March 21, 1913 - Hollywood Cemetery

On the second day of Joe's trip to Virginia  he found an interesting postcard to send . . .

3/21/13
Have met some of the Southern hospitality and am delighted.
Just met a Bridgeport boy on the street who yelled out my name and it sure was good music.
J.G.S.

The Unknown Confederate Dead Monument was located in the historic Hollywood Cemetery.

The next letter will be on April 17, 1913. The theme of parallel lives will be interspersed periodically.

March 20, 1913 - Am feeling bully . . .

In the previous letter Joe talked about tickets for the trip on the "Old Dominion Line" the boat sailed on Wednesday March 19, 1913. He did not say where the business trip was taking him, however, the postcard from today clears that question up. He was traveling to Virginia docking in Norfolk not far from the Hotel Chamberlin.

 3/20/13
Am feeling bully.
This swimming pool reminded me of your proclivities.
Joe

I was intrigued by this mode of transportation and found an advertisement from a Scribner's Magazine dated June 1913.

This Old Dominion Steamship Line began operation in the mid 1800s and was bought by the Eastern Steamship Company in 1925. Below is a postcard of the type of ship that sailed on that route.

Tomorrow I will post another postcard from Joe's trip.

March 17, 1913 - St. Patrick's Day

Here is the first letter from March 1913. Reading it I remind myself that Joe was 27 and was writing Helen who was 19 and I try to imagine how this letter was received by her and her family.

St. Patrick's Day
1913
Dear Helen,
A few moments ago I was again startled when told that a friend of mine announced her engagement in New York last Saturday or Sunday. And what do you think, it was none other than the girl I told you that you would be glad to get acquainted with. What do you think of it? All I can say is "O tempora, O mores!"*
What I wanted to say is this. My friend Williamson who has the hair with the "copperish tint" informed me today that the "Old Dominion Line" boat sailed on Wednesday at 3 P.M. and he had made all arrangements for that time.
Inasmuch as I will be in Hartford tomorrow (if I live, or in a warmer place otherwise) and have a stockholder's meeting to attend here tomorrow night, I will not be able to leave for New York till Wednesday 10 or 11 A.M. with just about enough time to get a bite and make the boat.
I verily believe that Mr. Saltman will go down to New York to see me "off". Isn't that bully?**
I suggested taking the steamer that leaves a day or so later, but my friend can't see it that way; and in fact had the tickets and stateroom or whatever you call it, engaged (there is the word again) in advance. He wants to get south as soon as possible and says that only for my previous engagement appointment in Hartford he would have gone midoudt*** (Sam Bernard) me. As Mr. Dooley would say "Kompranny voo?"****
Sincerely,
Joseph G. Shapiro

*This is the most famous sentence of Cicero during his first Oration against Catiline. The meaning of this phrase is, "Oh what a time, Oh what customs"
**"'Bully!' was one of T.R.’s favorite phrases, used to convey the meaning of “good” or “well done” with enthusiastic approval in similar fashion to the colloquial use of the terms “awesome”  or “terrific” today."
***midoudt his funny way of saying "without"
****"Kompranny voo?  means Comprenez-vous? Even at the beginning of their relationship he loved to tease her about the French language that Helen loved.

The next correspondence will be on March 20.

Parallel Lives 1908

The family photographic archive is fairly large and it is a chore to make sense of all of it. I have come up with a system of sorting the images by year and family. One of the interesting things is that there are photographs from Helen and Joe in the same years before they knew each other. In 1908, when Helen was still 14 these photographs were taken.

This family photograph may well have been taken in Central Park, not far from where they lived. The back row from left to right is Helen (14), Bertha (40) and Florrie (12). In the front row on the left is Abe (9) and Lillie (8). It is quite possible that John Rosenstein was the family photographer that day.

These photographs of Helen are quite small. The image size is 5/8" X 1" and the mat is 2 1/4" X 3".  They are nice portraits of a young girl that loved to be photographed.

Joe also liked to document himself in his daily life as seen in the photograph below.

This photograph of Joe was also taken in 1908 when he was 22 and just one year out of law school. The photograph was taken in Hartford, CT. Most likely this was when Joe was out working on a case. The strange thing about this image is that Joe is pointing to a rope and when you look closely it looks like a noose. I would love to know the story behind this photograph. 

Here is a tintype with Joe front row center with some of his friends. For the most part photographs in 1908 were printed on paper, like the ones above, in what became the traditional process. Tintypes were not used much in 1908 but they were popular at seaside resorts and county fairs because they were processed on the spot. You can tell by the backdrop behind them that they were in a portable studio that would have been used at a resort or a fair.

What Happened to Meyer . . .

As you may remember, Meyer was a very hard working student and had to work to pay for his tuition. After graduating with all of the honors from Yale in the class of 1910 he passed the Connecticut Bar right away. By July 1910 Meyer moved to Bridgeport Connecticut to join his brothers Charles and Joe at Shapiro and Shapiro. True to his work ethic, Meyer jumped in full force. By August 1910 this started to effect him and he became ill. Below is a letter that Joe wrote to his mother about Meyer's stay in the hospital.

August 11, 1910
Dear Mother,
We received your letter this morning and are glad everything home is O.K.
Meyer is improving from day to day and will soon be able to leave the hospital. He is very bright and cheerful today, and the doctor says he is an ideal patient, and takes his orders like a prince. He received post cards from Mrs. Rosen and Nettie from Saratoga and Stella from Trumbull.
We have been quite busy at the office this week. Charles was up to see Stella, and she sends her love to everyone.
With Kindest regards
We remain
Charles, Joe and Meyer

As it turns out Meyer never fully recovered from this physical breakdown. Two and a half years later in January 1913 Meyer died suddenly. In later years Joe was known to say that Meyer worked himself to death.

March 4, 1913 - Florence Turns 18

For today I thought it fitting that I highlight Florence aka Florie or Flo who turned 18 on March 4, 1913. Florie was the quiet and delicate one in the Rosenstein household. She never sought attention but with her auburn hair she stood out as a beautiful young woman. Here is a photograph of Florie with some family and friends in 1913. On the top from left to right is John Rosenstein (Papa), Helen, Rob Passloff. At the wheel was Uncle Max Mayer with Florie seated next to him. Mr. Schless is in the front. He was the friend they were visiting in Coney Island.

Today Florie would be 118.