The above, is a photo of the house my grandfather lived in when he was a child. This photo was taken in 1997. Portsalon, Donegal during my visit to Ireland.

This is a picture of the inside, now shelter for traveling tourists

Charles Boyle came to America in 1920 when he was 13 years old. He lived in this humble home with 11 siblings. He came to America via South Ferry in NYC as there was an outbreak of chicken pox at Ellis Island. He traveled with his three brothers and his mother who was a widow. He moved to Philadelphia where his sister was living. The Catholic Church taught him to speak English,  as he only spoke Gaelic. 

Charles eventually moved to NYC and lived in Manhattan working for the NYC trolley system. Like many Irish at that time, he came here during the depression, and found signs in store windows that read " N.I.N.A." (No Irish Need Apply). My grandmother Lois once told me that when he came to America he stared at a sign in a store front that read "Cup of Beans 5 Cents", and how he wished he had 5 cents in his pocket. 

Despite the treatment he received when he was young Irishman living during these times in NYC, my grandfather was the type that always saw the cup half full. He found solace in the Catholic Church and his fellow man.

Charles would eventually work for a private bus system which was purchased by the City of New York and he became a NYC bus driver. He married a woman by the name of Lois Pike, a school teacher who had come to NYC via Minnesota. He left his Harlem apartment and move to Maspeth Queens where he purchased his first home. Fellow workers thought he was crazy to move out of Manhattan.

Charles and Lois would eventually have 4 children. Charles, Jack, Ruth and Mary Alice. My grandfather passed away in 1989 and Lois resides in the same home they purchased so many years ago in Maspeth. Charles and Lois have 11 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren....including 2 recent additions!.

Here is a photo of me as a wee lad at my grandparents home in Maspeth. That was my grandfather's favorite chair. Next to me (drinking the bottle) is my cousin Evan who recently returned from Afghanistan and is a Captain in the Marine Corp.

My grandfather loved the Honeymooners, most likely because of the character Ralph Kramden who portrayed a NYC bus driver. My grandfather also loved the NY Mets and enjoyed listening to them on the radio vs. watching them on TV. He had a tremendous sense of humor and an infectious laugh.