MY PARENTS
TIMELINE OF FRANK SHOOSTER SR.
Herman Shooster - My parents worked hard to make a living. They spent very little. By the late 1920’s they had three or four homes for rent, each worth about $1,500. To afford the properties, they borrowed from the bank. The Great Depression came along, and people could not pay for food or rent. Small- time landlords like my parents got squeezed. They often had trouble paying their mortgages. Banks were foreclosing on the non-performing properties and boarding them up. My parents were in trouble; everyone was. Their property was scheduled for foreclosure. With the deadline looming and no one buying clothing or paying adequate rent, income every- where dried up. Imagine scratching together everything they had after what they had already been through and losing it overnight. These were hard times, but my parents came from a world that was even harsher. They knew how to survive with the barest essentials. My mother recalled stories of cooking an onion for dinner just to have something on the stove. And now, living in this new land, there was no family to rely upon and few government social services. They were taking care of seven kids when the depression started, three of their own and four of my father’s sister, Tanta Mary. Somehow they found the courage to move ahead. I admire their strength and sacrifice immensely. My mother had chutzpah. Desperate to save their property from foreclosure she walked to the downtown Chester Bank and barged right into a meeting of the Board of Directors. In doing so, she told them rightly, in her broken Yiddish-English accent, “If you board up the property, people will break in and steal the plumbing and then the fixtures and even more. But if you give me a chance, I will walk miles to collect as much rent as I can.” The bank- ers, I am told, were so taken by my mother’s nerve that they decided to go along with her. She followed through on her promise walking a mile to collect 50 cents in rent. I see this same nerve with my daughter, Wendy, and maybe even some of my grandchildren. In time, the bankers were justified, and my parents paid off every cent.
1892 Born In Lutsk, Tsarist, Russia 1909 Many Siblings Die During Childhood. 1905 Apprenticed To A Tailor (Age 13) 1909 Chased Out Of Tzarist, Russia For Sedition 1910 Arrives In Philadelphia, Penniless With Baster As Declared Job. Age 20 1914 Engaged To Rose Engelman 1914 Wwi Begins [Age 23] 1915 Rose Engelman Dies Before Marriage 1915 Marries Dora Chomut / Goldstien 1915 Opens A Tailor Shop 1916 Izzy Is Born In Philadelphia 1917 Harry Is Born In Philadelphia 1918 Wwi Ends 1923 Established Delaware Finance Corp. And Declared Its President. [Providing Loans To Small Businesses.] 1924 Herman Is Born In Chester 1925 Shooster’s & Sons Incorporated 1926 Purchased A Small Home To Rent 1927 Purchased A 2nd Rental Home 1928 Joined West End Businessman’s Asso. 1929 The Stock Market Crashes 1930 Purchased Land At Madison And 24th Permit To Build Permit Change Denied Lost Appeal On Permit Change Property Foreclosed 1932 Purchased A Gas Station 1934 Joined The Retail Gasoline Dealers Assc. 1936 Local Newspaper Marketing Test to Sell Real Estate 1937 Bought Second Gas Station 1938 Built An Ice House 1938 Built A Drive-In Restaurant 1939 WWII Begins 1942 Herman Joins the Army 1945 Wwii Ends - The Nuclear Age Begins 1947 Built Two Homes For Sale 1948 Plans Dora’s Dream Home 1948 Appeals Another Building Permit Casey Rescues The Property Won The Permit Change Case Supreme Court Of Pennsylvania 1948 Herman Graduates Temple University 1949 Permit To Build Dora’s Dream Home
1949 Undergoes Prostate Surgery 1950 Died, March 2nd, 1:00 AM
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