Occupational Therapy

 

 

    When our ancestors immigrated to America they needed to find jobs in their new country. Many of them relied on their job skills from the old country. I’ve perused many passenger lists and manifests and occupations like dressmaker, tailor, and shoemaker were prevalent. Merchant and laborer were also commonly listed. There wasn’t much diversity in the types of work people did. Political and economic conditions in Europe forced the Jews to become laborers or artisans. America provided a much broader scope of opportunities and the immigrants filled those positions. 

     My grandfather, Louis Levine listed shoemaker as his occupation in Europe. Here is his ship manifest He is on line 28 as Leiser Lewin

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    All of the subsequent census reports list him as a merchant or proprietor of a business. I know that he had owned hardware stores and used clothing stores but he also dabbled in real estate development in the 1920s. My grandmother, Tillie Kahanovitz worked as an operator in a clothing factory in New York in 1910. Here she is on the 1910 census report as Tillie Cohen.  Line 13.

 

     Many Jewish immigrants worked in the clothing industry in the early 1900s because those were the only jobs available. They worked for slave wages in dangerous and inhumane conditions and were on the forefront of the organized labor movement in the United States. 

    My Mother’s mother, Rachel Pasternak owned a small grocery store and restaurant. My mother worked there and I remember her telling me stories of things that happened in the store. 

    Arlene’s maternal grandparents also had a small store and restaurant. Bessie ran the store and Philip worked in the clothing industry in Philadelphia. The 1920 census shows Philip as a shirt waister Line 97.

 

 Her paternal grandfather, Louis Cohn was listed as a jobber in the 1920 census. I imagine that he bought and sold merchandise of some sort. In 1910 his occupation was a traveling salesman in the clothing industry. 

    Younger generations branched out into all aspects of the job market. The development of new industries and advances in technology coupled with a desire for higher education created a plethora of new lines of work. The next three generations after our grandparents found people engaging in some very exciting fields of work. Among them are several artists, some lawyers, teachers at all levels, and business owners. We also have several PHDs in various fields of study. There are engineers, manufacturing supervisors, a mechanic, and a marketing specialist. Several relatives are social workers, there is a librarian, we have a chemist, a cytogeneticist, and we even have a clown. As far as I know there are no politicians, there are no career military people, nor are there any world class athletes. 

     The auto parts industry seemed to be a go to business for more than one family member. My father owned and operated Levine Auto Supply for 30 years until I joined him in the business in 1982. Here he is behind the counter.

 

He had a short lived auto parts business with his brother Sam in the late 40s. Dad told me that he got his start in the auto parts business from Matt Arkin who was married to his father’s cousin, Mae Levine. Matt owned Arkin Auto Parts in Wheeling, WV. 

    Matt’s daughter, Rosalind was married to Bob Sugarman who had an auto parts business in Richmond, VA. Many other relatives in the south west Pennsylvania area made a living in the car business. Manny Rogoff had a car wrecking business with his brother, Leonard and Ben Levin (son of Mayer Levin) had a garage in West Virginia. My father’s first cousin, Izzy Friedman owned Jeannette Auto Parts in Jeannette, PA and eventually grew it into a multi store operation in the Pittsburgh area.         We all have worked for a living. Some of us have changed occupations over the course of time, reinventing ourselves in order to evolve with the changes in the economic environment. Others have followed their lifelong passion and have continued in their family’s traditional lines of work. Whatever each member of the family tree has chosen, it makes for a beautiful spectrum of experiences to be shared with us all.