Eleanor and
Audrey
Sisters of the Bronx
These two photos of Eleanor, on the left, and Audrey, on the right, were taped together by Eleanor to create a personal favorite in her collection. They were taken during one of the many ski trips their family would take to the Poconos, this one being a bus trip organized by Audrey. Their family was and continues to be very close. As explained by Audrey, “We were family-oriented. The family stuck together. My mother, my mother’s sister, they all raised us together. My cousins are like sisters and brothers.” While some of their family members were “daredevils,” as Eleanor described, Eleanor and Audrey chose to forgo skiing in favor of less intense activities like horseback riding and exploring the town.
When asked what her motivation was for taking these pictures, Eleanor explained that there was a photographer stationed near the slopes and that “they were taking pictures of people and I said, well, okay, I’ll do it too! And that was it…I wasn’t camera shy or anything like that.” Eleanor was also asked why she cut and taped the pictures together, she said she wished they had taken one together but everyone seemed to be taking individual portraits. She then took matters into her own hands by cutting and taping the two pictures together.
Eleanor and Audrey’s family loved to travel. Beyond their trips to the Poconos, Audrey expressed that her favorite place to visit was New Orleans. Like her sister, Eleanor enjoys visiting the south but prefers more relaxed cities like Virginia Beach or visiting her son in North Carolina. Eleanor is excited for an upcoming 2-week-long family reunion in North Carolina but emphasized that she could never live in the south, it is much too relaxed for her to be there full-time. Both sisters enjoy the fast pace of New York City.
Eleanor (left) and Audrey (right) on a ski trip
Eleanor on a Ski Trip
This is a photo of Eleanor on a ski trip with her family. They would often take a bus to the Poconos with a large group of people. Eleanor mentioned that she was not a skier but her children were telling us, “when you’re young you’re a daredevil, now I wouldn’t take those chances.” Her disinterest in skiing did not stop her from going on the trip, however, because there were so many other activities to enjoy, like bobsledding and snowball fights. Eleanor loved activities like this and spoke fondly about riding horseback with Audrey when she was young, which is something she would never do today. She says there were a lot of activities she enjoyed when she was younger that make ner nervous now, like going on rollercoaster rides at the amusement park. She still gets to enjoy these activities, now, through the eyes of her grandchildren who she loves to take on adventures.
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Eleanor also enjoys day trips into Manhattan to see plays at the theater, one of her favorite things to do in the city. Her favorite musical she has seen is The Lion King which she used to bring her kids to. She also enjoyed going to Yankees games and continues to be a big fan. Some of her favorite players have been Derek Jeter and Aaron Judge.
Here we see a photo of Audrey in a red dress sitting next to her son, James, in a white suit at a dance. James is Audrey’s oldest son of her 13 children, 4 of whom were adopted. She was a proud mother who loved her kids, devoting so much of her time to raising them to be good people. Every year, she goes down south to Virginia and other states to visit them at their homes. She said “I go down south, I’m the queen”, because her children will not let her lift a finger.
“I just enjoyed life. I enjoyed myself. I enjoyed raising my children, that was my greatest joy” says Audrey. She had a husband, Bobby, who wasn’t just a husband to her, but also a friend who held her hand wherever they went. They raised their children together very caringly, and although they had their disagreements, they made it a point never to argue in front of their children.
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“My children would tell you they never heard harsh words…my children meant the world to me and I know they meant the world to him, that’s how we raised our children together.”
Audrey and her son at a dance
Audrey’s 13th Birthday
This photo of Audrey was taken during her 13th birthday party on May 19th, 1948 in her family’s home in Harlem, New York. Audrey remembers the day very fondly, celebrating with her brother, sister, cousins, and aunts and eating cake. While talking about the photo she remembers how close her family was. They were very “family-oriented” and “stuck together”. Her mother’s sisters helped raise her, so her first cousins were like siblings to her. Although sometimes they would live in different homes throughout the years, they were never more than a few blocks away from each other, so it was like she was raised in one big family.“My mother made a cake, and then my sister and my brother and my aunts came over, and they took pictures, and this is the one my mother wanted me to take” said Audrey. She remembers being reluctant to have her photo taken, but if she was going to, she was going to do it her way. So, in her rebellious teenage spirit, she crossed her arms while posing for the photo.
Eleanor and Bobby at their Daughter’s Wedding
This photo is of Eleanor and her husband, Bobby, at their daughter Robin’s wedding. Eleanor met Bobby at Mount Vernon High School when they were both students, though Eleanor was a grade older than Bobby. The couple got married soon after when Eleanor was 18 at a church in Mount Vernon. She speaks fondly of their honeymoon which they took in New York City, where she now lives permanently. She said, “We stayed at the Theresa Hotel because it was nice there. We went down there and stayed a few days and did some sightseeing and stuff like that.” Two years after their wedding, they welcomed their first child, a daughter named Robin, who now lives in Yonkers. Their second child, James, lives in North Carolina after being stationed there in the armed forces (he has since retired). As her children have moved out, and Bobby has passed away, Eleanor lives in a five-bedroom apartment in the Bronx with her shih-tzu, Pepsi, and sister, Audrey, who made the dress she is wearing in this photo. Though Eleanor appreciates Audrey’s sewing and clothes making skills she exclaimed that, “She didn’t make that many for me cause it’s gotta fit right…you gotta do this gotta do that. I’d rather go to the store and buy it.”
This photo is particularly special to Eleanor because you can see the joy on her and her husband's faces after the ceremony. She notes that she prefers memories like this to be captured in tangible, printed photographs, rather than kept on cameras or smartphones. She says her and her sister, Audrey, have not taken many photos together recently and, if they did, they are probably on her daughter’s phone. She will often ask her daughter to print the photos off her phone because, as Eleanor states, “I like them when I have ‘em” and does not want to look at them through a screen.
Eleanor Smiling at the SAGE Center
Here we have Eleanor at the SAGE center. She’s smiling at the camera during a lunch with students from Fordham University. Eleanor has been going to SAGE for many years, along with her sister Audrey, and they have both found a very special community with the center. Eleanor had first heard about SAGE from a friend who had been going. As a straight woman, Eleanor had hesitations about visiting the center because of its focus on the LGBTQ+ community. She was not sure if she would feel welcome. But instead, Eleanor has felt extremely welcomed. Since her first visit, she has been going consistently almost every week, describing the center as “one big, happy family.” Of course, she has her best friends at SAGE, but she gets along with everybody there. SAGE hosts several different events and activities such as meetings, dances, and “bingo-cise” (which is Eleanor’s personal favorite). Sometimes, their children even visit SAGE, which is very special to the sisters because they are family-oriented. During Eleanor & Audrey’s many years attending SAGE, they have seen much growth in the center. The number of members and volunteers at SAGE is constantly growing, the sisters have been active participants since SAGE’s last location, which they had to leave because so many people continued to join the center, and they needed a bigger space. Eleanor was very excited that SAGE is expanding and can have more new people around. When Eleanor was asked, “What is the most important thing to know about SAGE?” she responded, “How welcoming the center is,” highlighting how the center is open to any and all members despite their sexual orientation – everyone can enjoy SAGE.