Lambertville children are saved by Briefs!
By: Merle Citron
Charlene Weinstein of North Union Street is a woman of many talents.
Charlene is convinced she and her friend, Ann Osborne, are probably the last two moms in Lambertville to know about Lambertville Public School kindergarten registration for their daughters, Bridgett Weinstein and Emily Osborne.
"I saw the notice tucked away in the Beacon Briefs," Charlene explained, "but as a busy mom, I often don’t get to read much more of the Beacon than the front page and Chit-Chat. This time I read further and found the notice.
"Then I thought of my friend Ann. She usually knows the scoop on Lambertville stuff way before I do, but I thought I’d better call just to make sure."
"Where did you hear about kindergarten registration?" Ann asked.
Charlene told her she saw it in The Beacon.
"Where?" she asked. "I read The Beacon!"
When Charlene told her where, she quipped, "Oh! Well, if it had been in Chit Chat, I would have seen it."
I, of course, loved hearing that!
Charlene and Jeff Weinstein have been married for 12 years, the same amount of time that they have lived in town. Jeff is a lawyer here in Lambertville. In addition to Bridgett, the Weinsteins have a 3-year-old son named Sam.
Charlene told me she found her way to Lambertville by way of Philadelphia where she worked coordinating the production of cancer abstracts for a National Cancer Institute contractor.
"I commuted to Philadelphia from Lambertville," she said. "Before Jeff and I were married, I made my own wedding gown and worked on sewing all the pearls on my wedding gown on the train ride to Center City each day."
Eventually the commute became too much, and Charlene decided to work for herself.
"I’ve done Jeff’s bookwork since he started his practice in 1994 and I also did clothing alterations for a while," she said. "That’s one of the things my mom did to support her three kids after my dad died when I was almost 6. I used to help her. Then I came back to doing something I really love: pottery. I made ceramic mezuzahs that I sold in two stores in Philadelphia and in A Mano on North Union Street.
"I was doing well with the mezuzah business when Jeff and I got our referral for a baby in China. Suddenly, I switched my attention to getting Bridgett’s room ready, and that was essentially the end of the mezuzah business. We flew to China in July 1998 to meet our 7½-month-old Brigit Fu-Yen, which means lucky cloud. Bridgett has brought us great joy.
"After we decided to build an addition onto our house that I designed, we learned we were going to have another addition. After living in a construction site for most of my pregnancy, we now joyfully have Sam."
"You ought to check out the gray cat that lives between Delaware and Jefferson on George Street," Kit Riley of George Street advised me. "It’s a gray feral cat whose owners moved seven years ago leaving the cat behind."
I told Kit that during my walks I see this cat all the time, especially sitting on the hoods of cars. Little did I know this cat is fed and cared for by the neighbors in the area.
"The cat is out in all kinds of weather and has done just fine," Kit added.
It’s true. Lambertville takes care of its own.
A recent Saturday morning, I had the good fortune to stop and try to chat with some of our homegrown boys, specifically Jerry Moonan, Sam Miller and Jack Ennis, all standing in front of Ennis’ taking in the sunshine.
The minute they saw me coming, they laughed, zipped their mouths shut and told me they had absolutely nothing for Chit-Chat.
I cajoled.
"Come on, guys, give a gal a break."
Nothing.
"That’s all you have to say?" I asked.
"Yup," they replied.
As I mentioned, what good fortune to run into these guys on a sunny, Saturday morning.
Speaking of running into people, I’ll often pass Leezle Miller Barnett while she’s on the run.
Her 7-year-old son, Noah, attends Buckingham Friends School, and he keeps her busy as does nursing school.
"I’m making almost all As across the board," she proudly admitted, "and I’m almost finished my studies with herbalist Pat Chichon."
Lest Leezle get bored, she also makes beads, and her business is called Leezle Beads.
A few weeks ago, Rick Marriott set me straight.
"Hey, I like the term ‘drifter’ for people like you," he said. "I don’t know what makes you people think that by merely living in the ‘ville for 25 years you have the right to call yourself a local. Geez, man, it takes generations!"
Rick patiently explained his pedigree to me.
"My family goes back to before the Civil War, the Parish side of the family and the Marriott side," he said. "My grandfather came to Lambertville in the 1920s and opened one of the first gas stations in America. Do you know the Marriott Gas Station on Quarry Street and 518? That’s my family."
Rick and I reminisced about his mother, Joan, who always said something that made me laugh when I saw her at Finkle’s. Joan worked there for many years.
The memories continued.
"Do you remember Bill LaTouche?" Rick asked.
"Of course," I replied.
"Bill, Gary Langfelder, Irv McDowell and I spent many happy hours at the Boat House," Rick recalled. "At one point, we decided we were going to publish a new Lambertville newspaper and call it the Bacon. That never happened, and then Bill died."
Rick and I admitted we both miss Bill and agreed William Oliver Digges LaTouche was indeed a unique character who added a certain spice to life in the ‘ville.
Do you remember Bill’s weekly vitriolic attacks on town politics in the letters to the editor section of the Beacon?
Bobby Johnson lives in the Hibernia Apartments, and he told me about an incident that happened on the towpath.
"I was riding my bike," he said, "and I couldn’t believe I saw this woman get knocked down by two bikers who never even stopped to ask if she was hurt. What’s wrong with people?"
Ah, the million dollar question! Of course, Bobby stopped and volunteered to drive the woman to the hospital. He told me she was bruised but OK.
Happy 80th birthday, Jack Rosen, and thanks for telling me what’s wrong with people.
I’ll never forget how much you helped me understand human nature when you told me, "Everybody is nuts. That’s because when we are born, we get clunked on the head, and from that point on, we’re all just plain crazy. Don’t try to figure people out."
I can’t.
‘Til then, if you’ve got any Chit-Chat news, just let me know about it.
Call me at 397-8494, e-mail me at [email protected], snail-mail me or drop off your info at 72 York St. Thanks.
And there you have it folks, a little chit and a little chat.