He didn’t feel well, but he went to work that day.

Philadelphia, PA

Samuel “Leaden” Bernstein was the seventh consecutive son born to his family.  Morris, Izzy, Ben, Hymie, George (who died at the age of two) and Abie were the older brothers.  There was also a younger sister Betty.   All eight children were born in the house, delivered by midwife, family and neighbors.  Their father died in 1919 when Leaden was just 4 years old.  He didn’t feel well, but he went to work that day at Publicker’s (a distillery), and a few days later he was dead from pneumonia.  He was only 40.  In those days, influenza (including the pandemic) or pneumonia were much more likely to become a fatal condition than in modern times.  The funeral was held in the house, as was the custom in those days. 

Betty (later known as Gerty), the baby, was just a year old at that time.  Oldest brother Morris was 18.  Leaden remembers his sister in the carriage in the dining room.  Around the casket were his mom, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, and a few neighbors.  Morris took it the hardest, banging on the casket crying, “Pop, I love you”.

Leaden has only a few memories of his father, a coin under a pillow for a lost tooth, a time when the family moved (not hiring a moving man and having to carry furniture and all their belongings a couple of blocks down to Roseberry Street) and the funeral with the casket in the parlor (living room).   He had heard from the others that his father was honest, sincere and had many hardships. He always carried a very sad feeling in his heart for a man who had died so young and never had the chance to enjoy watching his kids grow up and the beautiful family that he had brought into this world.  All his life he held a special loving feeling inside, how he had missed knowing his father and wishing he could have enjoyed time with him.

Their mother Yetta did the rest of the child rearing and supporting.  She was a widow with 8 children at the age of 40, somehow surviving financially and morally.  She took care of the kids.  She washed, she cleaned, she shopped, she cooked and did whatever else was needed.  How this woman, 5 feet tall and only 100 pounds, managed cooking, cleaning, washing the old fashioned way, scrubbing and hanging clothes, shopping and watching over 8 kids-she never complained and had so much courage, strength and a great philosophy-may never be known.

She took care of the heater every morning and would take out the ashes from the cellar that had to be lifted very high to get them out the window.

She had come to this country in 1890 from Kiev area of Ukraine- then still part of the Czarist Russian Empire- when she was only 15 years of age.  She went right to work.  The workers use to tease her about her European accent.  When she told that story years later, she would mimic those people who had accents of their own.  She had become very good with the English language.

Not one child was ever in trouble with the law.  Stealing, lying or being disrespectful was not tolerated.  Yetta became a legend in her time.  She raised her children with courage and perseverance.  She was so clever, so tough, so humble and her philosophy of life was so beautiful.  All who knew her adored and respected her.  She had love, strength, wisdom, goodness, understanding, and courage that was far beyond what was expected of her, given the circumstances of raising her family with no husband and very little means of support. She gave them a good advance on the right and honest way to live.  Leaden played briefly for the Philadelphia Phillies organization before WWII. As much trouble as Leaden caused (and as many negative ways that his mother had to handle), he never stole anything, never gambled, never smoked, never did drugs, never initiated a fight or kicked anyone once they were down.

Contributed by Jack Kapenstein, friend and biographer of Samuel “Leaden” Bernstein.