a family reunion, and hats!

For an infinite number of reasons, I love the internet. Here’s one at the top of the list.

Back in May we posted here about Jennie and Margaret Grumbine, the ladies who used to operate a millinery shop in our building many years ago.The information and pictures came from Kathy Grumbine Miller, a great-niece of theirs who used to visit them as a child.

A few months later our post caught the attention of Brenda, another great-niece of the Grumbine sisters. She actually still had some of their hats and hatboxes, and she was kind enough to send us some photos. Here are a few.

Can you imagine wearing this amazing thing? Such pink and purple extravagance – it reminds me of a dessert. For a night at the opera, perhaps?

This one looks a bit more everyday, yet undeniably elegant. For a luncheon, or perhaps church?

It’s amazing to see these fabulous hats marked with our address. Time has certainly brought many changes to our part of town.

The truly remarkable thing is that Kathy and Brenda had never met, even though they once lived a few blocks away from each other in the small town of Lewiston, PA. It turns out that their grandfathers were brothers, which makes them second cousins to each other. Brenda had moved away to Harrisburg when Kathy was very young, so their paths never crossed until now. They have connected through us and are now emailing. Perhaps they would never have met if not for our little blog about our store and crafts and West Philly and whatnot. How cool is that?

Have I mentioned that I love the internet? Yep, I’m pretty sure I have.