"A serendipitous discovery"

Who was Romolo Mazzocchia? I don’t know him or anything about him except that he lived on 20th Avenue and graduated with my mother, Rose Rosen, in June 1934 from Eastside High School. One day, 5 years ago, I was rummaging through an antique shop and found Romolo’s yearbook in an old bucket filled with rusty tools. It had a plain blue soft cover, stapled and tied together with a string, assumedly a “no frills” yearbook. I nervously opened it and quickly turned to the “R’s.” There she was! My mom! Always with a great big smile.

All the students who graduated Eastside in 1934 were mostly born around the time the U.S. joined the Great War in 1917. As described by Tom Brokaw, they were “The Greatest Generation.” An awful lot happened stateside in that period between The Great War and 1934.

Listed below is a quick succession of events and people who helped shape the culture and laws of that time period. When the class of 1934 came into this world the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918-1920 was raging. Tens of millions perished during that pandemic which may have been the deadliest in world history. Other markers of that era were ”Prohibition – Al Capone, The Great Migration, The Harlem Renaissance, W.E.B. DuBois, the Woman’s Suffrage Movement, The Roaring Twenties, The Jazz Age, flappers, Babe Ruth, The Four Horsemen, Jack Dempsey- the Manassa Mauler, a thoroughbred horse called Man o’ War, movie madness, Charlie Chaplin, Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor, and Rudolph Valentino, flagpole sitting, Arnold Rothstein, Murder Inc. & Abie Reles, Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel, , The Untouchables, the St. Valentine’s Day massacre, the Crash of 1929, The Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, The Ten Most Wanted List and Bonnie and Clyde.

More locally, John V. Hinchliffe became mayor of Paterson in 1929. Hinchliffe Stadium was built in1932 and is located at the top of the Great Falls. It was used as an athletic field for the working class of industrial Paterson throughout the Depression. The annual Eastside and Central High Schools Thanksgiving Day football game was played there. The first Negro Leagues baseball games were held at this stadium named after him*.

Nativism and xenophobia which favored native born citizens, emerged in the 1840’s and erupted again in the 1920’s. Waves of immigrants had come to the U.S. until the Immigration Act of 1924 which implemented a quota system that limited the amount of immigrants into the U.S. especially those from Eastern and Southern Europe and Asia. There was also an insidious revival of the Klan in the 1920’s. Sacco and Vanzetti were convicted of murder and on August 23rd,1927 they were executed despite strong alibis. It was also the time, in 1928, of the Kellogg-Briand pact that outlawed war. Less than 5 years after the '34 class graduated the world was plunged into war once again...

The commencement Class of June 1934 was held on Tuesday Evening, June 26^th at 8:00 in Assembly Hall. Rabbi Max Raisin held the prayer service. Rabbi Raisin lived on E. 38th Street in Paterson and retired in 1947 after serving as Rabbi of Barnert Temple in his city. He was the author of 20 books and was a well known Jewish Reform leader. He died at age 75**.

Here is a sketch of some of the students in the yearbook. We are sure you have heard of many of them .

SYLVIA “TIPPIE” ALTSHULER (KRUGMAN) was very involved with the Criterion, the Senior Mirror, Choir, Dramatic Club, Journalism Club, Social Committee and many other positions during her time at Eastside, including being the Circulation Manager. I remember my mother (Rose Rosen Douma), who was a very good artist, telling me that Tippie asked her to give her art lessons, which she was glad to do. Tippie was also a personality associated with WPAT radio in Paterson after it signed on the air on May 3, 194l. It involved the “Tippie and ‘Cap’ Stubbs” listing for the station. She was purportedly their first female disc jockey. She married her sweetheart, Martin “Marty” Krugman, a fellow graduate. She was a great asset to his law office. I met her many times, mostly at the law office, once at her home for dinner with my late husband, and she was always truly sweet and enthusiastic. Tippie was quite a special person and her photo follows.

MARTIN “MARTY” KRUGMAN’S ambition was “To defend Hy Goldberg in my $15,000 suit against him.” He was active in the Dramatic Society, Student Council and the Ushers League to name a few of his endeavors. He was married to Tippie Altshuler and an attorney in the law firm of Krugman, Chapnick and Grimshaw, last located in Saddle Brook.

NATHAN GREENBLATT was a member of the Dramatic Society, Scholarship Society, Criterion and the Social Committee, among other clubs and was also a Big Brother while in high school. His ambition was “To be a cut-up (doctor, not comedian).” A graduate of Syracuse University, he was the owner of Superfuel Oil in Paterson prior to his retirement. He was a veteran of the WWII Army Air Corps. In addition he was a past president of Temple Emanuel of Franklin Lakes, a life trustee of the Veritans Club and a board member of the Paterson Chamber of Commerce. He was also past president of the Edgewood County Club in River Vale.

NORMA JOELSON (HAYMAN) – was a child of beloved Dr. Morris Joelson, the Paterson obstetrician who delivered 20,000 babies in a career that spanned 52 years dating back to the horse and buggy days. When he reached his 50th year of practice Barnert Memorial set aside a waiting room for expectant fathers and dedicated it to him. Norma went on to graduate Smith College and went to every Smith reunion. Like her dad, she was diminutive in stature and was affectionately called “Gnome” by friends and family. Norma was a lover of theater, ballet, everything Cole Porter and art. She was a seasoned traveler and you couldn’t get her off of the dance floor. Besides running an interior decorating business she devoted a lot of her time to charities especially the National Cancer Society. She was a founding member of the Passaic County chapter and then Secretary to the National Committee. Norma married Doctor Irving Hayman who headed the Department of Anesthesiology for almost 30 years at the Barnert Memorial Hospital in Paterson. Norma's photo follows.

SANFORD LEVINE had the desire “To be a Phi Beta Kappa in college.” He was secretary of the Photography Club, Nature Club and the Periclean Society. He was the owner of Sanford Levine Industries, makers of corrugated boxes and packing supplies.

ROSE ROSEN (DOUMA) desired “To be happy.” She was a member of the Student Council and the Dramatic Society. She was an aspiring artist and contributed art work for the 1934 Senior Mirror and was named Class Artist along with Esther Freyman and Evelyn Cielo. She took the “Classical Course.” Rose was also on the Senior Class Book Committee. A photo or Rose and an image of her artwork follows.

Colorful Rose Rosen (Douma) enjoying her high school years. She named her 4 children in alphabetical order, starting with “A” and ending with “D.”

SELMA SARVER (MILLER) wanted “To do as much for humanity Florence Nightingale.” We sincerely hope her wish came true. Her high school activities included the French Club, Nature Club and the Dress Committee of the Senior Class. Norma Joelson Hayman’s obituary mentions Selma as her childhood friend.

MARTIN SUKENICK desired “To sleep 32 hours a day and spend the other 8 hours eating.” He was known as “Sookie,” and “Babe.” Among his many activities he was Treasurer of the Periclean Society. After being Vice-President, he became President of the Broadway Bank and Trust in Paterson in 1968, and Chairman of the Board. He was a key figure in building the Passaic County Community College and the new elementary school in Clifton. He died at age 79 in 1997.

Here is a short list of some other names that you may know:
Arthur Arbus, Harold Aronson, Goldy Fabian, Milton Farber, Vera Greenfield, Sylvia Igir, Blanche G. Lefkowitz, Bernard Nochimson, Louise Raisin, Dorothy Sacks, Sidney Simon, Abe Strickler, and Mary Zakim.

Mayer Mechanic appears several times in the 1934 EHS yearbook though he did not actually graduate until the following year. Mayer lived at 21 Carroll Street and his ambition was “to get a fuller view and attain the loftier levels of life.” He was active in the Student Council, Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, a participant in the Nature Club and the Periclean Society. He can be seen in the photo below on the top of the EHS steps while captaining the EHS Debating Team. Note the man wearing the bowtie in the photo. That’s Doc Fendell, the faculty adviser to the Debating Team. Doc continued on as a faculty English teacher at EHS until the early 1960’s. Mayer went on to become a prominent Paterson dentist practicing at 705 Broadway. His photo as a young dentist and his Paterson office appear following this paragraph. As a sideline Mayer also developed a talent as a real estate developer.

Yearbook underclassmen — Other familiar underclassmen featured in the yearbook are: Evelyn Abrash, Jack Gold, Helen Katz, Sidney Keller and Harold Hershberg.

Other familiar underclassmen featured in the yearbook are: Evelyn Abrash, Jack Gold, Helen Katz, Sidney Keller and Harold Hershberg.

Some of the patrons in the back of the book are:
Wordell’s, Driscoll and Zimmerman, Schoonmaker’s, Stenchever’s, Sacks Plumbing Supply, General Office Equipment, Pinck’s Drug Store, The Mart and Country Club Ice Cream.

In conclusion, this “Greatest Generation” of young adults saw a lot and did a lot during and after their 1934 graduation. They were on this earth during the 2 World Wars that affected them all in one way or another. They may have lost fathers during WWI that they never knew. Women may have lost close relatives during WWII, including husbands, brothers and uncles. They held down the home front with child care and necessary factory work. Some enlisted. Men also experienced relatives who perished. Our EHS graduates most likely fought battles in either the European or Pacific Theaters of War. When all was said and done, they ALL did their duty with their deeds and actions with courage, good intentions and hard work. They became adults. Most also bettered and helped build their communities with more good actions after the war. This memoir is a salute to them. You will always be remembered. Thank You.
Dorothy Douma Greene,
Past President of the JHSNJ
*Wikipedia
**The New York Times, obituary