Pets and Other Topics
Bonnie and Clive lived there.
What were the rabbit hutches in the backyard on Kenilworth.
When living in Elmhurst, Grandpa liked to stop here after church on Sundays.
Bonus: When living in Sylvania, Grandpa liked to stop here after church on Sundays.
What is Julianne's Bakery to get donuts.
What is Rexall Drugs for the Chicago Tribune and the bakery next door for donuts.
Nana had a weekly Thursday appointment.
Bonus: Where was her Thursday appointment in Elmhurst.
What is her hair appointment?
What is Burdette's?
Grandpa liked to fix something to eat every Sunday morning.
What is bacon and eggs?
Grandpa Smyth had this job that sent him to Northern Ireland.
What is the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC)?
The giant black rabbit that caused Michael to miss school to take it to the vet with Nana.
Who was Napoleon?
Grandpa's DYI home project included two built-in toyboxes, a bathroom, and two built-in desks.
What is the basement Grandpa finished in the house on Kenilworth?
"I'm very busy," said Nana.
What does "I'm up to my eyeballs" mean?
Grandpa wearing his paint stained blue jeans was a harbinger.
What is a dinner party that evening?
Grandpa's immigrant grandparents settled in this parish in Chicago.
What is St. Sylvester's?
She made her mark in the basement shower.
Who was Fuzz, Patty's cat?
Nana took the ironing there and Grandpa picked it up.
Where is Mrs. Veldsema's?
She worked and lived somewhere before returning to Chicago.
What is an American Airlines stewardess and where is Seattle?
Grandpa loved plumbing chores.
What are leaky faucets and drains plugged with his daughters' beautiful long hair?
This is a euphemism used to describe why Grandma Smyth's brother, Vincent, and John, emigrated to Australia and why Nana's dad left for the U.S. ahead of her and Grandma Smyth.
What is being "on a bit of a run"?
She climbed the Christmas tree in the house on Kenilworth and Nana did something to her.
Who was Fuzz and why did Nana have her declawed?
One Easter Sunday Michael caused a small conflagration in the kitchen and Grandpa responded somehow to the shouts of "Fire!"
Bonus: Some other people also had a remarkable response.
What is leaping from his bed into his closet?
Who is Maureen who put on her slippers, robe, and grabbed her purse and waited at the front door and who is Patty who came out of the powder room and put the fire out.
She liked to serve these at dinner parties.
What are ham bouchettes?
Grandpa won a Chicago Tribune essay contest for caddies.
How did Grandpa win his first set of golf clubs?
Grandma Smyth's older sister died this way in her early twenties.
What is going "into a decline"?
She chewed up Kathleen's school shoes (which Kathleen didn't mind because they were ugly orthopedic shoes).
Who was Saphire?
The kids played this game outdoors during summer until sunset.
What is Kick the Can?
Her birthday is not on Valentine's Day.
When is February 15th?
They made Grandpa laugh so hard he had tears.
Who were Mike Nichols and Elaine May, and Jerry Seinfeld?
Grandpa's dad had a job that caused the family to move around frequently before returning to Chicago.
What is a bookkeeper for a bridge-building company?
Michael had his dog in the hose for some time before Nana and Grandpa knew it.
How long is a week?
The parents get the kids to come home from playing in the neighborhood this way.
What is ringing the bell?
She was born here.
Where is Belfast, Northern Ireland?
He served in a branch of the US military during WWII.
Bonus: He served in a unit and landed in France sometime during the war.
What is the Army?
What is the Signal Corps and where is Omaha Beach two weeks after D-Day.
Grandpa's dad took this job in Chicago when the family returned to the city.
What is a shirt presser at Hart, Schaffner and Marx?
A pet was named Horse.
What was a dwarf parrot that was kept in a cage in the Florida room in the house in Sylvania?
This happened when the kids got good report cards.
What is Nana and Grandpa taking them out o them out to a nice dinner -- sometimes fancy and French in downtown Chicago, sometimes a simple Italian one in Hillside.
Nana's parents were from these places.
Where is County Roscommon (Grandma Smyth) and County Cavan (Grandpa Smyth)?
He was born here.
Where is Zionsville, Indiana?
Grandpa's mom had this job.
WHat is a public school cafeteria lady?
A body of wafer flowed behind the house in Sylvania.
What is Ten Mile Creek?
The girls did this at dinner parties Nana and Grandpa would have.
Bonus: Nana taught them to do this.
They would serve the guests.
Serve from the left and take from the right.
She was this age when she first arrived in the United States.
How old is two years old?
He finally lived in some kind of home at some point in school.
When is 6th grade and what is a house without dirt floors and with running water?
Nana and Grandpa met.
Where is a Catholic Church-sponsored dance and where is that pink building you can see from Lake Shore Drive (The Edgewater Beach Hotel?)
Nana packed this car with her kids and their friends to drop them off at the pool.
Bonus: She would ask them if anything was coming as she backed down the driveway.
What was a VW Bug?
What is "Nothing ...... but a BIG RED TRUCK!!!"?
One fall while living in the house on Kenilworth, Maureen and Patty spent many evenings sewing special holiday decoration.
What is a Christmas tree skirt?
This is her earliest memory of her life in Chicago.
What is being wrapped in blanket by a Chicago fireman as the house next door burned down?
He went to high school here.
Where is St. Ignatius?
Great grandfather (William)Michael Sheehan had these parents.
Who were Jeremiah Sheehan and Brigid Macgillicuddy?
Grandpa despised this food because of his time in the Army and would never EVER eat it.
What is pork and beans?
Because she had this she was homeschooled for a year.
What is whooping cough?
The high school basketball team that he played for was called this.
What were the Deadweights?
Midway is an airport where you can watch the planes take off and land.
Where was Nana and Grandpa's first date?
Grandpa passed on this investment opportunity in the early 60's and regretted it.
What is McDonald's franchise?
The church in Belfast where she was baptized was named this.
What is St. Malachy's.
He won several awards for this sport that he competed in as an amateur.
What is golf?
Nana had two punishments of choice.
What are grounding and "spanking" using her high heels?
Her maternal grandparents went by these names.
Who were Ellen Brown and James Bierne?
These were his parents.
Who were Mary Edgeworth and William M. Sheehan (but he was called Michael)?
Grandpa travelled for business to two countries more than any others in 1975.
What are Columbia and Yugoslavia?
She took some college classes here with Grandpa.
Where is the University of Toldeo?
These were his immigrant grandparents' names (4).
Johanna O’Leary and Michael Sheehan
Nora Lyons and Patrick Edgeworth
Nana said this often when Dad was on business trips.
What is, "Wait until your father gets home!"?
She did this most mornings as a first step in waking all the kids up while living in the house on Kenilworth.
What is stopping on the landing and loudly pushing back the curtains.
He went to this university and paid for it some way.
Where is Loyola University and what is the G.I. Bill?
Nana and Grandpa spent their Sunday evenings this way while living in Toldedo.
Bonus: They did it with people somewhere.
What is curling?
Who are George and Margaret Doresco and where is Bowling Green?
She allowed Grandpa to have this one dessert regularly.
What is ice milk?
He lived in this area of New York state when he was a kid.
Where are the Catskill Mountains?