This picture is of Paul's grandmother, Berta Radtke, Big Baba's mother. I'm not sure when this picture was taken but it is probably early on in our marriage, because in later years she had a very tiny live Christmas tree with almost no decorations (maybe that's where I am heading, lol). I don't remember if I met Grandma Radtke before or after I married Paul, but I really liked her. She was a very sweet lady with a very thick German accent. She and her husband were married in Germany. Her husband came to the United States first, got settled, and then went back for her. She was very young, about 18 when she came here. Until the day she died she had a very thick accent. I could understand her, but if she got excited, it was more difficult to understand her. I liked to get her talking about "the old days" and she used to get talking very fast and I would have to keep asking her to repeat herself. One of the things that we all remember about her was that every time we came to visit, a lot of the family that lived in that area (N. Quincy) would come and we would have a big dinner. Most of the time she made potato salad and ham. If it was Christmas time, she always made her famous Spritz cookies, half of them were frosted and half of them plain. I don't ever remember her actually sitting at the table with us. She used to sit away from the table, usually in a corner of the room, and just wait for someone to need something and then she would jump it and get it. I think of her when I have a big crowd here and totally understand why she would do that. She was just the nicest person and I wish that I could have seen her more and gotten to know her better.
Lately, Mason has taken to calling me Grandma Radtke, completely on his own. The only Grandma Radtke I know is Paul's grandmother, so I have been thinking of her a lot lately!
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