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<strong>Our</strong> <strong>Story</strong>, A <strong>Family</strong> <strong>Legacy</strong><br />
As told by Marjorie Foster Saltzman
4
<strong>Our</strong> <strong>Story</strong>, A <strong>Family</strong> <strong>Legacy</strong><br />
As told by Marjorie Foster Saltzman<br />
1
<strong>Our</strong> <strong>Story</strong>, A <strong>Family</strong> <strong>Legacy</strong><br />
As told by Marjorie Foster Saltzman<br />
Produced by Lisa Kagan Designs<br />
<strong>Family</strong> Heirloom Art<br />
www.LisaKaganDesigns.com<br />
Portland, Oregon<br />
Lisa Kagan: Director, Oral Historian, Writer,<br />
Photography Editor, Book Designer<br />
Joella Werlin, Familore: Project Consultant,<br />
Oral Historian, Text Editor<br />
Julie Leuvrey: Genealogical Research, <strong>Family</strong><br />
History Consultant<br />
Connie Lenzen, CG: Genealogical Research,<br />
Genealogical Chart<br />
Julie Zander: Copy Editor<br />
Content <strong>for</strong> this book is based on oral history<br />
interviews of Marjorie Foster Saltzman<br />
and her four children: Jeff Saltzman; Barbara<br />
Lovre; Dan Saltzman; and Julie Leuvrey.<br />
Interviews initially were conducted by Joella<br />
Werlin, Familore, beginning in 2004, and subsequently<br />
by Lisa Kagan, Lisa Kagan Designs,<br />
2008–2009.<br />
Copyright © 2009<br />
Marjorie Foster Saltzman and her heirs<br />
All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of<br />
the contents without permission is prohibited.<br />
Printed by Stevens Printing,<br />
Portland, Oregon.<br />
Book binding by Grossenbacher Bros Inc.<br />
Front cover caption:<br />
A collection of photographs celebrating four generations of the<br />
Saltzman family<br />
Images from left to right, top row:<br />
Goodman family: Lillian and Sam (back), Ophelia, Dora,<br />
Celia, Charles and Rebecca (middle), Helen (front)<br />
Jeff Saltzman, Jack Saltzman during the war years,<br />
Julie Leuvrey<br />
Images from left to right, bottom row:<br />
Barb Lovre, Marjorie Foster Saltzman, Dan Saltzman<br />
Foster family portrait, c. 1929: Shirley and Ophelia (back),<br />
Betty, Jacob and Marjorie (front)<br />
Photo montage by Lisa Kagan.<br />
Specializing in <strong>Family</strong> Heirloom Art Books<br />
2
Contents<br />
This book has been created<br />
as a way to share<br />
<strong>Family</strong><br />
my life experiences and<br />
those of our ancestors<br />
with my children and<br />
~ Preface ~<br />
7<br />
Origins<br />
The Foster and Goodman Families<br />
8<br />
Growing Up in Sandpoint<br />
22<br />
Oregon –<br />
Reconnecting Roots<br />
34<br />
Newlyweds<br />
During the War Years<br />
44<br />
Marjorie and Jack’s <strong>Family</strong><br />
58<br />
Planned Parenthood<br />
Forty Years of Volunteerism<br />
76<br />
Origins of a Self-Made Man<br />
The Saltzman and Miller Families<br />
88<br />
An Entrepreneur’s <strong>Legacy</strong><br />
98<br />
Jeff, The First Born<br />
114<br />
carrying with it the<br />
<strong>Legacy</strong><br />
wisdom and insights<br />
of all that has come<br />
be<strong>for</strong>e. I hope that this<br />
collection of our fam-<br />
Barbara, Oldest Daughter<br />
122<br />
Dan, Youngest Son<br />
134<br />
Julie, The “Baby”<br />
146<br />
Three Generations Together<br />
The Later Years<br />
162<br />
~ <strong>Family</strong> Tree and<br />
Concluding Thoughts ~<br />
181<br />
3
4
For my family and future generations<br />
5
6
This book has been created as a way to share my life experiences and those of our ancestors<br />
I<br />
think it is important to know where you come from.<br />
with my children and grandchildren. Once all the older generations are gone, I want future generations<br />
to have a place to go to learn about our family. This book is my answer to that. I hope it awakens<br />
their curiosity about the past and encourages them as they build their own lives.<br />
I began this process when Jack’s health was failing, be<strong>for</strong>e he passed away, with the idea that our<br />
children and grandchildren also would have the opportunity to know him better through these pages.<br />
I would love to have had a book like this when I was younger. Current technology makes it much<br />
easier to access in<strong>for</strong>mation than when I was growing up. Research on our ancestry helped us uncover<br />
many stories that I never knew. I only wish I had the opportunity to hear these stories earlier in<br />
my life, but I am thankful that now I can share them with my family. It makes me feel good to know<br />
that younger generations can grow up with more knowledge of our family history than I did when I<br />
was a child.<br />
Life is continually changing, which is quite evident throughout this book. I believe that each generation<br />
creates its own way, yet can really benefit from learning about what came be<strong>for</strong>e. I feel optimistic<br />
about the opportunities available to my grandchildren. They will have access to the tools and<br />
resources that they need to pursue their dreams. I think they will be able to do great things. Perhaps<br />
one day when they are older, they will create a book like this about their own lives, weaving together<br />
the stories of past, present and future generations.<br />
I have created this book out of love — love <strong>for</strong> the future of my children and grandchildren, and<br />
the children they will have one day. It is amazing to see all of the pieces come together.<br />
7
8<br />
Goodman <strong>Family</strong><br />
Lillian and Sam (back)<br />
Ophelia, Dora, Celia, Charles<br />
and Rebecca (middle)<br />
Helen (front)
The Goodmans<br />
Origins<br />
The Goodman and Foster Families<br />
My grandfather, Carl Wilhelm Gutman,<br />
was born in May 1858 in<br />
Latvia. The Gutman family lived<br />
in a town called Sassmachen, in Courland, a<br />
historic area of Jewish settlement in Latvia.<br />
The town is now called Valdemarpils. Around<br />
1882 Carl and his two brothers, Herman<br />
and Joe, immigrated to the United States to<br />
escape the threat of being enlisted into the<br />
Russian army. When my grandfather went<br />
through the naturalization process in the<br />
United States, he decided to Americanize his<br />
name, so he became Charles William Goodman.<br />
Once he was admitted into the United<br />
States, he traveled to Michigan to stay with his<br />
cousin. Charles was a very remarkable young<br />
man. Not only did he quickly learn the watch<br />
repairing trade, but he also taught himself<br />
English. He spoke without any trace of a<br />
<strong>for</strong>eign accent. He never had a single day of<br />
schooling as a child, and yet his favorite books<br />
as an adult were by Darwin, Shakespeare and<br />
Herbert Spencer (a popular philosopher of the<br />
late 1800s).<br />
Eventually Charles continued west to join<br />
his brother in Chehalis, Washington, where he<br />
Charles Goodman’s father<br />
“Charles was a very remarkable young<br />
man.... He never had a single day of<br />
schooling as a child, and yet his favorite<br />
books as an adult were by Darwin,<br />
Shakespeare and Herbert Spencer.”<br />
Charles Goodman’s mother<br />
9
owned a clothing store. There, Charles opened<br />
a jewelry shop, which he would continue to<br />
own <strong>for</strong> many years. It was in Chehalis that<br />
Charles met his first wife, Sarah. They had two<br />
children, Sam and Lillian Goodman. His marriage<br />
to Sarah ended in a tragedy. His wife was<br />
in a horse-drawn buggy with their baby, and a<br />
train whistle frightened the horse. The buggy<br />
Dora’s father and his second wife, matchmakers <strong>for</strong> Dora and Charles<br />
overturned and she was killed. Their baby,<br />
Sam Goodman, survived the accident.<br />
Following this extremely difficult period as<br />
a widower, my grandfather was introduced to<br />
my grandmother, Dora Hurwitz, in the most<br />
unusual way. Dora was born in May 1874 in<br />
Russia. She had immigrated to the United<br />
States in 1896 to marry a cousin who passed<br />
away shortly after she arrived.<br />
Dora’s father, my great-grandfather,<br />
was a widower, and his second wife<br />
was a relative of Charles Goodman.<br />
Through the two of them, they<br />
arranged <strong>for</strong> Dora in Minneapolis<br />
and Charles in Chehalis to meet by<br />
correspondence. After exchanging<br />
many letters and pictures, Charles<br />
and Dora met in Seattle and got<br />
married, much to the satisfaction of<br />
their familial matchmakers.<br />
The young couple moved to<br />
Chehalis where they started their<br />
life together. A few years later, they<br />
moved with their young family<br />
to Portland, Oregon, where they<br />
spent the rest of their days. Charles<br />
bought property <strong>for</strong> the family<br />
home, which he had built at 714 E.<br />
Madison Street in Portland in 1906.<br />
He had the Goodman name carved<br />
on the riser of the concrete steps<br />
leading to the front door. This large<br />
white colonial style house can still<br />
be found in southeast Portland, at the current<br />
address of 2036-2038 SE Madison. My<br />
grandfather re-established his jewelry store<br />
on southwest Morrison Street downtown. He<br />
made an honest living, though the business<br />
was never very financially successful.<br />
Charles and Dora had four girls and two<br />
boys of their own. Combined, they had eight<br />
children in their family. My mother, Ophelia<br />
10
The Goodman family at their home<br />
at 714 E. Madison Street in Portland<br />
Grace Goodman, was born June 18, 1900, in<br />
Chehalis, Washington. Ophelia’s name, which<br />
she did not like since it was so uncommon,<br />
was inspired by Charles’s love of Shakespeare.<br />
Ophelia was the third child, born a year after<br />
twins Helen and Celia. Her younger siblings<br />
were Rebecca, Louis and Mort. Two of my<br />
mother’s sisters died during childhood. Celia<br />
died of tuberculosis in 1905, at age six. Rebecca<br />
died at age eleven of complications<br />
from diabetes, be<strong>for</strong>e the invention of insulin.<br />
Insulin was discovered only ten years after she<br />
passed away.<br />
Rebecca was a frail and beautiful child<br />
with blue eyes and black hair. She did not<br />
attend school because of her illness. Her last<br />
summer was spent in Seaside, Oregon, since<br />
the doctor recommended<br />
the sea air. She died that<br />
summer, but she came out<br />
of a diabetic coma just long<br />
enough to tell her mother,<br />
Dora, that she had seen<br />
heaven and the angels. From<br />
that time <strong>for</strong>ward, when<br />
the children came into the<br />
kitchen <strong>for</strong> lunch, Dora always<br />
left the back door open<br />
<strong>for</strong> Rebecca.<br />
The Goodmans were a<br />
very close family. My grandfather<br />
Charles was adored by<br />
his children, whom he loved<br />
deeply. He loved music and<br />
often sat outside his children’s<br />
bedrooms and sang<br />
opera to them until they<br />
fell asleep. At dinner, the<br />
children would take turns<br />
sitting on his lap throughout<br />
the meal. Charles preferred<br />
spending time with his<br />
children and their friends<br />
rather than with his business<br />
associates discussing adult<br />
matters. According to my<br />
Uncle Louis, Charles was<br />
interested in their hearts and<br />
minds, and Dora was interested<br />
in their health and<br />
their souls.<br />
Charles Goodman<br />
11
When my sisters and I were growing up,<br />
we used to enjoy spending summers with the<br />
Goodman family, and I learned most of what<br />
I know about Orthodox Judaism from my<br />
grandmother. Grandmother Dora was very<br />
religious, perhaps balancing out Charles’s<br />
leaning toward atheism. Dora kept a kosher<br />
household, and I believe they had their kosher<br />
meat sent from Seattle or Portland when<br />
they were living in Chehalis. One infamous<br />
Goodman family tale was the story of “Luke”<br />
Twins Helen and Celia with mother Dora<br />
Goodman. My Uncle Louis came down with<br />
tuberculosis, and was sent to a sanitarium in<br />
Eastern Oregon to recover. When his condition<br />
failed to improve, Dora went to what<br />
many today would call a quack doctor. I<br />
believe he was a religious healer. Upon his<br />
advice, she re-named her son “Luke,” so God<br />
couldn’t find him. Then, she took a chicken,<br />
whirled it around her head and said a prayer.<br />
She believed that is why he survived, because<br />
God couldn’t find him. The chicken-whirling<br />
Rebecca, Ophelia, Helen, Mort and Louis<br />
portion of the story was derived from a mystical,<br />
medieval ritual called Schlagen Kaporas,<br />
per<strong>for</strong>med by very orthodox Jewish wives on<br />
the day be<strong>for</strong>e Yom Kippur. Dora had adopted<br />
this practice. It was supposed to transmigrate<br />
one’s sins to the helpless carcass, which was<br />
then given to charity.<br />
Over time Dora adapted her ways slightly<br />
and eventually permitted my Uncle Louis and<br />
Uncle Mort to attend medical school instead<br />
of synagogue on Saturdays. She rationalized<br />
this by telling them that they were learning<br />
to do God’s work of healing the sick. Charles<br />
was determined that his sons, Mort and Louis,<br />
would become doctors. They were both very<br />
original and extremely intelligent. They became<br />
highly regarded and very successful in<br />
the field of medicine.<br />
12
Mort, Louis, Rebecca, Ophelia and Helen<br />
13
22<br />
Postcards from Sandpoint, Idaho
Marjorie, age four<br />
“Sandpoint was a small town of only<br />
about three thousand people at that<br />
time, and <strong>for</strong> us kids it was like<br />
one big playground.”<br />
Growing Up in Sandpoint<br />
I<br />
came into this world April 30, 1922, born<br />
in the Sandpoint Hospital in Sandpoint,<br />
Idaho. Sandpoint was a small town of only<br />
about three thousand people at that time, and<br />
<strong>for</strong> us kids it was like one big playground. We<br />
could walk everywhere and everyone knew<br />
each other and looked out <strong>for</strong> us. The town<br />
was situated right on the edge of beautiful<br />
Lake Pend Oreille. We heard stories that the<br />
lake was so deep that the bottom was never<br />
found! The beach had wonderful recreational<br />
facilities nearby where we played golf and tennis.<br />
We were always exploring on our bikes,<br />
crossing the long<br />
bridge over the<br />
lake. Some of our<br />
friends had summer<br />
homes across<br />
the lake, and we<br />
would go over<br />
there and swim.<br />
<strong>Our</strong> high school<br />
was only a block<br />
away, the grammar<br />
school was three<br />
Marjorie and Betty<br />
blocks, and downtown was only four. Everything<br />
was at your fingertips; it was a marvelous<br />
place to grow up.<br />
In a two-story house at 230 SW Fourth<br />
Avenue, I lived with my parents; my older<br />
sister Betty; my younger sister Shirley; and<br />
our fourteen-year-old live-in maid, Anne. It<br />
was on a corner lot surrounded by beautiful<br />
fruit trees. We loved picking the fruit from the<br />
cherry trees <strong>for</strong> canning and baking pies. The<br />
house was distinctly different than the houses<br />
we are used to today. First of all, in order to<br />
Cousin Harriet Hoeflich (left) with<br />
Foster sisters Marjorie, Betty and Shirley<br />
23
Foster family home in Sandpoint<br />
get any heat upstairs you had to light the potbellied<br />
stove. On winter mornings my father<br />
would get up early and build a fire, and then<br />
we would all huddle around the heat of the<br />
stove and get dressed. We also had only one<br />
bathroom upstairs with a tub. You can imagine<br />
what a challenge it was having four women<br />
and one man in that household! My sister<br />
Betty and I shared a bed in the little bedroom.<br />
<strong>Our</strong> sister Shirley had to live with Anne in the<br />
other bedroom, though in the summertime<br />
we all slept together on the sleeping porch,<br />
and Shirley was thrilled about that. We slept<br />
so close to the stars. In the kitchen we had<br />
a wood-cooking stove — you had to start a<br />
fire every time you<br />
wanted to cook or<br />
bake something. The<br />
iceman delivered ice to<br />
the icebox on our back<br />
porch, yet <strong>for</strong> a good<br />
portion of the year<br />
winter weather kept<br />
things cold.<br />
Snow blanketed the<br />
ground from November<br />
until May, trans<strong>for</strong>ming<br />
everything<br />
with its quiet beauty.<br />
We couldn’t wait to<br />
go out and play in the<br />
mountains of snow<br />
piled up by the plows down the middle of<br />
Main Street. They were so tall that you could<br />
not see over the top of them as a child. They<br />
became our “<strong>for</strong>tresses.” We would slide down<br />
the steep slopes with our sleds. We loved going<br />
ice-skating on the lake when it froze over.<br />
Ice fishing was also popular.<br />
My parents were extremely hard workers<br />
and always provided very well <strong>for</strong> us. My<br />
father opened his store, J.A. Foster & Co., after<br />
World War I. It sold complete lines of men’s<br />
and boy’s clothing and furnishings, and shoes<br />
<strong>for</strong> the entire family. When I was a child, he<br />
opened the women’s portion of the store. My<br />
mom worked there since the day it opened, so<br />
Anne cooked and cared <strong>for</strong> the house. One<br />
of my favorite memories of the store was the<br />
day my dad brought home our dog. A haggard<br />
looking man came into the store with<br />
a dog at his heels. My father inquired about<br />
the dog, and the man said, “Oh, would you<br />
like to have him?” My father purchased the<br />
dog <strong>for</strong> $5. Later he found out the dog just<br />
followed the man into the store; he didn’t actually<br />
own it. We named that dog Gypsy, and<br />
she lived with us <strong>for</strong> seventeen years.<br />
My father ran a good business and I think<br />
we were financially better off than most,<br />
Betty and Marjorie<br />
24
Marjorie, Ophelia, Shirley and Betty<br />
Betty and Marjorie<br />
25
34<br />
Foster sisters (left)<br />
Marjorie (right)
Oregon — Reconnecting Roots<br />
“I missed my boyfriend Dick and my<br />
friends in Sandpoint terribly. But, we<br />
adapted quickly. My sisters and I<br />
became known as the Foster girls, and<br />
the boys would come over to call on us.”<br />
Foster family’s rental house in<br />
Portland’s Eastmoreland neighborhood<br />
<strong>Our</strong> first Portland home, when we<br />
arrived in 1938, was a big historic<br />
house, a rental, right across from<br />
Reed College. My mother, my two sisters<br />
and I, and my uncle Dr. Mort Goodman, all<br />
moved in together. My mother’s sister Helen<br />
had passed away, so her children, Harriet<br />
and Alan Hoeflich, lived with us as well. A<br />
few months later, Uncle Mort married Edith<br />
Schnitzer and she moved in, too. I couldn’t<br />
believe that as newlyweds they would want to<br />
live with all of us teenagers! But I really enjoyed<br />
that bustling household. My sister Betty<br />
and I enrolled in Lincoln High School, across<br />
town. Betty was a senior when we arrived, and<br />
I was a junior.<br />
Shirley in Eastmoreland home<br />
Lincoln was not the neighborhood school,<br />
but I believe we went there because it had<br />
more Jewish students. Uncle Mort would<br />
drop us off at school everyday on his way<br />
to his office in Northwest Portland. It was a<br />
difficult transition <strong>for</strong> me at first. I missed my<br />
boyfriend, Dick, and my friends in Sandpoint<br />
terribly. But, we adapted quickly. My sisters<br />
and I became known as the Foster girls, and<br />
Marjorie at Lincoln High School<br />
the boys would come over to call on us. It<br />
was easy to make new friends. There were a<br />
lot of Jewish girls’ groups in Portland at that<br />
time, including Kmaia, Sub Debs and the<br />
B’nai Brith girls. They were like little sororities<br />
— you had to be invited to tea and then<br />
you could join. It was popular to spend time<br />
35
Marjorie with friends at Seaside<br />
Marjorie (left) with friends at Seaside on the Oregon Coast<br />
“It was crazy; you were going along,<br />
enjoying your life as you always did.<br />
Then, all of a sudden, the whole world<br />
changed. Of course at the time we didn’t<br />
realize how much it had changed. We had<br />
no way of anticipating how much hardship<br />
would ensue in the years to come.”<br />
that we’d have breakfast at this spot on Green<br />
Lake the next morning. That was the morning<br />
of December 7th. I met him there and<br />
then the news broke. It was crazy; you were<br />
going along, enjoying your life as you always<br />
did. Then, all of a sudden, the whole world<br />
changed. Of course, at the time we didn’t<br />
realize how much it had changed. We had no<br />
way of anticipating how much hardship would<br />
ensue in the years to come.<br />
I met Jack the following summer, in 1942.<br />
I came back from the University of Washington<br />
to spend the summer in Portland with<br />
38<br />
my family. Jack had just graduated from the<br />
University of Oregon. I had heard about him<br />
when I was on a date with another guy <strong>for</strong><br />
“Junior Weekend” at the University of Oregon.<br />
That same weekend, Jack was inducted into<br />
the Friars, a prestigious group <strong>for</strong> the highestachieving<br />
students. It was a highly recognized<br />
event down there, so I knew of him but had<br />
not met him yet.<br />
That same summer, I was working at<br />
Lipman-Wolfe in the men’s department. Jack<br />
came in to buy a bathing suit. He picked<br />
everything out himself, but I waited on him.<br />
I can’t remember if I sold him the suit or<br />
not. He seemed to know me, but I didn’t<br />
really know how. I remembered him from<br />
that weekend at the University of Oregon. In<br />
addition to working during the days, I was<br />
taking a business class at Lincoln High School<br />
in the evening. On the way home after class<br />
one night, I stopped at the J.C.C. People were<br />
always hanging out there, and I ran into Jack<br />
again. We starting talking, and he asked me<br />
<strong>for</strong> my phone number. He didn’t write it<br />
down, so I figured he wasn’t going to call. Sure<br />
enough, he called.
Majorie during summer vacation from the<br />
University of Washington<br />
Jack at the University of Oregon<br />
39
44<br />
Jack and Marjorie’s letters and memorabilia from the war years
Newlyweds During the War Years<br />
Newlyweds Jack and Marjorie on a trip with family in Long Beach, Cali<strong>for</strong>nia<br />
We arrived in San Francisco, flush<br />
with the excitement of our recent<br />
marriage, to discover that Jack was<br />
going to be shipped out to the South Pacific<br />
with the Navy <strong>for</strong> two years. Heavy with<br />
disappointment, Jack told the officer at the<br />
Coast Guard headquarters about our recent<br />
marriage and urged the officer to consider<br />
an alternative option. To our amazement, the<br />
officer turned out to be a compassionate man<br />
because he said “Okay, we’ll change your assignment.”<br />
At that moment in our country’s<br />
history, you had to do what you were told.<br />
The fact that this man showed him some<br />
kindness was a real miracle. <strong>Our</strong> marriage<br />
may have saved Jack’s life, because so many<br />
died in the South Pacific.<br />
As it turned out, we<br />
were able to spend several<br />
months together in San<br />
Francisco. Jack was assigned<br />
to duty on a Coast<br />
Guard ship that traveled<br />
up and down the coast of<br />
San Francisco, protecting<br />
the bay. He would be<br />
out on the boat <strong>for</strong> three<br />
weeks at a time. Luckily,<br />
I was able to obtain a job<br />
at the Bank of America<br />
transcribing communications from Italian<br />
bankers. I used a Dictaphone to play back<br />
their recorded voices in order to transcribe<br />
their words. Their accents were difficult to<br />
understand, but I enjoyed the job. It kept me<br />
occupied during those long days in an unfamiliar<br />
city. During that time we were staying<br />
in a hotel room, which was rather lonely while<br />
Jack was on the ship. Fortunately, I had a few<br />
friends from Portland who were living in<br />
San Francisco, so I spent a lot of time at their<br />
apartment on the Marina. It looked out over<br />
the Bay, and from that vantage point I could<br />
see when Jack’s ship was returning to the port.<br />
At the end of our time in San Francisco,<br />
Jack received news that he had to go to Washington,<br />
D.C., in preparation <strong>for</strong> his upcoming<br />
assignment abroad with the Navy. In D.C. he<br />
would be trained to become a high-ranking<br />
officer on the ship. We boarded a train and<br />
headed east. We spent three sweltering<br />
months in D.C., renting the upstairs of an<br />
Jack and Marjorie visiting with family in Cali<strong>for</strong>nia<br />
45
<strong>Our</strong> Letters, Stories from the War Years<br />
This collection of letters spans the period while we were separated due to the war,<br />
beginning April 15, 1944. Jack returned home in the summer of 1945,<br />
shortly be<strong>for</strong>e the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.<br />
Jack spent a lot of time reflecting on love and<br />
our relationship while we were apart. “Booge,”<br />
our nickname <strong>for</strong> each other, comes up<br />
throughout our correspondence. These<br />
excerpts are highlights from some of his letters.<br />
... You told me about your Mother’s Day dinner at the Mallory Hotel ... and how you went<br />
to revisit the room where we spent our first night. As I sit here thinking about the same thing,<br />
I can feel my heart just skip and jump — and I get the warmest feeling. That night of March<br />
25th was the first time I realized that I had stepped out of an ordinary existence into one full<br />
of warmth and happiness. It was like coming in out of a storm and into a warm room with a<br />
peaceful fireplace — so distinctive was the change I felt. Yes Booge, someday we will go back to<br />
that same room.<br />
... You know Booge I always seem to think of our married life in four distinct phases, which are<br />
classified by the locality in which we lived. Seems to me that in each period we lived in new<br />
and distinct worlds. Each phase seemed better than the last one too because the longer I knew<br />
my Booge the more I discovered, I loved her.<br />
... Does this day, April 15th, 1945, mean anything to you? Today marks one year that I’ve been<br />
away from you. Remember that miserable Saturday when we said goodbye in the little car. I<br />
guess I can stand almost anything now because I never thought I could bear being away from<br />
you <strong>for</strong> such a long time. I guess we are both a bit stronger now — if only from the heartbreak<br />
and loneliness we’ve both suffered.<br />
Jack during his Navy service<br />
“I would like you to save all of<br />
these letters by clasping them together<br />
in a manila folder or something in<br />
that order. We are not allowed to keep<br />
a diary and I think these letters could<br />
serve the same purpose. It ought to be<br />
fun reading them over about ten years<br />
from now — it will make us realize<br />
then how lucky we are to be together.<br />
Your loving husband, Jack”<br />
May 17, 1944<br />
48
We spent a lot of time writing about memories and dreams while we were apart. That kind<br />
of time travel provided some relief from the agony of missing each other that we endured.<br />
These excerpts from Jack’s letters show how we struggled to bring ourselves closer together<br />
in spite of the distance.<br />
... One of the songs in the movie “Miss You” certainly expressed the way I feel, especially when<br />
I see and hear things that remind me of all the things we’ve done in the<br />
short time that we have been married. Yes Booge, married life is wonderful<br />
and better with a wife like you. I agree with you — “you don’t<br />
know how lucky you are.”<br />
Marjorie<br />
... Gosh, how all of the small incidences that sometimes didn’t take up<br />
more than a few minutes of time return to me to give me a lifetime of<br />
pleasure reliving them. I remember in Long Beach how I would have to<br />
coax you to get wet. You were afraid your silk bandana wouldn’t do as<br />
a bathing cap and that you would get your hair wet — then we would<br />
hold hands and gradually duck lower and lower into the waves, but<br />
you always held your face up high, and you’d make the cutest noises<br />
and expressions when the cold water would finally run up against your<br />
shoulders. You’d say,“Now Booge, that’s far enough” and I would hold<br />
you with me until a larger breaker came so that I could lift your head<br />
and shoulders above it and then bring you down with your eyes and<br />
mouth wide open from the thrill. I guess you can tell Booge — from the<br />
way I write — that I am nuts about you and how happy you’ve made<br />
me. Some days I think about it so much, I just have to put it in my letters,<br />
and all you get is a lot of writing about it like this.<br />
Jack aboard the Navy ship<br />
in the Aleutian Islands<br />
... I believe that on Sundays you are with me more than any other day<br />
of the week, and I suppose it is because I usually have more time to think, and because Sunday<br />
was a day we always spent together from morning until night.... I’ve never had any happier<br />
days than those in which we were together. Please buy yourself a gardenia and wear it <strong>for</strong> me<br />
— just as though I had given it to you.<br />
49
time, Jack got a<br />
job working with<br />
Tom McCall on the<br />
radio station selling<br />
advertisements.<br />
He began working<br />
extremely hard to<br />
provide <strong>for</strong> us and<br />
establish a foundation<br />
<strong>for</strong> our future.<br />
I remember the<br />
night I went into<br />
Shirley holding baby Jeff<br />
labor, we were in<br />
the duplex playing bridge and I said, “I think<br />
I better go to the hospital.” Jeff was born on<br />
March 1, 1946, initiating us into parenthood.<br />
Not long after Jeff was born, Harriet’s<br />
husband came home from the war and my<br />
mother decided we needed more space. She<br />
bought a three-plex off of Belmont and Southeast<br />
Twenty-fifth. It had three units, and she<br />
said we could have one. <strong>Our</strong>s was a two-bedroom;<br />
she lived in one and rented the other.<br />
Two years after Jeff ’s arrival, Barbara was<br />
born, February 23, 1948. We were <strong>for</strong>tunate<br />
because Mother was right next door, so Jeff<br />
could go over to her place if Barb was crying.<br />
<strong>Our</strong> second son, Dan, was born December<br />
22, 1953. Then Julie, the baby of the family,<br />
was born May 2, 1961. Jeff was fifteen years<br />
old at the time. I can remember their reactions<br />
— especially the teenagers. Their mother<br />
was pregnant again, having another child? It<br />
was just not heard of in those days. Of course,<br />
60<br />
Marjorie and Jeff<br />
“During that period, the roles of men<br />
and women were very distinct. The men<br />
worked to support the family and were<br />
not as involved with the day-to-day<br />
tasks of child rearing and running a<br />
household. Very few women went to<br />
work to earn money <strong>for</strong> the family,<br />
but we had all of the household<br />
responsibility to attend to.”<br />
Jeff and Jack<br />
everyone doted on Julie when she was born.<br />
Barb was very active in helping me take care<br />
of her. Often she mentions to me that she feels<br />
like she raised Julie.<br />
It was my main responsibility to take<br />
care of our children. In addition, it was my<br />
job to make sure that everything was going<br />
smoothly in our household. Jack had a very<br />
high standard, which was often a challenge<br />
to meet when raising four children. During<br />
that period, the roles of men and women were<br />
very distinct. The men worked to support<br />
the family and were not as involved with the
Jeff and Barb<br />
Jeff and Barb<br />
61
76<br />
Marjorie leading a Planned Parenthood workshop at Beaumont High School (center)<br />
Marjorie receiving the Silver Award from Elder’s In Action (right)
My first connection with Planned<br />
Parenthood was through Jean<br />
Rustin, a friend in the Council of<br />
Jewish Women, who invited me to observe<br />
her teach one of her sex education classes at<br />
the Planned Parenthood Center on Northeast<br />
Broadway. The center was near a pawnshop,<br />
in a small building with two little rooms<br />
downstairs and offices upstairs. I decided to<br />
take Jean up on her offer, and I was hooked.<br />
That was back in 1968, and marked my initiation<br />
into working with Planned Parenthood.<br />
My interest in Planned Parenthood began<br />
with my own experience of not being able<br />
to control the timing of my pregnancies. My<br />
four children were born over a span of fifteen<br />
years. I love my children, and it worked out<br />
<strong>for</strong> our family, but the experience made me<br />
realize how important it is <strong>for</strong> women to have<br />
control over when and if they have children.<br />
A lot has changed over the last <strong>for</strong>ty years.<br />
The only available methods <strong>for</strong> birth control<br />
at the time when we were starting our family<br />
were the “rhythm method,” which wasn’t<br />
very reliable, diaphragms and condoms. Pills<br />
came in 1964, three years after Julie was born.<br />
Of course, abortions weren’t legal until 1973.<br />
Un<strong>for</strong>tunately, in those days, there was no<br />
Planned Parenthood<br />
Forty Years of Volunteerism<br />
in<strong>for</strong>mation available in the schools about<br />
sex, birth control or diseases. As a woman,<br />
once you were married, you would go to your<br />
gynecologist. They were mostly men, although<br />
I had one female gynecologist who delivered<br />
two of the children. If you asked <strong>for</strong> birth<br />
control, they gave you a diaphragm. They<br />
would fit it, show you how to use it, and that<br />
was all. Diaphragms didn’t work very well if<br />
they were in your dresser drawer! You had to<br />
plan ahead. Many thought that decreased the<br />
spontaneity of your sex life. Through Planned<br />
Parenthood, we emphasize thinking ahead.<br />
When I was younger, nobody showed us<br />
the specific way that condoms needed to be<br />
used in order to be effective. Condoms were<br />
available <strong>for</strong> sale behind the counter at the<br />
drug store. You had to go up and ask <strong>for</strong> them.<br />
In those days, women definitely didn’t feel<br />
com<strong>for</strong>table asking; they did not take responsibility<br />
<strong>for</strong> those types of things. People’s attitudes<br />
at that time were also very important.<br />
Married men did not want to use condoms.<br />
When the birth control pill came along, it<br />
made a big difference, because women had<br />
more control over their choices. Un<strong>for</strong>tunately,<br />
when the pill first became available it<br />
was really strong. I can remember trying it,<br />
Marjorie<br />
77
98<br />
Jack with members of the<br />
Portland Development<br />
Commission viewing the<br />
model <strong>for</strong> the Marquam<br />
Plaza Building, 1964
J<br />
ack always had an entrepreneurial spirit<br />
and a keen business intuition. He could<br />
anticipate market trends and make sound<br />
investments, just ahead of the curve. His first<br />
business, Oregon Pacific Lumber Company,<br />
which he started in 1950, became quite successful<br />
within a few years. He created a stateof-the-art<br />
organization, implementing the industry’s<br />
latest methods. Jack set up his lumber<br />
business to have specialized knowledge of the<br />
major production facilities and different types<br />
of lumber available in the Pacific Northwest.<br />
His company was well-in<strong>for</strong>med about the<br />
interests of the principal market areas of the<br />
United States and focused its marketing strategies<br />
accordingly. Jack was distinctly different<br />
than other operators who would jump into a<br />
market when times were good and bail when<br />
the market slowed down. He would adapt to<br />
the changing times with innovation. As he<br />
built his business, he surrounded himself with<br />
smart people and had very high standards <strong>for</strong><br />
his employees.<br />
An Entrepreneur’s <strong>Legacy</strong><br />
“Jack always had an entrepreneurial<br />
spirit and a keen business intuition.<br />
He could anticipate market trends<br />
and make sound investments,<br />
just ahead of the curve.”<br />
Jack working in the Oregon Pacific Lumber Company office<br />
99
106
Passing the Torch<br />
My dad’s work in real estate development had a significant impact in shaping my career<br />
aspirations as a young woman. When Eric and I moved to San Francisco in 1984, I was still<br />
unclear of my career path, but I wanted to pursue my interest in real estate. I had an opportunity<br />
to work at a company called Eastdil as an intern. Originally, it was going to only<br />
be a three-month position, but it<br />
turned into a full time job, which I<br />
ended up staying at <strong>for</strong> two years. I<br />
gained good experience, helping to<br />
acquire and manage real estate <strong>for</strong><br />
institutional clients. It was during<br />
that time that I realized how much<br />
I needed to learn about business<br />
and real estate in order to take<br />
my career to the next level, so I<br />
decided to go to graduate school. I<br />
attended University of Cali<strong>for</strong>nia at<br />
Berkeley, and earned a master’s in<br />
business, specializing in real estate<br />
and finance.<br />
Upon graduating, I worked <strong>for</strong><br />
Co-President Julie Leuvrey<br />
a pension fund advisor that bought<br />
real estate <strong>for</strong> pension funds. This<br />
job turned out to be an excellent learning experience, because I was able to travel throughout<br />
the country and work with a lot of different types of real estate, in a variety of markets.<br />
In 1991, my dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. I was just starting to build my career in<br />
Cali<strong>for</strong>nia, so I thought I should stick with it and see how things progressed with his illness.<br />
Yet, by late 1992, I began thinking that I should come home and be closer to my family during<br />
this difficult time. There was no transition plan in place <strong>for</strong> Oregon Pacific Investment and Development<br />
Company. It wasn’t clear how my dad was going to pass the torch, because he didn’t<br />
perceive himself to be in position where he needed to hand off his leadership in the company.<br />
Co-President Randy Lovre<br />
107
178<br />
Jack
The Saltzman <strong>Family</strong>,<br />
Contributing to <strong>Our</strong> Community <strong>Legacy</strong><br />
Every year we sit down together as a family<br />
and make donations to a number of charitable<br />
causes. Over the years we have refined our focus,<br />
because everyone has specific things they<br />
want to see on the contribution list that are<br />
of personal importance to them. One of our<br />
primary focuses is on helping women, children<br />
and families in need, through combating<br />
domestic violence, helping foster children and<br />
giving to the food bank. In 2002, we set up the<br />
Marjorie Saltzman Educational Endowment<br />
Fund <strong>for</strong> Planned Parenthood. Recently we<br />
made a substantial contribution toward the<br />
construction of Planned Parenthood’s new<br />
Regional Service Center, which is expected to<br />
open in 2010. I am honored that the education<br />
wing of the new building will be called<br />
the Marjorie Saltzman Education Center. This<br />
Regional Service Center will expand health<br />
care access <strong>for</strong> low-income Oregon residents<br />
by serving 50 percent more patients throughout<br />
the state.<br />
We also contribute to disease treatment<br />
and prevention research through the Alzheimer’s<br />
Association and the Oregon Health<br />
Sciences University (OHSU) Cancer Institute.<br />
In addition, we give to environmental causes<br />
“It means a lot to me that Jack and I<br />
have been able to pass on to our<br />
children the value of giving back to the<br />
community....Through volunteerism<br />
and civic involvement, I feel we can<br />
continue to make significant and<br />
meaningful contributions to<br />
our community.”<br />
and Jewish philanthropic causes. Of course we<br />
always support the Oregon Humane Society,<br />
in honor of our family’s love <strong>for</strong> animals.<br />
Everyone in our family is committed to<br />
becoming involved with causes that they<br />
feel passionate about. We have volunteered<br />
throughout the years <strong>for</strong> political campaigns,<br />
organized fundraising events, served on<br />
boards of nonprofits and done grassroots<br />
volunteer work. During the 2008 presidential<br />
campaign, our company distributed voter<br />
registration cards to all of our apartments, and<br />
offered to pay the postage and mail in the tenants’<br />
registration cards. <strong>Our</strong> family business<br />
reached a lot of people that way.<br />
It means a lot to me that Jack and I have<br />
Marjorie<br />
been able to pass on to our children the value<br />
of giving back to the community. In turn, they<br />
have passed on to their children an understanding<br />
of the importance of helping others.<br />
Through volunteerism and civic involvement,<br />
I feel we can continue to make significant and<br />
meaningful contributions to our community.<br />
179
180
Moshe Saltzman<br />
b. abt 1830<br />
bp. Petrikov, Russia<br />
d. abt 1911<br />
dp. Petrikov, Russia<br />
Ephraim Saltzman<br />
b. abt 1863<br />
bp. Petrikov, Russia<br />
d. Jan 28, 1932<br />
dp. Chicago, IL<br />
Joel Golubitsky<br />
Esther Golubitsky<br />
b. 1861<br />
bp. Mozyr, Belarus<br />
d. Aug 11, 1931<br />
dp. Chicago, IL<br />
Rubin Mitnik Miller<br />
m. Jan 1899<br />
<strong>Our</strong> <strong>Family</strong> Tree<br />
Harry Braufman<br />
Pearl<br />
Esther Rachel Braufman<br />
b. Aug 14, 1877<br />
bp. Russia<br />
d. Sep 4, 1962<br />
dp. Portland, OR<br />
Samuel Foster<br />
bp. Austria<br />
Rebecca Shiers<br />
Other surnames:<br />
Wasserman &<br />
Bershohm<br />
b. Oct 4, 1845<br />
bp. Austria<br />
d. Feb 1, 1918<br />
dp. Spokane, WA<br />
Mr. Goodman<br />
Charles William Goodman<br />
b. May 1858<br />
bp. Sassmachen,<br />
Courland, Latvia<br />
d. Nov 15, 1933<br />
dp. Portland, OR<br />
m. abt 1896<br />
mp. Seattle, WA<br />
Mr Hurwitz<br />
Hannah<br />
Dora Hurwitz<br />
b. Mar 13, 1873<br />
bp. Kovno, Russia<br />
d. Mar 17, 1935<br />
dp. Portland, OR<br />
Samuel Saltzman<br />
b. Jan 19, 1888<br />
bp. Petrikov, Russia<br />
d. May 23, 1972<br />
dp. Portland, OR<br />
m. Mar 16, 1919<br />
mp. Portland, OR<br />
Anna Miller<br />
b. Sep 15, 1900<br />
bp. Orel, Ukraine<br />
d. Nov 29, 1987<br />
dp. Portland, OR<br />
Jacob Akiva Foster<br />
b. Dec 22, 1885<br />
bp. Austria<br />
d. Feb 28, 1945<br />
dp. Portland, OR<br />
m. Aug 20, 1920<br />
Ophelia Grace Goodman<br />
b. Jun 18, 1900<br />
bp. Chehelis, WA<br />
d. Oct. 27, 1989<br />
dp. Portland, OR<br />
Jack J. Saltzman<br />
b. Feb 14, 1920<br />
bp. Portland, OR<br />
d. May 30, 2004<br />
dp. Portland, OR<br />
m. Mar 25, 1943<br />
mp. Portland, OR<br />
Marjorie Cecille Foster<br />
b. Apr 30, 1922<br />
bp. Sandpoint, ID<br />
Jeffrey Foster Saltzman<br />
b. Mar 1, 1946<br />
bp. Portland, OR<br />
Barbara Jo Saltzman<br />
b. Feb 23, 1948<br />
bp. Portland, OR<br />
& Randy W. Lovre<br />
b. Nov 25, 1946<br />
m. Jun 21, 1975<br />
mp. Portland, OR<br />
Daniel Roger Saltzman<br />
b. Dec 22, 1953<br />
bp. Portland, OR<br />
& Tracy Vorster<br />
m. Aug 28, 1988<br />
mp. Hood River, OR<br />
Julie Ann Saltzman<br />
b. May 2, 1961<br />
bp. Portland, OR<br />
& Eric Jacques Adrien Leuvrey<br />
b. Jun 7, 1959<br />
bp. Algiers, France<br />
m. Aug 19, 1989<br />
mp. St. Helena, CA<br />
Alex Norma Lovre<br />
b. Dec 25, 1989<br />
bp. Minneapolis, MN<br />
Adrianne Foster Saltzman<br />
b. Dec 30, 1989<br />
bp. Portland, OR<br />
Nicolas Adrien Leuvrey<br />
b. Dec 16, 1994<br />
bp. Portland, OR<br />
Allisa J. Olivia Leuvrey<br />
b. Dec 5, 1997<br />
bp. Portland, OR<br />
181
182
As this chapter comes to a close, the next one begins, carrying<br />
with it the wisdom and insights of all that has come be<strong>for</strong>e.<br />
I hope that this collection of our family stories inspires future<br />
generations to continue writing our story, adding their voices,<br />
memories and dreams to our family legacy.<br />
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184