Moe Lerner recalls....
My
father was a redhead...a very hard worker...and very honest. He was a very good baker, all kinds of
things. In fact, he was the foreman of
what is now the largest bakery in Canada.
They took advantage of him all the time - we need this, we need that -
they worked him to death. I remember
days he’d work two or three days in a row without sleeping. He’d come home and he’d be exhausted. I never saw my mother get mad at him. She’d be sympathetic. And my dad worshipped Mom. He’d give her anything she wanted. If she wanted to go away for the summer,
okay. He’d come visit her on the
weekend. She got her way with
everything she wanted. He was a
"softie".
The
big thing in Montreal was to go to the Island.
We’d take the boat across, with a basket of food, and have a picnic on
the Island, then come back on the boat.
That was a special day.
We
didn’t have much in material things. No
radios. Nothing. So we’d go outside after eating, in the
daytime, and we’d play amongst the kids and find little things to play
with. For instance, we’d play
"tippie". You take a piece of wood and
carve it out with two points and hit it with a stick. As it flies in the air, you hit it back with it. That’s called Tippie. Another game we played was with a roller
skate. We’d take a board and attach a
wheel on each end and make a long skate out of it. I’d put a handle on it and make it like a scooter. And I’d go miles on it. I’d really fly. Then I’d get home, eat like a horse, and really sleep!
Every
year when the school vacation started, we would have two and a half months
off. Mom would take us to a farm out in
the country. We’d rent one or two
rooms, have the facilities of the kitchen, and go there for the summer. That was our vacation. It was wonderful! We’d get out and go pick blueberries, and watch them milk the
cows. We would do the things Mom said
to do, but we didn’t have regular chores on the farm - we were guests. I’d go get the fresh milk, take a cup, dip
it in, and drink the cream. And
everyday I’d go where the chicken coops were and I’d take two eggs, put a
pinhole in them, and Id eat them. Two
raw eggs everyday!
I
remember when I left Montreal Bubby Nessa said to me, "I’ll never see you
again. Goodbye." And sadly to say, I never did see her
again. She passed away at 90! Without all the modern medicines, it would
be like a person living to 150 today, because a common cold could wipe a person
out. She used to come over everyday and
babysit so Mom could go out and go shopping.
She had a lot of shopping to do with all the children and boarders. And, Bubby Nessa used to like to take a
little drink everyday....
Joe
was very bossy. He would order the
brothers around. I would never take
it. I was mean. One time I knocked him out cold. My mother came running in, "What is
it?" "Tell him not to bother me!" I was very strong when I was a kid. But I wouldn’t take anybody bossing me.
Irv
used to play pool, and to follow sports.
He was more passive and easy going.
Nat and Irv got along beautifully.
They were only two years apart and they were inseparable until Irv
passed away. They used to go out
together to places.
Nat
was a very feisty guy. If you said
"This is black," he’d say, "This is yellow."
He’d get into arguments. So I’d
ignore him. I didn’t want to fight him
all the time. I’d just leave him
alone. And he’d walk up to me and say
"You son of a bitch", and I’d look over at him and go Wham! and let him have
one. I’d knock him on his keister. It didn’t make a difference. To his last breath he’d look up
murmuring "you son of a bitch!" He was a finny guy, you know. He was very, very obstinate. Very obstinate. But the best hearted guy in the world.
Lou
was s student from the word "go"! When
he went to school, he always had the highest grades. When he was home he’d say to Mom, "I’m going in my room to
study. Please don’t let anybody disturb
me." And he’d go into his room and
study four or five hours at a time. He
became an accountant, a C.P.A. and a lawyer.
When he graduated law school he made the commencement speech. He graduated Cum Laude just by studying at
night, and I remember him standing on the stage at graduation, a little guy,
giving the speech.
Lou
worked for the Los Angeles School District.
The boss called him in one time while he was working and attending
school at night. He said they were
trying to figure out a record-keeping system for the whole school district and
his boss asked, "Louis can you do it?"
Two weeks later Lou came back with a whole program of record-keeping he
had devised for the school district.
And they accepted it. He didn’t
get the credit for it, his boss did.
When Lou went around to every school in L.A. to install the system,
they’d think he was a student, but he’d show his credentials and then install
his accounting system.
Because
Jack and Norm were so much younger, and I was already out working, I really
don’t have as clear a memory of their growing up years.
How
to describe myself? Just a hard
worker. I built twenty-one milk routes
in my time. I’d take a certain district
that I’d think was good. But never in a
high class area. I didn’t like working
in the high class areas. The people in
those areas wouldn’t buy that much and you’d have more problems with them. I got along very good with the Mexicans.
When
I came out to L.A. I helped Joe on the donut route for about a month or
so. Then I decided to build my own
route. I started to peddle fruit and I
did pretty good. I was a hustler. I’d go out and buy a load of fruit and
peddle it. I made as high as $50 in a
day. I did that for a year and a half. I used to take the money home and give to
Mother and keep a quarter for myself to go to a picture show. That’s how they bought their home
Then
I went into a milk route for myself. I
built the biggest route by far at the Creamery. I hold the highest record out there. It was up to $75 a day.
It reached a point where I had to have help - there were that many
customers. So we split the route and
since Irv had helped me, I had the company give him one for the split
routes. Otherwise they wouldn’t hire
him because at eighteen he was considered too young. I spoke up for him. Then
I built the route I had back up to $75 a day, again the biggest. Later when I left the creamery, instead of
selling the route, I let Irv run it figuring that when he wanted to leave we
would sell it and he could get the profits of any customers he had added. But he didn’t. He used to gamble a little bit.
Once
I came home and my mother said to me, "That wasn’t very nice of you to give
Irving a bad route, he can’t even pay his rent." So I went to see Irving at the drug store where I knew he used to
hang out at noon. There he was shooting
craps at five dollar a roll. I took him
to one side and said, "Look you cut this b.s. out and you pay your rent or
else I’ll take that route back and sell it.
With the gambling, you win one day and lose the next. You’re bound to lose. A gambler won’t win." But he had it in him. He loved to shoot pool. He loved sports in every way. I didn’t.
I was too serious-minded. I said
to my mother, "Look, I’m working. I’m
paying my bills. I don’t know why he
shouldn’t." I didn’t want to hurt
her. That’s why I spoke to him....
Looking
back over my life I must say, I’ve never been the best to outsiders, but to my
family definitely! I can look on with a
clear conscience. I’ve never taken
advantage of anyone, and I’ve always done my very best! Wherever she’s at, Auntie Bessie knows my
conscience is clear. And I say to her,
"Honey, watch over me because they need me.
And I want to be the father as long as I can. Not just by name, I want to BE the father to my children."