Goldie

Marilyn, Goldie’s daughter, and Stanley owned a disco where Billly Joel would come and play before he became famous. Why did they close the disco?

Goldie and Hilloh had 2 daughters: Marilyn and Merlie.

During the Great Depression, of 1929 – 1939 Hilloh was one of the few family members with a job. He worked for the Post Office. According to the 1930 Census they were living at 2054 78th Street in the “House of the Four Sisters”.

However, according to the 1940 Federal Census, they were living at 6919 20 Ave, Kings, New York, USA and they were living there in 1935, also.

According to the 1950 Census, Hilloh was now a supervisor at the Post Office. They were still living on 20th Avenue where they raised their daughters.

From the left seated: Archie Winnick, Harry Leiber, Billie Shay, Stanley Ackerman
From the left standing: Goldie and Hilloh Streicher, Merlie Streicher Winnick, Hannah Leiber Zucker, Marilyn Streicher Ackerman, Rose Leiber Streicher

Below are Goldie and Hilloh with their daughters, son-in-law, and grandsons.

Goldie died in May 1973 in Jamaica, Queens, NY. 

Hilloh then relocated to Florida.  He went out dancing for the first time without his wife, had a heart attack, and died on the dance floor. Hilloh was a proud American, who, according to his grandson, Steve, “wore the American flag on his sleeve and over his heart”.

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Goldie and Hilloh’s daughters, Marilyn and Merlie

Merlie

• Merlie was born Dec. 5, 1928

She married Alfred, aka Archie, Winnick in 1948 when she was about 20 years old. I remember her telling me that her parents tried to chase Archie out of the house. They would push him out the front door but he would sneak in the back door! She and Archie had 2 sons, Stephen and Scott.

Merlie had an entrepreneurial spirit and besides being one of the first women agents for the John Hancock Insurance Company,when she moved  to FL she ran her own insurance office. She also started a pet clothing business when she still lived in NY decades before pet clothes were popular.  In her later years, she was marketing a survivor’s book that held all important family documents and the last time we spoke, she was developing some kind of perfume.

Archie sadly died in 1993.

She enjoyed making Passover Seders and included her cousins who lived in Florida, along with her immediate family.

In January of 2000, her younger son Scott passed away from an infection probably due to his diabetes.  He had been married and divorced 3 times and left a beautiful, daughter.  Merlie was always very close to her grand-daughter.

Seven years after Archie died, Merlie married Burt Schwartz. They built a new house together with a swimming pool so he could do his laps every day. I believe he had been a champion swimmer earlier in his life.

• In 2016, Burt, her soulmate, passed away, her sister was dying, and Merlie broke her hip and needed fracture repair surgery.
  • From her son Steve: “She had been admitted to the hospital ICU last Sunday with heart and other complications, but over the next few days appeared to be rallying.  However her condition deteriorated late yesterday while I was there in the hospital with her, and she was not able to be resuscitated.”
  • She was pre-deceased by her son, Scott, and is survived by her son, Stephen, 2 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren.

Her granddaughter, Lauren, remembers:

“They were the 2 people (Grandma Merlie and Aunt Marilyn) on earth who would call me just to see how I was doing. Grandma Merlie made sure always to have a meal with me in my homes when I moved. Both of them attended Spence’s Bar Mitzvah which was a life goal. How lucky I was to have them in my life.”

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Marilyn

• Marilyn was born about 1927 in Brooklyn, NY.

• She married Stanley Ackerman in 1948 when she was about 23 years old.

• At one point in time Marilyn and Stanley owned a disco called the Mystic Colasses in the Howard Beach area of Queens.  Ray’s son, Max Pollay, worked with jukeboxes and bars and advised Stanley Ackerman before he bought his disco.  They only had the disco for a short time when it burned down in a mysterious fire.  Billy Joel used to play there with his band before he got famous.
• She and Stanley skied with celebrities and was once featured on the TV show Wide World of Sports.
• According to family stories, Stanley had “wanderlust”. He could never sit still. He would wake Marilyn up in the middle of the night, and tell her to pack a bag for some travel adventure.
• She was very close to her nephews, Steven and Scotty. They probably did not consider adopting a child since they travelled so much.
• Stanely was an amateur magician and would often go to conventions in Las Vegas. He also might have had a brother who lived there.
• In her later years, Marilyn suffered for several years from colon cancer.
  • From her nephew Stephen:” Marilyn was able to be released to her home right before she died, and passed away peacefully in her own bed at home without any pain after saying goodbye.”

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My Memories:

I remember my Aunt Goldie and my Uncle Hilloh with great fondness.  The great aunts and uncles attended all of our family functions even after my mother died.  However, we lost contact with my mother’s cousins.  It was so nice to reconnect with Merlie and Marilyn in about 1974 after I wrote my first family history book.

Cousin Millie Abramson, told me that when they were little and all lived in the “House of the 4 Sisters”, Merlie broke a tooth while Millie was watching her.  Even though she was only 2 years older than Merlie, Goldie asked Millie A. to watch her outside.  Merlie fell and broke a tooth, and Millie felt terrible.

I remember Uncle Hilloh saying that Merlie got married so young but there was nothing he could do about it.  Archie would come courting.  Hilloh would “throw” Archie out the front door, only to see him sneak in the back door.

Goldie and Hilloh moved to a larger house but within walking distance to Minnie and the other sisters. I remember going to her new house and there was always a lot of people coming and going  in it.

Goldie’s daughter, Merlie, was a remarkable woman. I have this image in my head of this 80+ year old, red-headed, spitfire lady walking around in spiked heels when I can hardly walk in heels anymore.  Her sister,  Marilyn, was also always dressed up. Merlie’s outlook on life was truly amazing and she unquestionably proved the saying that “age is just a number”.  Her entrepreneurial spirit will always be an inspiration to me.

Marilyn was into meditation and did not like to talk about the past.  She also did not like to travel as she got older. Her husband, Stanley, had been an amateur magician, and a very good one at that.

Marilyn and Merlie lived close to each other in FL and were inseparable.

Merlie bought me my first doll house. I still love doll houses to this day!

I also remember visiting Merlie and her family in their Brooklyn, NY, apartment.  Scott was just a new-born infant but I remember how chunky he was. I can still picture him rolling around the floor.

I was fortunate to be able to visit Merlie and Marilyn a few times in FLorida.  Ira and Avra were also able to visit them there.

  Merlie, Tara, Marilyn – circa 2010

I will always remember Merlie being as full of life and love for her family.

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Sources:

• Family memories
• Ancestry.com