I was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1976 and shortly after, we sold the store and the building in which we spent more than a quarter century. Momma walked out of the store and swore that she would never work another day in her life. This lasted about two weeks and she let it be known that she was looking for a job. Arnold did business with a storage and moving company, Economy Delivery, Inc. The lady who worked in the office was pregnant and was leaving soon. Arnold spoke to the owner, Vincent Horan, who told Arnold to have Momma come in. She worked there until she retired in 1992. The office and warehouse was located off of Reisterstown Road where the railroad bridge crosses it. It was back along the road which runs East alongside the railroad tracks. It was small and cramped but Momma loved it. She accessed all of her knowledge about how to run a successful business and applied it to Economy Delivery, Inc. The business prospered and moved several times to larger and larger quarters. When Momma reached 65 years of age, she retired. We have remained close friends with Vince and Barbara Horan and keep in touch with then to this day. I suspect that Momma did not want to retire but I had retired two years earlier and this was our chance to do things that we never had time to do during our lives.

About 1989 (I am not certain of the date) all the children were out of the house on their own. It was time to dispose of Byers Court and move on. We were not certain that we would like apartment living so we decided to rent. Ingram Manor was an old apartment building at Park Heights and Slade Avenues owned by Howard Brown. He was rehabilitating the building, apartment by apartment. We looked at an apartment on the fourth floor which was perfect for our needs; living room, dining room, kitchen, two bedrooms, two baths, a den and a balcony. It was not completely rehabilitated but Brown promised to complete the work quickly. He did not keep his promises. We continuously had problems with the air conditioning and the stove and the refrigerator. There was one passenger elevator and one service elevator. They worked and did not work. I spent a good amount of time calling about the deficiencies. I finally went to his office and sat until he would talk to me. It did not help much. We had a lease that expired in June, but in March, we received a letter from Brown demanding that we move immediately. We did with alacrity. Shortly after, we received a letter from his attorney demanding rent for the months until June. I made a copy of Brown’s letter demanding that we move out and sent it to the lawyer. We never heard from him again.

We discovered that we liked apartment living but did not like renting. We discovered the Elmont 12 blocks South of Ingram Manor on Park Heights Avenue. It had the same number of rooms. We lived there on the fourth floor until 1997. Mott and Lucille Stanchfield lived in our villa in Tamarac until 1994. When they moved out and we completely rehabilitated the place, we would go down for various periods of time. We bought a used Dodge Lancer and kept it there so that we would have two vehicles. There were times when we would spend several months there during the years. I tried and tried to convince Momma to sell the Elmont and move to Florida permanently. She resisted. One night we ate Chinese and when we opened up the fortune cookies, they both contained the same message, “You will soon move to a warmer clime.” Claude was transferred to Coral Springs, Florida and the rest of his family would soon follow. Momma relented and we sold the Elmont and we became residents of Florida on January 2, 1997. We took the auto train with our two vehicles to Florida. The villa was small, 1200 square feet and we felt cramped. Momma wanted to move to larger quarters. I used the same formula; go look, find a place you like and if I like it, we’ll buy it. Our next door neighbor in Tamarac moved to Delray Beach. We looked at several homes there and found 7677 Mansfield Hollow Road. And best of all, it was a house. It was 1820 square feet and suited us perfectly. There was a living room, dining room, kitchen, two bedrooms, two full baths, a den and an office. There was a large screened patio which overlooked a lake. There was also a one-car garage. We moved in the day before Thanksgiving, 1999. Momma was 72 years of age and I was 74.

We moved into Merville Avenue in May, 1959 and lived there until just before Thanksgiving, 1973. Amy was enrolled in Pamlico Middle School located at park Heights Avenue and Northern Parkway. Late one Friday afternoon Larry was driving home up Northern Parkway when he saw five black girls chasing two white girls. He saw long black hair streaming behind one of the white girls. It was his sister, Amy. He stopped the car and scattered the chasers. That evening when Momma came home and learned of the incident, she proclaimed, “We’re moving!” Sunday, a realtor that we knew, Richard Goodman, came to Merville Avenue and we put the house up for sale. I told Momma, “Look for a house and when you find one you like, I’ll go look at it. If I like it, we’ll buy it.” She found 3 Byers Court in Randallstown. When I walked in, I knew that this was it! It was located at the head of a court on ¾ of an acre. It had a full basement, a living room, dining room, kitchen, family room and den on the first floor and four bedrooms on the second floor. It also had two and a half baths. Sliding doors opened from the family room onto a deck. With what we received for Merville Avenue we were able to pay for the house without financing. Most of the children were on their own and did not live there. In warm weather, all gathered for Sunday brunch and to play volley ball in the back yard. I built a room in the basement where Larry and David returned to live periodically.

I had my first heart attack in April, 1982. Momma’s Aunt and Uncle, Sarah and Lou Music owned a condo in Tamarac, Florida. They offered to allow us to use it. We went to Florida in the late summer of 1982. One morning, we drove to the shopping center at Commercial and University Boulevards. We walked around looking in the windows of the stores. We stopped at a real estate office and looked at pictures of properties that were for sale. A salesman came out and asked, “Would you like to look at some properties? I’ll be glad to show you some.” We had nothing to do so we got in his car. He showed us several condos which did nothing for us. We had no intention of buying anything. He drove down a road and pulled into a development to turn around. “We like these,” I said. The homes were villas: five one story row houses. He said, “There are none for sale now, but I sold one several months ago and I am certain that you could look at it.” The villa had a kitchen, living room, dining room, two bedrooms, two full baths and a garage. I gave him my card and said, “Call me when one is for sale.” I never thought I would hear from him again. Several months later he called to say that he had one for sale. I asked my brother, Marvin to look at it and if the price was good, to buy it. We bought it sight unseen. We went to dinner with cousins and told them about the purchase. I needed financing so I asked if they could recommend a bank. How much do you need?” he asked. “About $35,000.00,” I replied. “I’ll loan it to you,” he said. “No interest. Pay me when you can.” I was flabbergasted! Several weeks later we needed the money and after dinner, we went to their home. From the closet, he brought several shoe boxes full of ten and twenty dollar bills. Momma and my cousin sat at the kitchen table and counted out $35,000.00! We put it in a shopping bag and that’s how carried it to the settlement! The property came with a tenant and they wanted to live there. I wrote to them and told them that as long as they did not cause me any expense, the rent would not be increased. Mott and Lucille Stanchfield stayed until 1994. We never saw them or talked to them. Mott would write and say that the living/dining room needed painting and if I would pay for the paint, he would do the painting. I told him to buy the paint and take the price off of the rent check and put the receipt in with it. That is how we did it for twelve years. In 1994, Mott called and told us that Lucille had been transferred to Melbourne, Florida and they had to move. When we walked into the house, my heart fell. The carpet was threadbare, wisps of drapes hung from the windows and the appliances were a disaster. We cleaned everything out, from the concrete floors to the popcorn ceiling. We bought all new appliances and decided not to rent it. We furnished it and used it periodically until 1997 when we sold the condo in the Elmont and moved permanently to Florida.

I Become A Lawyer

At this point, I would like to ask our children, all thirteen of them, to contribute their stories and not wait until they are eighty-four years old. I am certain that their children would find them interesting.

When Bill Welsh found me in the Speaker’s office in early 1966, he was there to ask that a bill be introduced. Each year, for the past several years, he attempted to enact a law which would give the Division the authority to collect wages for employees who worked and were not paid the wages due. I had become friendly with many members of the Legislature. Among them were Alex Resnick, the Delegate from the 5th District in Baltimore City and Joseph Long, the State Senator from Salisbury on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. With the help of the Speaker’s secretary, Grace Donald and Alex Resnick and Joe Long, the bill was enacted and signed by the Governor. It was assigned to the Employment Standards Service for enforcement. The Chief, Arthur Williams, had no idea how to do this. I was called into the office to devise procedures. I created two forms; one a detailed form which gave a wage-hour investigator all the information needed to investigate and a second form with the bare essentials. The short form was sent was sent to the employer together with a letter. The letter told the employer that a claim had been filed by an employee or ex-employee that he had worked and was not paid the wages due. If the employer agreed that the wages were due, send a check and resolve the matter. If a check was not received within ten days, a wage-hour investigator would be at the employer’s place of business on (date) and (time) to discuss and resolve the claim. The workload of the Service greatly increased. At the time of my retirement in 1990, more than a million dollars was collected annually for employees who had filed claims. I was anxious to get back on the street where I could be back in the store by early afternoon.

When I became Chief in 1969 one of my duties was to interpret the laws assigned to the Service. For example; the Wage Collection Law applied to employees and employers. I was required to decide who was an employee and who was an independent contractor to whom the law did not apply. When I had questions, I would call one of my friends who was a lawyer. I hesitated to do this. When I discussed this with Momma, she suggested that I enroll in Law School and take a few courses until I could make these decisions without the assistance of my lawyer friends. So I enrolled in the Law School at the University of Baltimore. I began by taking two courses twice each week, at night. I left the office on Preston Street at 4:30 and walked over to the University of Baltimore on Charles Street. Momma picked me up at 10:00 o’clock, two evenings each week. At the end of the semester, I took two more courses and then two more courses. Suddenly, in 1975, I had eighty credits, enough to graduate and take the Bar Exam. I was in no hurry: becoming a member of the Bar would not increase my employment status. I took the Bar Exam in 1976 and was sworn in later that year. The swearing in was conducted at the Court of Appeals in Annapolis. Each new lawyer was given two tickets for guests to attend. I took Momma and Amy. After the ceremony, we walked to the State House and the Governor’s Office. Marvin Mandel had become Governor and Grace Donald had become the Governor’s Secretary. Unfortunately Marvin was not there but Grace took Amy into the Governor’s office and Amy sat in the Governor’s Chair behind the Governor’s desk. I showed Grace the Certificate I received and she offered to have it framed. It hangs over my desk on Mansfield Hollow Road.

By 1976, most of the children had moved into their own homes and apartments. My salary was sufficient and we no longer needed the earnings of the Kenmar Food Market. We sold the store and the building at 301 South Stricker Street and a new door opened for Momma.

Restless

Working in the General Assembly during the 1965 session introduced me to a new world. I became restless. The store was boring! There was no challenge. We had come as far as we could go with the store. Larry and Arnold were 15 years old and were a big help in the store. Momma said, “Why don’t you look into a State job?” So I called Marvin Mandel and he sent me to Henry Miller, Commissioner of Labor and Industry. Henry Miller sent me to William R. Welch, Deputy Commissioner. The Division was run by the Deputy Commissioner. The Commissioner came into the office a couple of times during the week. He had a thriving law practice and spent the vast majority of his time there. Bill Welch told me that I had to take a test. So I took the test and scored 105. A veteran got an extra ten points but they deducted five points because I spelled my name wrong; I left out the “d.” On the day before Thanksgiving, 1965, I reported for work at the State Office Complex on Preston Street, mezzanine floor. I was a wage-hour investigator. My duties, among others, were to visit places of business and examine the payroll records to insure that the minimum wage was being paid. The Chief, Arthur Williams was an old State employee who was Chief because he was the oldest Safety inspector and the only one who resided in the Baltimore area. The other three wage-hour investigators worked and lived in Hagerstown, Crisfield and Southern Maryland. The wage-hour investigators did not come into the office. All assignments and reports were sent to the office by mail. This was perfect! I would open the store at seven, Momma would get the children off to school, and come to the store about ten o’clock. I would go out and complete a day’s work by one o’clock and come back to the store. Momma would go home sometimes in the afternoon and I would stay and close the store at seven. Perfect!!!

One Monday afternoon in early 1966, I went to Annapolis to visit my friends, Marvin Mandel’s secretaries in the Speakers office. Who should walk in but Bill Welch, the Deputy Commissioner. “What are you doing here?” he asked. I stammered, “I finished up an audit and it was too late to start another here in Annapolis so I though that I would visit my friends in the Speaker’s Office. Let me introduce you.” To have friends in the Speaker’s office was a big, big thing because all legislation went through the Speaker’s office. When, a few years later, I wanted a bill heard, Grace Donald picked up the phone, called the Chairman of that committee, and said,” Marvin wants this bill heard as soon as possible.” Marvin never even heard of the bill! So I grew ten feet taller in Bill Welch’s estimation. Anyone who had the ear of the secretaries was a definite asset.

Then, in 1968, disaster struck for Arthur Williams and another door was opened for me. Arthur had diabetes and did not take care of himself. He was rushed to the hospital and he never returned. I was made acting Chief and on January I, 1969, became Chief, Employment Standards Service where I remained until June 30, 1990. This posed a problem because it was an 8:30 to 4:30 job. Momma had to come to the store earlier and leave later. I opened the store at seven, Momma came and I went to work. She stayed until I got back. I was late to work often and left early often. The Service now operated on complaints only and was very efficient. So as long as the Deputy Commissioner did not receive complaints from our complainers, I was left alone, especially with my influence in Annapolis. On Saturday, Larry and Arnold would come to the store with me. They would go to services at a store-front shul on Baltimore Street. Larry became 13 years old and when they found out, the next Saturday he was called to the Torah. The first time a boy is called to the Torah, he is Bar Mitzvah. So Larry was Bar Mitzvah in than store-front shul on Baltimore Street. Marc would come to the store with me on Sunday morning. Risa, Phyllis and Amy helped in the house. Everybody helped. They had to!

Change of Life

One event may make vast changes in our lives. Such an event occurred when Charlie Oberman walked through the door of the Kenmar Food Market. A food product moved from the Manufacturer to the Food Broker to the wholesaler to the Food Market to the Consumer. Charlie Oberman was a Representative of a Food Broker. He would travel to Food Markets and sell the food products represented by the Food Broker. Charlie had a brother, Irving (known as “Obie’). Obie was the driver and “gopher” for Samuel N. Friedel, United States Congressman for the Fifth Congressional District of Maryland. Samuel N. Friedel and Marvin Mandel, the Delegate from the Fifth District to Maryland State House of Delegates operated the Crosstown Democratic Club whose sole purpose was to elect and re-elect Sam and Marvin. Charlie Oberman introduced me to the Crosstown Democratic Club. We met every Tuesday evening in a long room above a saloon on Park Heights Avenue just south of Hayward Avenue. Every candidate for political office who ran in the Fifth District came to the Crosstown to seek support; from governors to United States Senators down through Baltimore City Councilmen, they all came to the Crosstown. Meeting these important people was pretty heady stuff for a grocer from Stricker Street. David Kramer was the President of the Crosstown. He wasn’t a white collar worker: he was a black collar worker. He worked for a rag processor and got pretty dirty. Dave was a smart, articulate man so Sam Friedel got him a Federal job promoting United States Government Bonds. But Dave now came within the jurisdiction of the Hatch Act which prohibited Federal employees to be officers of a political club. Dave asked me to become President of the Crosstown. I was terrified! I had never even spoken to a group but Dave promised me his full support. So I became president for two terms. Part of the job was to introduce the candidates who came to the Crosstown. Among many others, I introduced Governor Millard Tawes and Senator Sarbanes and a candidate for the Baltimore City Council, one William Donald Schaeffer. Pretty heady stuff for a grocer from Stricker Street. Sometimes I would bring Larry and Arnold to the meetings.

Sam Friedel began his campaign for re-election the day after he was elected. Whenever a Crosstown member spoke with a family member or friend he reminded them to vote for Sam. We put signs on our vehicles and in our front yards and in our friend’s and neighbor’s front yards and windows. One year I drove Sam to the many Democratic Clubs on Belair Road along the Eastern border of Baltimore. They were usually located in a tavern. Sam would go in, buy a couple rounds of drinks and shake hands with everyone. He would, of course, also have a couple of drinks. By the end of the evening, Sam was feeling no pain. He was feeling nothing! On Election Day, we would man the polls, distributing literature to the voters. On election night, we would gather at the Crosstown to monitor the results. It was so different from the Kenmar Food Market.

The Kenmar Food Market was very successful. We had pretty much all the business within a radius of about three blocks and had expanded as much as was physically possible. I had looked into buying a small supermarket, but when examining the financial records, I found that the net annual profit was no greater than that of the Kenmar Food Market. It was simply a lot more work for the same money. The operation was now almost automatic. I was restless.

I asked Marvin Mandel if I could work for the Maryland Legislature during the 1965 Session. Marvin had been elected Speaker of the House of Delegates. A loyal member of the club was awarded “time” as a reward for his work. He would go to Annapolis, swear in as an employee, never go back and receive a check for 10 days work, $100.00. Marvin said, “ Sure, I’ll put you on for ten days.” “No”, I replied. “I want to work.” “Okay,” he said. “Come to my office on opening day and we’ll work something out.” So on opening day, I went to the office of the Speaker of the House of Delegates and met Grace Donald and Laura Rowell, secretaries to the Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates. I became the Administrative Assistant to the Speaker.

And through all this, the Kenmar Food Market operated. Momma spent many hours in the store as did Larry and Arnold. The other children helped in the house. We all worked together. I don’t believe we knew what we were doing; we just did it!

Passover

For some 45 0r 50 years we made Pesach in our home. We cleansed the house of chometz and ate only foods that were certified “kosher for Passover.” We conducted a seder the first two nights. Our parents, grandparents, our children and always one or more family members or guests came. I conducted the service and Momma served the foods she had prepared for days. As our family grew, the attendees grew and there were usually at least thirty of us. As we grew older, we attended seders conducted by our children for their children. Because that is really the purpose of the seder; to teach the children that Avodim hoyenu l’Pharoh b’Mitryim: we were slaves to Pharoh in Egypt and to explain how we were brought out by the strong hand and outstretched arm of the Lord.

The service really begins when the young child asks why this night is different than all the other nights. Why can’t we eat challah and Jewish rye (with seeds, of course) and rolls with onions baked through them? Why do we have to eat this tasteless dry matzoh? And why do we have to eat this bitter stuff dipped in salt water instead of peas and corn and baked beans? And what is this charoseth stuff? And how come I don’t have to sit up straight but can lean to the side and relax? And what’s that piece of bone on that plate along with an egg and that other stuff?

Father holds up the piece of matzoh and explains that this is the “bread of affliction” eaten by the Hebrew slaves in Egypt. Joseph had risen from a slave to second in command to Pharoh and had invited his entire family of Hebrews to come to Egypt to live. They were few in numbers at the time. But over the years they prospered and grew. Pharoh died and another Pharoh ruled. He became afraid of the Hebrews; afraid that they would seize power and his throne. So he confiscated their property and enslaved them. The bitter stuff symbolizes the bitter life they led. The salt water symbolizes they tears that they shed. The charoseth symbolizes the mortar that they used to build cities for Pharoh. And we sit leaning and relaxed because that is how free people eat: relaxed and not fearful of the overseer’s whip.

Father goes on to tell how the Lord chose Moses to free the Hebrews and lead them out of Egypt to the “promised land.” How Pharoh refused to “let my people go!” How ten plagues were visited upon the people of Egypt. And how Pharoh agreed to allow the Hebrews to go out of Egypt only after the tenth plague which killed the first born of every living Egyptian and their beasts. That piece of bone is there so that we remember the lamb that was slaughtered and the blood of which was smeared on the door post of each Hebrew home so that the angel of death would “Passover” that home on the night of the killing of the first born. That is why we put a mezuzah on our door post. We remember the ten plagues by spilling a drop of wine for each plague. The Hebrews had to get out in a hurry and did not have time to let the dough rise for the bread that they were making. So they packed it up and carried it in the broiling sun. It baked into the hard stuff we now call matzoh. The egg symbolizes our hope in our children for the future.

Today our children are grown and married and have their own children and grandchildren for whom to conduct a seder. We are gratified to see them gather together to celebrate Passover and when possible, attend their seder. But that’s okay. That is how life progresses and that is how it should be. But we will continue to raise and drink our four glasses of wine and say, “L’chaim. To life!”

Post-1959

1959 became the beginning of many changes in our lives. We had decided that it was desirable that our children grow up in a Jewish environment. Momma started to look. One afternoon in early 1959 our friend, Irv Abramowitz stopped in the store between appointments. We discussed moving. That evening, his wife, Grace, called Momma. Her parents were empty nesters and lived in a six bedroom, 2 ½ bath house at the corner of Merville Avenue and Ken Oak Road. This is one block north of Rogers Avenue and six blocks east of Park Heights Avenue. Grace told us that they were anxious to move to a small house on Glen Avenue. We made an appointment to see her parents and the house. The house sat on a ¼ acre with a two car garage behind it. There were four porches, three covered, in front and in back, of the first two floors. There was a very large entrance hall with a breakfast room, kitchen, pantry and half bath behind it. To the left was a living room with a fire place (gas) and a dining room behind that. The living room had parquetry wood floors. The walls were plaster covered by linen cloth and painted. There was molding on the walls to make a center frame. Grace’s mother said that she had had a seated dinner for 100 guests in that house. From the entrance hall, stairs led to the second floor. Three bedrooms, a den and a full bath were on the second floor. The den opened up to the covered rear porch. The front bedroom opened up to the uncovered front porch. Momma and I were in the front bedroom, Risa had one bedroom and Phyllis and Amy shared the other bedroom.

The third floor held two bedrooms and a full bath. There were eaves alongside each bedroom. Marc had the small rear bedroom and Larry, Arnold and David had the front bedroom. Marc established a workbench under the eaves where he promptly disassembled anything he could spirit upstairs. When the toaster went missing, it appeared disassembled on Marc’s workbench. There was a full basement with two rooms. I used one for and office and we used the other one for storage. The walls were two feet thick made of stone.

The Zervitzes asked $12,500.00 for the house. Momma and I walked out onto the front porch, looked at each other, nodded and knocked on the door. We moved in May, 1959. Northern Parkway was due to be built alongside the house, but it only took a small triangle from the southwest corner of the property. One night about four o’clock in the morning, we heard a loud crash. Am employee driving to work at Koontz Dairy, located at Northern Parkway and Reisterstown Road failed to make the turn and ended up against the tree in the front yard. Both the tree and the employee survived; the vehicle did not.

One afternoon, Marc came running down the stairs shrieking, “They got pictures of naked ladies hanging up.” Momma and I trudged up to the third floor and saw no such hangings in the front bedroom. Marc reached up and pulled down the window blind. Larry had taped a Playboy centerfold to the inside of the window blind. When it was up, the picture was not visible. I seem to recall that we permitted them to keep it there. The boys bathed in the tub on the third floor. Arnold hated to take a bath so he threw dirt in the water. “Of course I took a bath and washed,” he said. “Can’t you see how dirty the water is?” David did not go to summer camp but spent uncounted hours in the backyard with Glenn Gibson building roads for the many matchbox cars that they had accumulated. There was always a pool in the backyard and the neighborhood children always found their way there. We always had animals. I recall a dog, Lucky, who ran out into Northern Parkway and was struck by a vehicle. He did not live up to his name. I believe that our children feel that Merville Avenue was among the best years of their lives.

Risa transferred to Arlington Elementary School where I had attended some twenty five years before. One of her teachers, Mrs. Wallenstein was my sixth grade teacher. Small world! Larry and Arnold and Marc went to the Talmudical Academy. Phyllis and Amy went to Arlington. I spent nearly an hour commuting to the store, but it was worth it. We lived in a Jewish environment. Ben Leibowitz, my sister Ruth’s husband, taught Momma how to drive and we acquired the “tired monster.” After the children came home, Momma left them with Risa and came to the store. Sometimes she came down to the store after they left for school and came back when they came home. Everyone pitched in and helped. With seven children, there was just too much to do for just one mother and one father.