Grandmother Mary Shamay Solano. Like many immigrants of her time, she did not discuss her background at any great length, but she was most likely born in Czechoslovakia on August 2, 1901. Alternate stories have her being born on the boat en route to the US, or in Ford City, PA. This picture was taken in front of the wall formed by the Boulevard of the Allies at her Tustin Street brownstone. Like most of my older siblings, I have many memories of the times we spent there.