Steinway Neighborhood Surprise

Our children wonder where we are. We are honestly still trying to figure that out sometimes! After living in the Steinway area of Astoria for the past 14 months, we are well acquainted with our Greek/Italian, neighborhood. We are close to LaGuardia Airport, Rieker's Island, just across the East River from Midtown Manhattan and of course, the Steinway and Sons Piano Factory.

The Steinway Family not only are famous for being master piano builders, but were transit magnets, and resort developers, who left their mark on their neighborhood in which they resided. Henry Steinweg, a German piano manufacturer, emigrated to New York City from Seesen, Germany, in 1853. His sons, Henry Jr. and Theodore set about making pianos renowned the world over as the finest pianos ever made. Henry Jr.'s and Theodore's younger brother, William, continued the family tradition (advertising their instruments as "the standard pianos of the world") and moved the operations of Steinway Pianos to Astoria, Queens. Between 1870 and 1873, Steinway purchased 400 acres of land in northern Astoria and not only built the spacious Steinway Piano Factory, which dominates the area, but a small town with a library, a church, a kindergarten, housing for factory workers, and a public trolley line. Between 1877 and 1879, Steinway constructed a group of handsome row

houses on Winthrop Avenue, which is today's 20th Avenue, and on Albert and Theodore, 41st and 42nd Streets. Even the street names bore witness to the Steinway family, since Albert and Theodore were sons of Henry Steinway. These homes were rented by the Steinways to their workers.

My parents remember stumbling on the Steinway Mansion while they were serving their mission in 1992-93. They were given a tour by the owner and told us it was a fascinating place. The Spring weather was so inviting on Monday and we had time for a lengthy walk in the neighborhood and needed some things from Best Market. We wandered into Astoria's industrial section, among factories and busy streets. We walked up a hill on 41st Street into a forested spot. We saw a gate, old cars, and heard dogs barking. There it was, with a "For Sale" sign, we found The Steinway Mansion.

We were so excited and after coming home, we did some research about the house. We learned that it was built in 1858. We loved this wonderful (above, then photo) with the Steinways posing on the porch. What a grand home it was. The Steinways occupied it for many years and then in the 30's, presumably when they lost some of their fortune, they sold it to Jack Halberian. He raised his family in the house and his son inherited it after him. The yard used to front the water until the land was filled in for industrial uses.

Today the historic mansion is for sale. The asking price is $4,000,000 for this landmarked building, yes that means it can't be raised. It's listed as having 5 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, with 25 rooms total. I read several articles written by those who have had a private tour and describe it as "gorgeous, with a lavish interior." It has huge ceilings, up to 30 feet high, fireplaces in every room, lots of sculptured plaster, antique wallpaper, hardwood floors, etched glass, and a wonderful staircase. The basement is quite different from the rest of the house, with a Jacuzzi, watched over by gold lions, two pool tables, a screening room, and amazingly no pianos anywhere!

Unisphere: "Peace Through Understanding"

The Unisphere is a beautiful, giant steel globe that sits in Flushing-Meadows Park here in Queens, NY. It is a famous sight in central Queens and is visible to drivers on the LIE, the Grand Central Parkway, and Van Wyck Expressway, as well as to airline passengers arriving and departing from LaGuardia and JFK. The Unisphere is the best symbol of the borough and also one of the largest globes ever made.
The Unisphere found it's perch in Queens for the 1964-1965 World's Fair. The US Steel Corporation built it as a symbol of world peace. Since then the Unisphere has welcomed visitors, soccer players, museum and theater goers, Met fans, and the people of Queens every day.
It is 140 feet high and 120 feet in diameter. It weighs 900,000 pounds. Since the continents are the heavisest parts of the all-steel sculpture and they aren't evenly distributed, the Unisphere is top heavy. Very top heavy. It was carefully engineered to account for the unbalanced mass.
One of the best views of the Unisphere is from the Van Wych driving south. You'll see the Manhattan skyline behind the Unisphere, and if you time it right, the sunset will dazzel the vista. Of course in the park you get the closest views. It is a monumental landmark at night, when the lights and fountains are functioning in the Summer months.
The Unishere is more than just a mountain of steel delicately perched about the Flushing-Meadows Park; it is a beautiful spot for Queens folks to stroll, a meeting place for friends, and a hangout for teenage skaters. The Unisphere makes the park extraordinary. It reminds us that the world does live in the borough: the people of Queens come from more places--from Albania to Zimbabwe--than anywhere else on the planet. The Unisphere is home in a borough that is often a home away from home.

That is why it made perfect sense for the Sisters and Elders of the Woodside District to visit the Unisphere for our March activity together. We hail from all over the country and have been called to serve in Queens, NY. Sister Marshall, Sister Fields, Elder Norris, Elder Froerer, Elder Pickering, Elder Picket, Sister Thomas and Sister Montano are signing "WOODSIDE" in ASL!

God's Organization for Women

With St. Patrick's Day parades and festivities being celebrated all over New York City, lucky for me, I was asked to speak at the Astoria Ward Relief Society Birthday Celebration. The Relief Society is the Lord's organization for women who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Relief Society is 5.2 million members strong in more than 170 countries. It is one of the oldest and largest women's service organizations in the world. On Tuesday, March 17th, we commemorated 167 years of helping families and sisters come to Christ.

Two years ago, Sister Julie Beck was called to serve as the General Relief Society President. She travels through out the world in her sacred calling as a minister of Jesus Christ. Members of the Relief Society don't just "attend church"--they speak in church, they lead music and play the organ, they teach classes, they visit members in homes, they serve and they minister.
"As Relief Society sisters," President Beck said in a recent interview, "we are united first and foremost because of our faith in Jesus Christ. He is our leader and exemplar. I bear testimony of His Atonement. I testify that He lives and that His power is real."

One way the members of Relief Society minister in the church is to visit each woman in her home each month. This is called visiting teaching. Everywhere the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is organized, visiting teachers follow the inspired pattern of ministering to sisters in their homes. "Good visiting teachers know the sisters they visit," President Beck said. "They love them, serve them and help them learn the gospel by the Spirit. They focus on fortifying homes and lives..."Visiting teachers minister in behalf of the Savior," President Beck explained. "Our hands are His hands, our love is His love, and our service is His service."
(My thanks to Alfred Gunn, a guest columnist who wrote the article about Relief Society and interviewed Sister Beck for The Peninsula Gateway.)

For nearly 15 months I have been teaching Institute classes on weeknights and have been unable to attend Relief Society Enrichment meetings. I have missed them and the sisterhood gained by serving, learning and growing together as we enjoy each others company. When I was invited to speak, my companion said he would teach our class on his own Tuesday evening. I was challenged to speak about how Relief Society has impacted my life. The difficult part was being limited to 20 minutes when I needed days to fill that assignment.

I kept thinking of my beloved Grandma Dora, my Dad's mother, who was not a member of the Church. I remember her telling me, "Renee, if I could live my life over, I'd be the best Relief Society President in your church." I believed her! She was such a dynamic homemaker and I have no doubt that she is serving and teaching in heaven right now. She recognized the value of Relief Society as she observed my mother serve in this organization. Women are looking for ways to better our world. Sheri Dew says it best,

"Good women all over the world are desperate for leadership, for role models, for the assurance borne out out in lives well lived that families are important, that virtue is not outdated, and that it is possible to feel peace and purpose in a society spinning out of control."

Everything about Relief Society has been a profound blessing in my life. As I pondered and prepared for my assignment I thought of all the sisters I've learned things from. My three favorite things are:

My favorite Motto:
"Welcome the task that takes you beyond yourself."
Louise Yates Robison


My favorite Mini-Class:
Sister Barbara Christensen's mini-class that she gave shortly after she moved into the Rexburg 10th Ward. Her husband Elder Joe J. Christensen served as the President of the Provo MTC for three years, with Sister Christensen serving by his side.
Her topic, "Making Your Home an MTC."
They later wrote a book that is out of print.
Never fear, Sister Christensen wrote her mini-class version for the March 1989, Ensign.
Highlights:
We love those that we serve. Teach your children to serve you!
Help your children develop at least one talent they do really well.
Teach children to be self-reliant, teach basic homemaking skills, and send them away to grandparents or cousins for a week or two each year to avoid homesickness. My favorite story Sister Christensen told was about a seriously homesick missionary from a dairy farm in Utah. This elder kept showing up at her office at 5 PM each day. After several visits regarding his homesickness she learned he was missing his cows at milking time!
Importance of teaching respect and obedience when children are young, in the home. It's much easier to learn as a youth rather than in the mission field.
President Christensen's Spirituality self-quiz

My favorite Relief Society Theme:

"REACH OUT IN LOVE
Across the Room
Across the Street
Across the World
Across the Veil
CHARITY NEVER FAILETH"

Each sister was challenged to select ways to reach out to others and I focused on ways we do that with our families, neighbors, as missionaries and in our temples.

Tuesday evening we were served with a most yummy, traditional Irish Feast. I spoke about the blessing of Relief Society in my life and then Sister Cassandra gave a demonstration on cupcake decorating and passed out all the makings for a butter cream good time together!

Cupcakes were decorated and consumed or taken home by one and all!

Heather prefers her cupcakes icing-free! Her husband, Jed scrapes the frosting off her cupcakes and eats it for her. Now that's "being equally yoked!"

Jiyoung, Lexie, Kristy, and little sis, (I think), decorated and visited. "Happy Birthday, sisters!"

Emily really got into it! She shared a few of her creations with the starving scouts!
Thanks for all your thoughtful and delightful planning Nellie, Emily, Cassandra and Wanda. I had a marvelous time with all of you and each sister from the Astoria Ward Relief Society.

Luck of the Irish...Lads Senior Social

Elder and Sister dePaula organized a fun St. Paddy's Eve celebration, and the Bennion's hosted it at their home. We met last Monday, "Top of the FHEvening to Ye." We savored a delicious dinner of traditional corned beef and cabbage, with new potatoes and baby carrots, Irish soda bread, salads and a dessert spread.

After dinner we played a Irish Trivia Game and our charming President Bennion, (who never takes himself too seriously) won...because he has an incredible memory. His prize, a bag of green apples and he turned himself into a leprechaun, sporting a large, shiny green bow, toppin' a good skin and adding to our celebration!

We wished "Much Luck" to Sister and Elder Wilson who have taught Institute in Manhattan and Brooklyn. We bid them farewell as they are completing their year of service here.

"Don't trifle with me, Sister dePaula,"...and yes it was low-carb, no sugar or blarney, I promise!

Sister Rausch and Sister Bennion joined me for a picture as we celebrated the Emerald Isle and the wearin' of the green. Thanks all for a bit of the Irish!

"Astoria's Got Talent"

As missionaries we should be able to be two places at once. Imagine our sadness when we learned (after promising that we would speak in Jamaica last Saturday night) that our ward scheduled, "Astoria's Got Talent," for that same night. We begged Ann to change the date just for us...not so. We know how much talent there is in the Astoria Ward and so we also knew we were missing out on a memorable activity. On Sunday we heard all about it from our ward friends, "It was outrageously amazing,... a lot of fun and very uplifting,... and so much diversity!" We love the group we join with, the Astoria Ward of the Queens New York Stake. Well, Sunday we were privileged to witness as Phillip blessed the Sacrament for the first time. It was not an easy thing for him, but with the help of the greatest young men's president in the Church, Rob, he did it. The whole ward was joyful! We could just feel it. Our friend, Charles, sits by us and gave him two thumbs up. I wish it had been appropriate to give him an American Sign Language cheer...we all wanted to cheer! Philip had the biggest smile on his face, it displayed pure joy. Pictured above (LtoR) are Philip, Rob and Gabriel. We hope we never forget the thrill we felt with that important accomplishment.

We also had the Hughes Brothers who perform six nights a week in the Roy Clark Celebrity Theatre in Branson, MO with us on Sunday. They had a show in Amsterdam, NY on Saturday night and chose to join the Astoria Ward on Sunday. Three excellent talks were given and then with a few remaining minutes Bishop Glass asked them to sing. They sang a melodious hymn medley and then joined us for the remaining meetings. We had a chance to visit with them and learned that they are a family from Taylorsville, UT, who moved to Branson and began performing there in January of 2000. The five brothers, their wives and 24 children put on an exciting show and have won many awards. All five brothers, Marty, Jason, Adam, Ryan and Andy, served missions and have select abilities that contribute to their family business. They parked their bus in the Woodside parking lot and rode trains through the boroughs, seeing NYC till Wednesday when they pulled out and headed South. We enjoyed meeting them, feeling of their brotherhood, as they added to Astoria's talent last Sunday.

His Gift That Keeps on Giving

For my birthday last September, Chas gave me something he knew I was really missing from home, a bird feeder. I have loved working on lessons at my study desk and looking out at our backyard visitors. We have many sparrows, blackbirds, doves and bluebirds, but my favorite are these brilliant red cardinals. We have several pair that feed here, the colorful males, and adoring females!

I am also fascinated by the bushy squirrels that stop by to glean the seed on the ground and check out our back porch. We have become famous and our place is flocked! Thanks for knowing what I need and providing it Chas, for much more than just "tuppence a bag." In this bustling city I have loved our backyard friends this winter.

"Preaching and Teaching" in Jamaica

We were invited to speak at the Jamaica Fireside on Saturday, March 14th. Our assigned topic was "Preaching and Teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ." Members of the English and Spanish speaking wards that meet at the Jamaica building came. We were pleased to speak to a very enthusiastic and appreciative group of saints. Elder West spoke of preaching the gospel and the importance of missionary work through out the world. I spoke of teaching the gospel, beginning in the home and shared Barbara Christensen's, "Making Your Home a (Missionary Training Center), MTC." Chas is smiling above with Kenneth who serves as the High Priest Group Leader in the Jamaica 1st Ward and is a faithful Institute student who adds so much to our Tuesday night classes. New York needs leaders like him or we would drag him west with us!

Sister Urbanowski, Sister Oler, Gretta and Anita have each been easy to love. Sister Urbanowski is a gifted homemaker from Germany. Her food is legendary, especially her German potatoes that she serves at each ward party. She is the "decorator" in Jamaica, making sure there are seasonal flower arrangements in the chapel and that each ward party is festive. She also takes care of Bishop Urbanowski! Sister Oler, such a darling sister, always has a smile and a hug for everyone. Gretta was our student until she bought her first home in Delaware and moved from New York the end of December. She shared with us that she worked 20 years to "escape this place," and buy her first home. We are so happy for her, but she left a hole in our hearts and in our classroom. She served as the Relief Society President, a true "mother hen type", with Anita as her counselor. We learned that Anita was sustained as the new Relief Society President on Sunday. She spoke with us on Saturday evening and bore a beautiful testimony of the importance of visiting and home teaching. Anita joined the Church about three years ago. If every new convert embraced the gospel the way she has, our mission work would be much different. Congratulations Anita, to all of the Jamaica 1st Ward, and we love and miss you Gretta.

Sister Balimuttajjo (second from left) looks for every opportunity to serve. Each time we are with her she is reaching out and helping all. She posed with a returned missionary, (in baby blue) who literally returned from Sandy, Utah for Spring Break! Wish I could remember her name. Our student, Leda, (in gray) is a shinning star who teaches seminary in Jamaica! They are so blessed to have her. We were grateful for the chance to share with these amazing members who have impacted our lives while we have served here.

Bubbling With Happiness

Have you ever wondered what happens when a bottle of shampoo is emptied into a jetted tub? Jenelle sent us the results this week! Lillie and Corbin had a party together, and it took their Mom three hours to clean up. We think it was so worth it! We are missing all of our family and are trying not to get too excited about seeing all of them this summer. Until then, thanks Jenelle. It's so heartwarming to see these two "bubbling with happiness!"

A Desire to Serve

Several weeks ago our upstairs neighbors, Tod and Claudia, joined us for Sunday dinner. Tod served a mission in Japan, so he knows much about the Church, but has been less-active for several years. Claudia is a Catholic from Guadalajara, Mexico. They were curious about our missionary calling. We explained that we teach Institute classes, work with the Queens Stake Singles, and Astoria Young Single Adults, and work with the young Elders and Sisters in our mission. They know we make a lot of food in our little place and see us hauling it in and out of our house. Claudia told me she would love to help serve at a Zone Conference Lunch.
Several days later Claudia and I were visiting with each other. I asked her if she'd ever learned about our Church. To my surprise she told me, "No." I invited her to learn about the gospel. She said she like to and she would talk to Tod and let me know her decision.
Claudia's husband Tod is finishing the final 6 weeks of medical school, and recently the hospital in Queens where he was in the middle of a rotation closed. Last Saturday when we invited Claudia to help us on Wednesday, Tod said he would also like to help and could they also attend our meeting? President Bennion said he was happy to have them join us. We were thrilled!
Late Tuesday night when we got home from Jamaica, Tod was waiting to tell us that he'd been assigned to a rotation at a Manhattan Hospital and would not be able to help us Wednesday. We were happy for him and testified that he was blessed with this new assignment because he was willing to serve the Lord.
Our Zone Conference was such a positive experience. Our Woodside Elders and Sisters were so friendly and delightful with Claudia and had such a good time setting up and setting the tables before the meeting began. Our mission doctor, Elder McIff gave a great talk about balance in our lives. President and Sister Bennion taught the importance of obedience, and even though Claudia did not understand all of what was said, (she is learning English and doing so well), I think she really enjoyed it. Her help was so appreciated in preparing and serving our meal. She inspired us to think "Mexican"....and so we made Grilled Chicken Fajitas, Spanish rice and refried beans. It was all very good and with Claudia's support, our biggest success thus far, despite a few glitches. For dessert we simply served a tangerine and cookie, Sister Bennion's suggestion! Our missionaries are always so kind, thankful and helpful with the clean up. Elder and Sister Smith helped with the serving line and dish washing and lightened our load considerably. Thanks all for a lot of support and success.

We say, "Goodbye, Sister Richie!" She was in the MTC with us and leaves the mission in a couple of weeks. She bore her testimony about the blessings of service. Pictured above, Sister Richie, who is turned around, (clockwise) Sister Smith, Elder Drainey, Elder Thompson, Elder Rencher, Sister Thomas, Sister Montano, and Sister Heininge.

March Memories