My grandparents, Lieb and Ida Friedman, came to St. Louis with my mother, Rebecca, from Kiev, in 1912. My mother was just 5 yrs. of age. My grandfather’s name was changed to Louis. He went to work in a hat factory and in several months was diagnosed with TB. He was sent to a “farm” on Fee Fee Rd. to recover. In the meantime my grandmother took in sewing to bring in income for herself and my mother. My mother recalls eating a small piece of meat with a potato and my grandmother having only a piece of bread with tea and telling mom she was not hungry. At the time they were living in a small 3rd floor apartment with no plumbing. When my grandfather came back home he was told to get a job working outside. He found work delivering bread, rolls and bagels from a horse drawn wagon. Mother remembered him sitting at the window on a very snowy day, not able to work his route because of the severe weather and worried he’d be fired. From the time they came to St. Louis, until 1929, my grandparents would have 4 sons and another daughter. Somehow, they managed to buy a 4 room house. In 1932, my mother was widowed and we moved in with my grandparents. I was 3. Mother told me that no matter how poor they were, or how many children there were, whoever came to the door in need of a meal or a place to sleep they always had something to eat and a place to sleep, even if on the floor. My grandfather would die, much too young, in 1934. The 3 oldest sons dropped out of school and began to sell used auto tires and car parts from the backyard to support the family. The youngest son was the only son to complete high school. The youngest daughter completed two yrs. of college. My mother, who completed the 9th grade and left school to go to work to help support her family. During the time she was widowed she couldn’t find a job because of the depression. She was involved in helping organize unions. Mom went back to night school after I was married. She didn’t want to just get her GED, but completed her courses to get a high school diploma. During the day she was a bookkeeper. She then went on to community college to get a degree in Early Childhood Education. She worked in Early Childhood and did some bookkeeping at home. She also began to take vacations all over the world. When she retired she was an avid member of Elderhostel. Mom’s oldest brother moved to Arizona and developed a low interest lending business. He was instrumental in the development of the Phoenix Jewish Community Center. The other two brothers had developed the small junk business into a very large used auto parts business, owning property for the business on both sides of Cass Ave., and a huge property near Creve Coeur Lake. There were also warehouses to hold the various autos and parts. After WW II Mom’s youngest brother went into business with his father-in-law, who was in the resale of just about anything: canned food, furniture, etc. After the death of his father-in-law he developed the business into new and used office furniture. His son is now the CEO, active in the development of downtown St. Louis as well as other community organizations and his synagogue. Mom’s younger sister was a homemaker, mother of three, active in her children’s schools and went on to become a very strong advocate for sensible gun laws. With the passage of concealed carry in Missouri, and constant harassment from the rifle association, she closed down the organization and devoted her full attention to the welfare of her husband who died a few years ago of Parkinson’s. She, and one brother, in his mid 90’s, are all that remain of my mother’s siblings.
