The Steger Trunk

A visitor here at the Coot Hill Preservation Society Headquarters will, on entering the Lower East Gallery,
take delighted note of this old trunk.  He will also notice that the Curators have not properly replaced the missing leather handle on this side, or indeed on the other, except with. . . oh, Lord. . .bale twine!

On recovery from this shock, the visitor relents on noting that the  tin  trunk is cleaned off,
and the wooden bands, that act like buffers or fenders, have even been polished with lemon oil.

The latch does not stay closed.  There is no key.  Does some family member somewhere
have a key that might belong to this trunk?  If so, can we deal?

I love the "alligator-hide" tinwork.  I went to the trouble of forcing Marty to heave this thing down
from the Marilla attic, so I get to invent the term "alligator-hide tinwork."  

One of the two latches shows the impressive detail of the work.  This is of German  manufacture.
It belonged to the Steger family, a prominent family of German immigrants to Buffalo in the late
nineteenth century.  Adam and Clara Matynka bought the house at 554 Walden Avenue from the Steger family, who had operated a tailor shop in the front rooms.  Eugene Zdrojewski established his optometry offices in those front rooms soon after. And for all those years - like about 100 - this trunk was in the attic, the grey gritty shadowy attic, at 554 Walden Avenue.

Somebody in the Steger family had this trunk, possibly on a trip west over the Atlantic.
See the hatch on the left?  It contained a Bible and a couple of photographs.  I'll show them in a future post,
especially if people visit this blog and post comments and tell stories and historical tidbits.

The brown cloth is fragile at the place where the hatch hinges forward.  So is the paper picture of the  lassie
madchen rowing her rowboat in the picture.

This picture, adorning the curvy part, is in better shape.  We keep our winter things in this trunk, keeping soft stuff on top so as not to damage the pictures.

I would so love to be clued in as to any details anyone might have about this trunk.



Julie 

New page: Call for Editorial Help

I just set up a new, standalone page to this blog.  To see it, please click on the link

Familiae personae Zdrojewski

up top, under the banner.  This is the beginning of a list of Zdrojewski family members, with some indication of their mutual relationships and years of birth.

Please contact me with additions and corrections.  I'm missing some middle names, some maiden names, and who knows what else, besides having another entire generation yet to add.

My plan is for another, similar page for the Matynka side of the family.

Zdrojewski Christening and Some Backstory

Here's one that includes the ladies.  Grandpa Ludwig, Grandma Victoria, Marty (MPZ) in Christening gown, Eleanor Zdrojewski, John Zdrojewski (JPZ), Clara Adamina Matynka Zdrojewski (CAMZ), and Eugene Zdrojewski (EJZ.)   May or June, 1952.

Who knows anything about the Christening gown?  Was it used by multiple babies in the family?  Johnny, for example, whose gown is shown off in Zdro Films II, soon to be featured?

Does anybody have any ties from that era?  If I threw a party, would you wear them?

Is the photo below set in the living room of the house on May Street?  That was 175 May Street, Buffalo, wasn't it?

Eugene and Clara, June 12th, 1948.  

Clara made her gown, veil, and gloves - but that's another story.  For now I will just point out that from this day, it would be two years before they could live in the same city;  two and a half years before they could have a place of their own;  three years before they could rent an actual house; five years to the birth of their firstborn;  nine years until they could build the Marilla house.

I would love to hear stories of the wedding, or the christening, or the house on May Street.

Thanks to Paul Zadner and JFZ for sending photos to me.

Sorry for the random nature of this blog;  but it's going to be that way as I amble around opening computer files and cardboard boxes.  Please send photos or stories to add to the mix.    Julie

Prosime! Prosime!

Family and friends are welcome to this forum dedicated to collecting photos and stories about Eugene and Clara Zdrojewski, their ancestors, family contemporaries, and their progeny.

                                  

I've sent email invitations, directly and also via Blogspot, to family members for whom I could find email addresses. Please, if there are family members or friends of the families who should also be invited, let me know at jzdro@dairyvets.com

This blog is set so that viewers must log in to comment. I moderate all comments, which means that your comment will not appear until I push the "Publish" button.  So don't worry if you do not see your comment immediately, as I may be off doing something.

To begin, here is this photo of four generations of Zdrojewski men.  Thank you, Paul Zadner, for sending this!

Here we have, on a spring day in 1952:

    Ludwig Zdrojewski, "Grandpa Ludwig;" 

    his son John Peter Zdrojewski, "JPZ;"

    his grandson Eugene John Zdrojewski, "EJZ;"

    his great-grandson Martin Peter Zdrojewski,  "MPZ," a babe in arms on his Christening Day.

Please comment - make corrections - make connections.  Prosime!

Love to all,

Julie Zdrojewski