Quite an ADJUSTMENT Steve, where did you grow up and go to school? I grew up in Sunnyside, Queens, and went to Long Island City H.S. Then I graduated from Baruch College and upon graduation entered the U.S. Army. My elementary school days involved Sunnyside, Detroit and Chicago as my father changed jobs. I received a wonderful education at the Bateman School in Chicago, known for its rigorous curriculum. In Sunnyside, I had a good looking friend who said he wanted to become a movie star. We all laughed at Jimmy, who really had the last laugh. After small roles in local theater and Broadway he went to Hollywood and launched a very successful career as James Caan. We were quite close, and when Jimmy and his girlfriend, Dee Jay Mattis, wanted to elope, I was the one who drove them to South Carolina in a 1940 LaSalle. What was unusual about your Army service? I was stationed in Fort Benning, Georgia, in the 1960s. While leaving the base on a three-day pass, my buddy and I got into a cab. My friend was African-American and in those days mixed race people could not legally share a taxi. We were spotted by the police and I was thrown into jail. I protested strongly and threatened national exposure. Only then were we released. I never forgot that experience. Just what does a Public Adjuster do? In the settling of insurance claims between the insurance company and the policy holder, the Public Adjuster represents the insured, for a fee, and secures a more lucrative settlement. How did you meet Mary? A friend introduced us in 1964 at a party. It happened to be just before the famous 1964 blackout that covered the entire East Coast. Much of the time we talked with the aid of a flashlight. In 1967, we married at the Marathon Jewish Center, just minutes away from where we live now. We started out in a rentcontrolled apartment in Flushing and later moved to a house in Harbor Hills, Great Neck, where we raised our two children, Michael and Robyn. Our family included two German Shepherds, Molly and Thunder. Mary, where did you grow up? My parents were fleeing Poland but were caught by the Russians and sent to Siberia where I was born. From there, we went to a DP camp in Ulm, Germany, and finally when I was 5, we made it to the Bronx. Later, I worked on my parent’s chicken farm in Freehold, New Jersey. What was so shocking was that for the first time I saw older people... in their 60’s or older. Where I grew up all the older people had been killed by the Nazis. Did you have a career? In New York I got a scholarship to FIT and became a buyer for Sears. At another point I traced missing box cars for Canadian Pacific Railroad. I left to have two children, a son and a daughter. Both of whom went on to become chiropractors. And my daughter, Robyn, married a chiropractor who has the same first name as her brother, Michael. Their office is in the OM YOGA in Port Washington. Coincidentally, Michael’s mother, Ahuva Shwartzstein lives in Building Three. What’s the story with Steve’s pony tail? For years my long hair was always falling on my face. Fifteen years ago I decided to tie it back. It grew and became something of a trademark in the industry. Mary likes it and says, ‘It is so different from his character.’ How did you decided to come to North Shore Towers? Steve wanted an apartment in the city and to give up the responsibilities of a house. Mary wanted trees and grass. NST was a perfect compromise. She enjoys Canasta and the gym classes, especially the Reformer. He is active in the Men’s Club and also the early morning breakfast group. Steve, we know you are involved with the Nassau County Police Reserves. What is your other group, The InfraGard? With the increased need to protect our bridges, tunnels and other infrastructures, a group of security minded individuals have joined together with the FBI to increase security here on Long Island. Interested readers can log on to ‘IntraGard Long Island’ to get more information and join. 4 North Shore Towers Courier n July 2015 By FRED CHERNOW Steve and Mary Croutch You’ve undoubtedly met this attractive couple in the Gym, the Arcade, the VIP Room or elsewhere in the complex. One striking feature is that each of them wears his/her hair in a ponytail.... And each family member has employed some form of “adjustment:” Mary, when she was born in Siberia as her parents eluded the Nazis and then came to the Bronx at age 5, adjusting to a new country and language; Steve, who makes his living as a Licensed Public Adjuster, settling insurance claims for the policyholder; and their two children who are licensed chiropractors, adjusting the spines of their patients and providing other medical care.
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