Good Causes

When we moved to Manhattan’s Yorkville neighborhood in the mid-1970s I was a young mother on maternity leave at home with a one-year-old,  and every day,  weather permitting,  we’d find ourselves  across the street in Carl Schurz Park.   The park was named in 1910 for the German-born Secretary of the Interior at a time when Yorkville had a very large German-American community.   And several excellent German restaurants can still be found in the neighborhood serving delicious sauerbraten and strudel.

One day as my toddler played in the sandbox,  I started a conversation with a woman named Cheryl who was sharing my park bench.   I told her that Carl Schurz Park with it’s playground,  gardens,  East River promenade,  and historic Gracie Mansion,   the mayor’s home,  was a godsend for me.  (See Kente Cloth)

“I volunteer with a civic group that supports the park.”  Cheryl said,  “It’s a good cause,  why don’t you join us?”

And so I did.  I joined the events committee and eventually became secretary of the board of the Carl Schurz Park Association,  now the Carl Schurz Park Conservancy.   (See Mr October)

The city was in financial crisis at the time and our fundraising and event-planning efforts for the park were especially needed.   We formed a volunteer gardening committee to work with the city’s Parks Dept,  ordered new and safer playground equipment,   planned outdoor summer concerts,  and organized children’s and holiday programs.    We also established a strong presence on the local community board,  and ran an annual,  juried art show that attracts visitors from all over the city.

And I learned how much a handful of dedicated volunteers can accomplish and how rewarding working for a good cause can be.   Then after many fulfilling years on the board,  I stepped down making way for an eager,  younger volunteer to step in.

Years later,  when I retired after my long career running school libraries,  my  friend Karlan,  a recently retired public librarian herself,  called me.

“I’m heading a new organization called Literacy for Incarcerated Teens / LIT,”. she said,  “it’s a good cause,  won’t you join us?” 

LIT,   Karlan explained,  is a community-based non-profit committed to combating illiteracy in court-involved children and young adults by partnering with New York’s city and state agencies and school districts.   LIT raises funds for the creation of libraries and book collections in juvenile detention centers,  and for teachers and librarians to create literacy and arts programming including read-ins,  poetry slams,  literary festivals,  museum trips,  and art,  music,  and writing workshops led by visiting artists and authors.

Having worked for decades at an inner city vocational high school,  I’d seen too many of our students with reading and other deficiencies in dire need of remediation.  Our faculty worked hard to help them,  and we celebrated those who graduated and went on to good jobs or to college.

But hard as we teachers and support staff might try,  the deck was stacked against many of these kids and they took the wrong path,  sometimes landing in detention centers like the ones served by LIT.   So this was certainly a cause dear to my heart,  and I joined Karlan on the LIT board.

Once during a writing workshop at one of the centers,  a visiting author read to the kids from one of his books,  elicited their responses,  and then encouraged them to write short pieces of their own to read aloud.

One student,  very pleased with the piece he’d just written,  asked if the author could come back and lead another workshop.  The author said that indeed he was coming back in two months.

“Damn,”   said the kid disappointedly,  “my time will be up by then and I’ll be out.”

His wish for more workshops aside,  we certainly hoped he’d stay out!

– Dana Susan Lehrman 

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The candles in my Featured photo were my mother’s. There are two pairs. I don’t even know how old they are; just a bit younger than I am. They’ve graced countless Thanksgiving tables through the years. Their sweet faces are rather the worse for wear, but they must come out every year and be on my table. My father did all our Thanksgiving cooking. He enjoyed cooking; my mother did not.

This year, due to COVID restrictions with the virus raging across the world, there will only be Dan and me at the table, plus these little wax creatures, more than 60 years old. This is what we are reduced to. No “Over the River and Through the Woods”; we won’t “Gather Together To Ask the Lord’s Blessing” (I think I sang in one too many Thanksgiving pageants as a kid).

I already wrote about the first time I cooked (or at least provisioned for) my first Thanksgiving feast in Thanksgiving Forever. That was a memorable one. For years we got together with my in-laws, who cooked the meal. Eventually, I took over and learned to make all my mother-in-law’s recipes, just the way my husband likes them. I became efficient and started a day ahead of time, so only had to cook the turkey and potatoes on the actual day. Frequently, Dan’s sister, brother-in-law and niece (and maybe even boyfriend) at Brandeis would join us, so we’d have lots of family. That’s always the best.

The last time we were together was two years ago, but I didn’t cook. We were invited to friends. There were 40 people in attendance; lots of food and fun, we all contributed something. I had to make Dan’s favorite yams with caramelized brown sugar topping and also brought food for the hors d’oeuvre table.

But David is in London. Thanksgiving isn’t a holiday there, so it is difficult for him to justify the time off. Easier for him to come in for Christmas, and Anna to join him the day after (Boxing Day in the UK). Vicki can also get away more easily, so that became the time for family to get together. Right now of course, London is locked down again. With the virus raging in the US, we won’t be far behind.

Now we will probably try to have a Google Chat and each celebrate in our own way. That will be the best we can do. The kids mock me for photographing the screen, but at least I can record the event and know when we chat. It is likely to be my holiday card this year as well.

I promised Dan that I can still make all his favorite foods, just not a whole turkey. I am looking into a turkey breast or just sliced turkey. I checked out Whole Foods this week, which has already-cooked, roasted turkey, but I will buy it in a few days. The rest is easy and he’ll have left-overs for days, so he’ll be happy. There used to be a store close by that sold carved turkey with good gravy, but I noticed that was gone. It’s probably been gone longer than a year. I just never noticed. So we will have our sad little pandemic Thanksgiving day feast, watch movies and perhaps some sports, be thankful we are healthy and hope for a better 2021.

Best wishes to all.