so..back to my brother and me for a minute:
when Les and I were growing up in Brooklyn we lived in this apartment building.
The family in the apartment next to us were The Hendlers who lived there for about 10 years. My folks lived in that building till they died...can you imagine that??!! They never moved once in their life.
but I digress..back to the story...
The Hendlers had 2 daughters, Maida and Gail, and after my formative years I really never saw them again because they moved from the apartment building to Long Island.
But Les, (our brilliant family historian), found old, old, old 8 mm movies from way back in the 1940's and the Hendler family was in them. So, he compiled a DVD of all the old films.
Aha...you ask, what is this all leading up to....??
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Harold Hendler, the dad, was the "King of the Ribbon Trade". He owned and operated Hyman Hendler & Sons in NYC. Apparently, when Maida (my age) got married around 1966 her husband Michael Weisman stepped in & helped to run the business. Harold died in 2005 at age 92. Maida and Michael then owned the family ribbon business.
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Yesterday Les, Muffie and I walked into Hendler Ribbon in NY
we had hoped to surprise Maida. Les had a copy of the DVD to show her if she was there...it would have been one hell of a surprise...even a shock after 50+ years!!
But, we learned, Maida doesn't come into the office so we introduced ourselves to her husband Michael and spent an hour showing him the movies and catching up on 50 years of family history. It was fantastic for all of us.
Michaels office had some 'history' as well
the ribbons in the shop come mostly from France and are all of the highest quality. Many are antique.
Martha Stewart has called this one of her favorite ribbon sources. Remember, this family owned business has been around since 1900. Here's a video of Marthas experience.
*****some story, huh??*****
now...wouldn't it be amazing if we all got in touch by email and actually made a plan to see each other....WOW !
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Les also casually kept in touch with our first cousin, comedian Mickey Freeman, speaking with him usually once a year and always visiting him when he came to NYC.
Mickey, born in 1917, was an American character actor who appeared as a regular on The Phil Silvers Show (Sgt Bilko) as Pvt. Fielding Zimmerman, part of a large and funny ensemble cast.
Mickeys' mother and my father were brother and sister.
He was the last surviving male regular cast member from the program. He also appeared on episodes of Naked City , The Lloyd Bridges Show and The Equalizer.
Les couldn't seem to reach him this trip. He made great efforts, only to fnd out that he had died on September 28, 2010. No one told us.
You can watch him in a little video clip from the Bilko Show if you like. R.I.P cousin Mickey.
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So....Les and Muffie are enjoying New York City...gorgeous weather today...and I'm back in my studio stringing beads !!!
This one just sold....I'm so excited
Visit my ETSY shop if you get a chance..lotsa cool new stuff like this.
sometimes I'll make something and then want to keep it!! Learning to say NO!!
