MENS’ CLUB
A SUMMER OF INTERESTING AND WELL ATTENDED PROGRAMS
BY GARY DARCHE
Photos by Stephen Vrattos
At the July 13 Men’s Club
Meeting, more than 150
residents welcomed Joe
Garten, a retired socks manufacturer,
to hear his incredible tale.
Garten was rescued from Nazi
Germany by the Kindertransport
Program. In 1939, Garten was
7-years-old and living in Berlin,
Germany. During the 9 months
prior to Hitler invading Poland in
September 1939, Kindertransport
relocated 10,000 Jewish children
living in Germany, Czechoslovakia,
Austria and Poland, to the United
Kingdom. The children had to be
under 17 and could not be accompanied
by their parents.
In April 1939, traveling alone
without any family members,
the young Garten, together with
99 other children, was ferried
from Belgium to England. He
was welcomed in Chumsford,
England, where he survived the
Blitz; “had a super-duper life,”
and although food was rationed,
“never went hungry.” For those
of us traveling to England, there
is a Kindertransport statue, “The
Welcoming,” at the Liverpool Street
Station. Fortunately, Garten’s family
survived the Holocaust and had a
successful life in the United States.
The Men’s Club had many other
popular programs in July.
Led by Lee Hiller, the Current
Events Group met on July 10—as
usual, on the second Monday
of the month—at 10:30 a.m. in
the Coleridge Lounge. A record
setting 22 Men’s Club members
participated. Attendance at the
Current Events Group has doubled
under Lee’s creative leadership.
The strengths of this group
are the diverse backgrounds and
opinions of the members and the
civility of our discussions. There
was general agreement that cradle
to grave Medicare, although difficult
to achieve, is a desirable goal.
The next meeting of the Current
Events Group will be on August
14 at 10:30 a.m.
On July 11, the Men’s Club visited
the Nassau County Holocaust
Museum and Tolerance Center in
Glen Cove. As reported by Lee
Hiller, “sixteen of us” participated
in the tour, organized by Program
Chair Jerry Siegel. The members
toured the exhibit, accompanied
by two docents. “Examples of
anti-Semitism that began over a millennium
ago,” “Stories and photos
including the early propaganda,”
“Jews’ steady loss of civil rights,”
“Kristallnacht” and the depravity
of Nazi persecution is presented.
As Hiller reports, “Interestingly, we
learned all the photographs and
detailed records (except the initial
exhibit) came from German files
that Hitler demanded be kept in
order to document the destruction
of the Jews.” A Holocaust survivor
told a “first hand story” and the visit
was a “wonderful experience.”
Members and guests continue
to enthusiastically enjoy BINGO,
once monthly on Sunday evenings,
an activity organized by
Ralph Edwards and Irwin Chanes.
Between 60 and 150 people play at
each session. BINGO cards cost
$5.00 or three can be purchased for
$10.00. BINGO is solely for the fun
of participants and is non-profit.
You can join us for BINGO on
August 20 in the Large Card Room.
Ralph Edwards also chairs the
Book Group. On July 31, the book
discussed will be “Rules of Civility”
by Amor Towles. The Book Group
meets in the Coleridge Lounge at
10:30 a.m.
Speaker Garten’s story received rapt attention from the full house
Kindertransport memorial at Liverpool Station in England
SCHEDULE OF MEN’S CLUB EVENTS IN AUGUST 2017
• Every Tuesday, Wednesday
& Friday: Breakfast at Buffy’s at
9:15 a.m.
• August 3: Men’s Club Events
Committee meeting Thursday at
9:15 a.m. in Buffy’s
• August 10: Meeting of Men’s
Club at 7:30 p.m., in the large card
room—Speaker Richard Linden,
Financial Advisor, “Retirement
Seminar.” Coffee and cake will be
available
• August 14: Current Events
Meeting, 10:30 a.m. in the Coleridge
Lounge
• August 20: BINGO at 7:30
p.m., in the large card room
• August 24: Members-Only
Lunch at Park Place Restaurant,
41 Covert Ave., Floral Park
If you are interested in membership or in attending
these events, contact:
President Arnie Rabinowitz at 516-317-6705;
Events Committee Chairman Jerry Siegel at 347-
235-4513; or Membership Committee Chairman Joe
DiGiovanni at 516-965-9225.
The NST Men’s Club is a vital, active organization,
with something for everyone, whatever your
interests.
24 NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER ¢ August 2017