Guest Reflections is a new segment of our blog. We are are introducing Guest Reflections to honor special moments with our visitors when they tell us stories of their travels and what brings them to The Leo House. Just by telling stories of ancestors, guests honor special relatives and make them real in the present moment. We enjoy reflecting with our guests and hearing their stories. If you have a story to share about your Leo House experience that you would like featured in our Guest Reflections segment, please email [email protected].

Guest Reflections from the Granddaughter of W.C. Fields

Another guest, Dr. Harriet Fields, spoke of her grandfather, W.C. Fields, a comedian/actor who lived from 1880 until 1946. She holds the copyright to “The Real Transcript of W.C. Fields Murder Trial (of a Canary), 1928.” She was a Leo House guest in December 2015, during the time the American Theater of Actors here in NY presented a theatrical reenactment of that true story.

Guest Reflections from Relatives of Sister Florita

A mother and an adult daughter were visitors to NY. The daughter said to her mother, “Mom, I’m taking you someplace special for breakfast. It’s a bit of a walk but you will enjoy it.” Within a half block of 332 West 23rd Street, Mom recognized The Leo House and was overjoyed.

Years ago, she and her husband, Charlie Fleck had spent many weekends here. They visited with his sister who was Executive Director at the time, Sister Florita Fleck. The daughter was nine years old at the time. To keep her occupied (so that the older folks could visit) they zigzagged through all the streets. The daughter remembered, “We would start at the lower SW corner of Central Park and walk all the way to the NE corner where other Sisters of St. Agnes lived and worked at Our Lady Queen of Angels Parish. We stayed there awhile, then walked all the way back to West 23rd Street via Central Park. I was so tired and bedraggled by the end of a day, I couldn’t wait to go back home to PA.”

This particular morning the two women enjoyed breakfast, they were shown recent renovations. When they saw Sister Florita’s name on the plaque naming all Sisters who had ministered at The Leo House since 1889 they felt overjoyed. Their aunt and sister-in-law ministered here from 1966 to 1983.

We really enjoy hearing Guest Reflections from all of our visitors.

Would you like to share your story?

Email [email protected] and we will include your story in an upcoming post.