Family Reunion

Anna Lee’s “Streit Family” reunion was hosted by cousins Barbara and Bob in Philadelphia. This was the fourth five-year reunion they have arranged. To understand the family tree and its Denver roots takes a minor in genealogy so just trust that we all consider ourselves family.
Cheryl and Dave met up with us prior to the reunion at the Philadelphia Museum of Art where we didn’t run up the Rocky steps. The permanent collection of the museum consists of 15th to 18th century paintings, sculpture and room interiors and is wonderful and indescribable. Jerry was captivated by the detailed carvings and inlays in the furniture and in an altar piece of a Gothic church. Anna Lee spent a lot of time looking at the ceilings. Of course, the entire collection is outstanding.

The Perelman Museum, an annex of the main museum, had a temporary exhibit on the early work of Marc Chagall which was good on information but less so on art. A photographic exhibit on racism, homophobia and other prejudices was very good. Another on contemporary design of common objects included some great chair designs, a couple of which looked familiar.

On Friday night the family reunion kicked off with a buffet supper where we all introduced or reintroduced ourselves. We are four generations from the east, west, and, of course, Colorado. Our links are genetic and marital, with extensions tossed in.

On Saturday, Jerry, Cheryl and Anna Lee went to the National Constitution Museum. We had been there before and looked forward to a repeat visit. The tour starts with an excellent monologue on the reasons for our declaring independence and what our Constitution provides for “We the People.” Then the exhibits provide an historical overview of the Constitution from its writing through judicial decisions of the Supreme Court. Jerry followed oral arguments on key cases that were presented on computers. A display on current issues that are bound to be considered by the courts allows visitors to post their own opinions which we did.

We exited the museum through a life-size re-creation of a meeting of the framers of the Constitution.

Some of the family met for lunch in Reading Station (see Monopoly board) where Jerry had a fair Philly cheese steak. In addition to places to eat, the station has many stalls selling produce, cheese, meats, fish and more.

Our first full family outing was a great mural art tour. We boarded a bus from the Eastern State Penitentiary (wonder what that symbolized). The wise and wonderful Mural Arts Foundation has found a creative way to turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse. To combat graffiti, improve neighborhoods, and engage both artists and youngsters, over 3000 murals adorn the businesses, homes, fences and walls of Philadelphia. These are on main streets and quiet alleyways. Most have a local historic theme. We exhausted our camera fingers on this great tour through areas we would never have driven on our own. There are several versions of this tour and we recommend anyone visiting Philly to take one. We have so many great pictures of the murals, it has been most difficult selecting ones to share with all of you.

That evening Cheryl introduced a group of us to Geechee Girls Restaurant. Gullah and Geechee are the culture of slaves in the rice plantations of South Carolina. They developed their own language, cooking style and worship rituals. Our two tables of diners relished the gumbo, shrimp and grits, pork and grilled seafood at this unique restaurant.

Sunday morning we joined with Bob’s extended family for traditional Jewish brunch at the National Museum of American Jewish History.

After the group photo,

most of us visited this new museum. Our tour guide expanded on the displays of the history of Jews in America starting with the mid 1700s. Personal items showed our people, like all others in this nation, being on both sides of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Letters and articles detailed the changing culture of Jews in America with an emphasis on the growth of the Reform Movement. One floor is dedicated to the contributions in science and culture. The display of Sandy Koufax’s glove

and Einstein’s pipe stirred our own memories of Jewish American history. The development of the State of Israel is part of the 20th century story. This is an excellent museum and one Jews of America can be proud to share.

We then walked a few blocks to Independence Hall where our docent was a fine history teacher. His description of the events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence and of the significance of our Constitution was gripping.

Our concluding event, a wonderful family style Italian dinner required our working up a good appetite, so a group of us walked the mile from our hotel to the restaurant. Our walk took us by many more murals causing us to be the last to arrive. Not sated by the walk there, we walked back finding an alley lined with mosaics and even more murals.

Our reunion was too short. Conversations were left unfinished. Catching up was not complete. We all look forward to being together sooner than the next five years so that we can continue where we left off.