Family in San Francisco

Mayer was born in Kopaigerod, Ukraine, in 1897 and immigrated to the U.S. 8/8/1913.     

Sarah was born in New York, New York, in 1900. She moved with her family to San Francisco before 1911. 

I have written about each of their early days in a page about his parents titled Louis and Eda Licht, and a page about her parents titled Abe and Annie Kirschenbaum.  

Mayer had a serious accident in  1917-1918, during World War I, when he was cranking at the front of his car to start it, in S.F. and a cable car hit one leg. He was hospitalized at Mount Zion Hospital, for about one year. His doctor was Harold Brunn, and Mayer credited him with saving his leg. The first antiseptic used in surgery at Mount Zion wasn’t until 1942. After that accident Mayer walked with a slight limp.

Mayer was an active member of a young men group called the Congenials. Their activities  were joined by single women, including their girl friends. There are pictures of the group events, some which include Sarah, and her sisters Ruth and Elsie.

Many of the social activities of Mayer and Sarah were with the Congenials. They took the ferry boat to Sausalito, and then a bus, to hike among the redwood trees at Muir Woods in Mill Valley, climbed Mount Tamalpais. There are pictures of Mayer and Sarah at the beaches. Mayer liked to relate that he had gone to Yosemite and climbed Half Dome.

When Mayer and Sarah got engaged, the Congenials gave a surprise party for them “ at a downtown café”, and a newspaper clipping said the “Messers” present were Sid Levenson, William Siegel, Joe Klooger, Phil Schatz, Mark Harris, Mark Lancer, Arnold Schatz, Sam Freed, and Max Livschitz. Present were a similar number of “Misses”.  Another congratulatory letter from Congenials President A Schatz, had the letterhead Congenials Club, Hotel Richelieu, Geary St. and Van Ness Ave.

When engaged, “Sarah was hostess to 50 of her friends at a tea in the palm court of the Palace Hotel on Saturday, December 20”.

The Examiner newspaper 1/24/1925 reported “High Type Of Buyers Listed”. It said when Nelson Bros. planned the new home tract of Westwood Highlands and the better type of homes that are such a notable feature of this SF residential development, he had in mind just the kind of men whose names appear on the sales record. Among many men listed, was Mayer Licht, who bought at $10,500. The house at 320 Colon Ave., was a half block north of Monterey Blvd., and one block  west of  Plymouth Ave., where later the 10th Ave. bus went en route to the Richmond District,  and passed by Laguna Honda Station with an elevator to the long tunnel from West Portal to the Castro District. It was a short drive from the home to  Mayer’s Starlight Furniture store at Mission St near 18th St..

Sarah shortened her name from Kirschenbaum to Kirschbaum when she worked at the Emporium. Sarah had graduated from Commerce High School. She was very fast at typing and shorthand. Education at that time emphasized penmanship, spelling, and grammar.

Among the news clippings of this time, an article said “College life, and the foolish idea that it means superiority of some kind, often breeds conceit”. It quoted an educator, “I send fine young boys to the universities, and after they come out it takes three to five years to undue the harm that colleges have done”.

There is a letter from Mr Lipman, the Emporium General Manager, who said “I am taking it for granted that you will find the job of running a husband and a home much more entertaining than running a business … And any time you pass my way the latch string is always out”.

The Emporium publication Dome Echoes reported July 1925, “We are missing Sara Kirschbaum from the Fifth Floor, but again the Emporium was forced to acquiesce to persistent Cupid. At one-thirty on the afternoon of June 14th, Sara became the bride of Mr. Mayer Licht of San Francisco. A beautiful new home was prepared by the bridegroom and the happy pair is sojourning in the southland. Miss Kirschbaum has been with The Emporium for six years and for the past four years has been Research Director for the store and secretary to the General Manager”

Mayer and Sarah were married 6/14/1925.  Rabbi Herman Lissauer officiated at the ceremony. Sarah in an interview much later, said the wedding was a small group in their house, because Mayer’s brother James had recently passed away in 1924, at age21.

I was born 3/30/1927, and my sister Carolyn was born 8/15/1930.

I remember riding in the car with my father, when he drove around S. F. frantically looking for a gas station to get gas because the tank was almost empty, and finally got gas in South San Francisco. It was in 1934, when I was age 7, during the General Strike, initiated by the Longshoremen at the waterfront, which lasted 83 days.

When my sister Carolyn and I were young children, we each took piano lessons from a teacher who came to our house once a week. We learned how to read music, and played classical songs. Later we had a different teacher who taught piano for popular songs. Carolyn took dancing lessons, I remember going with her for a lesson by Goldeen Zimet in her studio in the Mission District.  Then Carolyn took lessons from a larger studio, where she both sang and tap danced. I remember going with her for a rehearsal of her group at the Golden Gate Theatre, prior to their performance there.

World War II was 9/1/1939 to 9/2/1945, I was in High School 1941 through 1944. During World War II so many men and women were away in the Armed Services, that there were local jobs to be filled.  Sarah first worked as a bank teller, which was difficult, to not be over or under at the end of the day.  Next she worked as a legal secretary for their attorney Sam Fendel. He was a good and busy attorney, and had high demands for accuracy, and at times when she wanted to resign he talked her into staying. When she worked, her mother Annie did most of the cooking and housework, and was home for my sister Carolyn and me. After the War ended Sarah retired again.

When we had the many blackouts at night, the family huddled in the hallway, without windows, and listened to a portable radio. There was rationing, i.e. gasoline and some food. The U.S. was united, as never before or since, with inspiring leadership by FDR and Winston Churchill. After the War life quickly returned to normal.

On Sundays Mayer would go to a Deli, usually in the Richmond, and buy cheese and meats for their lunch, including Swiss cheese, corned beef, smoked salmon, and potato or club salads. The cooked meals  included schmaltz (chicken fat), grieven (fried schmaltz), lots of meat, eggs with onions, which was tasty but bad with high cholesterol, which was unknown at the time.  

Where we lived was often foggy. I wrote about the family vacations in Marin County, during which Mayer returned to SF to work. We would often make the long drive down narrow El Camino to picnic at Palo Alto Park. Mayer at the park would sometimes get a headache, which probably was Migraine, which comes during a restful day after stressful days are ended. Later on my sister Carolyn and I would get the visual beginning of Migraine, without the headache.

Mayer worked 6 days a week. For most of his career he didn’t take vacations. They did go to some B’nai B’rith conventions. I remember one in Sacramento going there on a river boat.  One Convention was in Seattle, and they drove there.  I was in Junior High, and they left me in charge of talking to their broker and deciding whether to sell a stock in Bishop Oil Company, which had made an oil discovery. While they were away the stock went up more almost every day. They were relieved when they returned and I had not sold it.  That was my first introduction to the stock market.

Late in his working career,  Mayer and Sarah did take some longer trips.  They made trips to Mexico, the US  East Coast, Europe, and Israel.

Mayer bought small amounts of common stock in very many companies. His stock broker had sold the brokers own stock in Xerox, and it went up for years after he sold it. That influenced Mayer, who kept his stock, and never sold any. He carried a list with him, so he could check the prices when the daily afternoon newspapers The Call Bulletin and Examiner were available.

Mayer drove Sarah’s parents Abe and Annie to an annual retreat one or two weeks a year in Calistoga. It was a favorite sunny place for seniors of the Bay Area. They stayed at Donchik’s, which had many small units, with a kitchen. Mayer’s parents also went for an annual vacation in Calistoga. It was in the summer. Abe could do his favorite walking and sunbathing, Calistoga had mineral baths, and mud baths.

The Starlight Furniture Store was interesting to us when my sister and I were children. It was three stories, with a wide wood staircase, and no elevator.  Mayer took me there to do some work, in the aisles he taught me how to sweep, without stirring up the dust. I dusted the furniture. There were two high stacks of room size carpets. When a customer wanted to see a carpet low in the stack, the carpets from the top down were pulled back. When the customer was gone, the carpets had to be pulled back to be open, a chore, but fun for Carolyn and me the times that we pulled them back when visiting the store.

The store had a full time furniture refinisher. His small one room shop was filled with little color sticks, which he melted to do repairs of small dents and scratches in the furniture. He was Hyman, a Holocaust survivor. I was interested in how he was an artisan, skillful in his work.

The store had a large truck, with drivers who delivered furniture to customers. My father referred to them as “the boys”. When my parents needed minor repairs and services at their home, “ the boys” did it.

Mayer liked selling, he was happy when he made a sale, regardless of the amount of profit. He wasn’t happy with the partnership with his older brother, who had a larger percent ownership than Mayer did. They were different. Ben spent his time inside the store. Mayer would be the one to go out to take deposits to the Bank of America two blocks away, and to do any shopping that was needed. Mayer got out in the community, met new people, enjoyed it and also got new customers that way. When I walked along Mission St. with him, I was amazed how many merchants he greeted as he passed by. Before our wedding we bought rings for Carolynn at Dougal Jewelry, and my suit at Siegel Men’s Clothing, Mission merchants. When I went various places with Mayer, he would often meet people that he knew, warmly great them and shake their hands.

Mayer left the store once, started his own tire store on Valencia St., then returned to the furniture store. He used to like the Bel Bazaar Stationery store on Mission St., which had a small U S postal window. He also like Blain’s Toy Store in the south Mission District. He thought about how it would be to have a business that sold a high volume of low priced items, compared to selling a small volume of higher priced items like furniture.

Mayer never wanted me to have a career in the Starlight, and I had decided on pre-Optometry when I was in High School. Ben’s son Robert before the War was a pre-med student, and my parents gave him as an example to me of the importance of studying for a purpose.  During the War Bob went to Officer Candidate School in Army at Camp Berkeley in Texas, followed by his work in hospital administration. July 1943 he sent a note to Mayer and Sarah, when he was a Lt. at the Army Air Force Hospital at Chanute Field, Illinois.  After the Service he went to work in the Starlight, and the rest of his career was there, which continued after my father left the store, and after his father retired. When Bob retired he closed the store.

Mayer continued at the Starlight until soon after his Father’s death in 1953. Then he got their attorney, Sam Fendel, to negotiate a financial agreement for him to leave the business. Ben kept the property which was the store and the homes on Capp St. behind the store, and Mayer left with cash, that he used in Redwood City.

Mayer and Sarah bought a house at 112 Myrtle St. in Redwood City.  Sarah’s parents, who had been living at their house since it was built, went to live with their daughter Elsie and her husband Fred Goldstein in SF. The house in Redwood City had a small cottage behind it, and Carolynn and I stayed there many times when we came for a visit from the Air Force Base in Sacramento.

Mayer organized a new B’nai B’rith lodge in Redwood City. The new members and their wives became close friends of Mayer and Sarah. They bowled together, picnics, and regular meetings followed by poker games. Some of the members were Sid Berlin, Moe Cohn, Harry Kramer, Joe Reber and his son, Bob Sadick, and Sol Tenzer. He also continued his membership in SF Lodge 21.

Mayer had lunch almost every day at Harry’s Hofbrau, located first southwest of Woodside Road and El Camino, later its much larger restaurant at northeast of the intersection. Bob Sadick was at the cash register. Mayer’s favorite was corned beef on rye bread.

In about 1956  he opened a store on Fifth Ave. in Atherton, which was near their home. He rented one small room, stocked it with furniture catalogues. He sold furniture at a discount, from catalogues, and brought some customers to the Furniture Mart in San Francisco, to show them furniture.  Next he bought at building at 2701 Buckingham, corner of El Camino Real, in Redwood City. Two thirds of the building was leased to Burke Auto Upholstery, and Mayer used about 1/3 for his office.

Then he bought a 5,000 square foot warehouse on Laurel St. That street was a half block away from Shasta St., which had a long and narrow strip of vacant land next to the train tracks. Mayer bought that land, and had a large warehouse built, with tilt up concrete walls, with an exterior of stone. It was 35,000 square feet.  He opened his furniture warehouse store, at 1195-1279  Shasta St., December 1964, with a party there. The Redwood City Tribune reported the opening, and wrote “he retired 9 years ago after a partnership with his brother which lasted 39 years. That was in 1955. He soon found retirement too tough for an energetic man, and decided to start all over again.  Licht, now 68, has no intentions of retiring again”.

There was another article in Retailing by Al Berson. It was titled “Retirement Not for Boy Who Looks Only 50”. “Retirement money has a way of dissipating itself unless it’s put to work, so he picked up the 20,000-foot property for $19,000., as an investment having every intention of sitting on it. It’s hard to stop too abruptly after you’ve been running as long as Mr. Licht had, maybe even  unhealthy”. It continued the story, and then said “pretty soon he had to face it: A man just pushing 60 with as much youth and vitality in him as Mayer Licht was simply too young to retire”.  It discussed the growth of the business, and concluded “There’s just a little thinness in his voice, but his eyes are clear and his step is firm. You’d think Mayer Licht was a boy of 30 to look at him. ‘What you do during your life stays with you to the end’ he says. Retirement? That’s for old folks!”.

A warehouse furniture store was was a new concept for the S F Bay Area.  Levitz, said in its history that  they opened the world’s first Direct-to you Furniture Warehouse in Tucson in 1955. Mayer opened his  warehouse furniture store in 1955.

Mayer did advertising with small gifts he could give away: playing cards, note pads, ceramic coasters, and pencils. He and Sarah were very active in B’nai B’rith, City of Hope, Beth Jacob Synagogue, etc., and they had many friends and acquaintances who became customers. He had low overhead at first, with low prices. Later he hired salesman Chuck Shively, Bill Hagen, one other salesman, and a young man who sold and installed carpet.

Later the Woodside Road elevated freeway was built on an earth barrier near one end of  the store, with a tunnel under it for access to Shasta St., Mayer objected to building the freeway, but it was built, which was adverse for access to his store.

Sarah and Mayer were very close to her sisters. As long as they lived, Sarah would play the piano and sing, Ruth and Elsie would sing along. They enjoyed the music, and the togetherness.

Nate took movies with a 16mm camera. There is a short movie of the two couples on an outing to Golden Gate  Park, when the men were wearing suits and hats.

Mayer and Sarah, Jack and Serena, our parents, had the same circle of friends. They did not go to restaurants as a group.  Each couple invited their friends to a dinner at their home. They served drinks and hors d’oeuvres first, then a complete dinner and desert. After dinner the men played poker, and the women played canasta, mahjong, or bridge. The men smoked, and there was a smoke odor until the next day. This was their main entertainment when was I was a child, and continued for many years. Sometimes at a party at our house, before dinner I would play the clarinet and my sister played the piano, in a short duet.

One time Jack’s brother found a promising investment to buy some land for sale in Santa Clara County, to develop to build homes. Jack and Mayer wanted to invest in the proposal, but it fell through. Jack and Mayer were almost partners in land. They were partners in our children, Ron and Diane.

Mayer liked to play poker, at home parties, and after B’nai B’rith meetings. He and Sarah often went to Lake Tahoe at South Shore. One time they drove there with my sister Carolyn and me, when there were two small one story casinos north of state-line, but no large hotels, and they went inside for awhile while we waited outside. Later they often went to Tahoe with a friend Mack Michelson and his wife,  who had a complementary room,  and both couples had complementary show admission, because Mack was a high roller at the Crap table. My father played Black Jack, and patiently he would make the same bets at a table for a long time, he was a patient conservative player. He liked the game, and the interaction with the dealer and other people at the table.

In 1955 when Carolynn and I left the Air Force in Sacramento, and I was considering whether to practice in San Mateo, Mayer took me to my uncles Nate and Fred in their homes for their advice. He took me for advice from an attorney Dave Wexler in Millbrae, and to Dr Harold Jacobsen who had his professional optometry practice upstairs in a building in downtown S.F.. After I opened my practice in San Mateo, he took me to the manager of Wells Fargo in Redwood City to get a loan for equipment. He took me to see an acquaintance in his insurance office in San Mateo, for him to write an announcement for the San Mateo Times newspaper.

Until Ron and Diane were in school, Sarah was my receptionist, and Mayer drove her to and from my office every day.

When my practice was beginning, when Mayer took a customer to the Mart in S.F., sometimes on the way back he would stop at my office to have the client meet me. When he was introducing me to his friends at Beth Jacob, he would say this is my son Dr. Licht. I think he said Dr., because he was proud of me, and also was trying to get new patients for me. Many of their friends and our relatives did come to me for eye examinations.

Optometry had indoctrinated us to practice professionally, because some Optometrists were still in Jewelry stores. One time, when our children were young, Mayer and Sarah were in the living room in our home, Mayer asked if I had considered advertising to build my practice faster, I replied I didn’t need much money, and he looked at me with a quizzical look.  Later I learned how wrong I was about that.

Mayer and Sarah liked their home in Redwood City. But the next door neighbor had a swimming pool, and their children and friends made a lot of noise. I remember them shouting “Marco-Polo” as they played in the pool.

Moe Cohn Realtor, found a lot in Atherton at 99 Gresham Lane, which Mayer and Sarah bought and had a home built there. It had a large garden, and I helped Sarah plan the landscaping, which had a row of Italian Cypresses all around the back of the patio. They grew to be very large.

Carolynn, Ron and Diane when they were young children, and I often met Mayer and Sarah for breakfast on Sunday , at a couple of restaurants on El Camino in Redwood City, for many years.

Mayer and Sarah also gave a lot of parties for the family at their home at Gresham Lane. They had a nice built in barbecue outside, where Mayer cooked hamburgers and hot dogs, which was the only cooking he ever did.

Mayer’s favorite organization all his life was B’nai B’rith. He had joined when he was younger than the minimum age. He asked every Jewish man he met to join, and led in getting new members. The Lodge Bulletin in 1935 reported “Mayer Licht Now Has A Total of Thirty New Members”.  “This accomplishment stands as a record for results obtained through the individual effort of a single brother.” 

When I was a young boy, he took me to a B’nai B’rith annual Father and Sons Night. I was the winner of the raffle for a baseball signed by the players of the New York Yankees, including Joe Dimaggio and Lefty Gomez. 

Mayer was Chairman of their War Services Committee during World War II.  He got a car donated by Les Vogel Chevrolet, and they had a raffle, and raised money to start saving to buy a building for all the B’nai B’rith lodges in San Francisco.

Mayer would have his committee reports published in the lodge Bulletin. He also issued public relations new items, and wrote letters.  He had his thoughts and ideas, but it was Sarah who did the writing, she typed on her Royal portable typewriter, which was the same model that was used by Herb Caen for the Examiner. She used her experience and secretarial skill, to help Mayer with all his many activities, and also her own activities, which supported many organizations.

On 12/26/1945, The Committee of Fifty, the active members of B’nai B’rith Lodge #21 in San Francisco, honored Mayer with a Testimonial, a beautiful scroll presented to him by Harry K Wolf, which was for his Chairmanship of the War Service Committee during World War II, for four years. It said he “has been and continues to be the the Committee’s guide and inspiration”. The lodge Bulletin said “Under Licht’s chairmanship, the Lodge entertained 4,000 men a  month at Hospitality House (at S. f. Civic Square), furnished tons of athletic and musical equipment to overseas units and hospitals, provided stacks of Christmas and Hanukkah gifts and furnished many recreational facilities”.

In 1946 the District Grand Lodge of B’nai B’rith awarded Mayer the title of Past President, ”in appreciation  of the zeal with which Brother Mayer Licht has served B’nai B’rith in general, and S.F. Lodge No. 21 in particular.

Another report after the War ended, said the committee gave aid to the wounded in the many Bay Area hospitals, and they helped orphaned Jewish children go to Israel to start a new life there. His aid to Servicemen continued for many years after the end of the War.

Marsh Maslin wrote an op-ed in the S.F. Call Bulletin, 10/13/1952. Mayer Licht has been a wonderful nuisance to every other furniture man in town. Sgt. Frank Cohen of the Air Force had just been out to see Licht about getting some sewing machines for the WAF’s day room at Hamilton Field, and gave me a quick description of how Mayer works. Licht got a sewing machine back from an auction house and gave it to Sgt. Cohen. “Licht walks into a store, says he needs a sofa or a chair or a table and doesn’t leave until he gets what is needed for a recreation room at Fort Scott or that day room at Hamilton Field.   Sgt. Cohen says he’s the most tireless, enthusiastic demander for the armed forces that he’s ever known, and he never says no and never let’s anybody else say no”.

Harry Altschule, USO Director,  had a letter in a newspaper 5/27/1955. It said he met with Mayer, and found his car loaded down with all sorts of gifts he has solicited locally. These items were taken to the USO office, distributed for Passover, sent overseas to Jewish Chaplains, distributed to Hospitals: Fort Miley, Letterman, Oakland Naval, Oakland VA, Parks AFB, Treasure Island, and Travis. It showed the Jewish men and women in  uniform that their Jewish brethren have not forgotten them.

Mayer received the Rabbi Akiba award, which was B’nai B’rith’s highest national award. He received the emblem which was a gold colored menorah with a diamond, which he had added to a blue stone gold ring from his parents that he wore. He also wore a gold manorah lapel emblem.

On 3/6/1965 Mayer was honored by the Redwood City and the San Francisco lodges of B’nai B’rith, for a 50 years  service, at a dinner at the Villa Hotel in San Mateo, when he was 68. Irv Marder was the M.C., and Judge Karesh was the main speaker.  Carolyn, Ron, Diane and I were there, as were Stan, Carolyn, Gary and Joel. Carolynn’s parents were there. 189 lines were signed in the guest book, some couples and some singles, which was a very good attendance.  

Mayer got the awards and the recognition, but Sarah was his partner in all his activities. She advised him, supported and encouraged him. Her secretarial skill and experience was an essential help to him in all his activities. 

Mayer was a lifelong supporter of Israel.  A week after the Six Day War in 1967, Al Mayer was in my office and told me he was at a County rally for Israel, and when the leaders asked individuals to pledge money, Mayer was the first one to stand up and make a pledge. In 1964 Beth Jacob thanked him for the contribution of furniture and a lamp for the lobby. Mayer for many years contacted people to make their annual contribution to the Jewish Welfare Fund. He was both a good donor, and a good fund raiser.

In 1968 Mayer and Sarah were at a dinner party in S.F., when Mayer was taken to Mercy Hospital in Daly City, diagnosed that he had had a stroke. The main damage was he could not speak. He could write a note, and one note to Sarah was “I love you”. When I was visiting, I said I would go to his furniture store, and check things, to which he looked at me with a quizzical facial expression. I hadn’t been to the store before that, except for visits.

He was improving, and two weeks later, when he was taking therapy in the hall for walking, he had a heart attack, and passed away. That afternoon I had taken Ron and Diane to the theatre to see the Planet of the Apes, and that night my brother-in-law Stan called to tell me my father passed away. Diane had just gone to bed, so I told her and she started to cry, so I talked to her, and she accepted it, as did the rest of us. The funeral was at Sinai Chapel in S.F. , conducted by Rabbi Saul White, and Mayer’s  friend Sam Fendel also gave a eulogy. Mayer was 71. 

When Mayer died, there was a message in the Lodge 21 Bulletin, which said “For over a period of nearly fifty years, Brother Licht rendered continuous service in practically all activities of the B’nai B’rith Program”. It described the War Services Activities, and “as a leader in the long-range plans to acquire a home for all B’nai B’rith units in the S.F. Bay Area. He lived to see his dream come true in the acquisition of the building at 2328 Clement St.”  (many years later that building was exchanged for another in the Sunset District).  “We mourn the loss of a kind, faithful and dedicated brother. We shall cherish the memory of his friendly smile and his warm and sincere greeting whenever and wherever we met”. 

After Mayer died the renamed the Redwood City B’nai B’rith Lodge the Mayer Licht Redwood City Lodge, which was a well deserved honor. In time most of the original members had died, by the time that  I changed  my membership from San Mateo to Redwood City.  We had a lodge sponsored Israel Investment Club, which bought small amount of stock in Israel corporations, at a time when Israel was changing from agriculture to technology, and the most active in the Club were Norm Leviant, his father- in- law Max Bitker, Ben Shocker, and me. Some members said the lodge needed to have more activities, and when we planned events they didn’t attend. I became president in 1981, after my good friend Bernie Scheier had been President. Bernie and I tried to keep the lodge going, but later it merged with Palo Alto lodge. I was on the board of Palo Alto Lodge, with Herb Fishgrund, and he said “this is like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic”.  Palo Alto merged with Silicon Valley Lodge, and Carolynn and I joined a Unit for men and women in San Mateo, which had been started by my friend and optometrist Leon Kaster and his wife.     

Stan and I managed the finances for Sarah. Mayer had taken out a loan to expand into furniture leasing, secured by his common stock. After Mayer died, the stock market was going steadily downward week after week. Stan and I had to sell stock to secure the loan as the market went down. Our broker advised we keep the stocks that paid dividends, which wouldn’t go down as much as non dividends, and sell the others when necessary, which we did.

I was going to the store once or twice a week, but I couldn’t stay away from my practice for long. The store was having difficulty, and the bookkeeper resigned. Ron was in High School, and he took over some of the bookkeeping, which was a big help for us.

Mayer had sold the building to a friend, Sid Levin. The two salesmen at the furniture store, Chuck Shively and Art Hagen, had been asking Stan and me to contribute more capital to the business, and we refused. We didn’t think they could successfully continue the business without Mayer, and after months of trying  we closed the business. We had to continue to pay rent for Shasta St. for awhile, and we had rental income coming in from Buckingham and Laurel.

Mayer smiled often, with a big smile, and after he died many people told me they remembered his smile.  He had a round shaped face, lots of curly hair, which was grey at an early age. He liked his shoes to be shined. His choice of clothes tended to be brown, rather than grey.  He wore a gold pocket watch on a gold chain for many years, and later changed to a wrist watch.   

Mayer was an extrovert. He liked to be with other people. He didn’t stay home much. He was working at the store, or he was working for the organizations he and Sarah belonged to. He lived very actively, which I think may have been a reaction to the early death of his brother James, his mother Eda, and his sister Anne.

Sarah went with Mayer to many activities. After he died she continued to be active in the organizations she supported. She bowled with B’nai B’rith Women, sang in the Beth Jacob Choir, was secretary of a local support group for City of Hope, also was a member of  Haddasah. She didn’t drive, friends drove her or she took a cab, but she was also home a lot. She was content when at home, i.e., playing the piano, watching TV, or planting and caring for flowers in her garden.

Sarah needed cataract surgery for both eyes, I referred her to Ophthalmologist Ed Tamler, who was one of the first Ophthalmologists who was willing to teach at the U C Optometry School, and he had a “bedside manner” personality. The surgery was successful, and although she was myopic before, after surgery she had to wear high plus lenses which magnified everything, and hindered depth perception. She didn’t complain, and was glad to see. This was much before implants became available and routine.

Sarah loved Jewish music. Her father taught her to read Hebrew when she was a young girl in New York. Sarah was a member of the choir at Temple Beth Jacob for a great many years.  She went to rehearsals, and sang at Services.   When she got older the big book of music was too heavy for her to hold, so Cantor Cohn made up a smaller book of the most frequent songs for her, so she cold continue to be in the Choir. She liked all popular music, and often played the piano at home. She even liked the melodies of Christmas Carols.

When Mayer died, we didn’t know if she could live in her home alone. The first week she stayed at our house. Then she continued to live in her house for 19 years. Then my sister and I convinced her to buy a unit in the newly constructed Regent in San Mateo, She lived there for 3 years, and told friends that she was glad we got her to move there.

When she had a terminal illness from cancer, the Regent was close to my office. I went to see her almost every day, usually short visits. She gave me a list and I went grocery shopping for her. She had full time helpers in her unit. She said I came so often it was like I was retired. I had her TV installed in her bedroom, she didn’t want to bother me to do it, but, afterwards she told a helper “my son put the TV in the bedroom for me”.  We had some good conversations during my visits.

One time when she was semi conscious with her eyes closed, I held her hand and said hello, and she repeated many times “Norman”. Soon after that I visited her in late afternoon, went home, and the helper called me that she had passed away, while she was in bed in her apartment. That was in 1990.

Her funeral was at Sinai Chapel in S. F.. My sister and I knew her preferences, so we asked Cantor Hans Cohn to conduct the services, instead of Rabbi Teitelbaum. The Cantor brought 3 people from the choir to sing with him at the funeral. He talked about the many times she came to the choir rehearsals, while Mayer sat and waited for her to drive home.

She was buried next to Mayer, at Eternal Home Cemetery in Colma.  Their location is close to that of Nate and Ruth Golden, and Fred and Elsie Goldstein. Most of our large extended family are buried there, starting with my great grandfather in 1921 , close to my uncle James Licht in 1924 .  Most sadly, my sister Carolyn was buried there in 2018, and our daughter Diane was buried there in February 2019.

Sarah Kirschenbaum Licht Eulogy (1900 - 1990)

Written and delivered by Joel Wiener, November 2, 1990

To Grandma

We all have our own memories of my Grandmother, moments in time that we remember.  The passing of wisdom, celebrations of family, joy and love.  While I am sure that my brother and cousins have their own reminiscences every bit as warm and precious as mine, I like to think that I am speaking for them today as well as for myself.  Still, these are my personal recollections of a person who was very special to me.

I could never have imagined, when I was 13 years old, that I would be as close to Grandma as I would become over the years.  I loved my Grandfather, who died in 1968, very much.  He was the one with coffee candies in his pocket, who took me on walks between courses when we went out to dinner.  Grandma was the one who made me hold her hand when we crossed the street, who was always telling me to enunciate when I spoke, or to come down out of the tree that I was climbing.  I could never have foreseen that this woman would leave such a mark on my life.

But she did.  From the time I left home for college, I spent an increasing amount of time with her.  I would go to her house for dinner, or we would go out for a weekend brunch.  Sometimes, I would just stop by to chat.  I loved talking with her.  She had an open mind and was very supportive, a good listener and problem-solver, and a very positive thinker when it came to my life and problems.  After I got married, Jeanne and I (and later our children) spent many Sundays visiting and chatting.  She embraced Jeanne as if she was her own grandchild, and I know Jeanne came to think of her as her grandmother.  I believe the same can be said for my sister-in-law Fredie.

There are other traits of my Grandma that will always stay with me.  She was able to see good in every person, and to accept people for what they were without any hint of malice.  I admired her sense of fairness.  She always spoke of and acted toward her grandchildren as absolute equals and gave no hint that any one of us was even remotely favored over the others.  I also learned about humility from Grandma – I could not pay her a compliment without a response like, “Oh, it’s not a big deal,” or “Don’t be silly,” or “I’m not all that special.”  Self-gratification was just not in her nature.

But I think what I will remember most, and pass along to my children, is her tremendous strength of character and will.  When my Grandpa built a retirement house in 1967, he made all the major decisions in their life.  Grandma didn’t even know how to drive a car.  When Grandpa died a year later, Grandma was all alone in a big new house.  Although nobody ever would say it, I don’t think any of us thought she could survive alone in that house.  Instead, she thrived there for 20 years.  She entertained, hosted bridge groups, maintained a huge garden, walked to the grocery store and the cleaners, and in general lived a very full life there.  She only left when she could no longer function in that home by herself, and it will always be a marvel to me that she held out in her home by herself, so happily and for so long.

I will carry many fond memories of my Grandma through my life … Sunday brunches, bowling afternoons, my daughter Sarah clanging away at her piano.  There will be times I will especially miss her – at Passover, when she would lead us in after-dinner songs; on Mother’s Day; on her birthday.  But I am comforted in knowing that she lived a full and happy life, was loved and felt the love of all whom she touched.

I like to think that Grandma and Grandpa are at last together again.  That is a very happy thought, indeed.

Ruth and Nate Golden

Sarah, Ruth, and Elsie were more than sisters, they were close friends. They saw each other often, and talked on the telephone. They had fun together, even just talking. Often Sarah played the piano and the three of them sang the song, enthusiastically.

Ruth (1904-1994) married Nathan (Nate) Golden (1900-1995).  They were married 8/28/1927  at the Mark Hopkins Hotel, which was the first wedding there.

Ruth graduated from Commerce High School. Ruth worked for an insurance company before she was married, afterward she worked with Nate in his business.   

Nate immigrated in 1907. His father is Wolf Golden, who immigrated in 1905. His mother is Gertrude Golden. . His sisters are Jennie Golden, Goldie Golden, and Rose Lewis, who had a son Elliot Lewis. Nate’s brother is Kolman, who worked with Nate. When my sister Carolyn and I were children, we sometimes went with our parents to visit Nate’s family in S.F..

Nate was a wholesale furrier in an upstairs office in downtown S.F. near Union Square, in a building with other furriers.  My mother Sarah bought her furs from Nate, including a mink coat, a fox stole, a fur jacket. Even his daughter Arlene had a fur coat when she was a young child.  They first lived in a flat in the Richmond, and then bought a house at 23254-31st Ave.  in the Sunset. After many years he had an ambitious venture into retail furs. He had a large and beautiful Salon showroom, he had a fashion show with models, had a motion picture produced about his store, which was shown in theaters. After that venture, he returned to his wholesale fur business.

Nate had a neat appearance, a finely trimmed mustache, and was tall and slim. Politically he was more conservative than Mayer and Fred, and they had discussions, but no arguments. When I started my Optometry practice, Nate was always interested in how I was doing, and encouraged me, based on his business experience.  When I was a child, Nate would like to drive along the S.F waterfront, where there were ships docked in most of the Piers, and he read the names and country of each ship. Nate was in the National Guard before and during World War II, and he was also an Air-raid Warden during the War.

Ruth played the piano. Ruth and my wife Carolynn had the same birthday month and day, and exchanged birthday cards.

Elsie and Fred Goldstein

Elsie (1906-1994) married Fred Goldstein (1906-1990).  They were married 1928, at the Room of the Dons at the Mark Hopkins Hotel.

Before they were married Fred was a boxer. Bea Shain told me when he went to Elsie’s father to ask to marry her, Abe told him only if he gave up boxing, and he did. When they married they first lived in Minnesota, where Fred was a salesman for Fuller Brush Co., he did a lot of traveling by auto over a large territory, including when it was snowing. When they came back to S.F., they gave us a beautiful stuffed pheasant on a stand, which Fred had shot, and my sister Carolyn and I thought was a toy.

They lived in an apartment at 1170 Guerrero St., and when their daughter Gail was born they bought a house at 2518 28th “Ave. in the Sunset District.  Fred was an avid sportsman, he often went hunting for ducks, geese, and quail. In S.F. he worked for Reed and Seibel, he sold beauty supplies to beauty parlors. He started working early in the day, which gave him time to play golf daily. He became so good a golfer, that he could have played in tournaments, but he didn’t want to play with crowds of spectators watching.

Fred bought a bar, the Antler, near Van Ness Ave. in S.F. Fred did not drink liquor himself.  Later he sold the bar, and went back to selling beauty supplies.

Fred’s parents are  Rose and Frank. Fred’s brother is Hillard,  who was an attorney. Fred was born in  Los  Angeles. He was different than Mayer and Nate and their many friends who had immigrated from Europe, who were not sportsman and had few hobbies., and for many years wore suits and hats whenever out of the house. Fred dressed in colorful sport shirts and sport Jackets, he dressed like the golfer that he was.  Fred had a lively personality and charisma, often had a funny joke, which he told with a good delivery. He wore glasses for nearsighted astigmatism, and was my patient.

Elsie graduated from Commerce High School She worked as a secretary. When she married, she stopped working and was at home, doing the cooking and housework. She cooked the wild game which Fred shot and brought home. The family took special note of a bean with meat dish that she cooked. Elsie was very friendly, liked to talk to people, including strangers when she saw them.

Elsie told me when Sarah had a question about how to bring me up when I was a child, Sarah called her to talk about it and get her advice, and that was before he daughter Gail was born.

Our grandson Daniel Jacob Licht was born April 27, 1994.  Daniel’s Hebrew name is Jakov Meir ben Reuven Eliezer. The first name Jakov is after his great grandfather Jack Pinsler, and the middle name Meir after his great grandfather Mayer Licht. (Reuven Eliezer is his father Ron’s Hebrew name.)