Wednesday, June 15, 2022
Bob was one of my oldest family friends. He worked with my dad, Harold Hardwich, at GE in Syracuse. We’d invite him to come over for supper after work a couple of nights a week, since he was living alone then. After supper we’d stay visiting around the kitchen table until either someone would remind me that I had homework to do, or I’d ask if he’d mind playing our melodeon to accompany me while I practiced my violin lesson. (That also delayed starting my homework a bit longer and was always more fun!) He and my dad especially enjoyed talking about current events and politics, so I usually got a social studies lesson along the way. In the summer we’d often eat in the back yard. When he and my dad would stay out there visiting, they’d smoke cigarettes. I got the job of picking up the butts, and decided to start charging them per butt. Never got rich though.. in recent years, I enjoyed driving out there to visit Bob and Cora and catch up. COVID and getting older myself kind of put the damper on that. Somehow maybe we’ll figure out how to keep in touch. He sure was a good friend of our family. Mary Lou Hardwich Leavitt Plattsburgh, NY
