HELPING CASEY
BORN AT HOME
Dora Shooster - Casey was an infantile paral- ysis victim. His left side was paralyzed. He couldn’t move it. His mother died. His father had a grocery store. He didn’t know what to do with his son. We didn’t know him so much then. His father put him into a real estate office. When Frank started to buy a few hous- es, he was put into connection with a few real estate people. This is how Frank knew Casey. Frank knew he was incapable on that one arm, but he had a good head on his shoulders. So, Frank, whatever little bit of deals he did he brought Casey in, saying, ‘Let Casey make a dollar.’ It was very nice. So one day Casey comes into town to Frank, who was in the gas busi- ness by that time. He says, ‘Frank, what am I going to do now?’ He worked for American people, and they fired him. Fired him off the job. Frank, ‘Don’t worry, Casey, I’m still alive. I ain’t going to let you down.’ Casey, ‘What are you going to do for me?’ Frank, ‘I’ll go down to my lawyers on Ulster Street, and I’ll rent you a desk space, space enough for a desk and chair.’ And they go down, and they buy a chair, and a couple of chairs and a desk and he is back in business. And I’ll right away take you to the schul and get a lot of clients and give them to you. Frank, ‘Since I’m President of The Corpo- ration, if we need money, we’ll get interest on this, and this, and this, and little-by-little you’ll become a real estate man.’ ‘You’ll put out a sign, Houses for Sale.’ He didn’t have a family. He was a Catho- lic boy. He couldn’t just marry anybody. And that’s how Frank put Casey to business.’ It worked out and for about 18 years he was married to a very drunk girl. Being Catholic, he couldn’t get divorced. He lost out in that respect, got disgusted, and became a drunk and an alcoholic himself.’
Dora Shooster - We lived for years next to a neighbor named Rosenblatt. She had eleven children. One of her daughters, Eunice, was supposed to get married. Mrs. Rosenblatt said, ‘Mrs. Shooster, could you help me out with the cooking of the roasts and the chickens for the wedding? One oven isn’t enough.’ I told Mrs. Rosenblatt, ‘I will do every- thing I can to help out.’ I promised her. In the meantime, I became pregnant, and I wanted to get rid of it. I done [sic] everything to get rid of it. The doctor told me to come to see him on a Friday. I remembered that Eunice gets married that Sunday and how could I disappoint Mrs. Rossinblatt when she depended on me? So, I thought, I would wait another few days for myself and I didn’t go to the doctor. Instead, I helped my neighbor stuff chickens and make a goose. I helped her with every- thing. We were invited to the wedding. The wedding was in the schul. While Mr. and Mrs. Rossinblatt took Eunice to the altar, I turned to Frank and said, “If I would know that I would have a daughter, I would let myself go. Frank told me, ‘Give yourself a chance.’ Izzy was about nine years old; It was a Centennial at that time. Herman was born after midnight on a Friday. It was officially Saturday morning. That is why his birthday is on the 29th of November instead of the 28th. When I was pregnant with Herman, we had worked ourselves up a little bit financially, and Pop hand-made me a beautiful maternity dress. Herman Shooster - After the mishap at the last hospital, my mother wasn’t taking chances anymore. I was born at home, upstairs, in the living quarters, on Nov. 29, 1924, just after the clock turned midnight on the 28th. For the next 18 years of my childhood, we lived in that house. 1930, census reports the home value as $15,000, and also states we own a radio. [$233,958 in 2021]
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