Uncle Harry

Uncle Harry was quite a character, not unlike my father. Uncle Harry was my father's uncle by marriage, not by birth. Uncle Harry married my father's father's (Charles) sister (Kathryn). Is that clear? No? Oh well. Maybe you'll get the picture as I move along with this rambling.

My father's mother (Bertha) died when my father was 9 years old, in the flu epidemic of 1918. His dad did not remarry for a long time, so my father lived with Aunt Kathryn and Uncle Harry, and I supposed his father lived with them as well. Uncle Harry had two children, Alberta and Herb. Alberta was several years younger than my father, but through the years she was really a sister to him.

Back to Uncle Harry.

Uncle Harry could come to visit us. Uncle Harry was nearly blind, even with glasses. Sort of like Mr. Magoo. Anyway, Uncle Harry lived in North Philly, and he took the trolley down to center city, and then hopped on a bus and would just show up, unannounced from time to time. We never minded because he was so funny. But, I can't remember why we thought he was so funny. Maybe it was because he paid attention to us and told us stories.

Anyway, he would just show up, and the first thing he would do is sit down and read the paper. Now, for Uncle Harry to read the paper, he would raise his glasses onto his forehead, and put the paper to his nose, and read it without his glasses. He said his arms weren't long enough, and if he used his glasses he would have to put the paper across the room, and getting up to turn the pages would be too much of a nuisance.

Uncle Harry was an inventor. He had several patents. One he loved to show us was a button hooker. It was a gadget, perhaps you've seen it, that looped over a button. It had a handle, and you put the button in the loop part, and pulled the loop (and button ) through the button hole. They came in various sizes for different size buttons and they were available at Wanamakers in the "Notions" department (that's buttons and bows to you young people who have never experienced a trek to the "Notions" department of a department store.

Anyway, whenever he came unannounced, mom would quickly make up a batch of spaghetti, because that was Uncle Harry's favorite meal.

He lived to be 105, and ate what he wanted until he died. He never worried about eating hot stuff, or fatty stuff, or lots of veggies, or no salt. He just ate what he enjoyed and one day he just didn't wake up.