52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks #14 Yvonne Wiedrich

Yvonne Bristol Wiedrich

Yvonne was the oldest of four daughters and probably the most talented. She was born on January 27, 1922 to Edward and Hazel (Bristol) Wiedrich. From a young age she had a zany personality that meant a lot of fun times. She was a natural musician being able to pick up almost any instrument and play by ear. While in Batavia High School she was in the school orchestra and usually played the violin. The

only problem was she loved to improvise while they played and this led to her being put out of the orchestra. She would rather play “fiddle” music than the kind of music the orchestra played. Sometimes she played the accordion. 

As an adult she rarely played which was a shame to waste her talent.

The family grew up during tough economic times. After her graduation the family moved to Gloucester City, NJ and lived in a truck converted into a sort of mobile home. This was during the WWII years. Her father went to sea as a merchant sailor during this time. Yvonne kept the family going with her wages from her waitress job at Mom Blessing’s Restaurant in West Collingswood Heights, NJ. It was during these years that her daughter was born.

In 1945 she moved to Tampa, Florida with her parents and youngest sister. She continued her career as a waitress and eventually became a manager in several high end restaurants including the Sweden House in Tampa. Family dinners could become quite fancy with vegetables cut like flowers and steaks done just right. Auntie Bone (as she was known to her nieces and nephews) would do crazy things like stand on her head to entertain the children.

Yvonne was someone who you would say definitely love life and lived it to the fullest.

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