JGANovDec10.pdf - The Jewish Georgian

Page 20 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN November-December 2010
AMERICA’S
BEST
CLEANERS TM
4455 Roswell Road
Atlanta, Georgia 30342
404-255-4312
www.presstine.com
Sarabelle Edelstein Miller is beloved
for her charm and kindness
Many cute females grew up in
Atlanta in the ‘40s, but none was cuter
than Sarabelle Edelstein.
I was one of the lucky guys who won
her attention, but my next-door neighbor,
Freddie Miller, won her heart. He quickly
made her Mrs. Freddie Miller.
That Freddie Miller? Yes, that
Freddie Miller, the one who had the television
show “Stars of Tomorrow” and the
one who did play-byplay
of Georgia Tech
and Alabama football
games.
I nicknamed
Sarabelle “Belle,”
because she was then
beautiful and she still
is—one of the
knockouts at The
Jewish Tower. It was
1943, and she was
named Sweetheart of
AZA chapter 518.
And if The Jewish
Tower had a
Sweetheart, she
would be one of the
front-runners.
Belle grew up in
Atlanta, the baby of
six children.
Belle was meant to be a sports fan
and athlete herself. Her oldest brother,
Asher Edelstein, was one of the all-time
great basketball players to come out of
old Atlanta Boys’ High School, a unanimous
all-state pick in both his junior and
senior years. He was quick, a sure ballhandler,
and one of the leading scorers in
the state.
Asher’s younger brother, Ben, was
nicknamed “Deadeye.” He would look
one way and pass the ball another way. He
was the star of the old Atlanta
Commercial High School team, where he
was known for his deadly shooting of the
Sarabelle Edelstein
BY
Gene
Asher
ball from outside the turning out line. He
was highpoint man in the city—not bad
for a 5’ 6” player. Get the ball to Deadeye,
his coach would say,
and Deadeye would
score from most anywhere
on the court.
With her brothers
as super players, it
was not surprising that
beautiful Belle was a
basketball player of
note in the girls’ league
at the old Jewish
Educational Alliance.
She helped lead the
B’nai B’rith team to an
Alliance championship.
And it was not
surprising that she was
a baseball fan. She was
born and grew up on
Capitol Avenue, site of
the Atlanta Braves’ first
stadium.
Her religion came first, again not surprising
because the house she was born
and grew up in was halfway between the
old Ahavath Achim and Shearith Israel
synagogues.
Her dad was the shamas and shochet
of Shearith Israel, so it was only natural
that Belle became a member of that synagogue.
Her dad would kill the chickens
not only for the Atlanta synagogues, but
also for the synagogue in Rome, some
fifty miles away.
Belle never missed a Sabbath at
Shearith Israel and was always there for
the High Holy Days.
But the story about Belle is not about
basketball or being a beauty queen. It is
about a lady who gave unselfishly of her
time to assist another human being.
My late, wonderful sister, Hope
Everett, lived across the hall from Lee
Miller, Freddie’s mother, at The Jewish
Tower. Rarely a week went by, my sister
told me, that Belle was not visiting her
mother-in-law, bringing enough food to
feed an army, taking Lee out for dinner, or
both.
There were other caregivers at The
Tower, but none more caring than Belle
Miller. A star as a teenager and a star now.
What a great role model she has been
for her children, Simon, 61; Denise, 57;
and Abee, 53.