Heartwarming Tradition Survives
its Founder
Martha Ironman will always remember that cold winter day in February 2000 when she went to her Southdown School mailbox and pulled out a letter that just arrived.
Southdown had recently suffered through the death of sixth grader Jose Bonilla. The missive was written by Barbara Schwamb, who explained she was at North Shore University Hospital with her grandson and family the same weekend that Jose was being treated there.
While Mr. Bonilla unfortunately passed way, Mrs. Schwamb’s grandson recovered. Tucked into the envelope along with the letter was a $20 bill. Mrs. Schwamb asked that a book be purchased in Jose’s memory with the money. She had earlier read a newspaper article about the sixth grader and used the information from it to contact Mrs. Ironman.
Mr. Bonilla had a particular love for reading poetry. In his honor, a special poetry section was created in Southdown’s library. That first monetary donation went to buy the first book for the new section.
The letters kept coming in subsequent years. Each February one would arrive along with a donation to purchase additional books. When the district reorganized grade levels between buildings and the Southdown faculty moved to Woodhull, the letters were re-routed there.
The money was always accompanied by a letter filled with family news, Mrs. Ironman said. A friendship developed between the school nurse and the concerned grandmother. They never met, but they knew of family happenings and looked forward to the yearly exchange.
When February came and went without the arrival of the annual letter, it worried the Woodhull School nurse. She rationalized it away, thinking that just maybe Mrs. Schwamb was too busy and would eventual get around to sending it.
The tardy letter finally came in March, but there was strange return address. It included information that Mrs. Ironman had been dreading: Barbara Schwamb had passed away a few days earlier.
“Even though she was battling for her life, she kept telling her daughter Carrie to please send the annual letter and donation,” Mrs. Ironman said. In the letter, Carrie wrote that she had located her mother’s address book and found all of the letters that Mrs. Ironman had written her. The news was naturally upsetting for Mrs. Ironman.
In the envelope sent by Mrs. Schwamb’s daughter was a $20 bill. “She decided to carry on her mother’s tradition and send money for the purchase of a poetry book in Jose’s memory,” Mrs. Ironman said.
The memorial book purchased this year will contain a special commemorative plate: “In loving memory of Jose Bonilla and Barbara Schwamb.”
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