{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/959c53h409/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Jerome Shih Oral History"]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Description"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary of Full Interview\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eJerome Shih speaks with his niece Polly Brandmeyer about his memories of growing up in Parkway Village from the early 1950s to the mid-1960s. Shih discusses his parents' experience as Chinese immigrants living in Parkway Village and his father's work as a translator at the United Nations. Regarding his own childhood in Parkway Village, Shih reminisces about playing outdoors with other children in large communal backyards, having neighbors who came from all over the world, and being part of a close-knit community that embraced cultural and ethnic diversity.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eShih also discusses his background as a talented piano player starting at the age of four, being a student of well-known pianist Leopold Mittman, and the circumstances that led him to lose his love of piano playing later in childhood. Shih speaks about the schools he attended in or near Parkway Village (specifically P.S. 117, the United Nations International School, and Saint Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Academy), the death of his mother when he was seven, and becoming Catholic after her death. Additionally, Shih recalls meeting his future stepmother during a visit to Hong Kong and describes the life that she had after marrying his father and moving to Parkway Village.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSupplemental Note\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eJerome “Jerry” Shih was a Parkway Village resident whose father began to work for the United Nations in 1948. Parkway Village opened in 1947 with a lease agreement to house United Nations employees, many of whom were people of color who had been denied housing in other areas when the UN began operations in New York City in 1946. The Shih family moved to Parkway Village in 1949 and Jerry resided there from his birth in 1952 through 1965. Parkway Village housed many notable people while the Shih family resided there, including diplomat Ralph Bunche, civil rights leader Roy Wilkins and activist Betty Friedan. The year Jerry was born, 480 of the 685 families at Parkway Village were affiliated with the United Nations. As a young child, Jerry was called “Whiz Kid on the Ivories” by the Long Island Daily Press for his extraordinary talent on piano.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Rights Statement"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCC BY-NC-SA Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for research and reproduction requests.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2020-08-10 (created)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Type"]},"value":{"en":["Video"]}},{"label":{"en":["Agent"]},"value":{"en":["Jerome Shih (Interviewee)","Polly Brandmeyer (Interviewer)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Coverage"]},"value":{"en":["1952-1970s (temporal)","Parkway Village, Queens, NY; Chinatown, Manhattan, NY; Hong Kong (spatial)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Language"]},"value":{"en":["English"]}}],"summary":{"en":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary of Full Interview\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eJerome Shih speaks with his niece Polly Brandmeyer about his memories of growing up in Parkway Village from the early 1950s to the mid-1960s. Shih discusses his parents' experience as Chinese immigrants living in Parkway Village and his father's work as a translator at the United Nations. Regarding his own childhood in Parkway Village, Shih reminisces about playing outdoors with other children in large communal backyards, having neighbors who came from all over the world, and being part of a close-knit community that embraced cultural and ethnic diversity.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eShih also discusses his background as a talented piano player starting at the age of four, being a student of well-known pianist Leopold Mittman, and the circumstances that led him to lose his love of piano playing later in childhood. Shih speaks about the schools he attended in or near Parkway Village (specifically P.S. 117, the United Nations International School, and Saint Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Academy), the death of his mother when he was seven, and becoming Catholic after her death. Additionally, Shih recalls meeting his future stepmother during a visit to Hong Kong and describes the life that she had after marrying his father and moving to Parkway Village.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSupplemental Note\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eJerome \u0026ldquo;Jerry\u0026rdquo; Shih was a Parkway Village resident whose father began to work for the United Nations in 1948. Parkway Village opened in 1947 with a lease agreement to house United Nations employees, many of whom were people of color who had been denied housing in other areas when the UN began operations in New York City in 1946. The Shih family moved to Parkway Village in 1949 and Jerry resided there from his birth in 1952 through 1965. Parkway Village housed many notable people while the Shih family resided there, including diplomat Ralph Bunche, civil rights leader Roy Wilkins and activist Betty Friedan. The year Jerry was born, 480 of the 685 families at Parkway Village were affiliated with the United Nations. As a young child, Jerry was called \u0026ldquo;Whiz Kid on the Ivories\u0026rdquo; by the Long Island Daily Press for his extraordinary talent on piano.\u003c/p\u003e"]},"requiredStatement":{"label":{"en":["Attribution"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCC BY-NC-SA Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for research and reproduction requests.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},"provider":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/299/341/small/thumbnail_299341_1766762505.jpg?1766762545","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 1 - shih_jerome_20200810_full.mp4"]},"duration":3309.16,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/299/341/small/thumbnail_299341_1766762505.jpg?1766762545","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-queenslibrary.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/299/341/original/shih_jerome_20200810_full.mp4?1766522530","type":"Video","format":"video/mp4","duration":3309.16,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Full Transcript [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerome \"Jerry\" Stuart Shih interviewed by his niece Polly Shih Brandmeyer on August 10, 2020","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=0.0,3.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/2","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: Okay, before we begin, do you agree to the terms and conditions outlined in the Queens Memory informed consent and copyright permission form that I shared with you over email?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=3.0,13.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/3","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: Yes, I do.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=13.0,15.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/4","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: This is Jerome Stuart Shih with Polly Shih Brandmeyer. We are recording on August 10th, 2020 for the Queens Memory Project.  Jerry, could you say your full name and spell it?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=15.0,28.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/5","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: Yeah, Jerome Stuart Shih. First name Jerome J-E-R-O-M-E. Middle Name Stuart S-T-U-A-R-T. Last name Shih S-H-I-H.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=28.0,38.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/6","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: How old are you?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=38.0,40.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/7","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: 67.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=40.0,41.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/8","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: Can you tell me what year you were born and where you lived in Queens?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=41.0,45.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/9","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: Yeah, I was born in 1952. And we lived in Parkway Village, which is in Jamaica.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=45.0,52.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/10","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: And when did your parents move to Parkway village and what brought them there?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=52.0,56.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/11","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: Yeah, I'm not sure exactly what year they moved. I know that after immigrating from China, they lived in Astoria, Queens initially and then I'm imagining that sometime between 1949 and 1952, the year I was born, that they moved from Astoria to Parkway Village. And I think the reason they moved there was because my dad [Tao-tsi Shih] was a UN employee and Parkway Village was a community developed primarily to house UN employees. So I think that was the reason that they moved to Parkway Village.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=56.0,90.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/12","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: What did your dad do for the United Nations?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=90.0,93.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/13","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: He was a translator and he was a member of the Chinese delegation. So his job was translating documents - technical documents from Chinese to English and from English to Chinese. And he had a specialization in translating scientific documents because he had a background in physics and math.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=93.0,119.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/14","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: How long did he work for the United Nations?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=119.0,122.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/15","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: He worked there until his retirement. At the UN, at that time, there was mandatory retirement at age 60. And he turned 60 in 1969. So he was born in 1909, and so he did retire officially at that time. But occasionally he would go back to work at the United Nations on contract, because from time to time, they needed some extra help. And, and so he would go back and do some contract gigs every now and again.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=122.0,158.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/16","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: Okay, thank you. And just in general, how do you think American culture influenced your family since they immigrated from China and arrived in Parkway Village?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=158.0,170.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/17","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: Yeah, I think that they gradually became more and more Americanized, but they certainly retained their cultural and ethnic values. And my dad never lost his accent. He always spoke with a pretty thick Chinese accent. But I think his sensibilities became more and more Americanized and he definitely was very, at least emotionally and cognitively, engaged in American politics. You know, he had definite beliefs about the direction of the country, and I think he really cared about the United States as his second home, and he eventually became a citizen.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=170.0,228.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/18","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: Okay. Can you tell me about Parkway Village? What kind of community was it for the families that live there?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=228.0,236.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/19","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: Yeah. You know, looking back, I think it was really a magical place to grow up, and a real remarkable place to grow up. When you're a kid, you don't really, you know, it's your normal, so you don't really think much about it. But looking back, you know, I recognize that it was such a special magical place. It was essentially a global village. And we had neighbors from all over the world, all different ethnic backgrounds, cultural backgrounds, so much diversity. And I think really reflecting the makeup of the employees who worked at the United Nations. So, we had neighbors from Africa, from Asia, from the Middle East, from Europe. And my friends and classmates were very, very diverse in terms of ethnicity, in terms of culture, in terms of their families of origin, you know, where their families came from. But it was not just a place for employees, we had people who didn't work at the United Nations and we had neighbors who were, you know, Irish Catholic, for example, Italian, Jewish, from all different walks of life. So it was really, you know, such a diverse community and a great place for kids too. That's what I think about. I can say more about that.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=236.0,335.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/20","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: Yeah, can you tell me a little bit more detail about your neighbors, for instance?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=335.0,341.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/21","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: Yeah. So, the ones that I think that I became aware of at a really young age was were my dad's colleagues at the United Nations. So there were a lot of Chinese and Chinese American families who lived nearby. Right next door was a colleague of my dad whose name was - their last name was Shen - S-H-E-N.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=341.0,367.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/22","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: The dad [Chu-Jang Shen] was a colleague of my dad at the United Nations. He also worked in the Chinese delegation. And he and his wife, Julia - Julia was a watercolor artist. And they had two kids. Edward, who we called Eddie and Juliet. And Juliet was closer to my age, so I had more contact with her. But she was I remember a really artistic kid, and she ended up becoming a graphic artist and a graphic designer and she is quite renowned and she's working in the Seattle area right now. So that was one family. Also in our same courtyard was another Chinese family - the Sangs - S-A-N-G. Mr. Sang. All I know is his initials were HK, and he his wife's name was Nancy. And they also had two kids, Daniel and Delia. And I remember occasionally spending time with those kids as well. So, there were a number of other Chinese American families in the neighborhood and I would play with some of the other Chinese American kids.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=367.0,458.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/23","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: Were your courtyards arranged by nationality?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=458.0,465.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/24","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: So no, no, really diverse. In our courtyard for example, there was a woman from Africa - a young woman who just had an infant and then she also had a toddler. And she was just a really sweet woman and very, very, very friendly and very, very kind. What I remember, my memory is very impressionistic as a child. So what I remember about her was that she had a necklace that was made of dimes - United States, dimes. And I remember being just intrigued by that necklace and saying, you know, are those real dimes? And she said, Yes, real dimes. There was also an Indian family. And I just remember the woman's name was Vissa. I think V-I-S-S-A and I just remember being struck by that, like what an unusual name that was and how cool that was. So we also had a Jewish family living in the same courtyard. And I remember they had two daughters, Marcia and Irene. Their last name was Bronstein. And I remember really liking that family a lot.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=465.0,550.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/25","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: And just a couple of doors down were the Fuller's and I initially thought that Jeffrey Fuller was a lawyer, but he actually was not. I guess he had gotten his degree at in Slavic languages at Harvard. And, one of his parents was the founder of the ACLU, and he ended up working for the ACLU. And his wife, Joyce was really a social activist. I think she had worked for the Care Program back in the day and she ended up teaching ESL, to a lot of the immigrant families who had moved into the neighborhood. And she had a little bookstore in the foyer of her apartment. And she had a lot of kids books. I remember that because I used to get money from my parents to go to Mrs. Fuller's and buy a book. So every so often, I would go to Mrs. Fuller's and say, you know, I'd like to buy a book and then she would show me all the books she had, and I would pick one and bring it home to my parents, and they would have to approve the book that I chose, of course. So just, I think just illustrating how diverse the neighborhood was.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=550.0,636.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/26","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: Yeah, I would play with - Mr. And Mrs. Fuller had two kids, Ann Fuller and Nick Fuller, and actually they had a third child but she was just an infant I think when we moved away from that courtyard to a different area of Parkway village, and her name was Cordelia, I remember that because I thought that was an unusual name at that time.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=636.0,667.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/27","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: Can you tell me what you and your friends did - in the courtyard, on weekends or after school?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=667.0,674.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/28","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: Yeah, I we just, you know, we ran wild, I think. You know, we just played a lot. And the thing about that was, you know, we had these communal backyards - really large backyards, as I recall, and we used to play all kinds of ball games. You know, we used to get these Spalding balls, and we used to play handball, like against the walls and, you know, a kid's version of handball. And then we used to play games like Red Rover and Red Light, Green Light in the backyard and Tag and all kinds of kids games.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=674.0,709.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/29","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: They were also great playgrounds at Parkway Village. So they probably wouldn't be very considered very safe in this day and age because everything was concrete and you know, in metal. But there were swings and there were monkey bars and slides and sandboxes. And there were different playgrounds throughout Parkway Village. And so, you know, we would have our favorite playgrounds to go to. And sometimes we'd have to go a few blocks away to a more distant playground, because they had the better monkey bars, you know, that kind of thing. So ,we used to play a lot. We used to ride our bikes around all the time too.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=709.0,753.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/30","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: I've seen in your collection and a lot of different birthday party photos - yours and other kids. Could you tell me about the birthday parties?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=753.0,765.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/31","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: Yeah, so it was very common and like, this was the baby boom era. So there were so many kids around, you know, everybody had kids. So it was very common for someone to have a birthday and then invite all the neighborhood kids to come to the birthday party. And you know, there would always be the typical unwrapping of presents and then the cake and the ice cream and, you know the parents hovering around and then engaging in some kind of game. I think there were also like special occasion parties - like Halloween. You know, somebody would have a Halloween party and then everybody would go and we'd be bobbing for apples and we would be playing all kinds of Halloween games and things like that.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=765.0,815.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/32","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: Okay, so in general what was Parkway Village like as a place to grow up in the 1950s and 1960s.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=815.0,824.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/33","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: Yeah, well, it was - it felt very, very safe to me as a kid and you know, and I don't think parents really worried about their kids just being out and about and running around Parkway Village on their own. And because - I just remember going out and playing with my friends and you know, my mom, or my dad would just say, you know, go have fun. And you know, then I'd come home for a meal, you know, but I'd be on my own for most of the day and I think that also that a lot of the - especially the moms - looked out for all the kids and it would be very common for me, let's say to go over to the Fuller's house and you know just go in and play with Ann or Nick or both of them and then when it was like supper time, go home.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=824.0,888.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/34","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: Were the doors locked?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=888.0,891.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/35","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: I don't remember. You know, I think certainly when nobody was home, the doors were locked, but generally, I think the doors were kept open. I don't remember really having a key and you know, having to have a key to open the door to our house, especially when I was younger.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=891.0,915.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/36","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: Did Parkway Village have any community events?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=915.0,919.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/37","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: Yeah. So every so often there would be like a big community event - like I remember one in particular where it was sort of like a festival, and I was a young pianist and I remember playing piano at that festival and there were other performers. Like, one example, was the wife of one of my dad's colleagues, Ellie Mao. Her married name was Mok – M-O-K, but she went by Ellie Mao, as a stage name, and she was a singer of Chinese folk songs and she actually made a recording of those folk songs. But she sang, and she was accompanied by a Chinese woman named Anna Lee, who was pretty well known in the community as an accomplished pianist. And she performed. And then I think one of my classmate’s dad, I just remember my classmate’s name was Pierre Bellocq – B-E-L-L-O-C-Q, French, and his dad was an artist, and I remember Mr. Bellocq, I think, was doing art at this festival as well. So those are the things I remember from that festival and I think there were occasional other gatherings. I know we always had a Santa Claus at Christmas at one of the parks at one of the parks in Parkway Village, and all the kids would go see Santa Claus at the park.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=919.0,1025.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/38","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: How old were you and when did you begin playing piano?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=1025.0,1031.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/39","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: So, um, I guess I showed a lot of promise as a kid, like as a toddler and, what my parents and siblings told me was that, you know, when I was just a toddler, we had this old upright piano and I would just love to bang on the piano. And they would put pillows on the seat - on the piano seat - so that I could reach the keys and I would just bang away, and just loved it. And then, I think my parents recognized some potential. And then I started taking lessons, probably at age four or five, and then pretty quickly I made a lot of progress. And pretty soon I was playing like Bach and Beethoven and Mozart. And you know, I was just like five or six years old at that time. And I remember playing even at that young age, like Bach, two-part inventions and, and Mozart sonatas and Beethoven sonatas, and my mom got me in contact with – well, I initially went to, a teacher, somewhere on Long Island - a female teacher.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=1031.0,1116.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/40","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: And then I think my mom thought, you know, I really need to get him connected with a very renowned pianist. And so she found this pianist named Leopold Mittman. And he was from Eastern Europe and he was a very well-known during that time – and had made several recordings of classical pieces. And, once I started taking lessons with Mr. Mittman or Maestro Mittman, I think that some of the joy of playing piano left for me because it became more of a chore. I was required to practice two hours a day.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=1116.0,1169.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/41","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: I remember practicing and this was at age five. I remember very clearly that, you know, mom was really a stage Mom, you know, she was kind of like a taskmaster. And she would force me to practice from 10 to 11 in the morning, and this was during the summer. I don't remember what would happen during school during the academic year. I would have to play from 10 to 11 and then from 4 to 5. She was always making sure that I was practicing and then Maestro Mittman was also very, very pushy as far as making sure that that I was developing in in the right way. He told my mom, things like that I shouldn't play sports because I could damage my hands. And, I sort of resent that now because I never developed any skill at athletics when I was a kid. You know, they didn't let me play little league. They didn't let me you know, do any of the things that normal kids did during that time.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=1169.0,1256.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/42","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: And so, I was playing piano. And then when mom died - my mom died right before my eighth birthday. And I think that after that - I just stopped really putting any time and effort into piano playing. I think that all that early potential just never came to fruition. Unfortunately, you know, nowadays I wish I had stuck with it and really developed the skills, the potential that I had. I'll just digress a little bit - so even though I stopped really playing piano, my dad kept making me take lessons until I entered High School. And I think a lot of piano teachers were really frustrated with me because I never practiced in between lessons. So you know, I would go to lessons and I would be as just as bad as the week before and it was like, didn't you try even to play this piece, you know, in between last time we met so I think I was frustrating to a lot of the piano teachers that I had between after mom died and in high school.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=1256.0,1343.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/43","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: But years later, I got a bug to really see if I could regain my piano chops. And so I started practicing. This was after I moved to Minnesota, and I was in graduate school at the University of Minnesota. And I decided that I was going to practice like crazy over the summer, and then I went to a jury to get placed for piano lessons at the University of Minnesota, and I played this Haydn Sonata for my jury and they said, Who was your teacher? And I said, Leopold Mittman. And they said, well, that explains it. You know, you are so much better than a lot of our majors. So that told me that Mittman really instilled some basic skills that I still had, even as an adult - as a young adult. I was in my 20s at that time, so. That's a long story.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=1343.0,1408.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/44","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: Wow, that’s incredible. I love it. Um, let's talk a little bit about your education. Where did you attend school?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=1408.0,1418.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/45","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: Yeah, so, kindergarten and first grade, I was at PS 117 and my older siblings -my sister Mary, who is 12 years older than me and my brother Peter, who was 10 years older than me - had both attended PS 117. So and you know, that was such a long time ago, but I do remember my first-grade teacher who his name was Catherine O'Connell. And apparently, she had also taught my brother Peter and had a fondness for Peter. And I guess that was transferred to me, because she had a fondness for me and a fondness for our family. And she was of Irish of Irish descent, and she was really, I remember that she always would talk about St. Patrick's Day. And that was really an important holiday for her and even at after first grade, every year, for many years, I would receive a St. Patrick's Day card from her. She left the city and moved up to Brewster, New York. And I had her address it was something like rural free delivery number two or something like that. And you know, we would correspond every once in a while, but every year without fail until I imagined that he was no longer able to send the card, we would get a card from her. So that was really special. So that was PS 117 - kindergarten to first grade.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=1418.0,1514.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/46","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: And then what happened after that was, so my dad had a colleague from the UN [named Chang-jui Shen], another Shen family, and that was they had three, three kids, Ava who was just a year younger than me. And they had an older daughter named Ada and then of son named Larry. But, um, Ava, was spending time at our house and my mom, for some reason started asking us to do sums. Like you know, what's eight plus seven?  What's eight plus six? What's five plus four, and Ava was attending the United Nations school, and even though she was a year younger than me, she could do the sums a lot faster than I could. So my mom, I think being a typical Chinese Tiger mom, but you know, this is not acceptable that a younger kid can do sums faster than my son. So she insisted that the next year that I attend the United Nations school.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=1514.0,1578.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/47","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: And where was that located?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=1578.0,1581.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/48","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: That was located in Parkway Village. It was probably I would say, like maybe four or five blocks from our house. And they converted like a row of apartments, Parkway Village Apartments that made it into the school. So my understanding was that the UN School initially was established in a place called Lake Success in New York. And then, I think, around 1950s, early 1950s they moved to Parkway Village. And then a few years later they got a site in Manhattan. But there was a time when there was both the school in Manhattan and also the branch in Parkway Village that were operating simultaneously. Because I remember at one point going on a field trip from Parkway Village to the school in Manhattan and we had a big, it was like a big assembly, of the students from both schools, both locations.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=1581.0,1658.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/49","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: But anyway, I was in Parkway Village, at the UN International School in second and third grade. And I remember my teachers there. My second-grade teacher’s name was Mrs. Magol, and she was originally from Minnesota because I remember she talked a lot about Minnesota. And, you know, and how different it was from New York and, and it's funny that I ended up in Minnesota, but, I later found her obituary. Apparently she taught in the New York area for most of her career, and I can send you the link to her obituary. I was quite moved, you know, it was sort of like, you know, this person who was a very, very obviously influential part of my life, but so long ago, and to come across her and to learn more about her life and her career was really meaningful to me. I also had, my third-grade teacher was from India and her name was Mrs. Narang, and she was very sweet. And I remember very kind and she always dressed in traditional Indian dress, and I always thought that was pretty cool.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=1658.0,1751.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/50","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: Were the teachers affiliated with the Parkway Village or the United Nations?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=1751.0,1757.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/51","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: I believe, um, I don't know about Mrs. Magol, but I believe that Mrs. Narang’s husband worked for the UN. And I believe she lived in the neighborhood. The thing that was cool about the UN School was the diversity of my classmates, you know, I had classmates from who were the sons and daughters of UN employees from all over the world. So I remember I had a classmate from Czechoslovakia and a classmate from Ecuador and classmates from Spain. And one classmate I remember was this young girl whose parents were Danish, and she was talking one day about the Danish King. And some other kids started laughing because of the pastry. And she complained to the teacher about how they were making fun of her. They were making fun of her culture. Or they were making fun of her, you know, her background and the teacher kind of just like laughed it off - didn't really take it too seriously.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=1757.0,1830.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/52","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: How long were you at the United Nations School?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=1830.0,1833.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/53","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: Just second and third grade. And then um, so what happened was in our family was my dad was a devout Catholic. And my mom was really anti-religious. So um, you know, I was never baptized Catholic even though my dad was a devout Catholic and I was never baptized anything but us I remember being very struck by my dad's faith.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=1833.0,1865.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/54","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: What religious influences were your parents from China exposed to?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=1865.0,1873.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/55","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: Well, um, so my, my mom was - her parent - her parents - at least her mom died when she was very young and we don't know what really happened to her dad. But apparently she was adopted by a missionary from New Zealand named Mary Emelia Moore. And so, she was exposed to Christianity at a very young age and during her formative years, but I don't know exactly what happened, but she became very anti-religious as an adult and just would have nothing to do with any church. And meanwhile my dad had grown up with - his father was one of the - or was I guess the first ordained minister in the Swedish Church - Covenant Church. And so, he was raised Christian. And then I think he had a very influential interaction with the Catholic priest. I think he credited that Catholic priests was saving his life when he was very sick. And so, my father converted to Catholicism from Protestantism and became a devout Catholic. And I remember he used to go to Mass on Sundays and after my mom passed away, I think I asked him…","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=1873.0,1979.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/56","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: What church did he attend?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=1979.0,1982.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/57","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: He attended our parish church, which was St. Nicholas of Tolentine. And that was just like on the outskirts of Parkway Village, on Parsons Boulevard and Goethals Avenue was kind of where it was located. And he used to go to the parish church, and I know that, what I recall is that I asked to go to Mass with him. And then I started getting interested in his faith. And then I asked, actually to be baptized as a Catholic. And so I must have been, I guess, going on eight years old, or between eight and nine when that happened. And let's see. So what I remember was that I started, I started religious instruction. And I would go to the convent of the parish. And there was this nun who kind of took me under her wing and was teaching me all about the Catholic religion and her name was Sister Maria George. And I became kind of a pet of hers, because she later became my seventh-grade teacher. And, you know, she was always really fond of me and she was convinced that I would become a priest and later become a bishop. I remember her saying that to me at one point, you know that she had these high hopes for me.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=1982.0,2080.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/58","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: So why did you switch schools from the UN school to parochial school?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2080.0,2085.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/59","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: Yeah, I think that once I became Catholic, I thought, you know, I should be going to the Catholic school. And so that's when I went, I started going to St. Nicholas of Tolentine School and that I started that in fourth grade, and went there from fourth grade through seventh grade, after seventh grade, we moved from Queens to the Bronx. But as soon as I got into the parochial school in fourth grade, I regretted it immediately because the nun I had for fourth grade was really, really mean. She was actually abusive to kids. And, I mean, she would yell at us and she would shame us and, you know, you I was in total fear of her. And I remember that year I missed, like, over 20 days of school. And I would fake illness. I mean, I would tell Dad, I'm not feeling well. I have a stomachache, you know, and Dad was kind of, you know, he was like a pretty permissive parent. So, you know, he would believe me, I could fake him out. Or even if he didn't believe me, he would let me stay home. So, I ended up missing a lot of school that year. But luckily my fifth, sixth and seventh grade experiences were a lot better at the parochial school.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2085.0,2181.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/60","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: I remember telling my dad and my big sister Mary, that I wanted to go back to the UN school when I was in fourth grade, and they just they said, “No, you can't do that.” I don't think people recognized that at that point. You know, like I think nowadays, parents would be more in tune to the fact that, you know, something's, something's wrong. You know, something's wrong that this kid is missing so much school and that and that he wants to go back. But at that time, I think also because the nuns had a special, you know, they had a special aura about them, you know, people saw them as you know, brides of Christ. They were holy people, you know, so nobody would question their behavior back in back in those days.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2181.0,2240.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/61","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: You alluded to the death of your mom in 1960, and I was wondering how the Parkway Village community supported your family, if they did it all, during that period, like what happened and how did the community galvanize for you?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2240.0,2263.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/62","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: Yeah, um, you know, I remember, I remember her funeral and there were a lot of people at her funeral, lots of neighbors. And I remember being struck by, you know how many people were just weeping. I remember, I mentioned the Sang family. And I just remember Mrs. Sang just sobbing. And I just was really struck by that. And I thought, wow, she, you know, this death has really affected her like it has affected our family. And then I also remember that it wasn't just the Chinese families that were there, but there were a lot of the Caucasian women - the Caucasian moms in the community that were there.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2263.0,2326.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/63","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: And what I also remember is that looking back, I wasn't quite aware of it at the time, but looking back I see that a lot of the moms - like my friend's moms - kind of would look out for me. An example would be like if they were going on an outing to the beach they would invite me to go along with their kids. And you know so we would go often in the summers to the beaches like the Rockaways and Jones Beach you know, the Long Island beaches and Long Beach, you know, so so that was one of my favorite things to do in the summer was to go to the beach and play in the waves. And so, it was always a treat, like I would always lobby my dad to take me on weekends, but it was always a treat when one of the moms would like invite me to go along with her and her kids to the beach and so that would happen on a pretty regular basis.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2326.0,2397.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/64","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: How did you get there? Was it by car? By subway?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2397.0,2401.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/65","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: Yeah, by car. Yeah, like, you know that they would drive. And, you know, so,  I remember that the neighbors being really, really very cool and very generous.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2401.0,2415.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/66","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: Your father remarried in 1962, and I was wondering where he met his new wife and how she integrated into Parkway Village?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2415.0,2425.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/67","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: Yeah, so I think of it like as like an arranged marriage by their friends. And I think that, so they had friends who knew that you know here was this widow and this widower and the widow lived in Hong Kong and you know my dad was of course here in the United States, in New York. And but we would go on home leave every other year and that was a UN benefit was that UN families got to travel to their countries of origin every other year with their families and they called it Home Leave.  And so that year we went on Home Leave, and it was just me and dad, because my older brother Peter decided not to go and my sister was working and so it was just me and Dad and we went to Hong Kong and Taiwan. And in Hong Kong, that’s where my Dad was introduced to my future stepmother. And her name, her English name was Jean Ting. And so they met and I guess started courting during that summer and so what I recall, is that like I wasn’t aware that this courtship was happening but at some point my dad sat me down and asked me “would you have any objections to me marrying Miss Ting.” And I said, no she’s, you know, I really liked her.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2425.0,2535.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/68","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: I remember being, being – I remember she took me – so we were in Hong Kong – and I remember spending the day with her where she took me around to see certain sites. One thing I remember was we went to Tiger Balm Gardens in Hong Kong and she was just really kind to me and I also remember her being um very kind, like for example you know somebody came and begged for money and she very graciously gave them some money and I just remember thinking of her as just being a very kind person. So when Dad asked me if I had any objections, I said no and then eventually they got married that summer and then she came back with us, flew back with us to New York.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2535.0,2590.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/69","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: And how did she integrate into Parkway Village?  Were there language barriers?  Did she have friends?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2590.0,2598.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/70","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: Yeah, she never learned, in spite of living – so this is 1962/63 – in spite of living in the United States for decades, she never learned English. And, um, but she had a lot of friends. I guess people who had immigrated from China and that she had known, probably, back in China who were living in New York.  So she had connected with a lot of people and so she had a pretty large network of friends that she reconnected with once she got to the United States.  I think living in Parkway Village was really a challenge for her because I think it felt too suburban to her.  She grew up in Shanghai and lived in Hong Kong which are very, very dense cities and Parkway Village felt more like, I guess, the suburbs to someone who is really was from the city – from a dense city.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2598.0,2671.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/71","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: Where did she do the shopping for instance?  Or get around?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2671.0,2675.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/72","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: Yeah, I mean she did learn how to ride the subway.  You know, take the bus and ride the subway and she used to shop for the everyday [items] in the local grocery store. But every so often she would go down to Chinatown and buy the ingredients she needed for her Chinese cooking.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2675.0,2700.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/73","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: And is that primarily what you ate for meals? Chinese cooking?  Or was it Americanized in any way?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2700.0,2707.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/74","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: It was um, I think that she would make like traditional Chinese food for her and my dad and then I would get more Americanized things like, you know, she would make pork chops or you know, steak or chicken for me.  And yeah, she was a pretty good cook.  She cooked really well and she really knew her way around the kitchen so she would make a lot of really elaborate Chinese dishes but she would always cook really excellent American meals for me.  So I was kind of spoiled in that regard.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2707.0,2750.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/75","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: How often did you as a family go into Manhattan Chinatown and what did you do when you were there?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2750.0,2757.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/76","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: Yeah, um, so I know she and my dad would probably go there more often than I would, but occasionally I would go with them to Chinatown and sometimes we would have meals with either just as a family or we would have meals with friends of the family so there would be more people at a big round table and we would, ah, I would accompany them when they went shopping to some of the grocery stores - the Chinese grocery stores.  Like I remember the Wing Fat company, for example, and I remember going in there and thinking this place really smells bad, but there were always interesting things to look at.  You know, like the live crabs and the fish tanks and things like that. So for a kid it was kind of interesting.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2757.0,2820.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/77","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: As we conclude, I have some questions about what impact you think Parkway Village had on your family’s introduction to America?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2820.0,2837.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/78","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: That’s a really interesting question. I’m not sure about my parents.  I think that - but what I can speculate is – because there was so much diversity and there was so much respect and acceptance, that I think the transition would be a lot easier in a place like Parkway Village than let’s say – if they were to come to – at that time in their lives if they were to have moved to all-white Minnesota. You know it was really a global village and people of all nationalities were living side by side and in harmony and with respect and acceptance and just acknowledging that there are all these cultures in the world and all these different ways of being in the world. And for me, as a Chinese-American it was really early exposure to a wide range of diversity and being educated by people of all different nationalities and having classmates of all different nationalities and backgrounds and cultures. So that was really cool, and so unique when I compare it to some of my peers who grew up in all-white communities or all ethnic communities.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2837.0,2951.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/79","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: What are you most nostalgic about today when you think back to your time in Parkway Village?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2951.0,2972.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/80","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: I am generally nostalgic about my childhood now that I am in my 60’s approaching 70.  I guess what occurs to me is what I said earlier. It was really a magical, special place and I can’t imagine that there is any community quite like that anywhere in the world anymore. I miss that. I miss that diversity and I miss connecting with different kinds of people on a daily basis.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2972.0,3021.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/81","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: One question I forgot to ask is I know you talked a lot to me once before about all the little shops in the neighborhood, particularly the candy shops, and I was wondering if you had any particular shops you liked to go to or candies you liked to eat or a story about that?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=3021.0,3046.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/82","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: What I remember was that there was a corner candy store. Originally it was called Mr. G’s and then it became Dottie’s, and I used to love to go in there because there were all these comic books. I was always reading like Superman and Archie as a kid.  I would go in there and buy the latest comic book. Also, they had lots of little toys so that's where I would get all my Spaulding balls that we would play with.  Also, they had a great soda fountain – like you could get hamburgers and cheeseburgers and shakes and malts. And Dottie – so Dottie must have bought the establishment from Mr. G and then Dottie was this really, really nice woman and you would like order a hamburger and she would say things like, “Do you want the bun toasted, Hon?” So it was always great to go in and buy toys and comics and candy, of course.  I remember the Turkish Taffy, and Mounds Bars and Almond Joys, and all the chocolate.  As a kid, I always had a real sweet tooth so I was always buying lots of candy and I always had lots of cavities when I went to the dentist to my father’s displeasure. That’s what I remember about the candy store.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=3046.0,3154.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/83","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: Is there anything you wanted to say that I haven’t asked? Or any memories you would like to share that we didn't get to?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=3154.0,3167.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/84","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: I’m just thinking about the religious community at St. Nicholas of Tolentine.  Like my dad I know had a really, special connection with one of the priests there. His name was Father Kenny and I was able to find some information on Father Kenny on the internet so I can send you that.  And I mentioned the Kurland family near us.  We initially lived on Charter Road and then I think when I was about to enter 5th or 6th grade, we moved to Village Road – so a different part of Parkway Village. There, one of the families that lived near us were the Kurlands and so the dad was of Russian ancestry and the mom was I think a French holocaust survivor. She was Jewish.  And there were four kids, and I remember spending a lot of time with those kids, especially Ethel who was my age.  I think she changed her name.  I don't think she liked the name Ethel. I think she changed her name to Nicole at some point.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=3167.0,3249.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/85","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry: I remember Mrs. Kurland being one of the nicest women – one of the nicest moms. We used to play hide and seek in their house and one day I think we messed up one of the closets because we were hiding in the closet.  And she got really, really upset because we kind of wrecked everything and I remember apologizing to her and I said, “I’m so sorry. I won’t happen again.” And she just gave me this big hug. And it was like “it’s ok” and I just remembering loving her. She was really, really sweet. They would have me over for supper every once in a while.  That’s the kind of community and that’s what I miss about Parkway Village was just the connections between people.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=3249.0,3303.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/transcript/88036/annotation/86","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Polly: It was a special place. I’m going to stop recording.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=3303.0,3309.16"}]},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/index/90354","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Full Index [Index]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/index/90354/annotation/87","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Family History at Parkway Village","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=0.0,335.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/index/90354/annotation/88","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry Shih discusses his father’s role as a translator for the Chinese Delegation at the United Nations (1948 – 1980) and how the family came to live in Parkway Village, which was largely comprised of United Nations employees.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=0.0,335.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/index/90354/annotation/89","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Notable United Nations Families and Neighbors at Parkway Village","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=335.0,667.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/index/90354/annotation/90","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry recalls the multi-cultural community of Parkway Village and having neighbors who came from Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Europe.  He remembers the Shen Family (the father, Chu-Jang Shen, worked as a translator for the Chinese Delegation and daughter Juliet followed in the footsteps of her mother Julia’s artistic pursuits) and the Fuller family (Jeffrey Fuller's mother co-founded the ACLU and Jeffrey was Assistant Director there).","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=335.0,667.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/index/90354/annotation/91","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Childhood Memories: Games, Birthday Parties and Festivals at Parkway Village","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=667.0,1025.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/index/90354/annotation/92","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry reflects on his idyllic childhood in Parkway Village, where kids gathered to play games in communal backyards and playgrounds.  Doors were unlocked and children roamed in and out of each other’s homes.  Jerry recalls a festival from 1958 where he played piano as a gifted 5-year-old. At the festival, Ellie Mok (stage name Ellie Mao) performed her signature Chinese folk songs and acclaimed cartoonist Pierre Bellocq drew caricatures of Parkway Villagers.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=667.0,1025.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/index/90354/annotation/93","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Piano Lessons with Russian Pianist Leopold Mittman","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=1025.0,1408.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/index/90354/annotation/94","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"As a gifted child, Jerry remembers playing Bach, Beethoven and Mozart at 6-years old.  To develop Jerry’s talent, his mother hired Leopold Mittman, or Maestro Mittman, who was well-known at the time and a bit of a task master and strict with Jerry. Piano became all-consuming at a young age and Jerry lost his passion for playing.  Though he did not continue the vigor of his piano studies, Jerry remembered a time at University of Minnesota when he played a Haydn Sonata for a jury to get placed for adult piano lessons.  When asked who his teacher was, he replied “Leopold Mittman”, and they said, “That explains it. You are so much better than a lot of our majors.”","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=1025.0,1408.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/index/90354/annotation/95","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Schools: PS 117 and the United Nations International School","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=1408.0,1830.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/index/90354/annotation/96","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry attended three schools in Queens from Kindergarten through 7th grade.  He remembers his PS 117 first-grade teacher Catherine O’Connell who sent annual St. Patrick’s Day cards to the family and how he followed in his older siblings’ footsteps at PS 117.  By second grade, Jerry’s mother noticed that the daughter of a UN colleague who was younger than Jerry was better at simple math and that she attended the United Nations International School (UNIS).  So, a decision was made to enroll Jerry at UNIS in Parkway Village in the late 1950s.  Jerry discusses the different UNIS campuses at the time and recalls his second-grade teacher Mrs. Adeline Magol who was from Minnesota and third-grade teacher Mrs. Narang whose husband worked for the UN. ","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=1408.0,1830.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/index/90354/annotation/97","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Death of Jerry’s Mother When He Was 7-Years Old","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2240.0,2415.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/index/90354/annotation/98","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry reflects on his mother’s death in 1960 and her funeral which was attended by many Parkway Village families and how the community supported him during that difficult time by including him in outings like going to Jones Beach.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2240.0,2415.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/index/90354/annotation/99","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry’s New Stepmother from Hong Kong Who Never Learned English","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2415.0,2820.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/index/90354/annotation/100","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry speaks about his father’s decision to marry Jean Ting (a Chinese opera singer) in 1963 on a home leave visit to Hong Kong.  He recalls her kindness, her language barriers and excellent cooking skills.  She was challenged by the remoteness of Parkway Village after living in denser cities like Hong Kong and Shanghai, but had many friends through her networks from Hong Kong and China.  She shopped locally but would go into Manhattan to Chinatown to buy ingredients for Chinese cooking.  Jerry remembers outings to Chinatown for meals and shopping at Wing Fat Company.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2415.0,2820.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/index/90354/annotation/101","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Parkway Village Impact on Shih Family’s Introduction to America","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2820.0,3021.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/index/90354/annotation/102","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry ponders the impact of Parkway Village as his family’s first introduction to American life and concludes the transition to this educated global community of diverse backgrounds likely made integration much easier for the family.   He says, “I can’t imagine that there is any community quite like that anywhere in the world anymore.”  He appreciated the wide range of exposure it provided him as a Chinese-American and the uniqueness of his childhood influences.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=2820.0,3021.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/index/90354/annotation/103","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Mr. G’s and Dottie’s – Corner Candy Store and Soda Fountain","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=3021.0,3154.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/index/90354/annotation/104","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Jerry loved going to Mr. G’s, later renamed Dottie’s, as a kid for candy, comic books, toys and cheeseburgers.  He remembers Dottie as a really nice woman who would say things like, “Do you want the bun toasted, Hon?”.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=3021.0,3154.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/index/90354/annotation/105","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Memories of Father Patrick J. Kenny and the Kurland Family","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=3154.0,3309.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/index/90354/annotation/106","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"In Jerry’s final reflections, he notes a special connection his father had with Father Patrick J. Kenny at St. Nicholas of Tolentine Parish. He also remembers his neighbors the Kurland Family.  Ethel Kurland was Jerry’s age and he reflects on the kindness of the family and of Mrs. Kurland in particular.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=3154.0,3309.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/index/90354/annotation/107","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Schools: St. Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Academy","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=1830.0,2240.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341/index/90354/annotation/108","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"In fourth-grade, Jerry changed schools again to St. Nicholas of Tolentine Catholic Academy due to his father’s Catholic faith.  Jerry discusses his parents' exposure to Christianity in China.  When the family moved to Parkway Village, Jerry’s father (Tao-tsi Shih) attended St. Nicholas of Tolentine parish on Parsons Boulevard and Goethals Avenue.  He has fond memories of Sister Maria George there.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/21/collection_resources/164452/file/299341#t=1830.0,2240.0"}]}]}]}