Unlike today's vista of decrepit buildings, dilapidated
housing and rusting junked cars, the South Bronx in 1950 was
the home of a large and thriving community, one that was
predominantly Jewish. Today a mere remnant of this once-
vibrant community survives, but in the 1950's the Bronx
offered synagogues, mikvas, kosher bakeries, and kosher
butchers -- all the comforts one would expect from an
observant Orthodox Jewish community.
The baby boom of the postwar years happily resulted in many
new young parents. As a matter of course, the South Bronx
had its own baby equipment store. Sickser's was located on
the corner of Westchester and Fox, and specialized in
"everything for the baby," as its slogan ran. The inventory
began with cribs, baby carriages, playpens, high chairs,
"changing tables", and toys. It went way beyond these to
everything a baby could want or need. Mr. Sickser, assisted
by his son-in-law Lou Kirshner, ran a profitable business
out of the needs of the rapidly-expanding child population.
The language of the store was primarily Yiddish, but
Sickser's was a place where not only Jewish families but
also many non-Jewish ones could acquire the necessary
paraphernalia for their newly-arrived bundles of joy.
Business was particularly busy one spring day, so much so
that Mr. Sickser and his son-in-law could not handle the
unexpected throng of customers. Desperate for help, Mr.
Sickser ran out of the store and stopped the first youth he
spotted on the street.
"Young man," he panted, "how would you like to make a little
extra money? I need some help in the store. You want to work
a little?"
The tall, lanky African-American boy flashed a smile back.
"Yes, sir, I'd like some work."
"Well then, let's get started." The boy followed his new
employer into the store.
Mr. Sickser was immediately impressed with the boy's good
manners and demeanor. As the days went by and he came again
and again to lend his help, Mr. Sickser and Lou both became
increasingly impressed with the youth's diligence,
punctuality and readiness to learn. Eventually Mr. Sickser
made him a regular employee at the store. It was gratifying
to find an employee with an almost soldier-like willingness
to perform even the most menial of tasks, and to perform
them well.
>From the age of thirteen until his sophomore year in
college, the young man put in from twelve to fifteen hours a
week, at 50 to 75 cents an hour. Mostly, he performed
general labor: assembling merchandise, unloading trucks and
preparing items for shipments. He seemed, in his quiet way,
to appreciate not only the steady employment but the
friendly atmosphere Mr. Sickser's store offered. Mr. Sickser
and Lou learned in time about their helper's Jamaican
origins, and he in turn picked up a good deal of Yiddish. In
time young Colin was able to converse fairly well with his
employers, and more importantly, with a number of the Jewish
customers whose English was not fluent.
At the age of seventeen, the young man, while still working
part-time at Sickser's, began his first semester at City
College of New York. He fit in just fine with his, for the
most part Jewish, classmates -- hardly surprising,
considering that he already knew their ways and their
language. But the heavy studying in the managering and later
geology courses he chose proved quite challenging. Colin
would later recall that Sickser's offered the one stable
point in his life those days.
In 1993, in his position as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff - two years after he guided the American victory
over Iraq in the Gulf War -- Colin Powell visited the Holy
Land. Upon meeting Israel's Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir in
Jerusalem, he greeted the Israeli with the words "Men
kent reden Yiddish" (We can speak Yiddish). As Shamir,
stunned, tried to pull himself together, the current
Secretary of State-designate continued chatting in his
second-favorite language. He had never forgotten his early
days in the Bronx.
Zev Roth is an author living in Israel. The above is
excerpted from his book The Monsey-Kiryat Sefer Express:
True Tales from Two Cities (Targum Press, 200).
