Ben column (c. 1959) about dog and WWII (View PDF)
A humorous recollection related to service in the Pacific in WW II.
Ben column (c. 1973) about a visit to Marion (View PDF)
A dyspeptic account of a visit to Marion. He mentions the Hoosierism “warsh pants.”
Ben column (c. 1973) about winters in his boyhood (View PDF)
Written during the 1973 “energy crunch”, the column is a vivid recollection of outhouses, coal stoves, collecting kindling, loading coal, kerosene lights, itchy woolen underwear.
Ben column 1959 remembering growing up in Marion (View PDF)
Earliest column located in which Ben reminisces. He writes about growing up with Pop’s horse, cleaning out the stable. The ice man. He tells the story [inaccurately] about his father being put on a train for Marion, Ohio and getting off in Marion, Indiana. He mentions David’s relative in Piqua, Ohio [cannot verify; there were relatives in Portsmouth, Ohio at that time]. He tells about getting a dog they name Tony. Remarkably, Ben writes how he played with “a baseball team in Marion that was made up of eight Negroes with myself as first baseman.” The sports editor of the Marion Chronicle asked Ben to file a story on the team. He did, the editor liked it and hired him. That was his start in the newspaper business.
Ben column 1969 about growing up in Marion–and running away (View PDF)
The column is written after his mother’s death. The headline is about trains, but the heart of the column is about growing up. He names David’s two horses: Prince and Charlie. He tells of the financial worries of his immigrant parents. He visits the old homestead, now sold, and remembers, “It was from this house that I ran away early one Sunday morning, over 40 years ago–ran away because I had accepted a job with a newspaper in Des Moines.”
Ben column 1970 about the unveiling of his mother’s stone (View PDF)
Ben recalls his mother, and Mom and Pop. He remembers his mother’s love of the United States. He relates a vigorous dinner-table argument, probably with Milt.
Ben column March 23, 1975 about Mom, now gone six years (View PDF)
Ben retells the story about how his parents first went to Germany, and embellishes, inaccurately, the story about Marion, Ohio and Marion, Indiana. He mentions his mother’s belief in clairvoyance through dreams.
Ben column Oct. 1969 about Toby’s wedding, family high points (View PDF)
Ben has fun with the Boston background of Woody Klebenov’s parents. He also mentions his brother Meyer’s role as grand marshal in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Ben’s column April 6, 1969 about the death of Mom (View PDF)
Ben’s remembrance of “Mom”, about whom he had written so many times in his column. She died March 23, 1969. The “Mom” columns were well-read, as Ben notes. The column also has some key genealogical information, including her memories of Cossacks and escape. It mentions leaving through Hamburg [a fact which I am unable to confirm, and which conflicts with another memory of Rose as departing from “some port in France”]. The column mentions a distant relative of David’s in Piqua, Ohio [another fact to be tracked down. There were Meidenbergs in Portsmouth, Ohio. This is the more likely connection]. The column also relates how Rose and David thought they were going to Marion, Ohio, but instead came to Marion, Indiana, where David began peddling. Ben recalls his mother as illiterate, but passionate about education, “whipping” him for acting out in school.
David Maidenberg’s death, news story (View PDF)
Marion Chronicle page one story about David Maidenberg’s death. The “leadership” attribute is striking. He is identified with both Sinai Temple, the Reform congregation, and “the orthodox synagogue”. Sister Esther is still in Canada.
Mike’s tribute to Ben, August 10, 1986 (View PDF)
“Under the Influence of Uncle Ben”, column by Mike in the Grand Forks Herald.
Story in Beacon Journal about death of Rose (View PDF)
Ran March 24, 1969. Also an editorial tribute to “Mom”.
Marion Chronicle story on Mike going to India, Sept. 1964 (View PDF)
Local boy heads overseas. Mike said to be second Peace Corps volunteer from Grant County.
The Wheel of History Turns: Mike’s reflections after meeting Russian relatives for first time, 1989
After meeting Victor Brenner in Brooklyn and Vadim Rosenberg in San Francisco, a circle closed. Read more.
Mike’s dialogue with his grandfather – 47 years too late
In a 1996 speech to the Germans from Russia Society, Mike addressed his grandfather across the years, contemplating “why didn’t we ask then what I want to ask now?” Read the speech.
“Marion’s Chosen Few”: A 1977 special section in the Marion Chronicle-Tribune about the Jewish community of Marion, Indiana
On the cover is a patriarchal Sam Fleck displaying a torah at Sinai Temple. Read today (2016), the report has useful history, but also an air of elegy, because community leaders then could see the Jewish population ebbing away. Indeed Sinai Temple as a functioning Jewish institution, is no more. Read more.