Father's Day | Jewish Historical Society

This Sunday is Father’s Day. In honor of our fathers, the JHSNJ has assembled a selection of photos representing memories of past fathers.

To honor her late dad on Father's Day, Judith Marks-White, a prolific contributor to the JHSNJ, recently composed the following poem:

Seat Belts, by Judith Marks-White
Before seat belts were invented,
my dad’s arm was my protector.
If the car stopped too quickly,
or we paused at an amber light,
his arm would automatically reach across me as if mechanically installed.
Once, when I was eight,
we got into a minor accident at a stop sign.
I, bouncing up and down
until my father’s strong arm saved me from
lunging forward.
Now, whenever I attach a seat belt,
I think of his arm
ready at the quick,
steady as the beat of my heart as I buckle the seat belt into place.

Father's Day, June 24, 1981, Albert Einstein Chapter, B'nai B'rith Women — Arthur Dames, 80, a resident of Alps Manor Nursing Home, Wayne, is visited for Father’s Day by Heather Lepp, 4, left, and David Lepp, 8. Visits to the residents were sponsored by the Albert Einstein Chapter of B’nai B’rith Women. June 24, 1981.

From left to right-Current JHSNJ Vice President of Programming Allen Zaks (age 13), his dad, Sy "Shaya" Zaks, of blessed memory, and his brother Jerry Zaks (age15). Photo was taken at Allen's Bar Mitzvah on February 24,1962 at the Community Synagogue/Hebrew Free School in Paterson.

Linoleum store, Paterson NJ, Yiddish — On the left are Meyer Paris’s grandkids Richard Paris, Henry Burstyn and Cheryl Paris viewing plaque honoring their grandfather Meyer Paris. Meyer, on the right, owned a linoleum store in downtown Paterson and was also the director of the Yiddish Theater. He is the father of Herman Paris, the photographer who took this portrait, and Len Paris.

Joseph Coven shown with daughter Ruth (from the Jules Gutin Collection). Date and location unknown.

Ben Katz, Judith Marks-White's dad — The upper left image is of my dad, Ben Katz. The upper right image shows me in my beloved dad's arms in June 1942