Roses

  In 1918, my immigrant parents were living on Rivington Street in lower Manhattan. It was an extremely crowded area and not a pleasant place in which to live. On January 16, 1918, their first child Frieda, was born. My father loved the child and did not want her living in what could pass as a slum. Fortunately he had a sister Mary, who was married and lived in a neighborhood in Queens called Middle Village. It was still an area surrounded by woods and dairy farms. Its residents were in the generally lower financial class, but my father believed it would be a fine place for Frieda. Arrangements were made with Sam Klein, my mother’s first cousin, to buy a small two family house on what was then called Pulaski Street, ultimately changed to 68th Avenue. Between 1918 and 1928, my mother gave birth to four more children, three boys and one girl, all of whom were born in the house.  I was the youngest having been born on January 17, 1928. I enjoy telling the story Frieda said when waking up on the morning of January 17, 1928, the day after her tenth birthday, she went into the small kitchen for her breakfast before leaving for school. Instead of breakfast on the small kitchen table, there was a new born baby. She left the house to meet her classmate Ruthie and told her she had gotten a tenth birthday present, a baby brother. Frieda always said that was the best birthday gift she ever received, but I think she had it wrong. It was Frieda who on the day of my birth, was the best present I ever received. 

    There was a very small backyard to the house, in which momma planted tomato plants each spring. At the end of the summer momma pickled the green tomatoes. They were delicious. There were however no other plants in the backyard, let alone rose bushes.  Beautiful flowers on our property were not a part of my growing up life. I was in my mid twenties when I married and ultimately  we became fortunate in becoming the owners of a beautiful house located in Kew Garden Hills, Queens, which had a large backyard. Initially, I began to tinker with flowering plants. After I retired from practicing law for over fifty years, I became more interested in flower gardening. I was surprised as to how well I did.

Ben Haber

May 2021