ever since. Peter died in 1948, my Mom sort of remembered him. Anna passed away in 1965, so she knew my 2 eldest siblings. I've seen her in pictures, she looked like a happy gal!
Speaking of Happy Gals, here's a pic of Emma enjoying a ride down the boulevard on our tour:
Love the post, Becky, but you've got to tell me...What's a "grave blanket"? It sounds interesting!
ReplyDeleteIt's like a floral decoration...typically at Christmas made of evergreen. Lays flat on the grave, usually with some red flowers and bows added. My Dad stakes em to the ground.
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