Margaret Lia Archives - Ramblin' with Roger

Cub Scouts color Here are a couple of Cub Scout pictures that my old friend Ray Lia recently sent me. I don’t think I was in the Scouts for very long because I wasn’t very good at knot-tying or whatever was required. I think I got through the Wolf level but not the Bear.

Our den mother was Ray’s very nice mom. When Ray married his wife, Pam, in the autumn of 1976, I got to escort Mrs. Lia to her seat. They are good at Christmas letters, whereas I am… not.

I had seen the color picture before. It was in a photo album with a bright red cover I used to own, which disappeared from my grandma Williams’ house on 13 Maple Street in Binghamton, NY, in the 1970s. The kid to the left is familiar, but I can’t place his name. Then there’s me, David Doyle, Ray in the hat, and a guy named Bill Davies also in the hat.

Not surprisingly, Ray, Bill, and David lived on Cypress Street in the First Ward of Binghamton. David lived on the corner of Mygatt Street, while Ray and Bill lived on the first block from Oak Street. Ray’s house was 7 1/2, about halfway between my grandma’s house and mine at 5 Gaines Street.

B&W

I don’t believe I ever owned the black-and-white photo. Most of the kids are vaguely familiar to me, but I have a terrible time remembering their names. I’m to the left. Ray is third from the left, and Bill Davies is to the far right.

Ray thinks there’s a guy named Darren or Darwin Rossi on the back left and John Sleazak or Slezak on the back right.

I’d appreciate it if you were of a certain age and could identify any of these people from Binghamton, NY. I’m also curious about the venues and times of both pictures. Ray, Bill, and I all look younger in the black-and-white picture than in the color one. Thanks for your help.

Cub scouts b&w

The mom of my childhood friend Ray, Margaret Lia died recently at the age of 95. She was the Den Mother of our short-lived Cub Scout troop. I was terrible at the craft-driven things I was supposed to do, but she was very patient with me.

I always liked her light British accent. When Ray got married in October 1976 to Pam, I got to escort Mrs. Lia to her seat, and I was quite pleased by that.

I didn’t know this romantic story until I read it in the obituary: “Margaret worked as a stenographer when her company was moved from London to the countryside for the duration of World War II. It was there that she met and fell in love with Albert Lia, a US Army serviceman, whose troops were preparing for the Invasion of Normandy. During Albert’s time in Europe, they corresponded by mail and after the war, he proposed in a letter. Soon she was emigrating to America to become his war bride and their loving marriage lasted 60 years.”

Like most funerals in this period, “a memorial mass will be celebrated at SS Cyril and Methodius Church at a later date.” St. Cyril’s on Clinton Street in Binghamton was very close to my now-razed school, Daniel Dickinson.

“Please consider a donation to the American Civic Association, 131 Front Street, Binghamton, NY, 13905.” The ACA is “an organization committed to helping immigrants and refugees start a new life in our community while preserving their ethnic and cultural diversity.”

My late father, Les Green, was involved with the place. He, sister Leslie and I performed there at least once as the Green Family Singers. In March of 1969, I had my 16th birthday party there. And unfortunately, it was one of those mass shooting sites back in 2009.

A pioneer

Freda Gardner was a member of my church. We served on a couple of committees together, including Education. We were part of the group working with Pastor Glenn Leupold when he was getting his doctorate c 2012-2015. She was wise, intelligent, compassionate, and always an advocate for equality and justice.

A fellow church member took her to a local presbytery meeting a few years back. He introduced her, at which point everyone laughed. “Oh, WE know Freda!”

Until relatively recently, neither he nor I knew she had been elected Moderator of the 211th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in 1999 and was the first female full-time faculty member at Princeton Theological Seminary. She was a force in the PCUSA, but never boasted about it.

As Pastor Glenn noted, “Freda was a life-long learner, possessing a masterful use of language. She could explain just about any theological concept with clarity and precision, enabling many to understand.” She was 91. As is often the case recently, “A memorial service will be held at First Presbyterian Church in Albany, New York, at a date to be determined.”

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