And I would just would go around and Id just pick stuff up. He says, Hes my good friend, and so on, We live on Staten Island. And I got to know a tremendous amount of people that way. Its Meissen. And the White Party we do in order to take care of doing cleanup on the lawn, doing any kind of plantings, or anything, because he did it all the years. Burke: The only thing is, the house will be closed. They cant develop it. Burke: Well, look at the mansion! And I had to have somebody upstairs, standing on the stairs, and told me when to stop jacking, when the stairs got level, because the stairs were like this. Well, he didnt want the bull with the little girl. She said shell keep the doors locked and call Linda if anybody wants to get in and take anything out. Valhalla. Q: Was that house that you restored in a similar condition as this house? And they said, Oh my god, George, what are you Oh, and who else was that? Thats the only thing people could bring. And whats going on up the street here now? Devoted father of Matthew I. Burke, Jason L. Burke, and Georgina. When I was over there looking at their house. All that gorgeous porcelain, like the Flower Sellers Childrenits a big piece like that. But when he was in Europe, he rode. Formal gardens, stablesstables that you could live in. Its a real pretty smell. She said, Yes, its lilacs. She said Mrs. Whatever-her-name-was always had to have lilacs. I woke up with a sweat. And think about it. Email or phone: Password: . So she said, Bess said, Were going to have to quit, George. I said Oh, shit. Special thanks to The Peggy N and Roger G Gerry Charitable Trust for their support to complete this initiative. Yes. He had the military ship the items back to family members in New York City, a perk of military service that made moving his collection back to the States possible. Then there was the main hall that went through, just like this: door, front door, back door. And then I shipped it all back home. So I went around to all the nursesof course, I was in the medical departmentand I asked all the nurses, What are you doing with your stamps? But that was the cistern for doing all the laundry and everything in the basement. Daller: No. Theres none of the spirits. Q: So those things that you got later on, afterthey didnt come from Europe. Daller: What about the coat? People, Oh, could you help me? And especially when I came to Staten Island and I was working for Sherwin Williams, andwhat the hell, Florence? And from the garden, you could come back in under the porch and down into the kitchen in the basement. Its a part of the history that should remain. I want to go back and ask for some more details about your childhood. Nobody wants to do that. Its all part of history, and theyre just destroying it every way they can. Q: How did you establish a relationship with the Parks Department and the Historic House Trust? Ill do that. So that was over in Port Richmondits still there, I understand, the store. So my sister Bess said, Well, come on, lets go to Florida. So Id go over there and, of course, Bess Seguine was always over there. You couldnt tell what it was. Staten Island . Burke: So I dont know if that was a ghost. Yes, and I had bought the house, but I couldnt have the house and move in until she died. And in order to have food and such, youd have to bring it up the back stairs. So when I got it, of course, the old kitchen was inI had knocked it down because it was all falling apart. What the hell is this? All of a sudden, she went, Youre in my house, and get out! Holy Christ. Daller: But it was the thing with the lilacs smell. And we used to say, Wow, wonder who lives there? Burke: Mario Buatta and a couple of people of his friends that were just as big. And then one of my brothers had just gotten out of the military. Lets keep fighting it, because there was no way to fight. All these empty buildings and things. So I got this on the front porch somewhere, nailed to the house, butdoesnt matter. Thats the only thing in the house left from the Seguines. Because I certainlyI never passed up a bargain. And I had a beautiful restaurant and a bar connected to it. And their mansion, the White people that owned SS White, the White family, owned right across the creek, there, where the Captains Quarters [private development] are. Burke: Oh, when I was a kid, we lived in Annandale. But the picture in the locket was all crumbled up. I, being the youngest, of course, seeing everybody growing up. So they went into repairing things. When he came he got everything going. And I said, Well, the smell is still there. And I said to her, Whatever happened to the old girl? And she said, Well, years ago, when she died, she said, she was laid out in the front parlor in the coffin, and it was nothing but lilacs. And they were good investments. And through all the years that the old lady had this woman taking care of her, the lilacs were always in bloomwhen they were in bloom, they were in the house. Daller: Well, yes. So I went around and looked and looked and I said, You know, I could open a restaurant. And I walked around and I found a couple of nice places. And the porch went all like this, around the house. She had a caretaker or she had a woman that took care of her, or something. Im joining the Air Force. So I went out and I joined the United States Air Force of course. Burke: Yes, its a big oil painting, a big painting like this. And I want my painting. There was the main house, over here was the bar, over here was this big dining room, and this was the main house. Burke: Yes. Thats whats in this whole house, all the things you see. And he was stationed here, in St. George, and he would come home and wed live in the house. And so they lost it. And thats what they were doing in France to keep from getting it taxed. And we cant come over here because both of them lived way out in New Jersey, and theyd come every day. And shell be caretaker. And she couldntthey couldnt keep up with it anymore. Q: And thats what allowed you to buy this house? Its still there, the framework of it, with the brick. Burke: But anyway, it was a big beautiful cameo brooch, and was wrapped in an oil cloth rag! Or did you have to just guess and make decisions? Q: And how did you keep track of all the items in your collection as they were moving from, Burke: Well, a lot of this stuff, I never got back, because once you left it for years and years, you werent going to go back and say, Well, give me that, and give me this. Was it your mother I gave her all the blue and. So finally, I think, the old lady died, didnt she? Must have been twelve big columns, it was, oh! I mean, I could do a little woodwork, but I wasnt a carpenter. I found a beautiful place in Tottenville and I opened it and called it the Tidewater Inn. The one in particular, United States Steel [Corporation]. So its saved forever. And thats what where all the water, for all the laundry, and all that kind of stuffnot the drinking water, the working waterwould come out of that big cistern, and would go intoand the pump and everything, its still down there, connected to that thing out there. While stationed in England, he studied interior design and architectural history and began to collect antiques through estate sales and flea markets, focusing on ceramics, paintings, light fixtures, and many other decorative items from the Victorian era. I mean, you talked about it, when you were a kid, that it was this big house that you would see when you were out on, Daller: Its a part of the history of Staten Island. Yes, she died and she was in the front parlor in the coffin, wasnt she? Its down in Tottenville, beautifully done. Daller: Well, remember how much it took to paint the whole house, and how you had to paint sections of it? And with that money, I restored most of the house. Finally, I think his wife got sick with that lung disease, didnt she? Q: What grabbed your eye? Kitchens were always built in a house outside by themself, and a breezeway going to the house, because the kitchens would always burn down. And that was it. Q: So tell me about what its been like for you to live here. And he asked me would I be interested in working for him out here on Staten Island. If you stood outside and looked at it, the staircase went that way. He upholstered that chair with the things in the back. Mom, you own the house, you own at least part of it, or half of it. Q: And you said that you restored the garden there too? Burke: One was a necklace with a heart on it. One day, he was gone. Daller: I mean, that big wrap-around porch that went all the way around the house. But again, I dont know that Staten Island appreciates anything, because we had a Borough President at one time that we asked him a question about something and his answer to my uncle was, Well, why would you want to put a new suit on an old man?. What the hell is that coming from? So I come down the stairs, and as I got down the stairs, the spelling got stronger and stronger. Christ, a good ten, twelve years. Frank was born in Brooklyn, NY June 26, 1943. It was piled up in their basement. Dont remember what happened to it, right? And he said, George, you know, that big, beautiful house that sits empty? Burke is joined in this interview by his niece, Linda Daller. This old? And I got a big certificate for saving that. I mean, we had clocks, baby-Ben clocks, hanging in apartments. Daller: Well, you got involved with Burkes Landing with Scalia. Theres a bunch of little houses now built all along through their gardens. And the only problem with that was the kitchen was downstairs. Burke: Yes. So I moved into the house here. And I looked in the thing, I said, Holy shit. Burke: She has it. But how many people really have a sense of history anymore? So when I get out of the service, I got a job. I know all the grounds that were around it were beautiful gardens. With a little more improvement, and he would do a little improving on what I wanted, you know, then it was perfect when Mario did it. And I just got a call from all my lady friends saying that my house is falling apart. I cant think ofdoesnt matter, the name of the people. I restored that, and that was an old mansionan old pillar-fronted mansionlooked like the house, similar. Because Mrs. Seguine was holding the. I mean, one year, the oil bill here was $11,000. Burke: But anyway, when my time was up in the service, they shipped me back here to, Burke: Alaska, and I stayed in Alaska. I saved it years and years ago. She said, Now you can save it., And I said, Well, I can save it. He used to stay out here. How the hell they got to the right people, I dont know. I said, Oh shit, look at this. And I pulled that out and unwrapped it, and what the hell was in it? The ceilings had fallen down because a lot of the drain pipes had leaked. I have no idea what it would be like to live in some other place. Burke: So then I gave it to the Historic House Trust of New York. Q: So well have audio recording and a transcript for researchersand Ill remove those names that you mentioned, Linda. Daller: Well he formed that, thats the board. Burke: Yes, there was a little man in New Jersey. Burke: Oh my god. Everything in the front parlor in the thing with the lilacs smell a similar condition as this?... On Staten Island so then I gave it to the old kitchen downstairs... Thing in the coffin, wasnt she going to have to just guess and make decisions transcript for Ill. Brothers had just gotten out of the military Bess said, Holy shit the ceilings had fallen because. 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