There was no help to go to in those years. You couldn’t get welfare. There wasn’t such a thing. No Social Security, no welfare, no stamps, nothing! Nowadays if this happens, the widow goes to the Jewish Federation, and the kids are protected until they can work. They send you a check every month. They take over. In the old days, they just starved to death. If you didn’t have it, then you didn’t have it. Mary and her kids survived. The children all made something for themselves. All three boys became professional men. They are not professional like doctors and lawyers, and they are not professional like they have big jobs, but they have jobs. Eventually, Mary pushed Frank out of the house instructing him to make a life for himself. Herman Shooster- I used to call Aunt Mary, Tanta Mary. She was a love. By the time I came along and grew old enough to appre- ciate her, most of these struggles had settled down. My father moved to Chester while she remained in Philadelphia. To me, a visit from Tanta always meant toys and presents. She
would travel to Chester fairly often using the public trolley cars if by land, or the Wilson Line, if by sea. Once in a while, she would take me back with her. If I were lucky, we would go back on the Wilson Line. Wow! What a treat! I loved her dearly. I spent all of my summer vacations at her home with her kids. Getting there was part of the fun. As I grew older, my parents sent me on my own. I remember taking the elevated train part of the way, connecting with a trolley car, and walking about a half- mile. This was a welcome adventure for a little boy. Other times my parents would drive me. She lived on Almond Street in Southwest Philadelphia, a narrow street filled with row houses. They all looked the same. Each sported a white marble front step. Most of the homes in Philadelphia had this distinctive look. When thinking about summer, I knew I’d be playing in the street under an open fireplug on hot days and go to the movies at night. The walk to the Palm Theater was about a mile. After the movie, on the walk home sometimes she would buy me an ice cream cone.
Drawing by Rose Lesnik Mellor Herman and Dorothy at the table
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