A Brief History

It all began in 1936 when  Mrs. Pauline Levin, Naomi’s mother, invited us to her home and suggested that we form a club. The purpose of the club would be to help children who were being cared for at the Cardiac Home in Caldwell.  All of us were in the second grade in Hillside Avenue School and most of us were seven years old. We all liked the idea and soon we were meeting at each other’s homes every Friday.  Dues were five cents a week. Fund raising activities began, and in April 1937 we presented a check for $25.00 to the Cardiac Home at a meeting of the Fidelity Lodge.

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Club Meeting – 1938

Mrs. Levin, our club mother, adviser and friend, taught us about club work, charity and friendship.  She kept us together during all our busy years.

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Same Club Meeting

This picture was taken by Bette’s cousin, Bill Rabinowitz, just before she moved to Newark. The cakes, served by Mrs. Hammer, were called “Victory Cakes” and had lots of whipped cream inside.

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Harriett Joins the Club

 

 Harriett lived on the same street as Bette, next door to Mrs. Levin’s brother. At a meeting at her house, we posed on the steps. The date of this picture was probably around 1940

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Our Twentieth Anniversary – 1956

At our twentieth Anniversary celebration at Hahnes Department Store, we thanked our mothers for their encouragement – and for the lovely refreshments they provided at our meetings.

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Mrs. Levin and the Club – 1956

 Mrs. Levin was our devoted leader for twenty years and we looked forward to many more years with her.

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Bar Mitzvah of Robert Stromeyer – 1967

 

 

We were all there to join Carol and Norman on the happy occasion of Robert’s Bar Mitzvah.

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A Meeting at Lois’ House

This picture was taken in the early 1970’s – exact date is unknown.

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Our Thirty-fifth Anniversary

A needlepoint created by Lois was presented to Mrs. Levin in honor of our thirty-fifth anniversary. All our names were on it.

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A Weekend in the Mountains – 1977

 

 

We enjoyed a weekend in the mountains in 1977.

 

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Trees in Bloom – 1978

We had a wonderful time being together for a mini-vacation in 1978.

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Husbands Included – 1978

 

 

 

Our husbands joined us for this picture in front of the flowering trees.

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Seven of Us

 

 

 

This picture was taken in 1979

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A Backyard Party – 1980

 

 

We enjoyed getting together out of doors in the summer of 1980.

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Sally, Lois and Naomi

 

 

 

 

Three of us in 1982.

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Three Girls at a Meeting -1982

 

 

 

Florence, Harriett and Lois – 1982.

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Janet, Naomi and Marion

 

 

This must have been at Bette’s house – judging from the shutters

 

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A Meeting in 1983

 

 

 

We met at Harriett’s house for this meeting.

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Backyard Party – 1983

 

 

This party – in Bette’s backyard – was in honor of Don’s graduation from grad school.  We were all there.

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Four Girls – 1984

 

 

 

Four of us sat down for this picture at one of our meetings in 1984.

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Our Fiftieth Anniversary – 1986

We celebrated our anniversary with a brunch at the Parsippany Hilton Hotel. Our husbands and additional guests joined us.

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Our Fiftieth

 

 

We celebrated our fiftieth anniversary with a brunch at the Parsippany-Hilton Hotel on October 19, 1986.

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Men at Our Fiftieth – 1986

 

Our husbands joined the celebration of our milestone anniversary in 1986.

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Esther Gooen and Family

 

 

We were glad that Sally’s mother was able to help us celebrate our fiftieth anniversary in 1986.

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Two Couples at our Fiftieth

 

Left to right are: Bette, Mike, Lois and Norty.

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Some of our Guests

 

Esther Gooen and Muriel Levin posed with Naomi at our fiftieth anniversary celebration.

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Our Fiftieth – A Table

 

 

One of the tables at our fiftieth anniversary party with Sally and Harold in the foreground.

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Julian Levin was There

 

 

Bette, Julian Levin and Naomi posed for this picture at our fiftieth.

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A Party for the Bailins

Harriett and Herb moved to Florida in 1987.  A going away party was held at Bette’s house.

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Janet and Sally – 1987

 

 

 

This was taken at the Bailins’ farewell party.

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Off to Florida

 

 

Herb, Harriett, Mike and Bette at the farewell party in 1987.

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Four of Us – 1989

 

Sally, Marion, Florence and Bette at a meeting in Bette’s house.

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Meeting in 1989

 

We always enjoyed getting together for our meetings.

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At Sally’ s House in 1989

 

 

We had a get-together at Sally’s house with our husbands where we posed for this picture.

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Norman and Carol

 

 

 

This picture was taken at Sally’s house in 1989.

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Fifty-fifth Anniversary

We celebrated with a brunch on October 20, 1991 and posed again for a picture.

 

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Our Fifty-fifth Anniversary – 1991

 

 

We celebrated our fifty-fifth anniversary at the Parsippany Hilton Hotel.

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Three of Us

 

Bette. Janis and Lois at the party for our fifty-fifth.

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North Carolina – 1993

 

 

We were all invited to the Bat Mitzvah of Harriett and Herb’s granddaughter.  This picture was taken in front of Robin and Chip’s house.

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A Dinner – 1994

 

Sally, Janet and Arthur enjoying dinner with the club.

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Dinner Party – 1994

 

 

Norman, Harriett, Herb and Carol having a good time at one of our get togethers.

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Three Club Husbands – 1994

 

 

Herb, Norty and Mike.

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Nine of Us in Florida

 

 

We were in Florida for different reasons, but we managed to get together while there.  The year was 1994.

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Meeting at Carol’s House – 1997

We always enjoyed our meetings at Carol’s with her lavish lunches.

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New Age Spa – 1998

Since we were all turning seventy years old, we decided to to the New Age Spa to celebrate all of our birthdays together.

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Ready, Set, Go! – to the Spa

 

Four of us went in Bette’s car and the rest were driven by Janis.

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Dining at theNew Age Spa – 1998

 

We enjoyed the healthy, but tasty, meals at the spa and all the activities we shared.

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Leaving the New Age Spa

Our time at the New Age Spa was over.  It had been a unique and happy experience for us all.  Norman came to pick up Carol on their way to Canada and joined us for this picture.

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Lunch in Florida – 1999

 

The five of us met at Busch’s  for lunch. Marion and Harriett live in Florida. Naomi and Carol are “snowbirds”, and  Bette was there for a two week stay.

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Dinner at Marion’s in Florida – 1999

Marion invited

Marion invited us to dinner at her home in Florida.

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Bette’s House – 1999

This picture was taken at a meeting at Bette’s house in 1999.

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Minna, Sally and Lois – 1999

Three of us posed for this picture.  Eventually, we would meet at a restaurant for lunch and a meeting.

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Arthur, Sally and Marty – 1999

Arthur read one of his special poems while Sally and Marty applauded.

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Dinner at Marion’s – 2001

 

 

Once again, we, who were in Florida, had dinner at Marion’s.  The year was 2001.

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Florida – 2001

We gathered at the home of Marion and Marty for an evening of fun which included our husbands.

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Marion’s Dinner Party – 2001

 

This is a picture of Harold and some of the “girls” having some wine before dinner.

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Carol’s House – 2001

This picture was taken in Carol’s dining room after our club meeting was over. Carol is the one on the left.

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Bette’s Porch – 2004

 

We  gathered on Bette’s porch one summer afternoon in 2004.

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Bette’s Porch – 2007

 

On a summer day in 1907, we met on Bette’s porch again.

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Elaine

 

Elaine passed away in 1981 at the age of fifty-two.  She was a creative artist – and a dear friend to each and every one of us.

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Mrs. Levin

 

 

 

After Mrs. Levin passed away in 1976, we renamed our club The Pauline Levin Memorial Club.  She kept our club together and enriched all our lives.

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Sally

 

Sally passed away in 2008.  She was a teacher, a guidance counselor, a lawyer and so much more. She brightened our lives with her friendship.

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CLUB MEMBERS

Bette Hammer London

Carol Raphael Stromeyer

Elaine Gross Katcher

Florence Morris Steinberg

Harriett Kestenbaum Bailin

Janet Ribnik Thieberger

Janis Weinberg Shafarman

Lois Lessner Reiss

Marion Schnee Schwartzbach Alban

Minna Kaphan

Naomi Levin Jacoby Cohn

Sally Gooen Wovsaniker

 

CLUB MOTHER

Pauline Einhorn Levin

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Charities the Club has Supported

Cardiac Home in Caldwell

Foster Parents Plan

Save the Children

Nat’l Multiple Sclerosis Society

United Cerebral Palsey League

Diabetes Foundation, Inc.

Kennedy Child Study Center

The Lighthouse for the Blind

JFK Library

 

 

 

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