Education

Jews are known as “People of the Book,” loosely translated as favoring study and education. And William Golberg was fully a Jew in this respect. Although his formal education consisted of night school to learn to read, write and speak English upon his arrival in the United States in 1914, he was determined to insure that his children were educated. This meant a college education for the boys and a high school education for the girls as was the custom in those days.

The language spoken at home was Yiddish; Russian among the adults when they did not want the children to know what was being said. When Kenneth was enrolled in kindergarten in 1930 at Arlington Elementary School #234 at Rogers and Magnolia Avenue, he could not speak English, only Yiddish. By the time he reached the first grade in 1931, he was fluent in English. He was a bright child and during his enrollment in elementary school, was advanced a half grade. He completed elementary school in February, 1937. He was sent to Junior High School #49 where the seventh, eighth and ninth grades were completed in two years. School #49 was located in a row building on Cathedral Street across from what is now the Meyerholl. It was probably and individual home. It consisted of a building of classrooms and an administrative office, a large cemented courtyard behind the school and a small gymnasium at the rear, fronting on Maryland Avenue. Other that the accelerated pace, Kenneth can remember that Latin was taught. He had no problem; learning came easy to him.

Kenneth wanted to go to City College where all the Jewish boys went. William insisted that he attend Baltimore Polytechnic Institute (Poly) and William was correct. Poly’s reputation was such that graduates of Poly’s A course were admitted to the second year of college. Kenneth was admitted to the B course because it was required that a student begin the A course in the ninth grade and Kenneth began Poly in the tenth grade having completed the ninth grade at School #49. Poly was located on North Avenue at Calvert Street. Kenneth was not quite fourteen years old when he began Poly in February, 1939, immature and small for a high school student. That and being Jewish, a very small group at Poly, made social action with other students non-existent. Kenneth graduated in February, 1942, not quite seventeen years old. As usual, everything came easily to him; there was no problem getting excellent grades. Poly was basically a school which prepared students for an engineering degree offering such subjects and steam, electricity, chemistry and calculus. William had made a good choice.

However, William’s choice of college was not a good one. William believed that a profession was the best choice for a career; medicine, dentistry, law or pharmacy. Pharmacy was the only one which did not require an advanced degree; so pharmacy was it!

Kenneth spent the period between February, 1942 and September, 1942 working full time as a meat cutter in a supermarket and saved enough to pay all expenses at the University of Maryland, School of Pharmacy located at Calvert and Greene Streets. He hated it! It was boring. He had studied all the required courses at Poly except Zoology. He was required to take Algebra, having taken, Geometry, Solid Geometry and Calculus at Poly. He joined a Jewish Pharmaceutical fraternity, Phi Alpha.

World War II was raging and Kenneth received notice that he was to be inducted in the Armed Forces shortly after he completed the first year of Pharmacy School in May, 1943. In July, 1943 he was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia for basic training. After basic training. He was assigned to the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) and sent to the University of Maine in December, 1943. (The ASTP was held in disdain by those enrolled in it. We sang, “Your son wants to fight for his country but first he must get his degree. So take down that service flag, mother, your son’s in the ASTP.”) Plans were being made for invasion of Europe and infantry soldiers were needed. The ASTP was disbanded and everyone was sent to Fort Jackson to be trained for the invasion in February, 1944. While on maneuvers in Tennessee shortly thereafter, Kenneth was injured severely enough to be given a medical discharge in August, 1945.

Among the benefits offered honorably discharged veterans by the G.I. Bill was a four year expense paid college education with a $90.00 per month stipend. William wanted Kenneth to return to Pharmacy school but with maturity and financial independence due to the G.I. Bill, Kenneth rebelled and enrolled at the Johns Hopkins University in September, 1945 majoring in Economics. A student was permitted to take as many credits as he wished; Kenneth graduated in February, 1948 with a Bachelors degree in Business. He could not join a fraternity at Johns Hopkins because the belonged to a fraternity at Pharmacy School and his fraternity did not have a chapter at Johns Hopkins. But he was welcome at the fraternity houses of Alpha Epsilon Phi and Phi Delta, the two Jewish fraternities at Johns Hopkins. It was at the AEPi house that he met his bashert, Marcie Hoffman.

Kenneth worked with the Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. The hours were long because he commuted to work, by street car, train and bus. This was unsatisfactory in that he and Marcie became engaged in March, 1948. He had terminated this employment when they were married September 12, 1948. He had one additional year left under the G.I. Bill and when a suitable employment opportunity did not arise he went back to Johns Hopkins for a Masters degree in Marketing. The monthly government stipend was $105.00 monthly for married couples and Kenneth and Marcie managed.

At this point, Kenneth’s education was interrupted by the obligations imposed by a growing family. In 1965, Risa, the oldest child was sixteen and Amy, the youngest, was seven. Kenmar Food Market was well established and prospered. Kenneth took a job with the State of Maryland, Department of Labor and Industry. In November, 1965. By January, 1969 he was Chief, Employment Standards Service with a staff of thirty-five. Among his duties was the interpretation of the laws administered by the Service. His knowledge of law was non-existent. Marcie suggested that he enroll in law school and take a few courses to acquaint himself with enough law to adequately perform is duties. He enrolled at the University of Baltimore, School of Law in September, 1969 and took several courses at night. One course led to another and by 1975, he had amassed eighty credits, enough to graduate. In 1976, he took the Bar Exam and was sworn in as a member of the Maryland State Bar that year. His formal education was complete.

Subsequently, Kenneth continued his education at the School of Hard Knocks, whose colors are, not surprisingly, black and blue.