Continuing Saga

1949 came to an end and we had a great New Year’s Eve. Laurence and Arnold appeared on the scene September 30, 1950, nine months later. Two cribs made their appearance in the tiny apartment above the store. Eight days later the Bris occurred in the apartment. It was traumatic for the boys; they did not walk for a year! Sales slowly increased as our customers got used to us and we provided many services in addition to selling them groceries. We sold postage stamps and money orders. Our customers did not have bank accounts so we cashed their pay checks and sold them money orders (checks) when they needed to send a check to pay a bill. If someone came in and asked for an item which we did not carry, we added it to the inventory. Our fathers, Willie Golberg and Sam Hoffman visited the store daily. They were very helpful. Remember we were 24 and 22 years old. Sam Hoffman had a cake route. He sold cake, cookies, potato chips, candy and other snack items to groceries like ours. He sold cakes from the Kunkel and Haverstick Bakery Willie Golberg left work at five o’clock and swung by the store on the way home.

Daily deliveries of bread and milk were made. Transactions were cash on delivery. You had to check everybody. The soda delivery men had a favorite trick. Sodas came in wooden boxes with 24 compartments and one soda fit in one compartment. They would bring in a stack of five cases. From the center of the bottom four cases they would remove four bottles, leaving 20 bottles in each case and charging for 24. It could not be seen until the top case was removed. That stopped after the first inspection caught it.

One evening Willie Golberg came in and found two insurance salesmen trying to sell me life insurance. He chased them out and said, “If you want to buy life insurance, I will send you someone.” So, one evening after I closed the store, J. Max Abramowitz came along with his son, Irving J. I was to be Irving’s client. I came in from the store, took off my bloody, dirty apron and washed my hands. We all sat down at the kitchen table. Irving was a stiff, serious young man. He continuously toyed with a ring on his finger. When I asked what that was, he replied, ”This is my school ring. I graduated from the Johns Hopkins University.” I said,” I have one like that.” I reached into the cutlery drawer in the kitchen table. “Mine has 1948 on it.” We became very close friends and remain so to this day. He would stop at the store during the day when he had some free time between appointments, sometimes for lunch. He would eat in our home because we kept Kosher. He married Grace Zerewitz who Momma knew since they were eight years old. Grace’s mother was Annie Pariser, daughter of Joseph Pariser who bought Morganstern’s Bakery on Christian Street where Esther Poloway lived and above where Abraham Poloway rented a room to sew pants. Small world, isn’t it?

Irving had a friend, Norbert Grunwald, a stockbroker, who began an investment club. Irving brought me into the club. We invested $10.00 per month and bought stocks with it. We met once each month for breakfast and discussion. I met many other young men my age, among them, one Buzzy Berg who later married Elayne Plimack and sired one Richard Stuart Berg. Small world, isn’t it?

We had a five year lease which would expire in 1954. The landlord was reluctant to maintain the property and problems arose. The property known as 301 South Stricker Street, caddy corner from the store, came up for sale. Willie Golberg managed to secure financing and we bought the property as joint tenants. The first floor was rented as a warehouse and the upper two floors were rented as apartments. The rents paid the mortgage and expenses.

On April 19, 1953 Marc AND Phyllis Sue arrived. Surprise, surprise!! We expected only one. Five children within 47 months. The apartment above the store became much too small. A three store house at 1512 McHenry Street became available and we became homeowners with a mortgage. We put down $2,500.00 and borrowed $3,000.00. We were almost the typical American family; children, a used car and a mortgage. All that was missing was a dog.