The Cruel Truth about the Easter Chicks
I got an email today from Laura Filler, Stuart's daughter, asking me to take a picture of the exterior of the former Dotty Shop, her grandmother's store. This got me thinking about her grandmother Shen (Ron's mother) and a memory came back to me from my first year in Union City. I was 7.
My cousin Lee is a year older and the two of us were inseparable. We were adventurous children who were allowed the freedom to explore our neighborhood unsupervised.
One day we stumbled upon a poultry business housed in a dilapidated wooden building. We hid behind some bushes and watched in horror as a creepy-looking man, sitting on a crate in the doorway, grabbed chickens, one at a time, and cut off their heads. Most of them just died, but one chicken "ran around like a chicken with its head cut off"--literally! That is a vision I will never forget and would not have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.
We ran home, terrified. But pretty soon we got up the nerve to go back and one weekend when the building was closed, we found a way to sneak inside. To our utter amazement we discovered dozens of pink, blue and green baby chicks. Being Jewish, we were not familiar with Easter Baskets and did not know about pastel-dyed chicks. Naturally, our younger siblings didn't believe a word of our story so we brought them back with us later that day.
We were so charmed by the little chicks that we decided to take several home as pets and stuffed them in our pockets. I can't imagine what lie we told our parents when we showed up with the chickens--but they could not have fathomed that their darling children were thieves.
Needless to say, we were not allowed to keep the chicks. After all, our NY parents had no idea what or how to feed a chicken. Plus chicken poop in the house was the last straw. Our mothers told us Mrs Filler kept chickens in her yard and that our chicks would be much happier there. Although disappointed, I believed it.
Today, half a century later, I found out the cruel truth from Laura:
"upon my inquiry, Ronnie said Shen stepped on two of the chicks and the rest the maid killed and they ate them for dinner. I think your parents were wrong about the Filler family."
posted by Deborah at 8:54 PM
7 Comments:
Hi Deborah,
i just couldn't believe your family's story, it is strikingly similar to my own. my grandpa also owned a men's outerwear company called nimelstein sportswear (later called nimco). there was also a fire in the building -- though it was an accident, and did not affect the factory. they had to move out of the building anyway since it was to be the location of the u.s. mint in philadelphia. so my grandpa went to work for another manufacturor. his job was to manage a factory located in a place called halls, tennessee. my grandma and aunts stayed in philly and my mom was already in college so she never got to experience the cotton fields of tn. but she did have a pet chicken in college! can you believe all the similarities?
have a fabulous time at the reunion, the blog is a great idea!
I am Patti Berlin cousin to Deborah. I truly remember the chickens, however Lee and I were able to keep two chicks in our house for several weeks my Mom was an animal lover and we often had various strays of various species9. Those chickens grow very fast, and when they were too much for my mom she told us they were going to a farm and we were promised that they would live there forever. Guess not.
I have extremely fond memories of Union City. We lived there from 1955 to 1960.
My cousins and I had the opportunity to be experimental as kids and the freedom to roam at will. We walked down the railroad tracks ( imaging how insane)
I remained in contact with Stuart Filler until his death, and saw his brothers Ronnie and Bernie, as well as mom Shen on mary occasions.
I know the reunion will be special and fun for all.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Patti,
I am happy that you remember the chickens because your brother Lee seems to have developed amnesia about his childhood in Tennessee. My brother had only a hazy memory about the chicks, but he was ony 5 years old. He correctly assumed that we forced him to do something that was likely to get him into trouble. Since he was the youngest of the 4, we always took advantage of him.
Shaina,
How amazing!!! I had no idea your family had such a similar background. And funny how we both ended up in Scottsdale, too.
Thanks for sharing all of this with me.
My little brother Sol took his family on a similar "tour" of Union City a few years ago.
I even get the UC paper every day so I keep up with everything.
My friends in the "Big City" of Miami are amazed when I share stories of small town life with them.
Please keep in touch and hope to hear from other Union City "old friends"
Deb
Your blog is terrific. We all loved it there, to the amazement of almost everyone I meet.
Yes, you and Lee were inseparable. Andrew and I had to combat your antics.
Jackie LaFont and I were great friends, but I really think that Toby and I spent most of our time together. I am pleased that we reconnected. He and Alan Gorman are trying to make me more techno sophisticated.
Do you remember that when we moved to Union City they did not have dial phones. We would pick up the phone and ask Millie ( generic operator name) and ask for a number. Many people had party lines and we would have to wait until their other call was finished. The phone company came to the school to teach the children how to use the dial phones. Naturally we were from the Northeast and oh so learned about these things.
So many memories and such a great childhood.
We all thank you for such a wonderful blog.
Union Cityites, please keep writing.
Patti Berlin
Post a Comment
<< Home