Dear Julia,

I remember first meeting you and Isaiah when I walked into The Eyes Gallery in 1968 or 1969. I had walked down to South St. to pick up tickets for the TLA with my daughter, Ami, in her stroller. I knew that you showed Peruvian crafts and we were having an exhibit as well. I wanted to meet these people who had a connection to Peru. As we were talking to you I was horrified to see that Ami had fallen through a hole in your rough wooden floor and was stuck. Isaiah ran down to the basement (I think) and pulled her through with only a few scratches. Instead of making a fuss and suing you we became best friends. The rest is history. Over all these years I always come to The Eyes first to look for clothing for myself. We spend free time together whenever possible and even lived together the summer our son was born – 1970.

If we had not met you our lives would have been totally different. You notified us of a building for rent in the 300 block of South St. and we took the plunge – $67.50 a month for the first floor and the same amount for our tenants in the two-story apartment above the gallery.

In 1972 we bought the building for $25,000 and moved into the upstairs apartment. Our lives were connected in every way since then.

Congratulations on the 50th anniversary.

Love,

Ruth and Rick