Goodie Liberman
Goodie Liberman was born on New York's Lower East Side to parents who came from Minsk. When she was two, the family moved to Brooklyn, where her father entered the junk business and prospered. She grew up in a large, loving family of six children, along with three of her father's brothers who lived with them. The household was known for its warmth, hospitality, and generosity, with her deeply Orthodox mother regularly feeding dozens of people at holidays and offering free lunches to those in need. Goodie loved being in the kitchen from a young age and remembered fondly the closeness of her family and neighborhood.
Goodie attended public school and Hebrew school at a Talmud Torah, and later went to business school, though her father, a prosperous businessman, would not allow her to work. She married around age 21, wed at her ailing mother's bedside in December because her mother's time was limited. Her husband joined her family's business, and the couple lived among her siblings in a four-family house. The Great Depression wiped out the family fortune, and they had to rebuild. Goodie raised two sons, Howie and Stewie, ten years apart, and later ran a successful catering business once her children were grown.
Goodie and her husband treasured family above all, taking annual trips with the same close couples over many years. Her son Stewie moved to Dallas for work and brought his parents down, buying them a condominium for their golden years. In Dallas she remained active, having been involved in Hadassah and fundraising for Youth Aliyah, and later volunteering weekly at Golden Acres, caring for residents and hosting parties. Devoted to her grandchildren and known for her charity and refusal to hold bitterness even after family disappointments, she described herself as someone who could adjust to anything and could not bear to hurt anyone.
Full Transcript
15th, and I am sitting at the Jewish Community Center, and I'm talking to Goody Lieberman. Goody, good morning. Good morning. Let's relax and go back into your past. Goody, where were you born? I was born. And then we'll continue. Well, when they were first married. Okay. Yeah. From Poland, from Russia? They came from Russia, from Minsk. Okay. Okay, Goody, you are the first American Jew I've interviewed because Miriam Funk and Mr. Sugarman were prior to you. What do you remember about the Lower East Side when you were born or the East Side? Yeah, well, I don't remember much because I was only two years old and we moved to Brooklyn.
So I really don't remember. Okay. But my father one day took me down there to show me where I was born. I was born in a back in the back of houses in a little house and when I looked at it I says Papa you mean to tell me I was born here? He says yeah. Why not? How big a space do you need to be born? Yeah but it was such a small house that I couldn't imagine no bathtub you know a real old house You had an outhouse then? Yeah, it was out there. Okay. What did your father do? What was his occupation?
They had my father and mother, at that time when we were on the east side, had a doctor tessin on Broom Street. Okay. So your mom and dad both worked. So you were rich people in those days? No, in those days we weren't rich. When we moved to Brooklyn, my father went into the junk business. That's when we were the family of Brooklyn. Oh my goodness the elites Yes we were the elites We were the first ones with a telephone We were the first ones with a car What was your first car Do you remember What kind A Ford. Did it have the rumble seats?
Well, we were a large family. We were six children. Canaan Hordish. And my father never drove. Who drove the car? My brother. One of my brothers. Okay. Then we had a maid at that time when nobody even knew what a maid was. And we were quite wealthy at that time. That's interesting. Tell me about growing up in a house with six kids. It was four boys. We were two girls. And my father had brought over three brothers of his. And we all stayed in one house. Well, that's what most of your families... Yeah, but we were a very, very lovable family. Very close. Very close.
My mother and father were the most wonderful parents, and of course, my mother had six boys before I was born. She had two missus. So I was really the apple of my mother's eyes. Right. Were you the Majinka? No, I had a younger sister. Okay. Yeah. but it was a very close relationship between my uncles, my brothers, myself Do you have any particular incident or any way of all of you growing up in the house that you would like to remember that was named? Well, yeah, well I remember holidays where my mother would never, never have less than say 40 people always big holidays and and I remember the holidays you know going to shul all of us were you orthodox my mother was very very orthodox my father wasn't so much but my mother was very orthodox my mother would never go into a restaurant to eat ok what about school did you go to a Hebrew school yes I went to a Hebrew school we all went you know We went to a Hebrew school We had a Hebrew Talmud Torah on Stone Avenue So you went to public school Public school and after school we went to Hebrew Okay The area you grew up in It was all Jewish Very close The families like my mother would never, like it would come Passover, my mother would always have a saying, never she would see that everybody had holiday she was very very charity minded well I can see that because you are charity minded what do you recall about being a Jewish teenager Jewish young adult growing up in that neighborhood well in the Jewish neighborhood But of course, when it came a holiday, that was the greatest thing.
We would all get dressed up. Or even on Saturday, my father would take us to every shoe where they had a chasm. He liked chasms. You went chasm-hopping. Yes. And we loved it. Okay, very good. And you said you get along very well with the neighbors. With the neighbors, wonderful. Okay. Now, because you were sort of a high-class family, did you have higher education? Did your brother go? No. See, my father was a prosperous businessman, and my brothers came into the business. And I had one brother that was very, very smart. May he rest in peace. And he went through education. He graduated for teacher.
At that time, you know, a teacher. and he went to I remember to Boy's High he got a position there and he came home crying he says that's not for me he says I want the business and he went back to my father's place and stood by a table and picked Greg's and I'll never forget what my mother carried on because he wouldn't teach he wanted business And, but at that time, there was no highfalutin because you were richer or anything. The only thing is, I remember, my father wouldn't let me go to work. I was just going to ask you, did you work? No, no.
My father wouldn let me go to work because he couldn see that I should go on trains to travel My sister graduated college She a journalist Oh how interesting Where In Thomas Jefferson she graduated She not doing it now And my father used to give me at that time $12 a week just to stay home. So what did you do? Well, I was always in the kitchen with my mother because my mother for lunch, our place of business was a block away. So my mother for lunch would have 25, 30 people for lunch, cooked lunches. And if somebody was, I had a friend who lost a father, she had eaten our house.
These lunches were free. They didn't pay? Oh, no. They didn't pay. No. and I was around the kitchen. I liked the kitchen. Okay, very good. Now that's why you make such a github, Milo. Yeah, I was very domestic minded. So how old were you? So how did you date? How did you date? But through my brothers, you know, they had a lot of friends. They belonged to baseball teams. They'd go to dances. I would go. Were there any Jewish youth groups? Did you belong to any Jewish youth? No, they didn't have Jewish youth groups. They had a Sunday school at that time at the Labor Lyceum, and my parents were against it.
It was Bolstervik. Yeah, Lincoln. Yeah, you know. All right. So I went once, and I came home. My mother says, no more. You know, all right. But we didn't have Jewish youth like you have today. So how did Jewish kids get together? Well, we were on the block. Okay. We were friends on the block, and then through school we made friends and when I graduated public school I went to business school and that's how we dated Okay, but you went to business school but you never used what you I never used what I loved My father wouldn't let me go Alright, so you used to go with your brothers when they went places?
Yeah, in fact, my brothers married two of my friends Isn't that nice? My brothers And how did you meet your husband? My husband I met, I was going out with a friend and he was dating somebody. And we passed by and my friend said to me, oh come here let me introduce you. And he introduced me. And he asked me if he could take me home that night. And I said no. Oh, because he was with a friend of mine, but then he called me. All right, then we started to go with each other. His mother was very much against me, not because she didn't like me.
She liked me a lot. But she was afraid. How is her son, he was then a cutter and millinery. How is her son going to undertake a girl like me coming from a home like that? That's right, a girl who had... You're late in Hunt? Well, you did late in Hunt and Colton Vosser, but you never earned a living. We had a mate. I can understand. Yeah. And at that time, I came with $36 shoes, expensive fur coat. Oh, yay, yay. Good. You know. And she was against it. You can understand. Yes, I can understand. And then she came to our home, and she saw a home like that, you know, with parties and this and that.
Well, all right, so . But anyhow, after that, when I got married... How old were you when you got married? I got married, I was, let's see, I'm 73, it'll be 51 years. So you were 22. 21, I think it was. All right. We got married, and of course my mother said, Ah, we're good clues. So at that time, the Jewish center was the thing on Eastern Parkway. But my mother took very sick. She took very, very sick. So my brothers were married at home. And they were married in June. I got married in December because I knew her time was limited. And we were married by her bedside.
All right, we got married. and two years after we were married and that's how he was born we got hit with the depression okay let me ask you something just for a second yeah you got married did your father I know your mother died did your father help to support you like he had given you money when you were single yes in fact he took my husband my mother at that time when we were keeping company my mother said no he's not going to work at millinery he's coming into the business and he came into the business and uh so i sorry my son was born yeah my mother sickness really cleaned out the business too We were a very very devoted family And our hospital was out of the question for their mother, because their mother, my brothers, kept my mother on a pedestal.
You know, and nurses and everything. They did everything. My mother died. Okay. And then we got hit with the depression. And everybody was worried. After all, we had so much. How are we going to take it? But we all took it. And we really went down the dumps. It was very, very hard. Did you, when you got married, did you live with your family? No. We had a four-family house. And two of my sisters lived upstairs, and I lived downstairs, and another sister's more downstairs. And my father lived upstairs with one of my brothers. What happened? Did your father lose his business in the Depression?
It didn't, but we got wiped out. He really got, we were clean. Clean. Really down and out. Yeah. All right. And, uh... All right, so you had one child then when the Depression hit. Yes, Depression hit. It was very bad times. In fact, we even lost that house. so where did you move? we moved to of course they started in over again in a business and my brothers went bankrupt and from Watkins Street oh yes I took a three room apartment on Snyder Avenue in East Flatbush we moved and things weren't good but we managed we managed very all right. And your husband, what was he doing?
He was in the business. And how many children do you have now? I have two. That was when I had Howie. But the children never, you know, Howie never knew, you know, or anything. We managed very nicely. So we didn't have the things, you know, and all. That's what amazes me in the Depression is how did you all do it? How did you make ends meet? No I don think the kids today could adjust We adjusted You know you cut out this you cut out that What things did you cut out I didn have no cleaning girl We didn have no cars So when you didn't have cars, then your social activity centered around the people?
I always had a lot of friends. That's one thing. My family always said it. of everybody Goody always has the nicest friends that's nice I always had lovely friends so what did you do let's say for entertainment when it was in depression times we used to play cards we used to go to different people you know neighbors houses play cards it was during depression then they started a business you want to know everything they used they couldn't take anything on their name because they went bankrupt so they went ahead and they everything was written at that time my father only lived two years after my mother died because he couldn't go on living without her everything was on my husband's name everything the whole business business began again to come up and everybody we were partners and all and one day my brothers came we were very we depended on one another we were very close my brothers came to me and said that you know it would be better after a few years you know if you're bankrupt you can go back would be better if you signed everything back at us me, trustless of my brothers.
You know, who would say anything? We wouldn't even hesitate. So I did. And my husband was with them 45 years. My brothers became the dinners. But they didn't share that with your husband? No. No. All right. But we don't. Okay, what kind of relationship do you have with your brother's I yeah here's here's what it was they treated him very nicely when we were in the business I really have no qualms about it And they always said as soon as Stewie started to go to college I really had nothing to do So I got a little bored with myself and I went into the catering business.
And my brothers knew that I was doing very, very good in the catering business. Your husband didn't help you with the catering business? No, my husband was with my brothers. Yeah, okay. Finally, they had to get out of the business. They were burned down, and they were taking away the buildings. And they went out of business. But they promised me that we always said, that we have moved to Texas, that we may move down to Texas. Well, if you move down to Texas, you have nothing to worry. You've got a big share coming to them. All right. There's some worries only. but all right, that's the way it was.
They gave my husband really a very, very good deal. Tell me, Greg. Yeah. Now, this was from a very close, close family. We were the closest. All right. Everybody in Brooklyn knew us as a very close family. What is your relationship now with your brothers? All right, here's what it was. One of my brothers who really promised me, There were two brothers and my husband in the business. So one brother tried to put it on the other brother, the other brother put it on the other. What happened? and then I don't know some words were spoken and I didn't I stopped seeing them so you do not have any contact with him now.
Well, then he died. Well, he died, listen, because I felt bad, you know, still my brother. And my sister-in-law had said that she, that, Robbie was aggravated because how I didn't talk to him, you know, but all right, I was hurt too. Well, anyhow, I went to the funeral, I said, she'll listen up. Now I have the other brother, he's in Florida. I don't bother with him, but he It hurts him very much. Well, he hurt you too. Yeah, but he came to an affair where I was. And he said to me, he says, how are you? I says, all right. He says, you know, it hurts me.
You snubbed me. I says, well, he has every reason to. Right. So he says to me, why? I says, your wife isn't standing by the stove like I'm standing. I says, you know why. So I started to say, with my other brother's father, I said, I don't want to hear anything. That's all. Okay, so let me backtrack. We've skipped, and we know how the business evolved in your family, but, okay, you had your kids. Tell me a little bit about your kids and your kids growing up. They had a very good childhood, because my husband, the kids and I came first. Stewie was born. I was told not to have any more children after how he was born because of my fate.
How many years apart are they? Ten years. Okay. And when Stewie was born, he was my delight. I used to, it was, I don't know, it was such a feeling after ten years, and he was the most gorgeous, gorgeous child in all. He grew up, things were all right. I mean, I didn't, I wasn't a want of anything. Did you go on any vacations or trips with the kids? Yes, the kids would go away to camp. See, the business would send them to camp. And then my husband and myself and three other couples would always go traveling. We went away for three weeks. While the kids were in camp?
While the kids were in camp. What places did you go? We went all through the north. I didn't go to Europe because I'm not a flyer. I'm through my if I could walk all over the world I'd be fine but I've been all over in the states not California but really all over which is interesting you never went alone you went with other couples with other couples always every year the same couples every year three couples we'd get into a car we were three couples and Lou would take out the pencil and pads from the minute we started the house he would be the bookkeeper the expenses the expenses but we had such good times I can imagine you can imagine we had the most wonderful times The laughing and the joking The laughing and the joking and the things that would happen to us The experience that we bring it up today.
All right. Share one experience. One experience. We were going to Alexander, Thousand Islands. And in those days, when they'd hear the name Lieberman, Cohen, and Adler. The big three. no rooms no rooms no rooms it so happened my brothers were masons so we got into a thousand islands and there was a beautiful little house and i said to her i says i'm an eastern star i says i'm sure you'll accommodate us she says of course well we went to that place and the house was spotless. And I go into the bathroom and it's like, God, I never saw such splendidness. And in those days, I don't know whether you remember, they had a babble scarring powder and it would come in a fancy container with a cameo on it.
And I went ahead and after my shower and I sprinkled myself all up and I become hysterical. so my friend says why are you laughing I says you know this is such a fancy house that they even left fancy talcum powder I says look at it I says it's garden powder that's one experience well it must be nice to have been how many years did you keep up these vacations these vacations were kept up until we started college Okay, so you never went with the kids. You always went with your friends. Always with the friends. We'd take, Stewie and Howie went with us when we'd go to Florida.
That was already when I went into the catering business. So we would close the month of July. So we would go to Florida because I found that was the most relaxing place to go. Right, and the kids would swim. Yeah, yeah. But in those days, really, it wasn't like today where you took the children. Yeah. Okay, those two couples that you went on vacation with all your life, where are they now and are you still friends with them? Very good friends One of them passed away My dear dear friend That why I love Ruthie so much Reminds me of that friend The other couple we still very very close Where do they live In Long Beach, in New York.
The other one, the other one is in Florida, which we see, we talk to each other twice a week. That's wonderful. Twice a week we talk to each other. Okay, Goody, tell me, let's backtrack a little now, go back to your boys growing up. Yeah. Howie never wanted college. Howie looked up to one of my brothers who wanted business. Alright. Stewie, when he started college, Stewie, he, you know, when they first thought they don't know what they want. He wanted to get out, he didn't want to go out of town, He went to NYU. All right, but he graduated college. Howard, uh, steward. Right. And then, of course, he had to go into the Army.
And he's a very, very, I don't know if you know him. I have never met him. All right, so where does Howie get married? When did he get married? Howie got married to a very nice girl, but he was a little young. How old was he? And she was young. He was 20. she was going she started college they were a very nice family and her mother was against it because she wanted to graduate college and Harry said that I'll see to it that she graduates college alright so they got married and she went to college and of course we helped along you know her mother and I helped along and they were married 14 years when she graduates, a very bright girl, very nice girl.
And evidently, she probably felt she outgrew him. That happens so much when people get married young. You outgrow your partner, you want different things. Yeah, and he missed his whole youth, really. How many children did he have? They had two boys. The marriage was very, very good at the beginning. It was lovely. Then it was my 40th anniversary and they made me a beautiful party my boys and the next day after my anniversary Howie says they going to Bermuda with the kids And they went to Bermuda to discuss and tell the children They did everything It was a divorce that really unheard of They did everything in a very sensible way Howie was beginning to get very unhappy.
Where were they living? They had bought a house in Oceanside, going down the beautiful home and all. And he was beginning to see that things weren't good. So he used to say, Mama, don't shtup so much. That's right. They have their own lives. And then Stewie got married. And how did Stewie get to Texas then? That's why you're here, isn't it? Stewie, yes. Stewie, all right. Then they got divorced. And he went into an apartment, Howie. alright Stewie worked for a pants company and this was his route Texas Linda was the only child by her mother and it was a relationship the mother and daughter that was unheard of they weren't like two friends and Stewie came home one day and said that he's thinking of moving to Texas so of course we all started to yell and Linda is a graduate of Yeshiva University and she was one of the first in that media reading to take that up and she was in a very good position they were doing very good between the two of them and I said Linda won't move so Linda says I will go wherever my husband goes and sure enough he came down here he came down with her and she loved it how long have they been here then?
9 years 10 years something and he came down here for that company Billy the kid he knew the vice president Billy the kid calls him up once and says to him Stewie we'd like you to come and work for us So he says, I'll give you a bid. And he gave them a bid. So the president says, oh, that's too much. Ready to come off. He says, look, I didn't call you. You called me. That's all. Well, anyhow, they made an appointment. He went down, and they grabbed him. He's very sharp. And they haven't looked back ever since. No. He's their top man there. And she followed him.
Nobody believed that her mother said. She was the only child. You know that she goes, her mother died three years ago. Do you know that she goes twice a week to the cemetery? Twice a week. Her mother died here? Yeah. Her mother moved down here too. Oh, to be with them. with them to be with them she's a lovely girl okay goody yeah so we have your children and now I know can horror you have another grandchild yes with Stewie yes Stewie she never wanted children Linda always said because when she came down here. She taught at that school, Fairview. She's diagnostic of children, diagnosis of them and all.
She never wanted children. And she was married ten years. When her mother died, Rabbi Wernick came to visit her. And she says to Rabbi Wernick, she says, you know, Rabbi, she says, I've decided I'd love to have a baby. Give me a lucky touch. He gave were a lucky touch and a month later she was pregnant. Did she name the child after her mother? I think that's probably why she wanted something living, something wonderful that she had remembered. Okay, Goody, in all these things, you know what, the elections are coming up. Were you ever politically involved? Yes, I used to work on the board. What's the board I used to work where they come in to vote.
Yeah. So I used to work on the board. All right. And I was very active on the board. I was very, very active in Hadassah. Very active. Are you still in Hadassah? I'm not in Hadassah. I mean, I pay my dues. But what I mean was, You know this man from Israel, what's his name? Man, M-A-N-N? Mm-hmm. Now he was in my home. I used to raise an awful lot of money for the youth aliyah That my baby too I love you Oh I used to raise so much money with the luncheons I used to give and I used to raise an awful lot of money for the Youth Aliyah That my baby too I love you Oh I used to raise so much money with the luncheons I used to give So what have you done now?
Your reason for not now is you've directed your energies to the seniors rather than to Hadassah or to Israel. Yeah, I'll tell you why. I feel this way. To belong to an organization, I like to be active. If I can't be active, I don't like to be a mummy. and when I came down here of course when I got it I was in business but when I came down here I really became very active here but that wasn't enough for me so what else? Golden Acres and how often do you go to Golden Acres? Once a week what do you do there? Take care of the residents, give them parties you know, they'll go along and I love to do for people.
Well, that's wonderful that you can redirect your directions and keep involved. Yes. So obviously you loved to cook from the day you were in your house. Oh, when I was six years old. So that is your hobby? Yes. That's your interest? Yes. Do you have any other interests but that has been your main interest? My main interest is to cook and holidays. Cook and holidays, you know? What's that? To have people. Right, right. People. I was raised in it. That's right. That's right. Okay, Goody, is there anything else you want to share that you want to pull out from your past? Well, my grandchildren. Okay.
My grandchildren, we've had a wonderful, wonderful relationship since the day of the divorce. The children know that they have their grandparents, that we love them very dearly. How often do you see them? Oh, well, now they come down here twice a year. To see their father. Yeah, to see their father, yes. And when I was sick, my oldest grandson, the two of them sent the card. But you cannot be sick because you're a very special person. Isn't that beautiful? And everyone needs you. Isn't that beautiful? They've given my husband and myself such pleasure with the cards and with the words and with everything everything the love that there Well you have obviously given them that love too That it that it But they not a bit disturbed bright as anything And they have a very good uncle, Linda and Aunt and Uncle.
They were very, very close. That's wonderful. I spoke to them last night. That's very, very nice. I told him, I says, we sent you out a package. We were kidding along. Someone else going, remember when we were in camp, you used to send us packages? So I says, how would you like it now? Wouldn't that be a thrill? Oh, so you sent him a package? We sent a package. I couldn't even carry it into the post. What did you put in the package? You name it. Chocolate bar. All the masherine. Nuts, pistachios, this, that, potato chips, dates, figs. Did you bake? Did you put in baking?
No, they don't like that. They like cookies, certain cookies, Oreos and different types. I know the cookies. Can I become your granddaughter? I'd like to get a package. They're adorable. All right, Goody, someday, what's Stewie's little boy's name? Mark. Mark Harris. Someday Mark is going to come into the Jewish Community Center, and he's going to go into the archives, and he's going to see Goody Lieberman tape. what do you want to say to Mark and to your children and to your grandchildren? What do you want to tell them that they have done for you, or what words do you want to lead? They have given us a lot of pleasure.
Stewie, Howie, Linda, Eileen, Alan, Cliff, and Mark. They have rewarded us. I can't explain it. If you wanted to tell them how they should lead their lives, or what they should, you know. Well, they've had a wonderful upbringing, and they're trying to follow their parents' footsteps. That's very nice. There's nothing that you would want to change, just be as good as my children. My children's children should be as good as my children. The respect that they have for their father and mother is unbelievable. That's a beautiful thing. Yes. But that's something that you worked very hard for all your life. Well, we felt this way.
that we put into them, but we're getting a reward. Now, Stewie is the one who brought us down here, who brought the condominium for us. Isn that beautiful And when I said I hollered I didn want to come down here and I wanted an upstairs apartment he says your golden years he says you going to sit on a patio Isn't that nice? You know what, you really are fortunate. I am very, very fortunate. Of course, Howie can't do as much as Stewie, but in his way, he does. Stewie really. I can't explain. It's wonderful. And Linda. Well, I know I met her and she's just a super, super girl.
Unbelievable. Unbelievable. When I holler on her about something, she'll say, why wouldn't I do it for my mother? You're my mother. Anything. I have a similar situation with my mother-in-law, and it's beautiful. It's beautiful. She took my hand the day I got married and said, from now on, you have a mother. And that's truly how I saw the relationship between you and Linda. Oh, you don't know. You don't know. That girl, if she can put me on, you don't know. It's nice, Goody, and I see not only your children, but your friends in the center. You give. And I think that your grandchildren will be like you if they are giving people.
Yes, yes. we try to instill in them. My boys are. My boys are. They're charity. Because I'm very charity. I believe in it. My mother always used to say, give me thing, hon. Just click a minute. Just click a minute. I told Linda, I said, Linda, I came back to the center Thursday. I gave a very nice donation. I said, and God gave us a prayer. That's why you were saved. That's right. That's right, that you're rewarded. I think it's nice also, Goody, that even though you had disappointments in your life, you were not left with any bitter feelings. No, no. So you overcame them.
I'll tell you, Miriam, I'm a Thai person. I can adjust to anything. Even at this age? That's right. That's wonderful. I people, my friends, my cousins, my family, where were you going? At this age, what are you going to do there? I'm very happy here. How many years have you been here? Three years, but I know the whole time. You're like me. Somebody said, what's a cochlea? Yeah. I like to be in everything. That's the only way you can be happy. And I can't hurt people. I will not hurt anybody. If you disapprove of something, then what do you do? I just try. I can't.
It's not my nature. Like if somebody will say, there's somebody in my clique that I'm here, in this clique, how could you be friends with them? Right. I says, I can't help it, I can't hurt her. I says, there's something bothering her. That's why she is like that. You try to find a reason for all that. That's right. There's always a reason for everything. Absolutely. Okay, Goody, I have had the most pleasant. We've talked for 15 minutes. Goody, stay gesund. Like they say, bis 120.