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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 />

183


184

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