Roots to our past generations

Editor, OBSERVER:

I bought a tree from the Tree For Thee Project in support of the restoration of Point Gratiot and Wright Park, and I dedicated it to my grandma who owned Irene’s Beauty Shop back in the 1950s at Second and Gazelle streets.

Martha Irene Steffan served her neighborhood well and was so generous to families in need, even way back then. She made sure certain families had gifts under the Christmas tree for their kids – every girl needed a doll, she told me. Bartering for payment with her farm customers resulted in bushels and baskets of fresh produce and eggs that she shared generously. She had her own bookie; read cards and palms as a side hustle.

It got me to thinking about all the mom and pops like hers that made Dunkirk function so well. There were hundreds in First and Fourth Wards – corner groceries, beauty shops, my uncle’s Gestwicki’s Coal Company, a bar on every corner in case you missed one.

Social clubs of some sort every few blocks. Now we have a chance to memorialize them, the folks who made so many good times possible.

Imagine – a forest of good memories made by you.

Contact atreeforthee@yahoo.com for an application and more information.

SALLY YOUNG,

Yorktown, Va.