BY TERI R. WILLIAMS | PHOTOS BY DAPHNE WALKER
aux Puces
Hometown Living At Its Best 99
a
Marché
As a small child, Susan
went to Mass with her
father in Schenectady,
New York, four times every Sunday. The
history teacher and talented organist,
Philip Joseph de Gonzague, required his
daughter to pay attention in only one Mass.
During the other three, the shy young girl
channeled the tones and energy of the pipe
organ as she sketched her drawings.
Susan’s grandparents immigrated to
America from Canada. French, one of
Canada’s official languages, was their first
language. “Their children had to teach
them English after they came to America,”
said Susan. Like ghosts in the shadows, the
past travels with us in our DNA. Although
the roots of her French ancestry seemed
only an echo from a distant past, the name
de Gonzague was a constant reminder of
an unknown heritage filled with French art,
architecture, music, food, and fashion.
Hundreds of miles south in the small
rural town of Jesup, Georgia, a ten-year-old
girl named Brenda was playing at the home
of a relative. “Playing” at her relatives’
homes meant cleaning, organizing, and
decorating, and there was nothing she
loved more. Even at such a young age,
she instinctively felt the warmth of some
colors and the boldness of others. Brenda
was fully aware that the atmosphere in a
like
none other
Two women from different paths of life–but with the same passion for beautiful
treasures–join together to create a unique French style market in the heart of Lyons.