Dad
Marvin Meyer Dolinsky, Dave and BJ’s Dad, died June 3, 2006 (Sivan 6, 5766) and is buried in Oxford, Maryland. He had been living near there, near BJ during his last months.
Dad was born October 23, 1922 and raised in Union City, New Jersey. His father died when he was 3 or 4. He, and his sister Helen, were raised by their mother Rose. His grandfather, Isadore Rosenfeld, saw to it that he performed his Bar Mitzvah. His grandmother was Jeannie Rosenfeld.
Dad grew up in a neighborhood with Jewish and Italian neighbors. They played a lot of basketball on his block. They also took day trips to the big city, New York.
He and friends would occasionally take the ferry to NY to see big band shows. Prices were:
$ .15 for ferry
.25 for show ticket
.15 for hot dog and a coke
(range correct, some prices may be confused as to which item it applies…the ferry price may be the ticket price or visa-versa)
He quit school in or before 9th grade to work and help support the family.
His mother, Rose, was a model in a dress shop.
One of his summer jobs was a waiter at the Evergreen resort in the Catskills. I think he did this several summers in a row. Cleaning and counting the silver was a big part of the story, as was having the dining room ready for the next seating. Tips were important, as was catering to the needs of the resort guests.
Dad was drafted into the army, eventually becoming a 50mm anti-aircraft gun instructor.
He may have ranked as high as a corporal or Lt., but was busted twice. Once for taking a jeep out without permission. One weekend, he and a buddy took a trip to see some girls they knew. And the other time he got busted in rank was for letting his troop work with their shirts off on a very hot construction assignment. This was on an island (Paris Island ?), they were building or repairing barracks when “the brass” drove over and asked why they were out of uniform.
He went to Europe near end of the war. Because he was assigned to anti-aircraft guns, Dasd got to eat with the navy troops. They had much better food than the army.
He never saw the enemy in battle. Stationed at the Remagen Bridge, he was on one side of the river and they were on the other. His outfit and the germans fired shells back and forth across the river knowing each other was there, but not actually seeing each other. The war ended 3 days later.
Immediately after the war ended, he was made an MP and sent out to collect AWOLs from the surrounding country side. Along the way, someone in his company found a stash of French wine and it was quickly drunk. It was “green”, not raedy, and most of the company got dysentery for 3 days. The fact that so many soldiers were involved saved them from court martial.
I think that’s why Dad was never a big drinker.
Dad brought back a French/Belgium .38mm hand gun. The clip is lost, but it comes with an official letter giving him permission to bring it home. I’ve since sold the gun.
After the war dad briefly had a Diner with a war buddy (maybe 2). One of the other guys screwed the deal by stealing money from the business.
He also took some night classes (business) and went into retail. At one point managing a jewelry store or the jewelry department of a larger store (May Sterns?).
He eventually tired of the retail grind, stuck in a store all day long, and hit the road as a manufacturers rep. For the rest of his career he sold lamps to furniture and department stores. One of his bigger accounts was Top Value Stamps. He always credited them with paying for my and BJ’s college.
Dad met mom because he was working in the south and a friend of hers introduced them. I think she was running a jewelry store in downtown Charlotte at the time.
