A history as told by Sarah Eva (Sally) Roth, August 17, 1987

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Instead of carrying me over the trestle, he held my hand and I had to very carefully reach from one log to the other. When we reached the center, he let go of my hand, pranced away to the end, came prancing back, time and again, laughing like a hyena while I, frightened to death, stood frozen, screaming and crying hysterically. I guess he finally carried me across….I don’ remember any more of that episode.

There was another Jewish family in Imperial, the Weinbergers. They owned the butcher shop. She was a large woman, he was a tiny many with very full red lips. They were very kind people. They had children. We remained friends with them for years. Long after all of us had moved into Pittsburgh. They must have moved out of Pittsburgh for I don’t remember seeing them for many years.

I had my first boyfriend in Imperial. There was another Polish family who lived down the road a bit. Many children and one little boy about my age became my constant companion. We walked arm in arm all over the countryside. Mum and Dad called him “Der Shtummer.” He was a mute and that was my name for him, “Shtummer.”

In that same vein, on my first job at the Candy Co., there was a shipping clerk who was a mute. He left a note on my desk one day asking me for a date….I politely refused in a note to him. I must attract mutes like fleas to a dog. Not until now am I wondering if he was the same mute as my friend in Imperial.

Back to Imperial….I remember winter in Imperial. I awakened feeling very cold one night and seeing Dad nursing Harry who was very sick. I remember being frightened because both Mum and Dad were very concerned about Harry for several days. The only Doctor in the community was in the service….fortunately when Dad rant to the town proper to seek some sort of help for Harry….he was told that the Doctor was just leaving or just arriving on the train, whichever, Dad caught up with him and he gave Dad some medicine and Harry recovered….to forever live with a bad chest.

In due time, we moved back to Pittsburgh, to a second floor. I only remember one large room, my bed on one side, Harry’s cot on the far side, a table and chairs. Harry and I were very sick….the flu. I remember the Doctor coming often and the thermometer that was inserted in a most embarrassing area. I cried and cried but I remember thinking that I wasn’t crying loud enough….must have been too weak to cry louder.

It was here that Mum would make “miltz” quite often. I think it is the spleen. I detested the taste and especially the texture of it but I had to eat it. Probably a very inexpensive cut for we certainly weren’t flush.

Then we lived upstairs of a grocery store in a very dark and dreary few rooms. There was one saving grace, there was a tiny balcony out of the front window with a lovely wrought iron bowed fence around it.

A few doors down was a shoe store with a most elegant little pair of black patent strap shoes in the window….just for me. Oh, how I longed for those shoes. Mum had to drag me away from that window, time and time again. A few doors down was a very nice frame house, painted dark green with rocking chairs on the porch. A colored doctor lived and had his office there.

Speaking of rocking chairs….we always had a small mahogany rocker, no arms, and Mum would rock me to sleep, cuddled in her arms while she sang “Eifen Pripechok Brent a Firel Un In Shtub is Hais, Un Der Rebbeh Lernt Mit der Kinderlach, Dem Aleph Baze,” while I was busy sucking my thumb. Literal translation, “There is a fire burning in the fireplace and it is warm in the house and the Rabbi is teaching the children their ABC’s.”

I remember Mum taking me to visit “Lantzleit,” “Shoshe Le Bashes,” who lived not far from the Fire Engine Station. Hers was a red brick, straight up and down house that you entered by walking up about three narrow steps, no wider than the door. It was on Dinwiddie Street. Mum and she sat at the kitchen table and talked and talked….I had nothing better to do than crawl around on the floor looking under cabinets and when I came to the black iron cooking store….amidst all the lint and dust underneath….I saw a treausre….an infant’s tiny hair brush. I soon copped it and hid it inside my dress. The dress had an elastic waist and my treasure stayed with me all the way home. I was worried sick….frightened to death….that I and my find would be discovered. what a horrible guilt feeling, I can still feel the anguish. Nothing much happened for I don’t remember anything else about my find.

They left Harry to baby-sit me one day….what an excellent choice that was. We were each given a penny to spend at the confectionery store across the street….he was to be careful how he crossed the street with me. He instructed me beforehand that I was to buy a chocolate sucker. I said I wanted the white sucker with the cherry on the outside. He said the chocolate one. When we got to the store, I asked for the white sucker and he couldn’t very well do anything about it in front of the proprietor. He took me home, surrounded me with chairs, found a belt of Dads and proceeded to beat me. Can you imagine the screaming and stomping of feet that went on. Thank goodness the landlady was home downstairs and she began screeching that we were disintegrating all her mantles….he stopped. The outcome wasn’t to my satisfaction. Mum came home, the landlady stopped her and told her what had happened. Mum did not punish Harry.

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