All my young life I lived in “The Store” until the day I left at age 22 to be married. My parents owned a German bakery and restaurant business that became known within the family as “The Store.” During this time period “The Store” was at five different locations - one in Manhattan, two in Brooklyn and two in Queens. We really did move around.
When I was six years old we moved to the one on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn. Living there for the next six years were the happiest of my childhood. It was like a breath of fresh air, away from dirty, noisy, Man hattan. We were just a few short blocks from Forest Park (which soon became our playground), the botanical gardens and museum.
These were also happy years for Mama. “The Store” was not only a place of business but also her home and she was determined to make it as lovely as possible. “The Store” was being completely renovated and Mama had full reign over how she wanted her restaurant half decorated!! Not the usual drab, dull white on the floors, ceiling and walls for her. She would have color!!
For the chair rail high tiles that ran from the front to the back of the store, she chose a rich sunflower yellow with a deift blue border. Above this, the wall was painted a soft yellow. Mama ordered a number of shelves in various sizes, painted delft blue to hang on the wall to display her lovely artifacts, bought on our trip to Germany. The back wall had two windows overlooking a small yard, on which she hung pale blue dotted swiss curtains. Between the windows was a magnificent hand carved cuckoo clock with dancing figunnes and melodious chimes. I was thrilled when permitted to pull the weights that wound the clock! Also along this wall was a small dining table with six comfortable chairs, known as the family table, where we ate all our meals.
There was an apartment above the store that we only used for sleeping, bathing and dressing. In the mornings, my older brother Dick and I would rush downstairs, sometimes meeting Papa on his way up to sleep after a night of baking, to eat a good, hot, breakfast and off to school. At three o’clock we were home again, for cookies and milk and to do our homework before gong out to play. In the evening, we always had dinner together and Mama, Dick and I would vie with each other for Papa’s attention to tell him of our daily happenings.
“The Store” was always closed on Sunday afternoons. Because of its size, and the extra tables and chairs, it was the center for all of our family festivities. What parties we had celebrating anything and everything from births to marriages and everything in between. You name it and we celebrated. The victrola would play 78 LP records of German music and we would sing and dance to the melodies. It was a rare Sunday without company.
The day Mama very carefully and lovingly unwrapped her treasures, is one of the most vivid of my childhood memories. How beautiful they were. Porcelain figurines of a little mermaid, a boy with silver skates, Hansel and Gretel, intricate wood carvings, a hunter with his bow and arrow and faithful dog at his side, castles, a wayside shrine, hand painted vases, plates, cup and saucer sets, so many treasures that she was able to change her display every few months. How beautiful they looked on the dark blue shelves against the yellow wall. People from all over the neighborhood came to see the new type of bakery and restaurant.
The very best of times were when, once in a while, on a quiet Sunday afternoon, it was just Papa and me. He would allow me to pick a figurine and then tell me a story about it. How I agonized over my choice! Would it be the mermaid, or the boy with the silver skates, or the hunter striding into the forest?? It really did not matter. Papa was a wonderful storyteller and filled my six year old mind with imagination. To me, on those days, “The Store” became an enchanted place and I lived for a while with kings and queens, and princesses who were rescued by gallant princes and lived happily every after.
Anne Humbach — Fall, 2008
Copyright © 2002-2010 Anne Humbach