Steve and I took a really nostalgic and fun trip down memory lane, and I want to share it with you. As soon as we settled in at our park near Philly we decided to take a ride and visit all of our houses in northeastern America that we lived in.

2422 Stanley Street
Strawberry Mansion
Philadelphia PA

I’ll start with where Steve grew up in the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood of Philadelphia. Now I don’t know about you, but having the word MANSION in the area’s name congers up visions of huge houses with beautiful porches for me. Oh boy was I ever wrong. His block was just row houses, with no landings or porches. And sadly, now the area is less than savory.

But when Steve lived there with his parents and maternal grandparents it was a vibrant and beautiful neighborhood. He did live in Jacksonville FL as a toddler because his dad was stationed there in the Navy.

7933 Temple Road
West Oak Lane
Philadelphia PA

The Axelrod family moved to 7933 Temple Road in West Oak Lane in suburban Philly. Steve, his younger brother Harold (Hal) and his parents lived in that house until Steve and I got married on March 23, 1969. Yes. We are that old!

During all of those years of living in the City of Brotherly Love, Steve’s family spent their summers at the Jersey Shore, somewhere on Absecon Island. They rented a different house each and every summer.

703 South 4th Street
Queen’s Village
Philadelphia PA

Now for little ole me. I was also born in Philadelphia and spent the first nine months of my life living with my parents and maternal grandparents at their home at 703 South 4th Street in the Queen’s Village neighborhood, not far from South Philly. And one short block from the well known South Street.

My Bubie and Zeyda (Grandmother and Grandfather) came to America in January 1923. My mother was 3 1/2. They truly believed the streets of Philadelphia were paved with gold. Zeyda sold mens socks and women’s stockings from a pushcart and Bubie worked as a seamstress. I remember them “arguing” over who earned more money each week. One earned $12 a week and the other $15, but I will never know which one earned the most. They amassed enough money with their two incomes to build the house and store at 703 South 4th Street, that I lived in as an infant.

Famous 4th Street Delicatessen
Corner of 4th Street and Bainbridge
Queen’s Village
Philadelphia PA

That house was directly across the street from the Famous 4th Street Delicatessen that opened the year my family arrived from Russia (now Ukraine). It a “must stop” for a reeeaaaaly good Corned Beef or Hot Pastrami Sandwich. It was also in scenes from the Tom Hanks/Denzel Washington movie Philadelphia.

1022 Flanders Road
Overbrook
Philadelphia PA

When the row house my parents bought in Overbrook was ready, we moved. I can still picture the pair of chairs and drum table that backed up to the front windows. But what I remember most about 1022 Flanders Road was that my daddy spilled dark green paint all over our shared landing and front steps. He was painting the wood trim and his rickety wooden ladder, with a gallon paint can on that part that flips out, toppled over. No amount of turpentine ever seemed to get rid of all that green paint. This was way before latex paint.

Another, not so fond, memory of Flanders Road was a scuffle I had with the boy at the end of our rear driveway. I think I was 4 and he was 5 or 6. I remember that we were playing Cowboys and Indians. I wanted to be Red Rider and he said I couldn’t because I was a girl! And then he hit me on the forehead with his toy metal pistol. It gave me quite a gash. But I wasn’t upset about the pain. No I was crying all the way to my house that I was getting blood all over my brand new pink snow suit!

8021 Rugby Street
West Oak Lane
Philadelphia PA

Then, when I was 6 1/2, we moved to suburban Philly, to a brand new single home in West Oak Lane at 8021 Rugby Street. I felt like such a rich kid! It was in that house that my passion for cooking began. In high school I used to throw very formal, multi course dinner parties. And as a teenager I was a semi-finalist in the Miss Atlantic City Beach Patrol Contest and a runner-up in the Miss West Oak Lane Contest.

It was an awesome neighborhood and I am still friends with many of the people I met in first grade. And one I met in 4th grade, who is now my brother in law! Steve only lived 7 blocks away from me, but he and I didn’t meet until I was 15. And we didn’t date until we met the second time, when I was 21. At that second meeting it was love at first sight for both of us.

The Cambridge Villa
2 North Cambridge Avenue
Ventnor NJ

Until i was about 12 1/2, my parents and I spent our summers at the Jersey Shore. My Bubie and Zeyda had bought a summer home in Ventnor NJ. Zeyda dubbed it The Cambridge Villa, because it was at 2 North Cambridge Avenue. I learned to walk in that house. And my cousins and I drove Bubie and my mom CRAZY in that house. It was the best!

Ashbourne Manor
Our first apartment!

And then, on March 23, 1969, Steve and I began our life together in our very own apartment in Ashbourne Manor. It was the night before our wedding that I remember most about our first home. My parents met us at the apartment so we could hang some artwork and make it feel like home. I knew that Steve was a total keeper because he was incredibly tolerant of my perfectionist mother.

Our first house!
149 West 65th Avenue
Melrose Park Gardens
Philadelphia PA

It wasn’t long before paying rent felt like we were throwing our money away. So we only stayed in the apartment for a little less than a year. We only moved a few blocks away to a spacious row house at 149 West 65th Avenue in an area known as Melrose Park Gardens.

It was a fabulous party house and we entertained a lot!!! The basement was completely finished with real knotty pine paneling. Steve built a wet bar that was covered with black patent pleather that was tufted with brass nail heads. It was gorgeous. All of those parties we had there were dress rehearsals for the catering business that we didn’t know we’d open at that time.

We also got our first dog in that house, a West Highland White Terrier named Macky MacDougle. Then a year and a half after that our son Brian was born. It was when Brian was ready for first grade that we decided we needed to be near better schools. And that took us across the Delaware to Mt. Laurel NJ.

16 Lancelot Lane
Devonshire
Mt. Laurel NJ

The rest of our Lancelot Lane house.

We built a semi-custom single home at 16 Lancelot Lane. It was our dream home. We thought we’d grow old there. Then, after less than 3 years in New Jersey, we went to West Palm Beach to visit our parents for Christmas break. A blizzard was predicted so we left a day early to drive down to south Florida. Every single day there we had perfect sun shiny weather. It was so glorious that we decided to move there.

And the rest is history. We lived in Wellington FL for 38 years and in 3 different houses plus a short term apartment. Then, after years and years of planning, hoping and dreaming, we sold our house and moved into our RV, Ladybug, for the adventure of a lifetime!