14
Michelle Green Echenberg1990s
Saint John, New Brunswick
15
Erminie Bernstein CohenEsther Poyas Goldfeather and Samuel Goldfeather
Esther and Samuel Goldfeather immigrated to North America at the beginning of the 20th century. They brought with them Esther's mother, Etta Poyas, who had been a postmistress in their hometown of Kow[v], situated on the border of Poland and the Ukraine.
The small family lived for a short time in Camden, New Jersey, then moved to Chipman, New Brunswick with a third move to Saint John where Esther's sister, Kayla and her husband Don Boyaner, lived with their family. The Goldfeathers lived first on Prince William Street, moved up to Wellington Row and finally over to Elliot Row, where they lived most of their lives.
Samuel practiced optometry and serviced small communities in southern New Brunswick and Grand Manan, traveling to these places by horse and buggy. He was well liked and very respected, cutting a dashing figure with his erect posture and precise grooming. Samuel took great pride in his public profile. In later years, he opened an office of optometry on Dock Street and was there until Urban Renewal when he moved his office to the Paramount Theatre building - an office that his son Bernard would late occupy when he too, became an optometrist.
Esther's life was dedicated to her family and her religion. She had a wonderful sense of humour that combined with her love to laugh, and which proved to be her saving grace during difficult times. She was adept with her hands and she crocheted tablecloths and doilies for all her children. Esther taught herself to read and write English, writing her letters to her family in phonetic English. In the summer, the family would travel by streetcar to Saint 's Rest Beach for a day in the sun and water. Short vacations in the summer were spent in a rented cottage in either Renforth or Bloomfield.
In the earlier years, Esther would offer room and board to a few young men who were looking for a kosher home. By saving her pennies, Esther was able to purchase a Sefer Torah that she donated to the Synagogue in memory of her first-born son, Louis who died at the age of eighteen. This Torah is still in the Oren Kodesh with her name embroidered on the bottom of the cover.
Esther and Sam had five children : Louis; Clara, married to Mitchell Bernstein; Fannie, married to Rabbi Burr Yampol; Rose, married to Hyman Cornblat and Bernard, married to Fritzi Cohen.
Esther Goldfeather died, March 14, 1952 and Samuel Goldfeather died, July 20, 1954.
16
Samuel Goldfeather1920s
Saint John, New Brunswick
17
Erminie Bernstein CohenMitchell Sidney Bernstein and Clara Goldfeather Bernstein
Mitchell Sidney Bernstein was born in New York City in 1895 and moved with his family to Montreal, Canada when he was ten years old, growing up in the now famous St. Urbain Street neighbourhood. In 1917, Mitchell was working with Famous Players theatres out of New York City traveling from theatre to theatre with the first talking moving pictures (talkies). Mitchell's work brought him to Saint John where he met 17-year-old Clara Goldfeather who he married in June, 1922.
Mitchell and Clara settled in Saint John, first residing on Wellington Row and later moving to 297 Princess Street to the building owned and lived in Ben and Sara Kunitzky. The Bernstein's had two children : Erminie Joy and Mortimer Lew. Eventually the Bernsteins, together with Mitchell's friend and business partner, Joshua Lieberman, purchased a duplex at 69 Orange Street where they lived for 32 years.
B & L Theatres (Bernstein and Lieberman) was a distributor of Columbia Pictures and were prominent members of the vibrant film community in its heyday between the late 1930s to the 1950s. The partners eventually owned and operated 13 theatre houses in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Maine.
Mitchell was an inveterate "showman" enjoying all the latest dance steps he learned on his trips to New York in the 1920s and then teaching them to his friends on his return to Saint John. The Y.M.H.A. shows he produced in the community are still talked about today.
Mitchell and his long slim cigars were known fixtures in the harness racing track every week. His love of baseball took him to the World Series every fall for most of his life.
Later in life, Mitchell and his son Mort became land developers establishing the now vibrant community of Millidgeville with the first homes built in the area in the early 1960s.
Mitchell died in 1967 at the age of 72.
[He was also president of the Congregation Shaarei Zedek, an ardent Zionist who chaired many Israel Bond and United Israel Appeal dinners and was an active member of Variety International.]
Clara Goldfeather was born in Camden, New Jersey in 1902 and moved to Saint John with her family where she spent the remainder of her life. Clara married Mitchell Bernstein several years after meeting him at a Y.M.H.A. dance.
He was so smitten with the 17-year-old sweetheart that he took "room and board" in her parents' home so he could visit with her when he was in Saint John. Being too young to be courted, Mitchell waited for Clara to come of age, and eventually the two married.
Clara enjoyed her life as a wife, mother and homemaker. She was an active member of the Women's Hospital Aid representing the Hebrew (Jewish) community of Saint John and played a role in the Saint John Music Festival for many years. Within her own community, she was a member of the Daughters of Israel, Hadassah Wizo and the Sisterhood of the Synagogue.
Clara died at the early age of 62 in 1964.
Mitchell and Clara lived and prospered during the Golden Years of the Saint John Jewish community. They were part of the group of Jewish families who spent their summers in Pamdenec beginning around 1939, eventually developing a summer community of fun, safe, and memory-filled experiences for several generations of children.
18
Clara and Mitchell Bernstein1950s
Saint John, New Brunswick
19
Marcia Freedman KovenMy grandfather, Abraham Freedman (whom we called Zada) arrived in Saint John before the turn of the 20th century. When his ship docked at Long Wharf he noticed that a friend from his home villiage of Dorbian was working on the dock as a longshoreman. The friend must have convinced my grandfather to stay in Saint John because this became his home for over 50 years.
Zada left his wife and child Yehuda (who later was called Jack and who ultimately became my father)behind in Dorbian. It took Zada five years to save enough money to send for his wife and child. The women in the village told my grandmother that her husband would never send for her because many men, after arriving in the "New World", did not want their "greena cozina" because they discovered that now they could see women wearing powder and paint and going to dance halls. However, true to his word, my grandfather sent for his wife and child and the family grew and prospered. The family grew to have doctors, dentists, lawyers, business people, editors, marketing people, financial planners, teachers and every occupation imaginable. We have even had a Lieutenant-Governor in our family.
Now the reason I tell this story is this. Last year my husband and I sold our home and moved to a condo next to Long Wharf where my grandfather landed. The cruise ships now dock here. My grandfather did not arrive on a cruise ship; he arrived without language or luggage or money. And here we are on the same wharf living in what we feel is the "lap of luxury". Life certainly plays strange tricks. I wonder what my grandfather would think of all this.
20
Abraham and Mary Freedman1920s
Saint John, New Brunswick
21
Abraham Freedman1920s
Saint John, New Brunswick
22
Eva Rozovsky MargolisI was born on High Street on November 5, 1919. About six months later we moved to 41 Spring Street. For the first seven years we occupied the first floor, then we moved up to live on the second and third floors. My brother Seymour was born in that house, and my sister Edith and Mama both died there; and I was married there. I finally left that house in December 1944 when I moved to Winnipeg with my husband.
I don't know when Uncle and Aunt Harry and Ida Davis moved into 42 Spring Street, but as far back as I can remember they lived in the second floor flat with their five children and Uncle Nathan Rozovsky. For awhile the Levine family lived on the first floor (I can remember Mrs. Levine combing the twins' hair into curls.). Then my uncle and aunt Israel and Celia Ellman moved there with their four children and my grandmother Rebecca Rachel Rozovsky.
It gave me a good feeling to be living just across the street from 15 close relatives. We were almost like one family. That is why it amazes me to hear people say "don't live close to relatives." It certainly worked for me.
Unfortunately time takes its toll; of my grandmother's 19 grandchildren, only three remain, myself and Abe and Izzie Davis.
Thanks for the memories.
23
Eva Rozovsky Margolis and Sid Margolis1946
Saint John, New Brunswick
24
Murray MargolisGrowing up in Winnipeg, I used to visit my grandparents, Abraham and Goldie Rozovsky in Saint John during the summer. Of course, we spent most of the time in Pamdenec with all the Davis cousins.
I will always remember when I was quite young how amazed I was because when visiting the big M.R.A.'s store I could walk in from the street, get in the elevator, go up and walk out of the store onto the street. As a youngster, I found this to be amazing!
[Manchester Robertson and Allison, the city's leading department store, was located on King Street where the Brunswick Square Mall stands today.]
25
The Margolis Family1956
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
26
Barbara Everett GrossI would like to tell you a little bit about our family. In the early 1900s, around 1905 or 1906, John and Bessie Epstein arrived in Saint John from Minsk, Russia, A short time later they moved to New York on the advice of John's sister. John (my Zaida) did not like living in New York so about a year later they returned to Saint John. They had four daughters : Sarah who was born on Hester Street in New York City, Rebecca, Doreen and Goldie born in Saint John. Doreen and Goldie were twins. They lived at 42 Acadia Street in the North End.
In 1929 Sarah married Maurice Isaac Everett and they had one daughter Barbara Joan. My parents had a grocery store at 627 Main Street, across from Long Wharf. The sign read M.I. Everett on the window. He specialized in eggs which he got from Canada Packers across the street. He also brought in the Passover order from Montreal.
In 1948 Goldie married Ben Budovitch of Fredericton. They had two daughters, Brenda Louise who lives in Boca Raton, Florida and Renee Janice who is married to Paul Walman. They reside in Kitchener, Ontario. Renee and Paul have three children : Lisa, Bradley and Stacy who live in Toronto, Lisa is married to Dr. David Klein and they have a daughter Abbie.
Rebecca married Jacob Jacobson in 1958 and had no children. She worked at J.M. and C.W. Hope Grant Insurance for many years on King Street.
Doreen never married but worked at Calp's Department Store for many years.
I married Godfrey Larry Gross in 1960 at the beautiful Shaarei Zedek shul. We had no children. My husband passed away in May 2005. I still reside in Toronto.
I have very fond memories of growing up in Saint John. Our most wonderful Zaida conducted the most fabulous seders at 42 Acadia Street. They were bar none.
Sarah and John Everett arrived in Saint John in the early 1900's from Dorbyan, Lithuania. They had five children : Maurice Isaac (my dad), Barney Herk, Sam (all who resided in Saint John), Bebe Katz of New Rochelle, New York and Lil Cowen of Northampton, Massachusetts. All three brothers had stores within walking distance on Main Street.
Many years ago, my husband and I put up memorial plaques in the Shaarei Zedek Synagogue for my parents. I am sure memorial plaques were put up for John and Bessie Epstein.
Aunt Rebecca, Uncle Jacob, Aunt Doreen, my parents and both sets of grandparents are buried in Fernhill Cemetery.
27
Maurice, Sarah and Barbara Everett1950s
Saint John, New Brunswick
 |
 |
 |
 |