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!