|
She moved the other day for
the first time in her
life - and it was hard; very hard. - The nine rooms were filled with
antiques and
family mementos.
About 20 years ago she had
moved her business- which
involved hair and scalp care- from the Walt Whitman Hotel to her
home. In addition to her
furniture, there was all of that equipment to dispose of.
MRS. ELLIS really isn't
unhappy about going out of
business. She had been anxious to sell her franchise for some time,
and the city’s Urban
Renewal Department will give her a small business relocation
payment.
But
it was her
house that mattered. She's been relocated to Park View Apartments,
Collingswood where she
has some friends. But, it will be a long time before she becomes
adjusted to her small, one
bedroom unit.
Mrs. ELLIS has kept as much
as she could squeeze
into the new apartment, but she had to let so much of her life go.
It's even hard to find
room to put out the lovely cut glass and antiques she just couldn't
relinquish.
"It was a big house," she
said. "People always were
surprised when they came in and saw how big it really was."
She looked around at the
unpacked boxes and said:
"Last night it hit me. I wanted to go home. It's a terrible
feeling."
Mrs. Ellis has no complaints
about the assistance
she's receiving from the city. Actually her attorney has taken care
of most of the details.
It's
just that the now vacant house holds all those memories; they are
pleasant memories and "I
don't want to let go of them," she said. "I will just have to
adjust, but I'm not keen about
it.”
She looked at the bouquet of
fresh flowers sent to
her new apartment by relatives. "I didn't know you got flowers when
you moved," she smiled.
Mrs. Ellis isn't used to just sitting and she hopes to get a
part-time job to fill up the
days.
In not too many days- by the
middle of next month-
the house at 708 Market Street will be among 10 razed to make way
for the proposed$8-10
million New Jersey Bell Telephone building.
Mrs.
Ellis won't be able to avoid going by the site of her former home.
Her church, the Epiphany
Lutheran where her father was superintendent for 32 years, is just
across the
street.
"I lived there a lifetime. I
don't want to see it
torn down," she said. “I just won't look over that way."
|
