Archive for December, 2007

World War II.Casablanca

December 30, 2007 at 7:07 am · Filed under WWII

Recently, I saw an article in the NY Times about outdoor movies and a photo of the large white screen. Immediately, my mind shifted to the first outdoor screening of a movie in No. Africa. As I mentioned in my last posting, our battalion was quarantined on a hillside a few miles outside of the city and we encamped for several weeks. We had canceled training exercises and the days became long and boring. Fortunately our Chaplain learned of a source for I6mm movie films and a Bell and Howell movie projector. Out of 1,000 GIs, my resume popped out. He came to me and anxiously asked whether I knew how to project movies. When I said yes, he sighed with relief and asked me, “What do we need to set up a showing of films?” I said ” All that we need is a large room, dark and a large screen”. Of course, that was not available. So, I suggested that we show the movies outdoors in the evening. Get our engineers to build a large wood frame, the size of a large bed-sheet and set it up in an area where we can sit on the ground and watch the film comfortably. And we need a generator to run the projector. Our camp was situated on a small hillside, so we had a good location. The engineers went to work on this project with such fervor and was completed in a short time.

The entire battalion was at the opening, a full house of GIs and officers. The movie was a Western, with Raymond Massey the star, the movie “Rough Riders” We were all spread out on the hillside, enjoying opening night, when halfway though the film, we were interrupted by a siren alert. Airplanes were approaching. “All lights out” were heard. The viewers scattered to their pup-tents, while I shut down the projector and covered it for protection. I dashed to my pup-tent, snuggled into my blanket and fell fast asleep.
It was about 2AM, after all clear sounded, when I heard a voice “Roth, where are you? Hey Roth, where are you? I answered, grudgingly.” What do you want, what’s up?”. “Hey, Roth, can you come out and finish the film”. ” Are you crazy. It’s late and every one is asleep” “Look, Roth. can you come and finish the film. That movie is so exciting that I must see the end. I’m the head cook and you can have  anything special. I’ll treat you right”. “Okay”, I murmured. During this period that I was attached to this group, my food was special. Our quarantine days became more tolerable due to my ability to operate a movie projector. I rode a Jeep daily with the chaplain to select films for nightly showings. I kept the projector in good shape as my daily job and was treated cordially by GIs and officers. Who could foresee that photographic knowledge would be so rewarding.

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1930 IRV’s Bar Mitzva Yr.

December 28, 2007 at 2:12 am · Filed under New York Memories

It’s difficult for me to to describe the scene with my mother, when we discussed the program and my expected appearance in the ceremony. I was doing well with the reading of the Torah and the prayers. Now, she brought up the necessity of making a speech. I was appalled by the thought of it. I objected very strongly. But Mom was very patient and calmly proposed ” Uncle Aaron will write the speech for you. You can read it” The thought of me going up on stage was frightening. And Mom relented, never pressing or yelling. (Uncle Aaron, Mom’s brother, could have been a rabbi, but chose to go into business when he immigrated here after WWI with his family. He opened a dry goods store in Lower East Side, A.J Kurtz & sons, on Essex St. I knew him well and Mom and I would visit his store, on Sunday.) I held out, but this scene was seared in my memory. . As I look back at this occurrence, I wonder at the tolerance that Mom showed. Perhaps she had experienced the same problems in her early life. Her life prior to her marriage to Pop, was not a happy one. Her father left the family and emigrated to the U.S. two years after her birth. She never knew her father, When she was 12 years old, she and her mother joined him in New Hampshire where he had a junkyard business. Mom went to   public school until she was 14 yrs. of age and she then worked as a seamstress sewing lining into fur coats.

Why am I delving into Mom’s background?  Because, I think I inherited her shy gene.  And what made her so tolerant and understanding of her husband and children.  Because she escaped from an unpleasant atmosphere in New Hampshire, when she moved to New York and married Pop.  She loved being home for her children.  She was a great cook and baker and above all an expert on the Singer sewing machine.  She did alterations on hand-me-downs, sewed our holes  on the socks, made dresses  from patterns for Reggie and Blanche.  And the atmosphere in our house was always pleasant. She was calm, soft-spoken and shy.  And that’s what I inherited.
When I saw Mark at his Bar Mitzva, I empathized with him.  He was very nervous, but he was stalwart .      When he came to the end of his reading  and the Rabbi held his arm to steady him,  he emitted a load sigh of relief that caused the attending family and friends to laugh.  But also caused our friend Gert  Bittman to remark “Why do they make them go through this?”   Mom’s gene at work.
And now, to bring this gene down to the present, we have our lovely granddaughter, now 20 yrs of age, demonstrating her shyness, when we were at a Seder in the  Colodner’s home.  She loudly expressed her shyness as she was brought into the house in Mark’s arms and asked if she would do the 4 questions and she blurted out “  But I’m so shy”.  This got a good laugh.
Shyness is a handicap, but we all have overcome it to some extent and move on.

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1929 (stock market crash)

December 22, 2007 at 10:36 pm · Filed under New York Memories

I’ve had this lingering memory of me seated at the dining table, alongside the kitchen, listening to Pop and Mom. It was very seldom that Pop ate a daily meal with me, and I was curious about it. I had a feeling that the occasion was solemn. The only part of their conversation that I remember was the question Pop asked Mom, when she placed a gallon can of Planter’s peanut oil on the table, ” How much did you pay for this”.

Little did I know, that this was a drastic period in our family life. I was totally unaware of the change in the economy. Who knew from such things. I was 12 years old, a junior High student, also attending Hebrew School and readying myself for my Bar Mitzvah. My only concern was playing punchball with friends in the street and in the evening after supper going out to play hide and seek or ringalevio.

Another memory that I have during this period was the problem Mom had in getting Nat to attend Hebrew School, which was on 9th Ave. and 46th St. Very close to home. Why he resisted, I do not know, but he was obstinate. When Mom asked me to get him off the street and bring him to Cheder, I ran after him and we created a sensation on the street, chasing him and yelling with all of the neighbors amused by the situation. Well, we finally got him registered. To this day Nat reminds me of this amusing scene.
Returning to the scene of Pop and Mom and me, I now realize retrospectively, that the Wall St. crash and the run on the banks, due to loose credit and wild speculation created Black Thursday, on October 29, 1929. In the 1930’s, I recall that many of the new houses on our street displayed signs stating “This house is the property of the ***Bank.”. There were so many foreclosures that the bank would allow the original owners to pay rent and stay in the property, in order to preserve the house until a sale was made. And as I am writing this I am witnessing a repeat performance of mortgage defaults . This is almost 80 years ago. The period 1920-29, was labeled “The Roaring Twenties”. What shall we name the years 2000-2007, which also has loose credit and many mortgage defaults. I have a confession to make. The reason I never bought a house was the fear of being strapped to a mortgage. Mention the word Mortgage to me and I cringe at the sound . This drastic event changed the dynamic of our family. To preserve our house, Pop was able to get an FHA Loan, from the government. Mike Maltz, his son-law attorney aided him with the application. Next move, Pop having lost his business due to customers who could not pay his invoices and due to price drop of his merchandise , he filed for bankruptcy. He was 44 years old and was forced to start all over again. He returned to the retail food business by renting a store around the corner of our house on 8th avenue. He was known in the business, so I think he was able to get credit easily. And I think that his sister Dora’s husband Jack, a successful furrier helped with a loan. My brother Jack, who worked with him in the wholesale business, went to work in a drapery factory and registered in college. Bill, left High school, studied at night and worked in the garment center. Regina went to work in various offices doing secretarial work. Each one had to contribute toward the payment of the mortgage. I helped when I could in the store, delivering to the local customers. I still have a vision of me carrying a box filled with food on my shoulder. There was no wagons in those days or any self-service. And come to think of it, there was no tipping.

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46th st. cont. up to 1929

December 15, 2007 at 8:50 pm · Filed under New York Memories

As I reflect on these years, our family life improved, due to the vibrant economy. Pop had a successful wholesale food business and his grown up children Jack, William and Reggie were able to manage on their own. This made the home responsibilities easier for Mom, but she missed having them help with the running of the house and its chores. She was now about 45 yrs. of age and complaining of arthritic pains. I can still see her seated in the kitchen area and reading a newspaper and as I passed by, she would give me a weather report, ” I can feel it in my bones, it’ going to rain to-morrow” . Her reports were always accurate, more so than what we get on TV to-day. She also had a mild case of indigestion, which led her to drink Saratoga spring water, which was delivered to our house on a weekly basis.
In order to give Mom some relief, pop arranged a vacation for her during the summer months to spend time in Saratogs, N.Y., go to the baths and drink the springs water. ( While thinking of this period, I assume that Pop knew this area from travels for business.) He also arranged for a room rental and kitchen priveleges, that was walking distance from the bathhouse.

My memory of this is quite vague. I wandered through the city of old style houses and watched kids playing baseball in rhe park area. I have a vague picture of Bill playing baseball, but i’m not sure that he came with us. And I do know that I tasted the spring water and went Phoo, how can you drink this stuff. And the smell.Sulfuric Phooey. The s trong scene that remains with me was the trip to Saratoga. This was also arranged by Pop, which leads me to believe that he traveled there on business. Our trip was on the Hudson River Boat. We took the nightline. This was so exciting for me that I could not go to sleep. I got out of bed before sunrise and sat topside until the sun rose. The sight is still vivid in my mind. (It may be indicative of my interest in artistic scenery) I realize now how tha Hudson River artists felt. We arrived in Albany and took intercity trolleys to Troy and to Saratoga. It was quite a schlep, but we enjoyed the excitement of the travel through country areas. I think for me it was a first time I went out of Brooklyn, NY. For Mom this vacation was necessary and revived her spirits and energy level. I think I went another year, but I’m not sure.

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46th st. cont’d

December 13, 2007 at 5:21 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged

In my last post,I mentioned that the garage was used for storage. Well, Pop also used it for Sukkot. This holiday celebrates harvesting of crops. He stored door panels, which he placed up the side of the garage and built a shack in our little garden. The top was open and had strips of wood that supported branches and twigs. Inside was a table and chairs for the family to eat. This festival simulates the period when our ancestors lived in tents in the wilderness. It celebrates the harvesting of crops and it is thought that the pilgrims adopted this practice when they planned their first Thanksgiving. This was a great experience for us, the children, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We had to help in the construction, the cooking and the serving. The food was prepared in the kitchen and then carried through our parents’ bedroom, handed down to one of us through the window and then passed on to the sukkah. We kids enjoyed the festival, in spite of the leaves or the bugs that occasionally dropped into the food. It was a picnic. While pausing to think of the next paragraph, I am recalling the scene and getting a rush of joy and pleasure. I see my mother, passing food through the window, smiling and happy watching her kids enjoying the feast and Pop supervising and toasting with wine. Reflecting on this scene from an eighty year interval, I admire Mom and Pop for their ability in passing on their tradition and values and creating a harmonious household. We were an orthodox family and celebrated all holidays. Friday night was our special day. To prepare for it Mom started early n cleaning the house. My job was to mop the kitchen and dining area, and to spread newspaper on the floor after it had dried. We called this ( the paper) Jewish carpets). Meanwhile she would be preparing the Friday evening meal. Usually chicken soup, Gefilte fish with horse radish and chicken with vegetables and tea. By the time Pop and I returned from shul,the grownup chidren were returning from school or work. This cvening was probably the onlt time in the week that the whole family ate together, all eight of us. Pop would then start the feasting with the Motsey over bread and the blessing over the wine. It was a ritual that we enjoyed over many years and created a bond. But before we sat down to eat, Mom had lit the candles and waved her hand over the candles while saying the prescribed prayer. When I watched her I felt a holiness emanating from her body, very spiritual. This image has never left me and I have recorded it in my 8mm movie film, which I gave to Mark for safe-keeping and perhaps have Rebbeca do some documentary film of the Roth family.

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46th st. continued1926-29

December 6, 2007 at 3:41 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged

Settling into this new environment was exciting. For my father, it was a new way of life. He now had the responsibility of the house and a tenant to attend to. He seemed to know his way around the basement, where we had a boiler that requires heating with coal and the garden in front and in rear of the house. Really , they were small plots. In front, we had grass plus low hedges. In the rear, along the side of the one-car garage. we planted a lilac tree. These were small plots, possibly 10×10 ft. square, but for us it was ample and lovely. This was the period in which I became acquainted with my Dad. Prior to our move to 46th street, he worked in retail, which required very early hours and lat evenings. So, I never saw him. But now I became his right hand man. He had sold his retail store and had a wholesale food business. His hours were more regular and he did not work on Saturday or Sunday. His background in Europe, living on a farm, afforded him the opportunity to learn planting, carpentry, etc. My elder siblings were Teen-agers busy with their own projects. Jack worked with dad , Bill was working and attending night school and Reggie was in high school and helping Mom. So I got the opportunity to learn from Dad how to use a saw, how to clear the coal ashes from the furnace,etc. We always had projects , especially in the basement. We worked on decorating a playroom and a front rest room, in case we had a guest. The playroom became a dance hall in my later years, where we had a large Victrola, played dance music and had guests and friends on weekends. The front guest room became my photo darkroom and the playroom became my photo studio for my portraiture work. This was years later. I’m running ahead too quickly. One day, Pop drove up with a Buick car. How he did it, I did not know. I don’t think he ever took driving lessons. He called us out to our driveway, which was very narrow, just enough room for a car with maybe 15 inches space on each side. He was going to drive into the garage. We watched as he struggled inching his way towards the open garage door. You could see how tense he was, so careful not to scrape the car against the building walls on either side. It took a long time to go 50 feet. Then he said, “watch me back out”. It was a disaster. He gave up trying after bumping into the side walls at each move back. He never learned to drive and we never had a car in the garage. We used it for storage.

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