Regent Square: Edith’s Story

Below are a set of bullet points about the (fictional) life of Edith Smith-Green, one of Regent Square’s oldest living residents.

• She was born on May 19th, 1942 in a small house on 815 Mifflin Ave
• Her parents were WW2 survivors. Her father was a carpenter and her mother was a nurse — they were your regular middle-class family.
• She studied at the school next to Frick Park, her friends and her would often sneak away into the park in the middle of the night to hang out with the boys in secrecy.
• Through her education in this picturesque setting, she came to value nature in an unparalleled way.
• Often, she would end up at the coffee shop at the intersection of Trenton, her friends and she would spend hours there
• She had a crush on the barista- and he had one on her too
• And of course, they ended up getting married!
• They got married in what is now the playground on Forbes and Braddock
• They moved in together into the apartment above the coffee shop, and soon she was pregnant!
• But alas, all that is good comes to an end — John received a letter being drafted into the military for the Vietnam war.
• Unphased, she took over John’s work at the coffee shop, still pregnant with their child
• One year went by… then two… one day a letter arrived, John had gone MIA
• Their son was now two, and he had never seen his father
• Devastated, she knew she had to be there for her son, she kept on a strong face and continued to work at the coffee shop
• A few years later, tragedy struck again, the owner of the coffee shop passed away from consumption! But there was a blessing hiding in disguise — he left the place behind to her
• Everyone told her to sell it and use the money, she had a son to take care of! But she chose to not, it would not be right by John’s memory
• She continued to work at the shop and turned it into a friendly and fun environment for the neighborhood to enjoy
• Many a teenager grew up in that shop, and many a family visited it
• Now, Edith is long retired, and her son, Tim runs the shop
• He’s got two kids and a wife — they live right across the street from Edith—and here’s the best part — Tim looks just like John.

Edith’s school — then and now