The Biography of Herman Shooster

Frank Shooster

Dora Shooster

FRANK SHOOSTER: SEPT. 15, 1892 - MAR. 2, 1950

Herman Shooster - My father, Frank Shoost- er, was the son of Boruch (1860-1930) and Sara(1870-1942?) Shuster, a Jewish shoemaker, and his wife, from the town of Łutsk (Woosk). I don’t know much about them. The best I can do is share a photo from the old country. (photo pg. 54) It is one of the only photos I have of them. The little I know about my father was told to me by my mother. She said around the age of 15 (1908) he left his home penniless and managed to make it to North America. 1915, he got married and opened a struggling business. Threadbare, he did tailoring while she cleaned sewed. They barely got by. Soon they had two boys, my brothers, Izzy and Harry. I came eight years later. By the time I came along things were settled down. In the early years, against the odds, they saved enough money to buy a small home, which they rented out. Then a few more. Mother was a staunch saver. THE CORPORATION Stephen Shooster - With little access to capital, immigrants could not get help from banks, they had to become self-reliant. My father created a small finance company with his associates for this reason. I knew of it as ‘The Corporation.’ He was elected president and remained in that posi- tion for his entire life. It started with about 30 members who each gave an initial $1 or $2. He helped many of his friends get started in busi- ness withthis company. By the 1930s, my parents owned some cheap rental properties. When depression descended upon the country, they almost lost everything,

Frank Shooster (15-19?)

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