P«fl«3 — THE NEWS — Nov«mb«r, 1961
Random Thoughts » « , by Muriel Levitt
L’ Chaim
If you have never been at
or gone to an old time wed
ding in the East Bronx,
then this column may come
as a revelation. However, if
you have been an invited
guest to such a simcha,
then you’ll know that
everything I write is
gospel.
Most wedding halls in the
1930’s and 1940 s were large
lofts located right about
assorted retail stores. An
incredibly long staircase
had to be climbed before
ou reached chasenah
eaven. Once you puffed
your way to the top the first
stop was a coat room with
an attendant. On a shelf
you immediately spotted a
saucer holding a few dollar
bills. This was to remind
you that individual tipping
was requested since in
those days such respon
sibility did not belong to
the host. You had to ran
som any and all belongings
parked there for the even
ing.
The hall itself was im
mense and terribly attrac
tive. Walls were covered
with heavy damask and the
windows were draped in
matching cloth. For some
reason I could never
fathom, the color was
always a hideous yellow
?;old, maybe to give the af-
ect of opulence and class.
It didn’t work.
Before the ceremony, the
bride was hidden from view
in an adjoining room. She
sat upon a large, carved
thronelike chair and only
female friends and
relatives were permitted to
gaze on such startling beau
ty. Although the ^oom was
busy socializing and
bolstering his courage with
a schnapps of two, she was
in nervous seclusion. The
fewer people who saw her,
the more oohs and ahs there
would be when she walked
down the aisle.
The bride, the brides
maids, mothers, aunts and
other female relatives all
wore gowns made by lower
east side couturieres. These
dressmaking shops catered
to every fi^re and every
purse. Tney created
desiras to suit each' in
dividual at prices that
would seem ridiculous to
day. True, they were a bit
ornate, but going all out for
a family wedding was the
way it was done.
The groom and his ushers
sported rented tuxedos.
There were no fancy colors.
A tuxedo was black and
that was it. Sleeves were
too long and pants were too
short. A really good fitting
suit was rarely to be seen.
None of this counted.
Evervone was too excited
to pay attention to such a
detail as proper tailoring.
They were dressed up and
they were there, and that’s
all that really mattered.
The ceremony itself took
place in a separate room
referred to as “The
Chapel.” A room it was, a
chapel it wasn’t. However,
all the necessary ingre
dients were present. There
was a rabbi, a chuppah,
and the lucky couple
•everything that was
necessary for a nice Jewish
wedding. The participants
marched down the aisle to
the music of a three piece
band and appropriate com
ments from the guests.
Evervone was happy, the
mood was jubilant, and the
groom crushed the wine
glass with just one zetz.
Shouts of Mazel Tov rang
free.
Next. came the dinner.
The waiters who worked
these affairs are a
vanishing breed, if they
haven’t gone altogether.
They were elderly men who
had retired from restaurant
jobs. Their union kept them
solvent by assigning them
to weddings. All of them
wore ancient tuxedos with
the greenish ting:e of a^e.
many were infirm and
walked with a shuffling gait
resulting from so many
years of being on their feet.
Almost uniformly thev
were testy and ill humored,
too old to work yet too
young to remain idle.
The meal itself was the
same no matter who did the
catering. Each table had a
dish of sour pickles and
tomatoes, a plate of olives
and celery, and abundant
sliced challah. A bottle of
ginger ale and one of seltzer
(the kind with the shpritzer
handle) stood like two sen
tinels flanking a fifth of rot
gut rye. We had not yet
grown sophisticated
enough to appreciate
scotch.
Fruit cup, chicken noodle
soup, roast chicken with
kishkeh, potatoes, plus
peas and carrots followed.
The inevitable dessert was
fruit ices and a cookie. The
finale was tea or black cof
fee.
Immediately following
the beverage, your waiter
passed around a plate filled
with toothpicks. This was
your cue to take a toothpick
and deposit a dollar bill on
the plate. The hosts did not
spring for the tip, you did.
All through the meal and
long after, the band hocked
and banged away. Every
one danced. There .were
plenty of horas, lots of jit-
terbugging and ample
waltzes so that everyone
got a chance to show off.
Grandpas danced with lit
tle girls, mamas danced
with sons, and small kids
slid back and forth across
the highly polished dance
floor.
On and on it went into the
wee hours of the morning.
Bottles and bottles of
schnapps were guzzled,
mountains of cookies were
consumed and both sides of
the meshpuchah enjoyed a
temporary truce to share in
the festivities.
Well, many years have
passed. We now hold wed
dings in classy hotels with
elegant surroundings and
gourmet meals. Cheap li
quor has been replaced by
fine wine and imported
spirits. No more three piece
bands, no more rude
waiters, and no more
toothpicks. Today we
strive for refinement and
propriety.
As for me. I’ll go
wherever you invite me.
But for a really hotsy-totsy*
evening, find me a tacky
hall, chicken soup,
kishkeh, and a waiter in a
moldy green tuxedo.
That’s what I call really liv
ing!
By L. Louis Albert, ACSW
Director Federation
Social Services
A month has gone by and
you’re still looking for that
certain job. You’ve dis
covered that it’s not going
to be as easy as you had
hoped. Many, manv people
are out there looking for
employment. In the last ar
ticle I discussed the pro
cess of defining your job
requirements as the
necessary start to a serious
job search. Now I would
like to suggest to you some
of the ways to research
possible resources and job
opportunities.
Keep in mind that look
ing for a satisfying job is
hard work. It takes a lot of
organized effort and cannot
be done in an hour or two
every few days. So before
you do anything else firmly
determine that you’re going
to put your fill time effort
into this search.
The first step is to get a
pad of paper to list down
resources and companies
that may fit in your needs.
Writing things down not
only helps those of us with
less than perfect memories,
but it also allows you to see
how many contacts you’ve
made and with what result.
Most of the ‘good’ jobs
are not advertised openly.
This means that you must
go and literally dig them
out. Let people know that
you’re looking for a job.
Tell your friends, relatives
and acquaintances that
you’re in the market for a
new job. Most people are
reluctant to do this because
they view unemployment
with some embarrassment.
However, expanding your
sphere of contact can only
result in more potential
leads. Now is not the time
to be shy.
Researching the job
market can be overwhelm
ing if you don’t know where
to start. Two excellent and
overlooked resources are
published by the Greater
Charlotte Chamber of Com
merce, and can be purchas
ed at the Chamber of Com
merce or consulted at the
Public Library.
‘‘Charlotte/Mecklenburg
Major Employers” list
companies by categories. It
also lists addresses, the
number of employees, a
contact person and whether
the firm has its head
quarters in the area.
“Charlotte/Mecklenburg
Directory of Manufac
turers” does the same thing
only by general product
categories. It also tells you
the types of products
manufactured by company.
Both books can be enor
mously helpful in focusing
your search on a particular
type and size business.
More extensive in its
listing is the Yellow Pages
in the telephone directory.
Although it is not descrip
tive it can be helpful in
generating a list of agencies
or companies offering
specific products or ser
vices.
Both the City and Coun
ty publish weekly job
listings. The types of posi
tions are varied and cover
all levels of experience.
These are available at the
city and county personnel
offices and I also receive
copies of them.
A resource often over
looked is the employment
agency. Try to stay with
the one that receives their
fee from the employer
rather than from you.
There are a number of very
good agencies in Charlotte.
Many of them specialize,
for example, in sales or
technical work, clerical or
administration jobs,, tem
porary or permanent
assignments. Ii you inquire
bejforehand it’s less likely
that you’ll waste tim^ with
an agency not geared
towardfs your needs.
Let’s not forget the
classifieds in the
newspaper, We all know
that many of the advertised
jobs areeither not real or
have already been filled.
This becomes apparent as
you make phone calls.
Nonetheless, it’s critical to
look at the ads each day
and to become familiar with
the information which they
contain. For example,
which companies are ex-
I
^Imperial
PRINTING*^ PRODUCTS
Specia/is/s SJn U^aisecf J^rinlinq
O/ah'onery — business Garcfs
Jo)ecfcfing - Oiar JlCiizuah Dnoiiaiions
business dc ^ociaf O^nnouncemenis
Gompuierizecf Uypesetlin^
Jorms
One 0/ Ofte kSou/As Sar^esl Ohermo^raphers
il
!l
National Mail Order Printers
For The
Medkal and Legal Professions
4731 Swed«n Road
Chariottc, N.C. 28210
(704)554-1188
Stuart Cojac
President
(Continued on Page 9)
125 Cottage Place
Charlotte, N.C. 28207
704/376-7434
Life Insurance Planning
Qroup Insurance
STAN QREENSPON
OAN COBLENZ
MANN TRAVELS
Let ae your travel needs, big
or Oor aervioea are FRE&
SUITE 3410. NCNB PLAZA
CHARLOTTE. N.C. 28280
(704) 333-1511
Pension Plans
Business insurance
SCOTT SWIMIMER
DAVID SWIIMIMER