IRENE FRANK -
Art Teacher and Museum Tour Leader
HOW HAVE YOU FARED DURING THE VIRUS
SHUTDOWN?
I’ve learned there’s great merit in Scarlett
O’Hara’s memorable words, “I’ll think about
that tomorrow.”
Procrastination has been a sweet way of
life. I promised myself I’d use this opportu-nity
to file away the many papers piling up
on the tabletops. But why would I rush to do
that when I just found out what “walking the
back nine” means? The undulating beauty of
the golf course and the sounds of the birds
in conversation calm the soul. Why would I
reorganize my closets when I can complete a
background painting for the next Knitters Club
showcase in the arcade? Why would I look for
new gluten-free recipes when I’m busy learning
more about my NST neighbors?
One neighbor is so careful about following
the health protocols she has not stepped out
of her apartment in five months. Another, so
cavalier that his mantra is, “If I die, I die. I’ve
had a good life.”
I’ve learned who not to discuss politics with,
who not to call before 11 a.m., and who not to
call after 9 p.m. I’m also creating a wall chart
with everyone’s illness so that I can commis-erate
with appropriate questions.
One of the most difficult projects I’ve under-taken
is the rewriting of my telephone book. I
did not realize how many names I had crossed
out. It was like a visual memoir, people who
were an integral part of my life erased for var-ious
reasons, mostly sad. I do not recommend
this activity during a pandemic. Only Aunt
Anne’s name made me laugh. When I was 13
she told me she was going to take me to a
Broadway show and lunch at Schrafft’s as a
birthday present. I had never been to either
and excitement was high. The only damper
was I didn’t know if Schrafft’s was kosher.
Aunt Anne told me not to tell my observant
parents and it was a most wonderful day. And
that’s how I learned to love Broadway and pork
chops, and how I learned to tell a lie.
TELL ME ABOUT YOUR FAMILY, WHERE DID
YOU GROW UP?
My parents ran away from the Cossacks
invading their shtetl in
Russia. Irene Frank, first
generation ‘Yenkee’ ,
lives in a luxury com-plex
with marble floors,
crystal chandeliers and
doormen. Who knew?
I could say my family
tree grew in Brooklyn
and then “branched”
out. Abe and Claire
Granawitter raised three
daughters in a small
apartment house in East
Flatbush, Brooklyn,
where doors were nev-er
locked and the street
was our playground.
I was really surprised
yesterday to hear that
my grand-nieces are
leaving Boston to live
in East Flatbush and
Williamsburg. I guess
it proves the old adage,
“What goes around,
comes around” (even if
it takes two generations).
I have very special memories of my years
at Tilden High School. Not long ago I was
told the school was closing and the alumni
association was selling new tee shirts with the
old logo. I bought one and wore it in the gar-den
of San Miguel d’Allende, Mexico, where
I wintered for several years. A woman ran up
to me, hugged me and told me she was in the
first graduating class at Tilden and that her
daughter was in the last graduating class. She
looked again at my tee shirt and exclaimed,
“My, you must take really good care of your
clothes.”
It was a great day when our family moved
into a private house in Kew Gardens Hills,
Queens. I balked at leaving the familiarity
of friends and neighborhood but my mother
assured me I’d meet my Prince Charming at
the Kew Gardens Hills Jewish Center. And,
as usual, she was right. Alan and I married
right after my graduation from Queens College.
DID YOU HAVE A CAREER?
I had wanted to be a fashion illustrator
and enrolled in the Fashion Institute of
Technology. When I was told by insiders that
I’d be expected to sleep with garment industry
bosses to get ahead I quickly signed up as an
education major at Queens College.
This led to my career as a third grade teach-er,
a piano teacher, arts education instructor
at Farmingdale College, a crafts instructor for
the town of Oyster Bay public schools in and
adult-ed program. But the most challenging
and rewarding career of all was creating “Art
Adventures with Irene Frank,” a business
conducting art tours for library groups, Y’s,
and other organizations. I was responsible
for designing the series, choosing the ven-ues,
arranging for the buses, and doing the
research so that I could lecture in front of the
various works of art. I knew I had to retire
when I could no longer run up the steps of
the Met’s main staircase without huffing and
puffing while encouraging 35 people lagging
behind me.
WHEN DID YOU COME TO NST?
In 2017 I made one of the best decisions of
my life. Coming here as a widow I found peo-ple
of a like mind, people who enjoy concerts,
films, books, aerobics, and walking. I now help
to create programs for the University Club.
The writing group offers me both a blessing
and a curse. A blessing because I am forced
to search for new material, to see the world
through more astute eyes. A curse because
it interferes with my sleep. I wake up in the
middle of the night to change a word or delete
a phrase.
Thank you, North Shore Towers, for new
friendships, creative opportunities and open-ing
up the shopping arcade.
Irene Frank has been here less than four
years but has already made her mark. She
is an active participant in many clubs and
attends most of our special programs. An
enthusiastic, active person she brings her
impressive background in the arts to North
Shore Towers. Her writing skills are surpassed
only by her background as an art educator.
Here is what a professional photographer imagined we might look
like in another era.
4 NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER ¢ August 2020