Mr. SENATOR. I do not remember if I stayed in New York or went back
home now, because I would say on and off I had worked for my brother at
various times.
Mr. HUBERT. Your brother?
Mr. SENATOR. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. What is his name?
Mr. SENATOR. Jake Senator. Senator’s Restaurant in Gloversville, N.Y. I
worked on and off at his place many times.
Mr. HUBERT. How far have you progressed in your own mind as to this
chronicle of your life? We are up to what year now that you were
working for your brother?
Mr. SENATOR. At the time I enlisted. In other words, when the war broke
out I enlisted down at Albany, N.Y., at the Federal Building in Albany,
N.Y. That was in August of 1941, I believe. I think it was August 20 or
August 21, 1941, and I was with my brother at the time when I enlisted.
Mr. HUBERT. Do you remember working for the Admiral Hotel in Miami
Beach and the Times Square Cafeteria?
Mr. SENATOR. Yes; that is it. That is the place, the Times Square
Cafeteria.
Mr. HUBERT. And David and Elizabeth Rosner at the Astor Hotel?
Mr. SENATOR. It could be possible. I just don’t remember. It could be
possible.
Mr. HUBERT. In other words, you were in Miami and worked for several
people whose names I have mentioned during the winter of 1939–40 and
until about the end of the season in Miami Beach, I take it?
Mr. SENATOR. That is right.
Mr. HUBERT. When did you enlist?
Mr. SENATOR. I enlisted August 20 or 21 of 1941.
Mr. HUBERT. That was before Pearl Harbor then?
Mr. SENATOR. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. Do you recall what you did or where you lived from the
summer of 1940?
Mr. SENATOR. What is that?
Mr. HUBERT. Do you recall what occupation you had or where you lived
from the summer of 1940 when you returned from Miami to New York until
you entered into the service in August of 1941?
Mr. SENATOR. I believe I was back home with my brother.
Mr. HUBERT. That is working for him?
Mr. SENATOR. The restaurant, yes.
Mr. HUBERT. How long did you stay in the service?
Mr. SENATOR. I’ll have to read it, or I’ll let you read it.
Mr. HUBERT. No: that is all right. You served for the duration of the
war, I suppose? You hand me now a little document which is a laminated
copy.
Mr. SENATOR. The reason I handed you that is because I lost my original
and I am happy that I have got that.
Mr. HUBERT. You were honorably discharged from the Army of the United
States on September 9, 1945, given to you at the Separation Center,
Fort Dix, N.J? This reflects also that you were a staff sergeant.
Mr. SENATOR. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. That your serial number was 12006042, and that at the time
of your discharge you were with the 101st Bomber Fortress Squadron?
Mr. SENATOR. Yes; when I came out.
Mr. HUBERT. All right. Then after you left the service in September of
1945, where did you go and what did you do?
Mr. SENATOR. When I came back out of the service, this fellow Ike
Heilberun, who I mentioned living down there, we went into the
luncheonette business and lasted approximately about a year and lost
our shirts.
Mr. HUBERT. What was the name of that? Is that the outfit called the
Denise Foods, Inc.?
Mr. SENATOR. Where is that located? Do you have the location on that?
Mr. HUBERT. 254 West 35th Street.
Mr. SENATOR. I couldn’t remember the name. I remember the street. That
is why I asked you.
Mr. HUBERT. In other words, that was a corporation formed by you and
this man you talked about?
Mr. SENATOR. Yes. We bought somebody out, that is right.
Mr. HUBERT. And you were occupied with that endeavor through most of
1946?
Mr. SENATOR. I would say approximately about that to the best of my
knowledge.
Mr. HUBERT. And where did you live then?
Mr. SENATOR. I was living—of course, I can’t remember if I got married
before that or after that.
Mr. HUBERT. But sometime along in there after you left the service, you
got married?
Mr. SENATOR. Yes. I believe I got married in January 1946, if I am not
mistaken.
Mr. HUBERT. What was the name of the lady you married?
Mr. SENATOR. Sherley Baren.
Mr. HUBERT. How do you spell that?
Mr. SENATOR. B-a-r-e-n.
Mr. HUBERT. Are you still married to her?
Mr. SENATOR. No.
Mr. HUBERT. Are you divorced?
Mr. SENATOR. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. When? Approximately.
Mr. SENATOR. Approximately about 7 years.
Mr. HUBERT. Ago?
Mr. SENATOR. Approximately, I’m not sure of the date. I’d say
approximately about that.
Mr. HUBERT. In other words, you lived together as man and wife
approximately for 10 years?
Mr. SENATOR. No, no.
Mr. HUBERT. Seven years ago would be 1957. You said that you married
her in January of 1946. Maybe you did not live together that long.
Maybe the divorce came after you had physically separated.
Mr. SENATOR. Yes. Actually, we had been separated I would probably say
around 3 years, I think. I think it must have been around 3 years.
Mr. HUBERT. Before the divorce?
Mr. SENATOR. Yes. I think that is it.
Mr. HUBERT. Did you have any children of that marriage?
Mr. SENATOR. Yes. I have one son 16 years old.
Mr. HUBERT. He is now 16 years old?
Mr. SENATOR. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. What is his name?
Mr. SENATOR. Bobby.
Mr. HUBERT. Where were you divorced?
Mr. SENATOR. Through the mail. She was in Miami and I was in Texas.
Mr. HUBERT. But where were the divorce proceedings actually instituted?
Mr. SENATOR. In Miami.
Mr. HUBERT. She brought the divorce suit?
Mr. SENATOR. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. Has she remarried?
Mr. SENATOR. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. Do you know to whom?
Mr. SENATOR. His name is Milton Wechsler. I am not sure of the spelling
of it. I think it is W-e-c-h-s-l-e-r. I think that is how you spell it.
Mr. HUBERT. Do you know where they live?
Mr. SENATOR. Coral Gables.
Mr. HUBERT. Now would you tell us of your occupation and residences
after your marriage, say from January 1946 forward?
Mr. SENATOR. After I went out of business, after my partner and I went
out of business, I moved down to Miami and I had two or three odd jobs
there.
Mr. HUBERT. How long did you stay there?
Mr. SENATOR. At these jobs, do you mean?
Mr. HUBERT. No.
Mr. SENATOR. Or Miami?
Mr. HUBERT. Yes.
Mr. SENATOR. I stayed in Miami, I would say, around 7 or 8 years. As a
rough guess, something like that, offhand.
Mr. HUBERT. You had a number of jobs during the first year that you got
there; is that right?
Mr. SENATOR. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. What kind of work did you do?
Mr. SENATOR. Restaurant-type work.
Mr. HUBERT. I notice that your social security records indicate that
you either had no earnings or at least that none were reported for the
second half of 1947 and the first half of 1948, approximately a year.
Can you explain that?
Mr. SENATOR. 1947 and 1948?
Mr. HUBERT. In other words, for the third and fourth quarters from
a social security point of view of 1947 and the first and second
quarters——
Mr. SENATOR. Of 1948?
Mr. HUBERT. Of 1948, so it would be roughly from July 1947 to June of
1948 there were no earnings reported.
Mr. SENATOR. 1947 and 1948?
Mr. HUBERT. After which—this may assist your memory—for the third
quarter of 1948, that is say from July on, you report having worked at
the Lake Carrolton Club Grill in Pike. N.H.
Mr. SENATOR. Oh, yes.
Mr. HUBERT. So, perhaps if you remember working in New Hampshire, you
can back off and tell us what happened in that year when there were no
earnings reported. This may assist you too. The social security records
show that in the first quarter of 1947, that would have been January,
February, and March, you apparently worked for the T-A Hensroost.
Mr. SENATOR. I believe that was the first job I had when I got down in
Miami, if I am not mistaken. I think that was the first job I got. That
was an open stand on the oceanfront.
Mr. HUBERT. Do you remember that you worked there actually for the
first 6 months?
Mr. SENATOR. At the Hensroost?
Mr. HUBERT. Of 1947.
Mr. SENATOR. At Hensroost? I can’t quote how long I worked there, but I
know that I worked there.
Mr. HUBERT. Now then, perhaps we can reconstruct the thing, because
you apparently left there at the Hensroost in midsummer of 1947, and
then you pick up in midsummer of 1948 in New Hampshire, and it is the
intervening year that I would like to have you cover.
Mr. SENATOR. Wait a minute. Oh, then I think after that, yes, I was out
of a job for a while and I don’t recall how long. Then I got a job in
another little luncheonette for a while and I don’t know how long that
was.
Mr. HUBERT. It may be that you did not have enough earnings to require
reporting them, you see. What I am trying to do is assist your memory.
Do you recall leaving Miami Beach to go to New Hampshire?
Mr. SENATOR. Oh, sure; I remember going. I don’t remember what year,
but I remember going, yes.
Mr. HUBERT. Do you remember what time of the year, whatever year it was?
Mr. SENATOR. Yes; I went there for one summer.
Mr. HUBERT. For the season?
Mr. SENATOR. The season; yes.
Mr. HUBERT. Your wife went with you?
Mr. SENATOR. No.
Mr. HUBERT. She stayed in Miami?
Mr. SENATOR. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. When you finished the season there, what happened?
Mr. SENATOR. Well, I come back and I was—I’m trying to think. What year
was that, 1940-what?
Mr. HUBERT. It was the last half of 1948. Perhaps I can assist your
memory too by pointing out that your social security records indicate
that you worked for T-A Troops.
Mr. SENATOR. Yes, that is the place I was trying to mention to you but
I couldn’t think of it. Now I don’t remember if I worked for that place
after I come back or before. That is the thing I don’t remember.
Mr. HUBERT. You worked for that place quite a length of time, I believe.
Mr. SENATOR. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. How long? Do you remember?
Mr. SENATOR. Gee, I don’t remember how long I worked there.
Mr. HUBERT. Where did you live when you were working for Troops?
Mr. SENATOR. Northwest Fourth Terrace.
Mr. HUBERT. Miami Beach?
Mr. SENATOR. No; Miami.
Mr. HUBERT. In other words, the restaurant was in Miami Beach?
Mr. SENATOR. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. On Collins Avenue?
Mr. SENATOR. That is right; yes.
Mr. HUBERT. You lived in Miami City itself?
Mr. SENATOR. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. Were you living with your wife then?
Mr. SENATOR. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. Do you recall what your next move was?
Mr. SENATOR. I believe my next move is I got a job selling. I was
broken in selling women’s apparel, if I recall right.
Mr. HUBERT. Women’s apparel?
Mr. SENATOR. Yes.
Mr. HUBERT. Before we leave the Miami Beach situation, what was
the cause of your leaving Miami Beach and the Miami area, because
apparently you did?
Mr. SENATOR. You mean when I went to Texas?
Mr. HUBERT. No, when you left Miami you did not go directly to Texas,
did you?
Mr. SENATOR. Oh, sure.
Mr. HUBERT. You did?
Mr. SENATOR. Sure. Come this May 15, and I think I am pretty well on
the date, I have been in Texas 10 years.
Mr. HUBERT. So you moved to Texas in 1954?
Mr. SENATOR. May of 1954.
Mr. HUBERT. Do you remember working for the Rhea Manufacturing Co.?
Mr. SENATOR. Yes; out of Milwaukee, Wis. That was my start. Is that in
the year of 1950, something like that? I don’t remember, 1949, 1948?
Mr. HUBERT. The social security records indicate 1951.
Mr. SENATOR. Is that what it is? I just don’t remember. It could be
1951.
Mr. HUBERT. You were working for Rhea Manufacturing Co., and the
records also show that you worked for Smoler Bros., Inc., in Chicago.
Mr. SENATOR. That is right.
Mr. HUBERT. The Rhea Manufacturing Co. was in Milwaukee, Wis. Did you
live in Milwaukee?
Mr. SENATOR. No.
Mr. HUBERT. And in Chicago?
Mr. SENATOR. No.