Memories from Grandchildren

"Some favorite old memories are the family get-togethers at the old house on South 7th street... cooking on that old cement "chair-like" looking grill, dressing up in old clothes with my cousin and aunt, playing croquet, and picking raspberries."

"Grandma and Grandpa Z's house floods my memory with laughter, fun, family and great food. Everyone always enjoyed themselves whether just visiting or playing sheepshead, pool or dartball."

"To this day, whenever I smell tobacco, I think of Grandpa Zastrow, sitting in his chair in the living room, smoking his pipe. Another memory is of all the guys playing dartball in the basement and yelling, "We got another one!" whenever they scored.

"Grandpa pulling out 2 of my bottom teeth with a rusty pliers and after 5 yanks on 1 of them telling me to get tough!"

"Being the youngest grandchild, I remember curling up on Grandma's lap, sleeping in her bed, putting on her make-up, playing games, and watching her tat. The best times I ever had with her were at the cottage. Early in the mornings, my mom made steaming coffee and hot chocolate, while my dad readied the boat then Grandma and the family would pile in and we would all go fishing. These are my memories of being spoiled by Grandma."

"Grandpa Z...I can still smell his cigar and hear him chuckle. Grandpa nicknamed me purrder "cat" and pulled my teeth with a pliers! He always was watching Brewer games in his favorite chair and said, "Hi Cat!" everytime I came over. I also can say I never remember Grandpa getting mad and he always called Grandma "Hon".

"Grandma Z...poor Grandma! She thought she could teach me how to sew. My first formal was my project that Grandma ended up taking over so it wouldn't fall apart at the dance! We did end up making some beautiful wedding pillows but Grandma did all the sewing (to this day, I can't sew!)"

"As a child growing up, the best days were going to Grandma and Grandpa Zastrow's and playing with all my cousins. I always enjoyed that but felt I was the lucky one. I got to go there EVERYDAY when my parents were working. Grandpa was the best babysitter. Many of my habits were inherited from Grandpa. For instance, I continue to eat cottage cheese with tons of salt, something Grandpa and I did daily. Another thing we did together to pass the time was play hide and seek. I would hide too good, sometimes Grandpa would give up trying to find me. After we'd have a snack of cottage cheese and milk. When I needed to go home, I'd spend all night thinking up new places to hide the next day so Grandpa would give up again and we could have our snack. I always felt he enjoyed his time with me as I did with him. Those were special days that I won't forget. I wish my child has the opportunity to share such a special bond with his grandparents."

"I remember going to Roosevelt Park with my cousins, walking down to the lake, playing zoo in the basement, learning to shoot pool, Grandma beating us in "Peanuts", my uncle telling us bedtime stories, going to my cousin's weddings and Christmas Day."

"A great memory I have is when we visited at Grandpa and Grandma Z's house, the first thing we would do was run in and check out the cookies and candy drawer. We always looked forward to seeing what surprises Grandma had for us."

"I also remember Grandma counting on a tally sheet how many kids came to her door on Halloween, hiding Easter eggs with money in outside on Easter, and her great Christmas cookies. To this day, Grandma lights up my house at Christmas with her ceramics "spirits"."

"One thing I will always remember about Grandpa and Grandma is the times we all spent together during the holidays. It was always so great everybody being together at their house. Now that I live there it's so funny when I invite friends over. When I'm thinking about how many people to have over I always think I invite too many, but then when I remember how many people Grandpa and Grandma had there, I could invite the whole city."

"The family memories that I remember are the long trips to visit relatives (why did you all have to live so far away?). Usually they started off pleasant enough, but eventually, the traditional crise of "How much longer?" would come up. The long trips were worth the wait though. I had so much fun at Grandma's house (usually rolling balls around the pool table or watching my uncles outdo each other in dartball), I sometimes didn't want to go home and face that trip back. Thanks for the memories..."

"When it was time to leave, we would pile in the ole travel-all and watch the crazy cousins line up on Grandpa's sidewalk to race us to the corner. My dad would make believe he was taking off which would cause a false start for the cousins and they had to return to the starting line. Finally we would drive down Mead Avenue and watch the cousins crash and fall over each other. We laughed as we counted the scraped knees and elbows!"

"Can you imagine how Grandpa felt when while babysitting for me one day, I suddenly could not be found. He ran up and down the alley, around the block, in the house, how scared he must have been when I peeked out of the garage saying innocently, "Are you looking for me Grandpa?" I guess that's how you spell relief because he never tired of telling this story."

"Being extremely meticulous, Grandpa took great pride in his flowers and I always took great pride in helping, so Grandpa planted his beautiful geraniums. I helped and when he turned around and saw all the geranium buds sitting neatly next to each plant--he shouted Reck-n-Beck. The name has stuck to this day."

"As a kid, there are always things that a person remembers. I remember a house on Mead Avenue filled with so much love and warmth that everyday was Christmas."