September, 1989
Once upon a time there was a brother named Richard. Little did he know that he held the magic whereby the princess and her prince charming were to meet. Perchance he was singing with the show “Oklahoma” in the wonderland of Los Angeles 2000 miles away from the Little Princess. One day, the Fairy Godmother, in the guise of a maiden aunt twice removed, arranged a date for Knight Richard. This date became a foursome, which included Prince Michael. The Prince of the royal Martini family of L.A. was attending St. Louis University Medical School to learn how to revive sleeping beauties by using antidotes for poisoned apples.
Knight Richard told the Prince to drop by the castle of his parents when in St. Louis. A few months later, while back in St. Louis, a tremendous hunger caused the Prince to go to the castle of King Waldomar. There he was welcomed and presented with a sumptuous meal of a braunschweiger sandwich. This was royally presented every time he visited. Prince Michael never revealed the secret of how much he “hated” braunschweiger!
At the Krueger Castle, Prince Michael was introduced to Knight Richard’s sister:
“Elaine the fair, Elaine the lovable
Elaine the lovely maid of “Bruno Avenue.”
(Quoting Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson)
It was love at first sight. For three years the young couple danced at Proms, attended Knighthood (i.e. fraternity) parties and entered that wonderful dream world of glass slippers, engagement rings, and wedding bells.
On June 11, 1949, just 4 days after Mike’s graduation from St. Louis Medical School, the royal houses of Dunphy-Krueger and Ricciardi -Martini were joined together in Holy Matrimony at the Cathedral of St. Luke (the physician). The new royal family produced six heirs to the Martini family throne.
And they lived happily ever after in the beautiful kingdom of Pacific Palisades.
Now go to sleep, little ones. The tale is told.
The Honeymoon of Prince Michael and Princess Elaine
Let us segue from our fairy tale to the honeymoon of Prince Michael and Princess Elaine. A honeymoon is the beginning of a lifetime date. Ours began at a rustic resort in the Missouri Ozarks at Lake Killarney. After a week of exploration (both scenic and personal!) we returned to St. Louis to pack and bid a most tearful farewell to my parents. We newlywed’s then traveled to Chicago where we would begin our journey West. Mike had to be in L.A. by July 1 to start his internship at L.A. County General Hospital.
In 1949 Chicago ranked 2nd in large cities of the USA. We stayed at the Stevens Hotel, played tourist, and enhanced our romance by listening to Freddie Martin’s Orchestra under the stars on the Beach Walk. We treated ourselves to dinner at the “expensive” Swedish Kungsholm Restaurant. In the menu I saved in my scrapbook, a Scandinavian Smorgasbord preceded the $4.00 Dinner. Chicken and Prime Rib cost 75 cents extra!
On with our journey, next we boarded the California Zephyr to “enjoy scenic thrills travelling at smooth speed in luxurious comfort,” to quote the brochure. We had a cozy roomette. We were headed for San Francisco via the spectacular mountain scenery of the Colorado Rockies and the Feather River Canyon through the heart of the mighty Sierra Nevada. The train terminated at the shores of the East Bay-Oakland and passengers rode the ferry across the Bay to San Francisco.
We stayed at the Canterbury Hotel, advertised as the only downtown hotel with a garden. Just last year (1988) we took our son, Joe, and his girlfriend Anne to Sunday brunch at that garden, now enclosed and named “The Greenhouse.”
It’s hard to believe but my brother (maybe we should call him guardian angel!) had just joined Henry King’s Orchestra as his male vocalist. So on our honeymoon we danced to the tenor melodies of Dick Krueger. We could say our romance had come full circle from that introduction of Mike and Dick three years before.
Next stop Los Angeles via the Daylight train. We passed towns which in later years were to become important in our family life. Santa Clara where my daughter Barbara and her husband Tom (Buzzy) met. Joe, our youngest son, studied at Santa Clara University for two years before transferring to UCLA.
Salinas…we lived near there in Monterey while Mike was in Korean War service at Fort Ord. Santa Barbara…a favorite vacation spot alone or with the family. Ventura and Oxnard…five grandchildren live there now. Thousand Oaks…now Eileen’s home – did it even exist back in 1949?
We arrived at Los Angeles’ Union Station during it’s heyday of grandeur. I was met by my in-laws and a sea of faces, all Italians! These and many others attended a post-nuptial reception dinner at Cafe Italia in Beverly Hills to meet the NEW Mrs. Martini. Unfortunately much of the conversation was in Italian. At least Mike’s generation mostly spoke English.
Elaine's Memoirs 