8th-GRADER SIGNATURES -- AND MORE, FROM 1931

While meticulously reorganizing my computer cabinet, slowly dusting and perusing each cherished book, I paused for a nostalgic journey back in time. The adventure started by opening my mother’s 8th-grade graduation book. In light of the current wave of printed “signatures,” it was refreshing to view pages of cursive style autographs penned by her teachers and classmates.

To learn more about the list of students who completed the 8th-grade class of 1931 along with my mother, all I need to do is post those pages of signatures on Facebook. While that’s unquestionably what it will take to watch the stories unfold, first, I’ve decided to display them here at the bottom of my Tuesday blog.

My mother’s story started in 1915, the year she was born into a large Jewish immigrant family. At that time, her clan was living at 62 E.103rd Street in New York City. The 1915 New York City Census reveals that my infant mother, along with the seven children from my grandfather’s first marriage, was living with my Papa Harry and his second wife, my grandmother Rebecca. 

In our family, my maternal grandmother is affectionately referred to as “Grandma Beckie from Romania.” My grandfather hailed from Mozyr, White Russia, now known as Belarus. My mother was their firstborn of four.

Incomplete family lore suggests that when my mother was three, the entire brood moved to Roselle, New Jersey. If factual, that would have been in 1918, however not all the census records are accountable. I was told that the reason the family moved to Roselle, whatever the actual year, was that my grandfather’s friend Nathan Gluskin lived there. 

After the serendipitous discovery of a man researching the Gluskin family pedigree, we excitedly corresponded. I complemented his impressive findings, which he had charted on a genealogical Facebook page, by gleefully adding stories and documents of the Roselle Gluskin kin. Our dialogue evoked fond memories of a soft-spoken Aunt Lillie, Nathan’s petite maiden daughter. She was such a close family friend that she was the only non-relative my mother had us refer to as “Aunt.”

Papa Harry worked as an ice and coal deliveryman in Roselle and Linden, New Jersey. After the family settled in Roselle 100 plus years ago, my mother’s older siblings soon began to find their way in the world. One-by-one the youngsters moved out of the family home. Some of the younger ones were sent to board with an aunt and uncle in New York City.

My mother, being the eldest child of Grandma Beckie and Papa Harry, was charged with assisting in the house. Temporarily leaving school to help support the family, throughout the Great Depression years, my mother worked piecework. The Chandler Avenue factory was across the street from their home. Her job entailed sewing buttons and making button-holes on blouses at the Phoenix Company in Roselle owned by Mr. Drittel, a friend of my grandparents. 

Upon her return to school, my mother was elated to graduate from 8th-grade. Never having the opportunity to complete her formal education, she was especially proud to see that her four children achieved that dream. Our graduations were notably some of the happiest days of her life. 

My mother kept the souvenir book that she was presented on the auspicious day of June 19, 1931 (see below). The book, copyright 1930, was published in the U.S.A., at the International Press in Philadelphia. The Table of Contents lists The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution of the United States, The Constitution of New Jersey, History of the Flag of the United States, and Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

While flipping through the contents, the four pages at the back of the book caught my attention. To my delight, there are signatures of 25 teachers on one page, entitled Memories of School Days – My Teachers, followed by autographs of students on the next three pages, entitled Memories of School Days – My classmates.

As I read the names, stories began to surface. They were about some of the school friends my mother had special feelings for throughout the years. From the tone of her voice when she spoke about one particular teacher, I venture to guess that Meyer Tarlowe was her favorite. I got a kick out of the post from her best friend at school, which reads, “Jean Kipness ‘Pest’.” Now, I’ll be the pest and ask when will we go back to formal cursive signatures instead of printed online jargon? Signing off, “lol.”

Soft-spoken, petite Aunt Lillie Gluskin August 1968 846 Cross Avenue, Elizabeth, NJ