My great grandmother Moina Ducie O'Brien was an heiress. She was the genuine article, wealthy, cultured, genteel, and, as grandma Rosalba put it, "had expensive tastes". Following a decline in fortunes, Moina and husband Alfred moved with their three daughters from Montana - where the family fortune in copper had been made - to Connecticut in the mid-1920's. In searching for a new home, Moina found a beautiful and historic 18th century house that she wanted "in the worst way". Unfortunately because of its age, the doorways were only 5'8". Grandpa Al, who Dad and Stephen have to thank for being tall, put his put his foot down declaring "I'm not living in that house". So Moina had to settle for something a little more modern in the town of Ansonia, CT until they moved to the leafy Queens suburb of Jackson Heights in 1932.