Bill Goldberg: It Started In B'klyn

Back in October I helped my mother 'clean out the closets'. It seemed like the natural thing to do and I viewed it as a healthy activity. I didn't mind going out to NJ, going through the old stuff, and watching my mother select the items to hang on to. I made several trips to the dumpster with clothes, shoes, and assorted items.

When I arrived my mother handed me three items. Two were watches: a rather nice Movado quartz and a Tag which Roy later told me was a knock off.

I was also given me my fathers Army ID card. He had it since his time in Korea.

I had previously told my mother that I wanted to go through any old photographs that she had. I wanted to do something creative with them. I didn't know what.

My mom pulled out a tuperware trunk filled with photos. I borrowed many of them.

As I reviewed the pictures, it seemed that I didn't know much about them. I didn't know where they were taken or who was in them. Each had a story, but I didn't know any of them.

It seemed if I was going to assemble these images, I needed to know the stories behind each one. The stories mattered.

I asked my mother to be a source and she seemed ok with that.

I arranged the pictures and started with the earlier ones.

This is my grandmother Ann Goldberg. Her maiden name was Mittag. In this picture she might be around 14 or 15 years old. That would date it at about 1917, probably in Brooklyn.

I asked my mother talk for a little bit about my grandmother. This is just an excerpt.



My father as an infant. I would date this at about 1931.



My father at less than 2 years here. Location is unknown.



In this clip, my mother tells a short anecdote about my dad being identified as possibly being the kidnapped Lindbergh baby. Charles Lindbergh's son was kidnapped from his crib in New Jersey in 1932. The child's body was later discovered.



I asked about my father as a young child. Of course all of this information is second hand, but I don't think that matters.

My grandmother is in the doorway in the background. My dad, on the left,  might be about 7 or 8 years old. I recall seeing him in a similar mood as an adult.





That's all for now.

This is just a first post and it's not meant to be definitive. I'll put up more later. There's really no shortage to the material. He was 80 years old.