Working with Mom

Kathryn, when she was four or so, would go with her mother on her job. At the time Anna could not find anything but cleaning other people's houses. She would drag Kathryn with her everywhere she went. At that time, Anna did not have much money and had to accept some aid. Kathryn used to reflect how the lady sent to inspect their house would always excuse themselves to go to the bathroom. Kathryn felt that they would be in the bathroom checking out how clean the bathroom was and what kind of drugs were in the bathroom. It made such an impact that it drove Kathryn to do her best to go to college to never have to been in that situation.

Sunday Adventures

Anna, Billie, Helen, Frank, Tootsie, Alice and Walter and kids would often go on Sunday outings together. They often would take a picnic lunch to a variety of spots. One of the more popular spots they visited was Peach Lake.







There were a variety of pictures taken. Some of the other spots were:
Yonkers, Grangville and Brooklyn.

Close Knit Friends

Anna moved to an apartment building with her sister and her husband Frank, Frank's brother Billie and his wife Tootsie and another couple, Alice and Walter Gillispie. These people were very involved in each other's lives and were a support for Anna. They would take day trips together on Sundays.

Here is a picture of Kathryn at Saxon Woods in 1936. She would have been three at the time.

Growing up, I remember Tootsie, Alice and Walter Gillispie. Alice and Walter were around until I was in my early twenties. (In the mid 1980's) Uncle Walter, as we called him, was a great musician.

Life on Her Own

After Andrew died, Anna was faced raising two children on her own. She did not like taking help from others. She worked cleaning people's houses and would take Kathryn with her. My mom (Kathryn) would tell me growing up that this impacted her greatly. She swore that she would do all in her power not to clean other people's houses and not to have people come into her house to judge how she was doing, like those people did to her mom.

Andrew was in school at this time and was the man of the house. Anna suffered from migraine headaches that at times would incapacitate her. One story I remember hearing, was that one of the times that Anna had a migraine, Andrew had arrived home and found his mom on the floor. He was scared and jumped on his bicycle to fetch the doctor. Anna would continue to battle migraines throughout her life.

Anna and Helen

Anna and Helen were close sisters. They were close in age and after they both married both families,  did a lot together. In their late teens early 20's, Anna and Helen would go out in the family car. Helen would drive and quite often they would run out of gas. Back in those days there was no fuel gauge so you had to use a stick or other means to know when you might run out of gas. Helen and Anna were not very good about this part of driving.

Losses for Anna

In 1934, Anna lost not only her husband but also her mother. Her mother died on December 16, 1934. Anna was left with her two kids and part of her support system gone. Anna lived in an apartment building in the Bronx. She lived there with her two children, her sister and her husband Frank, her sister's brother-in-law William Grunenthal (Uncle Billy) and his wife Tootsie and another couple, Walter and Alice Gillespie. Anna's sister married Frank Grunethal on July 21, 1927.

These three families were very involved in each others lives. Uncle Billy and Aunt Helen had a baby boy a few months after Kathryn was born. His name was Frederick. The three children grew up very close, especially Fredrick and Kathryn.

The picture above shows from right to left: Walter Gillespie, Alice Gillespie, Anna Dunn and Tootsie Grunenthal.

Mixed Blessing

Andrew continued to live in the Asylum while Anna continued with her pregnancy. On February 10, 1933 Kathryn Ann Dunn was born. While Anna was dealing with a new baby and the illness of her husband, she did not worry about the birth certificate. Anna and Andrew had decided to name the baby Anna but that was not to be. Anna's sister-in-law Tootsie took it upon herself and named the baby, Kathryn Ann Barbara.

In March, Anna took her children to the Asylum to show Andrew his new daughter. Anna was not able to physically see Andrew because of the kids. Anna and the kids stood outside the building while Andrew stood at the window. This was the only time Andrew was able to see his daughter Kathryn.


The picture above is a picture of Kathryn. She was a Kodak baby in the 1930's. This particular picture was used for advertising. We did have a copy of the advertisement, but over the years it was lost.