Nathan Simon

Last update of this page 2022.JUL.20

This recollection was written by Gary Simon.

Uncle Nate lived in town, and my father Abe had worked with him for many years. 

He was a complicated person.

Nate’s service to Mocanaqua [2022.JAN.27]

Details of Nate’s traffic mishaps [2021.DEC.06]

Nate’s letters to the editor [2021.DEC.06]

Nate’s charitable enthusiasm [2021.DEC.12]

Very little is known about Nate’s childhood. He graduated from Shickshinny High School. This railroad ticket was a monthly between Mocanaqua and Wilkes-Barre. He made 23 round trips during this month. We do not know the details, but this suggests that he was commuting to a job in Wilkes-Barre. He was 19 years old. This ticket was supplied by John Kubasek, Bosh’s son.

Nate was in his late teens when he took serious responsibility at the family store in Mocanaqua.   This was noted on the 1920 United States Census. 

Nate was the sole proprietor after Jacob’s death in 1929.  The store started with furniture and general merchandise, but changed over to automobiles, auto parts, and auto servicing.  It was one of the original Chrysler dealerships in Pennsylvania.

The dealership was not a large operation.  As a child, I enjoyed wandering through the showroom with a big glass window facing the street.  That showroom held exactly two cars, perhaps three could be squeezed in.  Most of the business came from auto parts and servicing.  The two gasoline pumps at the front, Amoco and American, completed the operation.

The business building in Mocanaqua was the family home.  As the children grew and moved out, the entire place became storage for auto parts.   In 1929, Kate passed away, and shortly thereafter Jacob committed suicide.  The residents of the house at that time were Nate at age 28, my father Abe at 15, Ida at about 14, and Ruth at about 12.   Ida went to live with sister Edith and her husband Herman in Binghamton, and Ruth went to live with sister Esther and her husband Isador in Tampa.  Curiously, I do not know the movements of my father Abe, but at some point he worked with cousin Buddy Levine in Norfolk, did a short army stint in World War II, and ended in Tampa.

With Nate in charge of the house, traces of domesticity faded away.  The living areas were converted into a warren of storage areas for automobile parts.  A large cinder block building was erected next to the house, and it became the showroom, the repair shop, and space for more parts storage.

My juvenile version got to walk from room to room, finding arrays of hanging auto tailpipes, mufflers, various belts and gaskets.  The main level of the house had a usable bathroom that got only occasional cleaning.  A second bathroom at the garage level appeared never to have been cleaned at all.

Most memories of Uncle Nate came from the store.  He sat at a rolltop desk to the side of the front room.   He seemed to be always at the desk, leaving the customer operation to my father and to long-time employee Bosh.  Somehow John Kubasek acquired the nickname Bosh.  Over Uncle Nate’s desk were large pictures of his parents, Jacob and Kate.  Those pictures are now in the long corridor of our house in Monterey, California.  (We also have portraits of Kate’s parents, Peretz and Rosa Swiersky.)

Nate must have been considered a desirable marriage match. We have an excerpted version (not an exact translation) of a letter to Jacob Simon on the stationery of Rabbi Israel Jacob Stein, 194 East Northampton Street, Wilkes-Barre.  The letter is not dated, but it contains a printed entry  “ ….. 192….” to be filled in with a date.  Thus, we can presume that it was written sometime in the 1920’s.

Nate and Ruth lived in Shickshinny.   I was in that home a few times, but I have limited memories. 

There is a possibility that Ruth did librarian work, either as a volunteer or perhaps was planning to do this professionally. This is based on a newspaper column by Ida on March 28, 1931. This can be seen at main > Ida > stories.

The 1940 United States census shows them at 95 North Main Street. Click here to view census pages. Living with them was an 18-year-old maid. Nate’s profession is shown as merchant, retail automobile. This is what that house looks like in 2021:

They moved later to South Franklin Street in Wilkes-Barre, and I can remember some of the features of that house.  It was a duplex, and they had an upstairs-downstairs half of the house.  I was fascinated that the house had a staircase up from the living room and a second staircase up from the kitchen.  The building also had a covered front porch on which we could sit outside.  I was never aware of anyone’s using the porch.

Special thanks to Marcia Rosenbloom Ginsberg and Paul Rosenbloom for sharing pictures.

My father Abe, from the time I was born, was the junior partner in the store.  The working arrangement puzzled me.  Each morning Uncle Nate and my father would discuss by telephone purchases needed for the day.  My father’s mornings were used to drive around to auto parts operations in Wilkes-Barre and Kingston to pick up items needed for the store.  Today this would be called just-in-time inventory management, but I rather doubt its efficiency.

I did not get many conversations with Uncle Nate.  It may be that I was just Abe’s kid and an incidental player in his life.  Family discussions revealed to me a deeper side of Uncle Nate.  He strongly believed in charitable giving, and I know two targets for his generosity.  On the local level, he set up an arrangement for children in Mocanaqua to acquire free shoes.  I don’t know the details, but I suspect it was organized through St. Mary’s Church.  My best guess is that about thirty children were helped by this gesture.   The gift-giving went on for many years.

Uncle Nate also had a soft spot for Jewish charities.  Other family members may have doubted the sincerity or legitimacy of the many fundraisers for Israeli yeshivas who came to Mocanaqua to ask for his help, but Uncle Nate came through for them.  I don’t know the depth of his support for these institutions, but he was a regular giver.  My memory recalls a stack of his incoming mail bearing Israeli postage, all asking for donations. 

My feelings for Uncle Nate have been hard to sort out. I felt him to be aloof and indifferent, but I was aware also of his charitable side.

After my mother’s death in 1959, Aunt Ruth served dinner to me, my father, and my sister.  These dinners came, as I recall, every Wednesday.  Aunt Ruth was famous for her special meatballs, and I will admit even now that I greatly enjoyed them.  I remember too sitting in her living room in ancient puffy chairs.  The living room had an old piano which Aunt Ruth used to play.  It was dormant in 1959.

An amusing little story is told by Fay Simon, Abe’s wife, about a visit from Nate. Wishing to be hospitable, Nate brought along a coffee cake which he had purchased at a supermarket. Fay thanked Nate, but then looked at the ingredient label. “Thanks, Nate, but we can’t really use this. It’s not kosher.” Nate’s reaction was surprise. It was just a cake. How could it not be kosher? Fay does not recall what the offending ingredient, but certainly lard was commonly used in baked goods.

Remembrances of Uncle Nate and Aunt Ruth are piecemeal images collected over many years.  I knew them for a long time, and yet did not completely understand them.  I wish I knew more.

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