If anyone remembers buying shoes on Richmond Street in the “old days”, chances are you bought them from a red headed beauty named Mary Emma. You might have known her as Mary Emma Hornberger or Kozlowski and then Panfil-but you knew she was the lady to go to for your boots, your kid’s school shoes and your slippers and bo-bo sneakers.

This past weekend, she celebrated her 90th birthday with a huge party full of friends and family and it was a walk down memory lane for anyone who grew up in the “Venango” section of Port Richmond.

She was born on May 2, 1921 to Mary Catherine Fern and Frederick Hornberger at 2905 Victoria Street in Port Richmond in an area known as “Venango” which existed along the Delaware River way before I-95 came through the riverwards.

Mary Emma was one of twelve children and was fifth born; her siblings were Matthew, Fred, Clare, Margaret, Christine, Francis, Joseph, Thomas, Louis, John and Rita.

Her father Fred “Fritz” was a general contractor and builder and always worked several jobs to support his clan of Irish/German brood; her mother Mary ran an ice cream and candy store and during the Great Depression, she cooked huge pots of soup which  she spooned out to neighbors in Venango, stating, “Nobody will go hungry on my watch.” That motto stayed with Mary Emma through her life as she cooked her famous corn fritters and Sunday dinners consisting of roast beef, brown potatoes, stewed tomatoes and “Hornberger Beans”, which are white lima beans in a butter, flour and milk gravy.

She attended school at Nativity B.V.M. until the 8th grade, whereas upon graduation, she lied about her age to get a job at Sears.  She went on to work at the S&M Dye Works and then Nanette’s, a children’s clothing company at Frankford and Butler Streets.

On her 16th Birthday, a neighborhood kid named Louis “Luke” Kozlowski bought her an ice cream cone at her aunt’s corner store and love blossomed. She and Luke were married when she was 21 years old and had four children, Mary Lou, Patrick, Fred (Babe) and Christine. Luke worked at the Aldan Rubber Company, known as the “Gummy” for 43 years while Mary Emma started to sell shoes out of their home which they bought in 1956 on 3600 Richmond Street, known as “the White House” for its white brick exterior.

In the early 1970’s, Cara Kennedy, daughter of Bobby Kennedy came to Philadelphia and stopped at Mary Emma’s house on Richmond Street because it was a polling place. Mary Emma told her, “See, you’re not the only one who has a White House.”

Mary Emma was a keen and savvy business woman who sold shoes to all the nuns, laborers, painters, roofers and construction workers in the neighborhood. She once bought 1,000 pairs of shoes at a fire sale for $1 each and sold them out for $3.

Mary Emma’s knack for sales came from her father who bought merchandise in bulk from auctions and then gave his daughter the task of selling it, whether it was tombstones, umbrellas, sweaters, wool, or buttons and it was said that “Mary Emma could sell horse manure if it was wrapped up”.

Luke died of Alzheimer’s disease in 1985 and she married her next door neighbor Ed Panfil after a lifetime of friendship in 1986 until his death in 1989.

She is known for her beautiful head of red hair but Mary Emma is now a snow white beauty. She loves spending summer vacation in Wildwood, NJ with her brood of nine grandchildren and is now the great grandmother of five great grandchildren.

She’s traveled to Bermuda, Bahamas, Niagara Falls, Phoenix, Florida and many other locales and got her first passport and attended her first Philadelphia Phillies game at the age of 88. Here’s wishing Mary Emma a very happy 90th birthday!

*Disclaimer: Spirit writer Patty-Pat Kozlowski is Mary Emma’s favorite grandchild.