Mailbox: from January 2016 Blog Entry

Dec 30, 2015

Anita (Sugie) Ellis 

12:31 PM (7 hours ago)

Dear Arthur:

Having lived in Trenton from 1950-75, and being involved in the city up to my ears, I really enjoy what you are doing and appreciate the effort it takes.  Herbie S and The Hon Mark Litzowitz (Markie to me, as we were all friends a long time ago). look great  in the picture of the Historical Society meeting!  You can tell them I said so.

Did you know there was a very big pageant in Cadwalader Park to celebrate Trenton's 200th birthday?  I'm sure all the pictures are somewhere in the archives.  There were almost 100 people participating.  If I remember correctly Rose Movich was the chairman.  It's a lovely memory.

I've been in Jerusalem for 40 years but my memories of Trenton, at the peak of its Jewish Community, are vivid and happy.  You are invited to dinner if you find yourself in Israel.

Cordially

Sugie Norman Ellis (Rob Norman's Mom)

On 12/30/2015 6:24 PM, Arthur L. Finkle wrote:

Anita (Sugie) Ellis 

I have a great story about the meeting held to decide how Trenton's community would respond to Israel's need at the time of the 6 Day War.  If you are interested, let me know.

Cordially

Sugie

----

Stanley D. Saperstein 

6:59 PM (39 minutes ago)

Art

Glad you can use it. Cindy has a lot pictures of men's club dances and other Jewish groups. Her father was involved for years with the men's club. We should get together and review them. We know who some of the people are you may know more.

We also have workmen's circle pictures in which Cindy's grandparents were members. We also have a picture of her grandfather's grocery store on Larlor Street.

Cindy's mother wrote a complete history of the Jews of Trenton as a founding member of the Jewish History Historical Society. That was the group Ozzy Zuckerman was President. I think the Trenton library has a copy of it.

I also have my father's man of the year award from the Jewish community center.

Stan

Sandra Rush

11:26 AM (8 hours ago)

Your email is timely. As you know, I have been working on an oral history of the Lamberton-Market-Union Street neighborhoods with my Aunt Edith Goldberg, and I have quite a bit of material. I still have two more tapes to transcribe, and I am trying to collect photos to go into the book (I say "book" because it will probably be about 100 pages or so). 

Sadly, my aunt passed away a couple of weeks ago. But I plan to resume work on the book as soon as I finish my obligations to my publisher for my third book (on math) and the second edition of my first book. My guess is that I will be able to start turning the transcriptions into a  book, which I will of course share with you and the Society, in February and March of this coming year. The challenge is getting the whole thing in chronological order, since she talked about everything under the sun. 

If it's okay with you, I will be sending you questions I might have as I work it. What photos of the area are available for publication without infringing on copyrights?  Sandy

Trenton Families: Saperstein

The Saperstein Family

Stan Saperstein

The Saperstein family is one of the original South Trenton families.

Meyer Saperstein and his wife Anna arrived in Trenton sometime around 1900. Meyer started with a cart and horse to collect metal scraps. Eventually, he opened a scrap yard on New Street, right next to Union Street’s Anschei Emes, in the heart of South Trenton,  after 1900.

By 1915 extracted parts and metals from wrecked cars. Eventually, he opened Trenton Auto Parts. Meyer sold used auto parts along with scrap metal. The business eventually went to my father Samuel and my Uncle Jacob (Jack). Jack, born in 1904 was one of eight children. Sam was the youngest.

The brothers were Albert the oldest and owner of a pool hall; Simon who started his own scrap metal business; Joseph (Jumbo) was a bootlegger in the 1920s era and then a bookie. He had a luncheonette on Market Street. Edward married into a Maine lumber family and built up a very successful building supply business in Waterville Maine. Solomon (Spotty) and his wife Estelle owned Kalen’s fine Arts, a Trenton land mark Framing and Art studio. Esther was the Sister.

Trenton Auto Parts passed to my father and Jack after Meyer died in 1950. Both of them entered the business at a young age about 16 years old.

 The business did well in the 1920s. Both My father Sam and Jack learned how to rebuild parts. Jack specialized in transmissions and rears. He could fix any kind. Sam rebuilt carburetors generators alternators and other small parts. During the thirties they almost starved in the great Depression. My father used to tell stories of how they ate spaghetti every day and were lucky to get it. WWII led to boom years with scrap metal bringing big prices and with no cars being manufactured, the parts business boomed. From that time on the business did well.

My father opened Five Points Auto Parts on Warren St. but it was destroyed in a fire in 1957. In the sixties, the Trenton’s Urban Renewal Project of Trenton took the original location on New Street.

 I spent the summer of 1966 helping move the business to Southard Street where it remained until it closed with Jack’s death at age 86 in 1990. My father had been disabled by a stroke a few years before. He died at the age of 79. The business at that time was the oldest auto parts store in Trenton.

When I was old enough, I played in the Scrap Yard; got filthy; was was seventh heaven.  My cousin Jean Finkle, Jack’s Daughter, said she did the same thing. She is about 15 years older than me. Jack had four daughters.

Jack and my father were business opposites Jack was a no nonsense business man and my father would give the store away. Between the two they tempered each other. Jack was very generous to the family. He would do anything for his daughters and treated my brother and I like sons. He took me fishing many times. When my brother Bob showed an interest in pool, Jack took him under his wing. Jack played pool on a pro level learning in his Uncle Al’s pool hall. Jack was also an antique glass collector. My father was a table tennis champion and taught my brother who to this day is a nationally ranked player. He also coached all our sports teams at the JCC and was voted Man of the Year.

My Uncle Spotty took over Kalen’s Fine Arts with his wife Estela when her parents passed on. The store was on South Broad Street. They sold high end art and did much of Trenton’s framing. They expanded the store to Princeton at Palmer Square and to Morrisville. As Trenton deteriorated they closed the Trenton store. They closed the Princeton location as they got older and ended up with the Morrisville store just before they retired. My bother learned framing from Spotty and I learned to restore Gesso frames.