Jennie Bernstein
I am writing my Elul story about my paternal grandmother, Jennie Bernstein. She came over from Lithuania in 1905 with her parents and 2 sisters to New York and settled in Glen Cove with other family members. In 1908, she married her 3rd cousin, Sidney Bernstein, (yes, she was Jennie Bernstein Bernstein), and moved to Oyster Bay, where my grandfather had started a family clothing store in 1906.
In 1916, they moved to this beautiful 9-room Victorian home on South St., and raised 4
children, including my father, who was #3. They assimilated into life in Oyster Bay, which had very few Jews, and were active members of the community. Gram told me how she and Pop made the hard decision to keep the store open on Saturdays, as that’s how it was. She was widowed in 1947. I never met him.
She said how the town would gather at the train station when TR came into Oyster Bay. She crocheted at the Christ Church Parish Hall with Edith Roosevelt, TR’s widow, although I’m sure they never spoke. She was an expert crocheter and made headrests, pillow frills, and afghans for us all.
Gram followed the news on TV and read the Long Island Press and The Forward. She showed me a picture of Hitler and explained that he killed the remaining family in Lithuania, and they were never heard from again. Gram had 9 grandchildren, and one of the older ones followed Transcendental Meditation, and she saw Larry’s “Rabbi” on the Merv Griffin Show (the Maharishi). Gram walked into town one day and went to the back of the store to say hello to my father. He was eating a ham sandwich, which he quickly hid behind his back.
My grandmother downsized the house in 1959,
and 2 bedrooms were converted into a kitchen and living room. The attic was a treasure trove of memories of her life and family, and I could go on and on. She passed away peacefully at the age of 90 in her beloved home in 1976.
Suellen and Mitch Sommer have been members of TBT for 9 years. They have 2 daughters, 2 sons-in-law, and 4 grandchildren who make their day, everyday.
In 1916, they moved to this beautiful 9-room Victorian home on South St., and raised 4
children, including my father, who was #3. They assimilated into life in Oyster Bay, which had very few Jews, and were active members of the community. Gram told me how she and Pop made the hard decision to keep the store open on Saturdays, as that’s how it was. She was widowed in 1947. I never met him.
She said how the town would gather at the train station when TR came into Oyster Bay. She crocheted at the Christ Church Parish Hall with Edith Roosevelt, TR’s widow, although I’m sure they never spoke. She was an expert crocheter and made headrests, pillow frills, and afghans for us all.
Gram followed the news on TV and read the Long Island Press and The Forward. She showed me a picture of Hitler and explained that he killed the remaining family in Lithuania, and they were never heard from again. Gram had 9 grandchildren, and one of the older ones followed Transcendental Meditation, and she saw Larry’s “Rabbi” on the Merv Griffin Show (the Maharishi). Gram walked into town one day and went to the back of the store to say hello to my father. He was eating a ham sandwich, which he quickly hid behind his back.
My grandmother downsized the house in 1959,
and 2 bedrooms were converted into a kitchen and living room. The attic was a treasure trove of memories of her life and family, and I could go on and on. She passed away peacefully at the age of 90 in her beloved home in 1976.
Suellen and Mitch Sommer have been members of TBT for 9 years. They have 2 daughters, 2 sons-in-law, and 4 grandchildren who make their day, everyday.
