This was written by Ida Fletman, I believe. Everything in brackets is my comments. __________________________________________________ Part 1. During my mother's [Sarah Fletman, I believe.] last illness she often reminisced about the Russia she left in 1907. [Nearly 1.29 million immigrants entered the United States in 1907.] She remembered the rich black earth that provided food for the family during the spring and summer, the immense forests where they gathered mushrooms and nuts. The forests were so vast and thick with trees that young people traveled in groups. Since the written word and books were forbidden they sang. [Does anyone know why they were forbidden?] The songs kept the group together and the story of their people alive. If someone strayed, and did not hear the singing of the party, they were lost and never heard from again. Mother spoke with pride and pleasure of the time she spent in the household of a rich merchant. She worked in their hardware store and was a companion to their daughter about her own age. The family had a son who was away at school. She spoke of the owner's business trips throughout Europe and the gifts he brought his family on his return. There was always a present for mother. Whenever possible the family took mother along on trips to the towns near Nevel. [I couldn't find Nevel in the Atlas.] Mother told about a trip they took to Nevel. She recalled the soldier's parade grounds, the fort and the brick buildings. Hen their daughter became engaged her trousseau [The clothing and linens that a bride assembles for her marriage.] was selected in Paris. Mother sewed all the cotton night gowns for the bride. The peasants that lived on the various estates where my grandfather [Morris Levin, Bubbie's father in law] worked were thrifty and industrious. They shared their knowledge with this migrant Jewish family. They also shared their bath house (Svitch). She explained how they build the bath house. The stones that were selected had to be the right kind and size so that they could be fitted together. Each week one family was responsible for getting the steam bath ready by building a roaring fire to heat the stones. Pails of water were thrown on the stones to create heat and steam. One day was allotted to all the mean and another day to all the women. The Levin family was included. As a child she was free to run in and out of the various cottages. She learned their handicrafts and was shown how to operate their looms. The peasants wove their linens out of the flax they grew. She explained the method that was used to store the potatoes, cabbage and beets if the growing season was good. A deep hole was dug in the ground. It was lined with straw. Layers of vegetables were alternated with straw until it reached below the frost line and then was covered with more straw and soil. If they were fortunate to slaughter a cow, the same method was used for the meat, except it was layered with salt instead of straw. Unfortunately, the food ran out before the winter was over, and hunger was ever with them.
Levin Family Biography -- Part 2 The cottages were kept warm with double hung windows. Between the panes of glass, cotton batting was woven with colorful wool threads that gave each cottage a distinctive and individual look. In the spring before Pesach the cottages were thoroughly cleaned. The inside was white washed and clean sand spread over the dirt floor. The same procedure was followed before Rosh Hashona. My maternal grandparents (Moonish) Morris and (Channah) Hannah Levin lived on various estates around Nevel in Vitebst Goubernia. Nothing was known of my grandmother's family or her maiden name. They never came to visit and my grandmother never spoke of her family. My grandfather had several sisters. The Ginsbergs who settled around Richmond Street were my grandfather's cousins. In Vitebst Coubernia my mother spoke of Gorodok, Paduvny, Shebbetz and Nevel. In Shebbetz there was a shull, a mill for grinding oats, wheat and barley, and a place to slaughter their fowl. The Jewish people who lived in Shebbetz operated small businesses for themselves. Grandfather was a poor cobbler but a good student of the Talmud. he was a learned man but never taught his children to read or write. Morris and Harry had a few months of schooling by walking to school in the town nearest them. During the winter months neither attended and their schooling was finished. A cobbler was given a cottage and a small plot of ground on the estate while he worked for the family. Since he was such a poor cobbler he stayed but a short time and moved on to another estate. My grandmother was thrifty and industrious. With the vegetables she grew, a few chickens, a cow (if they were lucky) there was food. Hunger, warm clothing and boots during the winter was a real problem. My grandfather's interest was not in bootmaking so that there were plenty of rejects. Whether the discards fit the children or not they had to wear them or do without. By 1907 when the Levin family came to America, there were nine living children. Mother never spoke of the babies who did not survive the first year. MARISHA--Mary Carepul Zalman--Jake SMUEL--Sam SOREA--Sarah ELKA--Annie MAYSHA--Morris HERSCHEL--Harry MOOTEL--Mike ELISHA--Elizabeth
Levin Family Biography (part 3) To save Sam from being inducted into the Army, Jake, Sam and Annie left for Philadelphia with the Ginsberg family. They lived in the area around Richmond Street. At this point in time, the family did not depend on grandfather's work. Mary was a money-changer in the marketplace. Jake, Sam and Harry raised calves for the farmers until they were ready for slaughter. They were so astute that by looking at a steer or cow they could tell to the pound how much meat and fat the animal would yeild. They were honest and buyers sought their opinion before they would consumate a deal. Mary, Harry and my mother did not want to leave Russia. My grandfather made the decision. THe family put their money together and bought a ship's card for Philadelphia. Grandfather's sister Mahsha decided to accompany the family to help them get settled in America. There was a lay-over in Liverpool, England. The S/S Merion was a large first-class passenger ship and the first-class passengers came down to steerage to amuse themselves by arranging games among the immigrants. The family arrived in Philadelphia on August 11, 1907 There was no work for the family. Mahsha stayed until Mary got work at a jute [a fibrous plant once used for making rucksack material --Scott] mill. The building, with a clock on the tower, still stands near Frankford and Allegheny Avenue. Sometime later, Mary got mother work at the jute mill. The work was brutal. Annie got work in the garment industry. Mahsha was now ready to return to Russia. She got up at dawn to buy rolls and milk. As she was crossing Richmond Street she was hit by a horse drawn trolley and killed. Mother said she was a beautiful woman. She wore a string of Amber beads (Berinsthain). [This word was included in parenthesis as indicated; I don't know what it means. --Scott] Jake married Leah Swartz and opened a shoe repair shop on the corner of "G" and Madison Street. During the twenties he remodeled the store and then sold new shoes. There were four children, Albert (d), Ida, Samuel and Bella. Sam married Ester Steinberg. They opened a shoe repair shop in the 2300 block of E. Allegheny Avenue. It was not safe for a Jew to walk the streets in that neighborhood. he later bought a property and built a store for new shoes at 2051 E. Chelton Avenue. There were six children, Mollie, Ida, Kalman (Herman), Reba, Minnie (d) and Simon. Sarah married Avrum (Abe) Fletman who came to Philadelphia from Montreal, Canada, with the Lenetskys. There were four children, Ida, Anna (d), Miriam and Herbert. Annie continued to work in the garment industry. In the late thirties she married Manny Blau. Manny Blau had two sons, Norman and Irwin (d).
Levin Family Biography (part 4) Morris married Bertha Gordon. He operated a shoe repair shop at "G" Street near Ontario Street. Later he built a store at 2536 North Front Street, where he sold new shoes. There were two children, Nelson and Honey (Anna). Harry married Sophie Swartz (Leah's sister). [Two sisters married two brothers. This also occurred in the next generation when my mom-mom, Celia, and Aunt Miriam married the Laykin Brothers, Art and my pop-pop, William! --Scott] Harry worked for a shoe maker at 2949 Richmond Street. After Harry and Sophie were married he bought the business and continued to repair shoes. There were eight children, Ida, Celia, Miriam, Sam, Herbert (d), Ruth, Anna and Beatrice. Mike's first wife was Fagel Cominsky. There were three children, Albert, Louis and Bennie. Fagel died in childbirth and Mike then married Bertha. They had a store at 2901 "D" Street. During Prohibition he became a bootlegger and mingled with all the big mobsters of that time. The children of the second marriage were Reberta, Honka (Anna), Samuel, Miriam, Geraldine, Jeanette and Martin. Elizabeth married Hyman Siniawsky. They met in New Orleans and were wed in Philadelphia at Harry's home. They opened a dry goods store in New Orleans. During the depression they lost the business and moved to Philadelphia. There were three children, Leon, Herbert and Elaine. My grandparents [I suppose Ida is talking about her other grandparents--not the Levin's--in this section. --Scott] were not compatible. Since the children were working and living at home, my grandparents separated and lived apart. Mary still worked at the jute mill, Annie and my mother worked at blouses in the garment industry. Elizabeth was nine years old and went to grammar school. When Abraham was born in Rikitner, Kiev Goubernia, he was an orphan. My grandmother, Shandel Plied her trade as a money changer in the market place, dealing with the soldiers in the Czar's army. She met a soldier. He was a feldsher. [An assistant to the doctor on the battle field. --Scott] After 30 years of service he was discharged and he and Shandel were married. As their family grew, Abraham was apprenticed to learn a trade. His first place was with a basket or barrel maker. His second place was with a carpenter. His third apprenticeship was as a blacksmith. The men who took these young boys as apprentices did not have enough work or food to take care of their own families. The boys did not have an opportunity to learn their craft but were given menial tasks the like lighting the fires in the morning and taking care of the younger children. My father was always running away. That is how he met the Lenetsky family who were blacksmiths. He became a good blacksmith and was well treated. He stayed with them and was included as a member of the family. When the Lenetsky family decided to emigrate to America, my father stole over the border, secured a stolen passport, and arrived in Antwerp. From Antwerp, he joined the Lenesky family in Montreal, Canada. In Canada there was no work for him. He signed up with a work crew who were laying track for a railroad in the northern part of Canada. He was the blacksmith who repaired tools for the men.
Levin Family Biography (part 5) The crew was French. They harassed him and made his life miserable. Since they slept in bunks in log cabins, the men would put a snake in his bunk. At the first opportunity, he hid on a supply train and never went back. Louis, Boris and my father had a partnership in a blacksmith shop. A situation arose that caused Louis and my father to leave Canada for Philadelphia. Father got work at a blacksmith Shop around Trenton Avenue in Jewtown. He met my mother. They were married and lived in a house at 2835 Agate Street. Another depression and no work. My father heard they were hiring men to work across the river. He went to the meeting place with his lunch pail an his work clothes tied in a red bandanna handkerchief. Little did he know that the men were hired as strike breakers and were shanghaied to the Southern Pacific Roundhouse in Algiers, LA. On board seasickness overtook him and he was not aware of the length of the voyage or their destination. The men were taken from the ship and locked in the roundhouse. They ate and slept in the dormitories until the strike was over. He became ill with Scarlet Fever and when he recovered the strike was over. One of the men took him on the ferry to New Orleans. He rented a room with board from a Jewish family by the name of Gould. He worked, saved some money, wrote to my mother to join him in New Orleans. When my father left for work that fatal day, mother expected him home for dinner. Since she was pregnant with me, and had not heard from him, she felt he had deserted her. When she walked the streets in the neighborhood, everyone pointed their finger at her. I was born on February 10, 1912 at 2835 Agate Street. After mother heard from father we left for New Orleans. With Mrs. Gould's help, my father rented rooms on Saratoga Street, acquired some furniture, and awaited his family. When Anna was born, we moved to an apartment in a twin house at 1606 South Franklin Street. We originally occupied the second floor apartment. The first floor occupant was a family from New York. Their name was Guzinsky. he worked as a motor man on a trolley car. After a few disappointing years in the south, they sold their furniture and moved back to New York with their daughter, Dorothy. After the Guzinsky family left we moved to the first floor. Once the Fletmans were settled in New Orleans, it was decided to send for my father's mother Shandel and his step-brother, Morris. My grandmother Shandel lived the rest of her life with our family. Between his various trips around the country, Uncle Morris stayed with us, until he married Rose in Altoona, PA. [Hey, that's only 30 miles from here!! --Scott] Working for the Southern Pacific Railroad entitled my father and his family a travel pass all over the United States. Every year we visited our family in the north. Annie and Elizabeth often visited us on this pass. Annie was with the family when Miriam was born, and Elizabeth was with us when Herb was born.
Levin Biography (part 6) As I look back, I realize now, that the New Orleans of my early years was the last stop on the line for drummers, a port of call for people who were escaping from the law and escaping from families they left in Europe, gambling debts and the Czar. In New Orleans they assumed a new identity and started a new life. The Ku Klux Klan struck terror in the hearts of the innocent colored as well as Jews. A rumor started by someone was enough for a hanging or for someone to be tarred and feathered. My memories of New Orleans were full of bigotry and fear. This terror was another reason for the Jewish families to band together. The Jewish "Y" was the social core of the Jewish community. Social events, dramatics, lectures and the swimming pool was available to all. When a Jew came to town everybody was aware of his arrival and extended a helping hand to the traveler. The "Y" maintained a vacation resort in Bay St. Louis, Miss. During the summer months groups of Jewish families were invited to spend two weeks at this resort. Mothers, children and teenagers were included. When Elizabeth visited us, she was included. Because their children were well taken care of, mothers of different ethnic groups got to know each other and to exchange recipes and handicrafts. Good food, sun and fresh air, sandy beaches and entertainment were enjoyed by all. One year, my sister Miriam, won a Kewpie doll as first prize for her dancing. When I think of our train travels, I understand why my mother never wanted to board another train again. Since nobody paid much attention to questions an immigrant woman asked, we were often directed to board the wrong train. We were put off the train in Alabama, and dozens of whistle stops in the middle of nowhere. In Washington, D.C. we spent almost a week in the depot. We slept on the benches, were chased by watchmen, hid in the rest rooms to avoid being expelled. We were afraid to venture outside lest we miss the one train that would honor our Southern Pacific pass to Philadelphia. I remember our arrival at dawn in Pennsylvania Station. My mother waited until the grocery store on the corner of grandmother's street opened. She telephoned, they called Elizabeth on the phone and she came for us. During that visit Anna became ill. The doctor did not want to alarm the family and told them she had the measles. As her temperature rose I became ill. A few days later Miriam had the same high fever. Since Miriam was just a baby, she was kept at home. Anna and I were taken to Municipal Hospital at Front and Luzerne Streets. We all had Scarlet Fever and Diphtheria. Since I was in a coma, I was not aware of going to the hospital or how long I was confined there. One day I awoke to find my head shaved, the palms of my hands were peeling and my nostrils were dry. I was on the road to recovery. Then I was allowed to see my mother through the windows on the sun porch. The next time I saw my mother was when I was discharged from the hospital. On the way home I learned that Anna had died. During a critical period of our illness my father came from New Orleans to see us. (Probably when Anna died.)
Levin Family Biography (part 7) While we were convalecing World War I was in full swing. We could not get back to New Orleans because of the troop movements. That winter I started first grade in Philadelphia. Sometime in the spring, with Elizabeth's help, my mother, Miriam and I went back to New Orleans. I remember the celebrations and the parades that took place in New Orleans when the cease fire was announced on November 11, 1918. Spring brought threats of the Missisippi River overflowing its banks. Men worked on the leeves of the reiver to reinfource the banks with sand bags. It also brought the intoxicating thrill of Mardi Gras. The crowds of of costumed people, the many parades with gorgeous floats led by teams of white horses, were anticipated eery year with wonderment. Gifts of baubles, beads and trinkets were tossed to people watching the parades on the sidelines. It was a fairlyland scene to be treasured. The people that befriended us and took us in their family circle were the Gould, Sinaiawsky, Herman, Cutler, Sadoff, Guzinsky and the Pialowsky families. The summer of 1919 Aunt Rose wrote to my mother for help. She was expecting her second child and there was no money for a doctor. Mother, Miriam and I went to Cleveland, Ohio to help. With mother's help Jane was born on August 30, 1919. Mr. Clark, the foreman of the roundhouse of the Southern Pacific R. R., took a liking to my father and brought him home for lunch everyday. He included him when they picked blackberries in Algiers. My father was deathly afraid of the rattle snakes around the blackberry bushes. Since my father was dependable and an able blacksmith, he was assigned the special emergency jobs that come into the roundhouse. With Mr. Clark's sponsorship he got choice assignments and put in many hours of overtime. I remember he bought and used a slide rule to help him calculate measurements for these assignments. At the forge he made tools, knives, scissors and knitting needles for himself and the family. Financially, we were doing as well as, if not better than most of our friends. We even bought a property on the opposite side of Franklin Street.
Levin Family Biography (part 8) After Herb was born in 1921 there was talk of another railroad strike. Because I was recouperating from an appendix operation, it was decided that my father take me with him on a visit to Philadelphia and Canada. The trip was planned to see if their financial situation would be better for them in Philadelphia. The Levin family did not allow my father to take me to Canada. I stayed with Uncle Harry and his family. The third floor of the Richmond Street house was rented. The second floor consisted of a living room room with a bay window, two bedrooms and a bath. Uncle Harry, Aunt Sophie, Ida, Ceal, Miriam, Sam, Herb, plus Aunt Annie, my mother and father, Herb, Miriam and I lived together until we moved to our own home in October. Because it was summer, the girls vied for the privlege of sleeping on the floor of the living room. Often my grandfather joined the family. On my arrival in Philadelphia, I broke out in a series of boils. That summer Aunt Sophie bathed, lanced and healed at least seven boils with Deshler Salve and Zinc Ointment. The Levin and Swartz families got together for Sunday picnics in Burholm Park. We want bathing at Pleasant Hill, listened to concerts in Lemon Hill and heard Sousa's Band at Willow Grove Park. On sweltering days, we went for rides in Uncle Harry's Model "T" Ford along the Boulevard. When we were older, Uncle Sam and Uncle Harry rented one half of a farm house at Lopinski's Farm in Somerton, for their families. One week Uncle Harry would take Miriam, another time Herb or I for visits to the farm with our uncles, aunts and cousins. Working for the Souther Pacific Railroad was uncertain and hazzardous. On this trip north, my father put on a store at 500 E. Cambria Street. Mike's shoe store was across the street from our store. Settlement was made on October 11, 1921. Never was a business launched by such a family of inexperienced people. We knew nothing about business. We knew nothing about the needs of the people we were to do business with. Since Mike as a bootlegger, he had many important business contacts. He had the best vendors in the city stock the store with all the merchandisde we needed on consignment. Pop worked for the Baldwin Locomotive Works during the day and Miriam and I started Boudinct School. Herb was kep in a high chair while mother tended store. Since I was the only one who could read and write (fourth grade level) I checked the invoices and the merchandise. I also wrote the checks and balanced the checkbook. [Wow, I couldn't do that until I was 24! :-) --Scott]
Levin Biography (part 9) Our first customer wanted a bottle of soda. Here we were handling and selling merchandise that we never used or heard of in the south. You can be sure we did not buy or drink soda. He looked around, pointed out the soda and asked the price. We did not know what to charge. When mother said 35 cents he paid and ran. We never knew what the right price was at that time. Working from five o'clock in the morning until midnight we were turning over merchandise. The harder we worked, the less money we had at the end of the week, because people were stealing us blind. It became a game in the neighborhood to see how much could be stolen from us before we became aware of what was happening. A wide variety of goods was sold in that small store. A salesman would leave new items on consignment. We sold cigars, snuff, cigarettes, tobacco, corn cob pipes, candies, crackers, soda, ice-cream, water-ice, snow balls, groceries, lunch meants, bread, cakes, pies, fruit and vegetables, coal, wood, charcoal, kerosene, Welsback gas mantles, glass chimney lamps, wicks, balls, bats, kites, jacks, dry goods, hair goods, needles, thread, pins and things that I have long forgotten about. A wire was strung across the length of the store and all manner of merchandise was hung from that wire for sale. Merchandise was hung from every available space in the store. A group of boys would come into the store and one boy would ask for a peice of candy on the bottom of the show case. While I was stooping for the penny candy, he would change his mnd many times--until a clean sweep of the goods overhead would be made by the other members. That winter was epecially severe. After Miriam and I left for the school my father left of work. The demands of the store made my mother neglect Herb. He became ill. It was decided my father must leave Baldwin Locomotive to stay in the store. Mother's care was too late for Herb now. Mike came to the rescue again and brought in Dr. Loeb. He told us Herb had double pneumonia. It was necessary to wrap him in ice cold sheets to keep the fever down. The orders were too much for mother to carry out. Again, Mike took charge and brought in a trained nurse who stayed day and night with him until the crisis was over and he recovered. From Decoration Day [Memorial Day used to be called Decoration Day --Scott] until Labor Day a wooden stand on the "D" Street side of the property was opened to make and snow balls. With the opening of the Frankford El in November of 1922, the stand was busy from the time it opened until it was closed at night.
Levin Family Biography (Part 10) While school was in session, I went directly home (if I was lucky enough not to be involved in a fight with a gang) and opened the stand. A large block of ice covered with a towel, a hand scraper and ten or twelve bottles of assorted flavors put me in business. The stand was like an inferno in the summer with the sun beating down all afternoon. Scraping the ice for hundreds of snow balls, the constant buzzing of flies around the sticky flavors, and the long hours did nothing to promote my good health. A medium size snow ball costs three cents. With five cents you could purchase a large snow ball. The pockets of my apron bulged with money. There was not enough time to take it in to the cash register. During the years we were in business, there was little time to eat, sleep or time to play. We never ate one meal together but ate on the run. Someone had to watch the store. Mother had little time to spend with us, as she was always busy wither in the store or with household chores. She never had time to go shopping with us. If we needed clothing, Aunt Annie took us shopping. That always turned out to be a disaster. The purchases were never suitable and always too expensive. After every shopping trip an argument followed about money. Philadelphia was the work shop of the world. Everything conceivable was made here. Kensington hummed like a bee hive with mills that manufactured carpets, hosiery, lace curtains, textiles, hats, shoes, radios, etc. There was work for everybody. After sixth grade most pupils left school to work in the hosiery mills with their families. They had money to spend. They spent it on food and in the tap rooms. Since we were open eighteen hours a day, 362 days per year, we were accommodating and we prospered. Nothing was too difficult for us to attempt, if it saved a few pennies. A rectangular, waist high oak cabinet was filled with ice and rock salt. The salted ice was tamped down with a baseball bat to make the ice compact. When the ice melted it was drained, lest the salted water seep into the metal containers of ice cream. The water ices and pop-cicles we made were kept in the cabinet. During the Susque-Centennial (1926) [Probably some sort American Indian-style summer festival. Just guessing...couldn't find any reference to it in my history sources.--Scott] we made Susque-cups, which were frozen ices that looked like liberty bells. Scoops of ice-cream were dipped in melted chocolate, a wooden stick inserted for the chocolate-goodies we made. During the fall, we made apple taffies, We made the favors for the snow balls. On Friday mother made cole slaw, potato salad and fish cakes. Sugar, flour, peas, beans, noodles, and coffee were purchased in bulk and had to be weighed for re-sale. Kerosene was pumped into containers for light, heat and cooking. As the cellar had a dirt floor and low ceiling, Miriam and I gagged coal. When we came up from that chore we looked like we came out of a coal mine. We received five cents for each person we called to our pay phone. There was also chance boards (which I loathed). Often I was left to close the store at night. I would hide the paper money in bags of beans or coffee. Sometimes I would hide the money in the freezer or ice-cream cabinet. The coins from the register were counted, put in bags and taken upstairs. My father never knew where I hid the money until I came down in the morning. [I figured this ran in the family! God only knows how much cash is still hidden in the floor boards, attic insulation or furniture crevices of homes which once belonged to dear deceased members of our family! --Scott] The years of poor nutrition, cold, heat and long hours of hard work took their toll. As the decline was gradual, my parents did not notice anything amiss until I was unable to work. My movements were so jerky, it seemed my mind did not send out the right brain waves to my muscles. I could not do anything right. I missed many weeks of school. When I did return to Stetson Jr. High School I was out of place and my education ceased for the next few years. My parents did not know how to cope with my problem. Instead of medical care I was send from one charlaten to another. My father was outgoing and loved to entertain his Chaverim (comerades) with the best that we had in the house. Whenever he wanted to plan an evening of cards and refreshments my mother's answer always was "Not for Chaverim (comerades) but for Chazerim (pigs)". My mother did not share my father's feeling of friendship for the Lenetskys and their wives. Propserity and the stock market reached new highs. With a small down payments, many people bought property for investment. Interest of about 4.5% was paid on the mortgage, but the principle was not reduced. When another property was purchased, the first property was used as collateral and so on. During the depression, as mortgages were called in and defaulted, the properties reverted to the first mortgagee. We paid twice for 2845 "D" Street in order to let 2901 "D" St. default. We were not involved in stocks, riots and strikes. We witnessed the panorama of events from the sidelines, as the strikes, riots, murders, violence and destruction followed. The unions instigated the sit-ins of the mills and factories. Production was halted as the workers took over, lived and slept on the premises of the mills while the unions recruited more members. Records, files and machinery were destroyed here, they were never reopened but moved to the South. The ranks of the unemployed swelled. Our business decliend and we also moved out of the neighborhood. We bought a Jewish delicatessen at 416 East Wyoming Avenue. We made settlement on this property in October and so turned another page in our book. The year was 1930.