Norm Tate Enters the Picture - Love Blooms

Valentine Day gift from Norm to Janice - 1995

It was intended for Janice to store her wedding ring on the nail when not wearing it.

We added the chain recently so the ring would not get lost.

Janice settled into widowhood, busying herself with painting comissions and gallery shows. My youngest sister, Nancy, had been accepted to Farmingdale, and soon, young Philip would be the only child at home. Our house on Secor Drive was 20 years old, and seemed to need continuous repairs.

Norm Tate, neighbor and widower of my mother's friend, Ada Tate, could be called upon to help out from time to time. Norm was an energetic, intelligent, attractive man, and an art director at the Ted Bates Advertising Agency in Manhattan. He was an avid sailor, owning a vintage Hereshoff sailboat, his pride and joy. He was also a wood worker and artist in his own right. Norm lived just up the hill from us on Summit Terrrace, along wth Ada's mother who had been living with Norm and Ada for some time. His teenage twins, Blair and Jonathan were attending college.

I was living in San Francisco at the time and knew little of what might be developing, until, March of 1972 when I received the following letter:

March 22, 1972 Hello Kids! Old Ma, incredibly enough, had a DATE on Sunday. Old Norm Tate, who has been working up to it gradually. We drove down to the City in old Romney, Ada’s Nash (the potholes down there have had potholes). Saw an exhibit of Recent American painters at the Whitney. It was very good, a lot of it. Funny thing – there was one canvas that turned us both off + I mean OFF. Couldn’t quite put my finger on it, ordinary type hard edge, but the arrangement of forms + colors was just AWFUL. Came in closer + who was it done by, but Budd Hopkins, who once gave me an honorable mention for an abstract at a YAA show. We then took a stroll along Park (Wow, can he walk!!) Romney got stuck in a horrendous traffic jam on the way down to a cute little Italian restaurant near the UN. I forget the name of the main dish, a lovely noodle stuffed with something very good, pasta con brodo, a large antipasto, wine, no room for dessert: Afterward I saw some slides of Blair’s work which she did at Rhode Island. (She’s unbelievably terrific) and met the famous Boat, who is 50 years old and is being repaired in their garage after a major accident. I never realized that Norm used to do animation for Disney. You can see his name at the end of Snow White, Fantasia + others of the era. Also illustrated children’s books + now writes TV commercials. Unfortunately I can’t use this guy. He doesn’t know any more about cars than I do. Too bad, he’s very nice.

Wedding day photo of Janice and Norman taken in the backyard at 11 Secor Drive Norm may not have had the requisite knowlege of cars, but he had lots of other qualities that appealed to Janice. In fact, they were a perfect match! I was thrilled to discover that at 49, my mother was not too old to fall in love, and neither was Norm. Just over a year later they topped off their romance by getting married. One gets a sense of their whirlwind life in the letter my mother sent after the event:

Friday May 26 1972 Hi Kiddies! I’m downright ashamed at not having written to you for so long. It does seem as if I’m living two lives lately with half of the usual time to do it in. I’m hobbling today. Turned my right ankle for a change. Now they’ll match. Everything’s in bloom here. Azaleas, dogwood, etc.etc. Today it’s cold though. Nancy + the Senior class went to Jones Beach. On the eve of our honeymoon, my washing machine chewed up the pants to my favorite pants suit. It was not an ill omen, however. The honeymoon was perfect. We were married at 9:00 AM Friday by Justice Robert S. Roy in Irvington. Thought he’d never get to it – felt obliged to lecture us first on Sunnyside + Scotland at great length, but we finally made it. I couldn’t get his ring on + he had to take over. We then went across the street to the A&P, bought strawberries + cat food, came home, changed our clothes, got his tool box, + and went to DFHS gym to hang the annual Art Show, which I had promised Mrs. E... I’d do long ago + forgot to write on the calendar. We thought this might help our standing with Shirley, but it hasn’t. In + out of her cups - she is spreading far + wide her own opinion of this arrangement of ours, (how she can’t stand Norm, Ada is barely cold, I’ll be sorry, Poor Philip is suffering so). With Nancy standing right there in the Grand Union even. I think she’s gotten to Floyd, too. Yu may even hear waves of it on the West coast. Well, as far as I can see, the only suffering is from Shirley. Back to the honeymoon: We spent the first night in O’Brien’s motel with Inn. Our room had a balcony + a surprising view of the Chemung River valley (the same as Grandma paints). There were 2 O’Neill woodcuts on the wall + we bought one as a momento. Visited the folks Saturday, took them out to lunch and left south down the Susquehanna (new territory to me, below Townada) and arrived in Lancaster County about suppertime. Got tangled up in cloverleaves + bypasses, ending up in Lititz, a lovely restoration type town. Stayed at General Sutter Inn, then in the morning just drove around staring at old barns + things. (Norm, of course, left his camera in E. Athens. I don’t know what is going to become of us. You know I’m that way, too). The people were just like the pictures – there was a strange swinging gate to most of the horses, when viewed from the front. I later decided they were pacers. There were no stores open, it being Sunday, so no souveniers. Left for home around noon, + surprised ourselves by getting home (Manning + TR3 greeted us) in time to take Nancy, Phil, + David sailing (no wind, had to motor). Speaking of beds, Mr. T has acquired for us what must be the hardest bed ever made. The guy at Gimble’s said he wouldn’t dream of selling him a softer one. I guess we’ll get used to it. You feel as if you’re on a convex board. Gotta go paint. love to all + Floyd, ......(our cat) Ma (Norm says he’s getting fond of Iggy) ....Nancy's Hamster

Janice and Norm at Summit Terrace with Blair, seated.