both of Ron's grandmothers

Long Beach, California  (circa 1950)

Left:  Angeline (Glowiak) Karpinski  (1892-1982)

Right:  Franciszka (Ossowska) Kaczmarek  (1879-1956)

The exact date of this photo is lost to the ravages of time; however, the circumstances remain clear.  In April, 1947, Edward and

Evelyn Karpinski moved into their new house on Salmon Avenue in Long Beach, California, with their two oldest children, Beverly

and Edward, Jr.  At the time, Evelyn was seven months pregnant with a third child (Ronald).  Evelyn's mother, Francis "Granny"

Kaczmarek," lived on (2716) Kerckhoff Street in nearby San Pedro.  Now that they owned a home with enough room for guests,

Edward and Evelyn invited his parents, John and Angeline, of Chicago, Illinois, to travel out west for a visit.  Grandma Karpinski

resisted, saying "You want us to come all the way to California, just to see a house?"  After several years of coaxing, Grandpa

Karpinski still stubbornly stayed put, but Grandma grudgingly boarded a train for a two-week visit.  This rare photo captures the

two smiling grandmothers together for, perhaps, the only time, as they stand on a jetty at the entrance to Long Beach Harbor.