The Quest - Memorial Day May 26th, 2003
Memorial Day, 2003: though it was a cold and rainy
day, the Lerman Family set out on a quest. The destination for this
quest... Dorchester, MA.
It was 65 years ago that Bubi and Zadie were married on a
cold night in November 1937 (11/21/37 to be precise). Recently your
author had found one of their wedding invitations pictured right below
(click to enlarge). And then the idea for a quest was formed...
Per the invitation, the location of the wedding is at the
Dorchester Plaza on 5 Tonawanda Street on the corner of Geneva Avenue in
Dorchester, MA. The quest for the Lerman family on this cold and rainy
day 65 years later was to find the Dorchester Plaza and pay homage to this
location that united two young people who would someday produce 3 children
and 9 grandchildren. One of these grandchildren was limited with
grammer and never fully understood the rules for a run-on sentence.
But never-the-less, this author has digressed...
Before leaving on the quest, three of the
great-grandchildren were set down on the couch and were lectured on the
meaning of the quest. Main topics of discussion were primarily "who
were Bubi and Zadie"? Pictures were passed around among the three
girls. As well as the wedding invitation. The weight and gravity
of the quest was slowly sinking in on these young minds. #1, the
oldest, wondered if there was anyone still alive that attended the wedding.
#2, the middle child, inquired what kind if wedding dress Bubi wore on
this day. #3, the youngest, asked if she could have a peanut
butter and fluff sandwich before we left. Here is a picture of the
girls before we left the house:
What will we find on our quest? Will the Dorchester
Plaza be standing proudly as it did 65 years ago? Would it now be an
abandoned building? Was the Plaza converted to another building such
as a medical office, professional building, or check-cashing store?
Condominiums? Housing projects? To find out was one of the goals
of our quest. But finding out what became of the place where Bubi and
Zadie were married was not the only goal of the quest. The journey
itself was the primary goal. Maybe we would learn a little bit about
ourselves along the way. Get to know a little of our history. Or
maybe we were just a little too stir crazy after spending a long holiday
weekend cooped up in the house as it rained the entire time and we just
needed to get out!
How would we get to Dorchester? Should we drive?
Absolutely not! That would be no fun. Zadie used to drive the
busses, trolleys, and trains of the MBTA; so it was only fitting that we
would take the MBTA to see the location where they were married. We
drove to Oak Grove, the last stop north on the Orange Line.
We took the Orange Line into Boston and switched to the Red
Line at Downtown Crossing. (Downtown Crossing was called Washington
Street when Zadie used to work the trains). On the Red Line we took
the Ashmont train to the Fields Corner stop. From there we used our
map and walked about 1/2 mile to the corner of Tonawanda Street and Geneva
Avenue.
So what did we find when we got there? Was the
Dorchester Plaza standing regally as it did many years ago when Bubi and
Zadie were married? Let's let the pictures below answer these
questions...
As you can see there was no Dorchester Plaza to be found.
Maybe we missed the building by days or weeks. Or possibly years.
Nothing but an empty lot where construction is taking place for water and
sewer pipes. But overall it did not matter... we made our quest.
We made the best of a rainy afternoon. We made some friends on the
train. And most of all, we had fun.