MIND YOUR BUSINESS
That candid picture, taken in 1939 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, speaks volumes. Taken in front of the Madison Pharmacy on Monroe Avenue, the business was owned and operated by Nathan Cohen. “Uncle Nate,” to us, was a registered pharmacist. He’s standing with his brother, my father-in-law, Isadore, affectionately called “Is.”
A picture paints a thousand words. Here, two smiling faces of brothers from a family of 14 children flank the front of the pharmacy window filled with catchy advertisements. The scene speaks "1939 in urban Elizabeth."
In the title photograph, it appears that Uncle Nate, sibling #2, was dutifully minding his business when his brother Is, sibling #5, stopped by. Possibly Is, a milkman, came by to pay his electric bill. The sign in the picture below does show, “electric bills payable here.”
Their brother Max, sibling #4, a newspaper distributor, lived in the apartment above the pharmacy. According to his daughter Susan that amounted to about five years of her childhood. On Fathers Day 2022, Susan wrote to Rima, Nate’s daughter, on Facebook: “My family lived upstairs at 600 Monroe until 1950. We took our shoes off so your Dad’s customers didn’t hear us walking upstairs!!”
Rima replied, “Canton St. was our home - 600 Monroe Ave. was Madison Pharmacy! We went [to] Abraham Lincoln grade school. Then Jefferson, Edison, oratory, BA, The Mount! 6 of us!”
Uncle Nate, the father of six, was a pharmacist who thought outside the box. Our dear family friend, Daniel Marcus, had a severe case of hiccups, which his doctor could not resolve. Daniel’s wife said that when her husband told his pharmacist at the nearby Madison Pharmacy what the doctor prescribed to no avail, Uncle Nate suggested that he open the capsule and take the prescribed medicine inside without the casing. The consequential relief from his lengthy bout of hiccups, reported in the Elizabeth Daily Journal, in current jargon, went viral.
When I wrote to Daniel’s son Andrew asking for the approximate date of his father’s infliction, he wrote back stating that he recently received information from My Heritage. They disclosed that an article published in the Beaver Valley Times of Pennsylvania on June 1, 1957, speaks of his mother’s plea to find a cure for his father’s ongoing bout of hiccups.
Andrew noted, “The Elizabeth Daily Journal, who first published the story, enabled the story to be picked up by the United Press International (UPI) wire service. As a result, the article [circulated] throughout North America.
“The hiccups lasted for approximately one week, for which he was bedridden. His condition was cured by inhaling a vial of medication from a local pharmacist, as I recall.” That local pharmacist, according to Andrew’s mother, was Uncle Nate.
Andrew added, “Many people sent letters and copies of the article to my parents, in which they recommended possible cures. My family received over time, the equivalent of two big boxes of mail.”
What does my husband, Arnee, remember most from Uncle Nate’s pharmacy? The soda fountain, of course.
What’s your business? What did your closest relatives do for a living? Now is the time to document the family’s talents.
How interesting to learn about the closest people in our lives. With that, I plead, tell me your business.
6th of May 1904-Nathan Cohen was recorded as born in Elizabeth, New Jersey
Uncle Nate's graduation picture from Pharmacy School: "To my loving Aunt Gussie,” signed "Nate"
Sibling #2 Nate Cohen, Registered Pharmacist at Madison Pharmacy - 600 Monroe Avenue, Elizabeth, New Jersey 1950s
According to Nate’s daughter Rebecca, originally it was Madison Pharmacy on Madison Avenue
Uncle Nate bought the Madison pharmacy and owned it from the time of The Great Depression until around the time Rebecca graduated from high school, either 1964 or 1965
Sibling #4 Max Cohen abt 1945-1950, Uncle Max and his family lived upstairs from the Madison Pharmacy owned and operated by sibling #2
July 1938 Sibling #5, Is, with his bride Hilda, in front of Madison Pharmacy
600 Monroe Avenue, Elizabeth, New Jersey
(Males only listed below)
Standing on left, Harold Cohen, sibling #12, Nate Cohen, sibling #2 — Standing on right, Phil Cohen, sibling #9, Seated second from left, Eugene Cohen, sibling #13, Maurice (Moe) Cohen, sibling #11, and Gary Cohen, sibling #14
Standing on left - Hy Cohen, sibling #3, seated third from right, Max Cohen, sibling #4, seated second from right, Edith Beck, sibling #6
Our wedding - June 15, 1975 - My father-in-law Is, sibling #5, holding grandson David
While flipping through pictures to post in this blog, I found that Uncle Nate and Daniel Marcus were in one another’s company at our 1975 wedding. I wonder if one spotted the other and if they recognized each other. Did they reminisce the story of the pill for the hiccups some 18 years earlier? Probably not, but if Uncle Nate wore his white uniform jacket, bells might have gone off.
Standing on right - Daniel and Erica Marcus 1975
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In memory of Nate’s beloved son, our cousin Mark Cowen
(November 11, 1947 - August 19, 2022)
Obituary of Mark Cowen
IN THE CARE OF
Krowicki McCracken Funeral Home
It is with great sadness that the Cowen family announces the death of Mark Cowen. Mark passed away at the age of 74 on Friday, August 19, 2022, at home surrounded by his loving family, after a two and a half year battle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
Mark was born on November 11, 1947. He was born and raised in Elizabeth, NJ. He was a long time member, in good standing, of the New Jersey United Brotherhood of Carpenters Local # 715 for over fifty years. He served as President of the Millwrights and Carpenters Retirees Club. He worked and supervised numerous jobs spanning the tri-state area.
Mark loved watching his son Michael play baseball and coached him for many years. He was a lifelong sports fan and loved watching his teams, the Jets, Packers, Yankees and Dodgers. His passion for football was evident, when in his late teens, Mark attended and took part in a try out for the New York Jets.
Later in life, Mark joined the Union County Senior Softball League, playing first-base for the American Legion/Linwood Inn Softball Team, where he made many friends that he cherished and spoke about daily.
Mark is survived by his beloved wife, Melanie, together forty one years, married for thirty seven years; his four loving children, Michael Nathan Cowen of Union, Mark C. Cowen, Gina Franco (Waldo) of Mountainside, Lisa Williams of Westfield; his four beloved grandchildren, Evan Williams (Elizabeth), Mikayla Williams, Jordyn Franco, Justin Franco and Great-Granddaughter Mia Rose Williams; his devoted brothers and sisters, Michael Mace Cohen, Rima Jakub (Jeffrey, deceased), Rebecca Barner (Jeffrey), Robin Cohen, Mahlon Mace Cohen (Ausra); several nieces and nephews, and his cherished Jack Russell Terrier, Lucy.
Mark had many friends and touched the lives of people with kindness and understanding. All who knew him and all who loved him will never forget him.
A visitation for Mark will be held Thursday, August 25, 2022 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Krowicki McCracken Funeral Home, 2124 East Saint George Ave, Linden, NJ 07036. Family and guests are invited to gather at the funeral home the following morning , Friday, August 26, 2022 at the funeral home from 9:00AM to 10:00AM. A funeral mass will follow from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM at St Genevieve's Church, 200 Monmouth Rd, Elizabeth, NJ 07208.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at www.lls.org. To make a donation, mail Mark's full name and check to:
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, PO Box 22324, New York, NY 10087
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.krowickifuneralhome.com for the Cowen family.