Archive for February, 2008

Pop’s School of business, 1934 -1938

February 27, 2008 at 6:27 am · Filed under New York Memories

I graduated in 1934 at the age of 17, ready to join my dad for additional schooling. Writing and recalling that period, I am researching his past, in order to create for you an image of that time .
Pop, Israel Roth, was born in1885 and left Austria in 1902 at the age of 17. I think that he was brought to N.Y. by his older brother prior to being drafted into the army. He started his career in the dairy business and thrived on his own as a self employed businessman. Unfortunately, the depression destroyed his wholesale business. He re-enters the retail dairy business in 1930. The store was located around the corner of our house, which made it very convenient, for him and the family.

So, here I am at the age of 17, joining Pop who began his business career at the same age. My abiding regret is not being curious about his life in Europe and his voyage to the U.S. and his struggles to achieve some measure of success in a strange environment. He was close to 50 yrs. of age and had to start all over.

Dairygrocery stores in those days were entirely different to the present. There was no refrigeration. Large slabs of ice were brought in by icemen who delivered via truck, and put them in the compartment atop our dairy counters. We also had an ice-box on the floor, which housed a large milk can and another can for sour cream. We sold milk and cream loose. Customers would bring a glass container and buy these items by the measure . Butter came to us in a large wooden tapered container. To prepare it for sale to customers, we would open up the tapered cone shaped 50 pound or more slab of butter and prepare it for placement in the iced display counter. We would use a slicing tong, which was large enough to surround the slab of butter. The tong was made of steel and a steel wire was attached to this U shaped instrument. We would then slice through the butter making even layers. We re-boxed the slab of butter and put it on display in the glass enclosure. This made it possible to cut the butter to order. Little did we know, that in a short period of time small grocers would be outmoded. Frozen food was being introduced by Birdseye and self service stores were starting up. A&P the largest chain of grocers was starting to close small stores and converting to Supermarkets.

To adjust to this change, Pop started to bring in dried fruits, and appetizers, i.e,herring in barrels and smoked salmon. Because Pop closed his store on Saturday (he was Shomrei Shabbos) observed Saturday, he was permitted to be open on Sundays. (Sunday Blue Law was in effect. Retail shops were closed on Sundays). This created an opportunity for us to develop a good flow of sales in a specialty food business, while still maintaining the dairy butter and eggs and canned foods. Not only did I became an expert Lox slicer, but I got experience in marketing. Be aware of the changing markets and adapt to the change.

During this period, most immigrants were coming in from Europe, many of them Jewish So in order to earn money and support growing families, many went into food businesses. There were Kosher food shops, Deli ’s and dairy restaurants and fish stores. Now, 70+ years later, as I walk thru the city I see ethnic food shops and eateries of every nation in the world and only a few remaining Jewish places to eat. I can relate to all of the new shop owners, having gone through the same experience . But what amuses me is to see an Asian baking Bagels or a Latino slicing Pastrami in a Deli shop, etc. The new immigrants are taking over our ethnic foods. Even in this diner owned by a Greek family, that Mark and I go to on Route 17 for lunch, I get a kick when I order chicken soup with Matzo Ball.

During these four years, working with Pop, I became very close with him. He worked very hard and never complained. He had an optimistic attitude and was very jovial. He was pleasant with the customers, mostly women. In those days females were expected to stay home and raise children. (The good old days). He was observant of all Jewish holidays. Friday nights, the family ate dinner together, after he returned home from shul. Passover holiday was special. We would clean the entire house and change the dishes to eliminate all chumatz. There was also a religious program, where a store owner who owned food that was not for the Holiday,would sell his ownership to a non-Jew for the Passover period and re-take ownership at the end of Passover. I always thought this was strange. There’s a word for this procedure that allows one to maintain his Orthodox belief and still maintain his religious attitude. He cleaned out our stockroom in back of the store and displayed all Kosher for Passover goods, where we would write up special orders for delivery to customer’s homes.

This program was very successful and taught me to seek out special markets.

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En route thru Germany

February 22, 2008 at 7:38 pm · Filed under WWII ·Tagged ,

I’m going to veer away from my chronological trip through memory lane and write when the mood strikes me. While reading a book loaned to me by my friend, Murray Bittman, I was transported back to the year 1945.

The book, which I finished reading yesterday is “The Great Escape” by Kati Marton. It is non-fiction and relates the story of nine Jews who fled Hitler and changed the world. Four scientists, two film directors, one writer and two photographers were driven out of Budapest. The story of their struggles and achievements is inspiring.
What stimulated me to write to my audience is the convergence of my path with the story about Robert Capa . He was a young man who became interested in photography , who fled to Paris and struggled to find work in this field. He became famous as a war photographer. I’m sure that you have heard of him. So, I’m reading how towards the end of the war in June , 1945, he is in Paris having lunch with Irwin Shaw, they see a lovely young lady seated alone in an outdoor cafe. Capa writes a note and sends it via a waiter to her asking for permission to join her. She accepts and they invite her for dinner. And that is the beginning of their love affair. Her name is Ingrid Bergman,who became famous for her appearance in the movie Casablanca.
So, reading this, brought me back to my trip through Germany, during the month of June, 1945. I was on a day of rest with my outfit on the move towards Frankfurt to clear up the airport. I was encamped near Heidelberg and decided to go sight seeing with 3 buddies. We were on this mountain which overlooks the University of Heidelberg and the view of the campus and buildings built in the valley below was simply gorgeous. I took a stroll on this mountain top and saw a PX. As I walked towards it, I see a familiar face emerge dressed in civies, which was unusual, Everyone wore army clothes. As he approached I realized that he is Jack Benny. I was excited and extended my hand ” Hello Mr. Benny, I’m happy to see you. Are you performing to-night. He said ” yes we’re on a USO tour. Come see us and also Larry Adler is performing with his Harmonica and by the way we have a young starlet, a gorgeous young lady performing with me. Wait here with me”. She came out of the PX store shortly. And she came out accompanied by two officers, one on each side of her. Benny turns to the starlet and says “Ingrid, I want you to meet a GI from Brooklyn, Irving Roth” I can’t remember if I said anything, or what. I had a camera with me and did not have the impulse to ask for photos. I don’t think I could talk at that time . Well, I enjoyed the show. However, when this starlet became a celebrity, my memory of this moment became stronger every time I saw her on screen. {I was so flabbergasted, that I didn’t think of having my picture taken with the celebrities. No photos and no signatures.}

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photo industry

February 10, 2008 at 5:22 am · Filed under Photography

In the past few months, three well-known participants in the photo supply business have passed on. It is shocking to get this news . Makes me feel vulnerable. These three were part of my own development and success in the industry. Fred Spira died Sept. 2007, @ age 87 yrs, Bert Keppler @ age 88, and Henry Froelich, Age 85.

Fred Spira was a refugee from Austria arriving here in May 1940, His father had opened a camera shop in Vienna, where Fred got his training . They started a small photo lab, did processing and moved to a store on West 17th Street. From this start, he branched out into mail order sales. He began to import camera accessories using the brand name of Spiratone and built it into a successful business, which he eventually sold for a million dollars, at that time, it was considered a lot of money. He then began collecting photo books and artifacts depicting the growth and development of photo equipment. I met Fred in my early stages when I started my sales rep activities. I called on him to get him to put some of my products into his mail order catalog. Instead, he sold me on the idea to buy his Japanese imports, which he bought in large lots and needed quick turnover. I still recall the first shipment he made to me, a case of panheads that fit on the tripod. They were packed in a large wooden crate and was heavy. The trucker brought it up to our apartment and dropped it on the floor. The impact was so loud, I thought it would go thru the floor. This was the beginning of my import and distributing business. Fred and I would be in touch often at industry meeting. Mark and I visited hin at he Whitestone residence, where he had his collection on display. In his later years, he developed memory loss and faded away from the industry. (FYI go to NYTimes/obituary/Fred Spira, or Google, Fred Spira)

Bert Keppler. This was a shock. I intended to phone him for a lunch and to introduce him to my friend Sol, who had worked as an archivist in a photo library. I knew Bert for over Fifty years. He was actually raised on photography. His father was a well known news photographer, Victor Keppler. But Bert never mentioned him. He attained his own renown through his product reports and related articles in Modern Photography and then Popular Photography. Whenever I brought home a new accessory product, I would have him experiment with it and if he found it useful, he would give me a good writeup. This, of course, was good for me and he got first crack on discovering it. Also, he was very helpful in giving us leads for new products, if he thought we could handle it. He received many awards from photo industry organizations and from the Japanese government. He was an important factor in the promotion of photography. We will miss him.

Henry Froehlich. I saw him recently, just the back of him, at the Photo Show in the Javits Convention Ctr. He was rushing ahead, so I did not speak with him. Now I am sorry. He and I go back a long way. I was an Independent sale rep, selling products to dealers on a commission basis, He had a line of books, printed in Germany, on the use of certain cameras . I sold them to dealers in the New York area The books did not sell in any great quantity. So, we drifted apart. He went into camera imports and I went into accessory imports. He was a good marketing man and attained success in founding the MAC group. He retired in 2006.

While writing this  blog I realize that this period, post World War II to the present, analog photography was a growing field.  We were fortunate to get in at the right time.  The entire business has changed.  ” Imaging”  has replaced  the word for photography.  Look at what happened to Kodak and you can understand how the industry has fared in the past few years.  The old technology is being replaced by new technology and the old photo buffs are being replaced by the new high tech youngsters. That’s life.  Change is always comstant.

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1934, H.S. Grad

February 6, 2008 at 2:25 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged

I graduated from New Utrecht H.S, at the age of 17 ,on the date of my birth June 25. I had advanced one year by the Rapid Advance system in Junior High. In high school, I was still shy and usually took a seat in back of the classroom to avoid being asked questions from teachers. As I look back, , I am trying to recall what interested me most . I was not active in sports or school clubs. I was not advised or pressured by my parents to prepare myself for college, which is prevalent these days. I had no concern for my next move. Because of Early Decision, I knew the I would be attending the Roth Institute of Business, starting September.

It’s wonderful to be able to look back at one’s past and be able to recall how past learning and activities helped me in later life. In Yeshiva, I learned Hebrew and Yiddish. In Jr. High, I learned Latin, and in High School, I studied Spanish. Who could foresee that my aptitude for languages would serve me well in the future years.

Another area of exposure for a growing child , I’m talking about me, was the family grownups, my two brothers and my sister Reggie. How did each one affect my future life? My brother Jack was the number one son. He was 9 years older than me. He was my bed companion for many years and who I loved and admired. He was handsome, smart and convivial, and most of all a good dancer. In our living room, we had a large Victrola. In those days it was a piece of furniture. The turntable was a 78 RPM and played large records. The dance music was waltz and fox-trot. Many evenings, we would have jamborees. I can still see Jack trying so hard to teach me dancing. Shlepping and pushing me and trying to get me to capture the rhythm of the music. Well, I did develop into a good dancer, all due to his efforts. And do you know how it affected my future life? Well, I met Shirley at a dance in Menora Temple and as soon as we danced to Benny Goodman’s swing, we never stopped , except for 3 year Army service.

Brother William (Bill) was 7 years older than me. He was a very friendly person. He favored sport activities and had a hobby collecting Motion Picture critiques printed in the Daily News. He would collect the year’s reports and then bind them in hard covers. (I wonder where they went} He also had many glossy portraits of stars and especially the gorgeous ones, Betty Grable, Rita Hayworth, etc. While going through his papers, I happened upon a brochure from the New York Inst. of Photography. This interested me and I wrote for complete information and applied to study there, during the evenings, after work at the grocery store. Well, you all know the results.

Sister Reggie, my guardian angel, was 4 years older than me. She encouraged me to go to night school, prior to my entry into N.Y. I. She pushed me to attend evening classes with her. Probably she had seen the art work I made from paper art. I had found paper art done by Jack Kurtz a cousin who resided in our apartment in Williamsburg, when he attended Columbia University. These were folded sheets, torn or scissored in various angles, When opened up, it created a design of abstract visions. But I went a step further. I would trace the entire sheet on a piece of paper and then try to create unusual designs with the use of color. I used colored crayons and placed the drawings in a file. I forgot them, when I became interested in photography. Years later, Blanche told me she had put them into a book. (I have not found them). From these art classes I migrated to photography.

Combining the above with my future business attendance at Roth’s Institute, gave me a solid foundation when I entered the the competitive world. It was not easy, because of the depression and also the war. Since you all know the results, I will take my time in exposing my success story. Stay tuned and send comments.

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Street education

February 1, 2008 at 4:18 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged

I hope that you do not get the impression that my early childhood was difficult and devoid of pleasure and excitement. It was not all work and no play. The street was our playground. Our house was part of a new development, mixed in with previous 4 family homes and a 5 story apartment house on corner of 46th Street and 9th Avenue. So, we had a diverse group, mostly Jewish, with many young teen-agers. Our street provided a good playground for us, where we played ball games, played cards, rolled dice, learned about sex,etc.

These are some of my memories: (1) Law Enforcement. We were playing handball, using a Spalding brand ball that we could hit without pain to our hand. It had a good bounce and kept us alert and active. There were 4 of us playing (2 teams of 2) with 2 other on the sidelines. The wall we hit the ball on was part of the Ritz Theater. We had no idea that the ball would create noise that penetrated the wall and disturbed the audience inside the movie house. We learned this, to our regret, when 2 police cars descended on us , due to a complaint by the manager of the theater. One officer grabbed me, gently, and said “Come with me”. He walked me to his car and seated me in the front passenger seat. He took out a small pad and asked me for my name, which he wrote in the pad. He was very gentle and said ” I don’t want to be called again on this silly complaint. So stay away from the movie house and have fun elsewhere. Now, get your friends together and play punchball, instead”. My anxiety turned into a sigh of relief.

(2) Horticulture. Our houses , the 2 family units had a small garden in front, between the steps leading to the first floor and the second floor apartments. Normally, there would be grass and some hedges and a small tree. I don’t think that we paid too much attention to our garden. The envy of our neighbors was the garden in front of the Spanierman house. This was attended to by old man Spanierman, who knew when to rush out into the street with his pail and shovel, when a horse would drop a load in the gutter. He must have had a sensitive nose. He taught us the importance of good fertilizer for successful gardening. He taught us to use crap.

(3)”Rolling the dice) We called it shooting crap. We were all in our early teens and we would gather in the alley behind the Ritz Theater, to roll dice. The bets were small. Pennies, a nickel, sometimes a dime. The biggest gambler and our teacher was a son of old man Spanierman. I forgot his name. He was a brother to my friend Ira . He was several years older than us and was a hobo. He rode the rails, hitching rides on railroad cars and appeared home at irregular intervals. I forgot his name, but I have always remembered his pet phrase when he wanted us to place bets . “If you don’t speculate you don’t accumulate”. He taught us how to shoot crap.

P.S.. Ira, my friend, became an art dealer. We lost track of each other.The hobo became a cab driver. I met him occasionally at the Belmont diner, after work, where I went to eat, on my way to night school, years later.

(4) Sex lesson. I was in the patio room reading a book, which I did often during the summer. I heard a lot of barking and yelling. Curious at this noisy commotion, I rushed to the door and looked towards the corner of 8th Avenue. I saw an unusual sight. Young and adult people on both sides of the street watching a male dog mounted on a female dog. They were barking from pain and were twisting and turning trying to unlock themselves. The bystanders were yelling and screaming advice until a resident emerged from a nearby house with a pail of hot water. She poured it on the male and the female. The impact did the trick and they tore loose from each other. A lesson learned. If the male and female are a bad fit, physically and mentally, you’ll get into hot water.

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