Shary recalls being pushed in her perambulator by Alice, as she accompanied her mother on her protest activities. She remembers sitting in the stroller, with contraband leaflets buried around her--to avoid potential trouble with the police.
Blanche Udren Fischberg, b. New York City, June, 27,1927; d. Boston, MA, February 15, 1966
Married Bruce Fischberg, December 7, 1953
Children: Beth Fischberg, October 29, 1955
Eve Fischberg, December 15, 1957
Jane Fischberg, August 15, 1960
Daniel Fischberg, March 5, 1962
Sharon Udren Chaiklin, b. New York City, March 6, 1934
Married Harris Chaiklin, June 5, 1955
Children: Seth Chaiklin, February 22, 1956
Matthew Chaiklin, December 24, 1957
Martha Chaiklin, August 9, 1960
Nina Chaiklin, March 19, 1962
Blanche graduated from The High School of Music and Art (now known as the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and the Performing Arts) in 1942.
Blanche's high school graduation picture, age 15
Blanche received her Bachelor's degree from Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY, in 1946. Her majors were epistemology and mathematics.
Blanche's college graduation picture, age 19
Sharon graduated from The Bronx High School of Science in 1951.
Sharon (age 17) and Blanche (age 24) preparing to leave on a boat for Europe, following Sharon's high school graduation in 1951.
Sharon graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1955. Her majors were social work and dance.
Sharon's college graduation picture, age 21
5.00 Dave states that Alice went to work at Steinberg's kosher dairy restaurant in the late 1940's, where she ultimately worked as the office manager. Steinberg's was a beloved fixture on the upper west side of New York, frequented by many people seeking a delicious meal at a modest price.
Shary recalls her mother being particularly excited when Suki Schorer, the ballet dancer, would visit Steinberg's for a meal. Suki Schorer danced with the New York City Ballet from 1959 to 1972. She joined at the invitation of George Balanchine, becoming a principal dancer in 1968. She remains a beloved master teacher of ballet.
Suki Schorer as Dewdrop in the New York City Ballet production of The Nutcracker, 1969
Dave notes that Alice's "other activities petered out" at this time. He references the rise in "McCarthyism" in the late 1940's; Senator Joseph McCarthy (in the Senate from 1948-1957)alleged that numerous communists and Soviet spies and sympathizers had infiltrated the United States federal government, the film industry, the universities and elsewhere.
Documents obtained from the United Parents file in the Archives of the City of New York indicate that Alice was a Manhattan borough Vice-President with United Parents in 1938. Although Alice ran for the U.S. House of Representatives on the Communist Party ticket in 1936, prior to or contemporaneously with her involvement with United Parents, by 1941 she was no longer associated with United Parents and the United Parents group actively disavowed Alice's connection with the group, specifically because of her association with the Communist Party.
The Special Committee on Un-American Activities (which later evolved into the House Committee on Un-American Activities, popularly known as HUAC) was created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty and subversive activities on the part of private citizens, public employees, and those organizations suspected of having fascist or communist ties. Alice is listed as a person of interest in the proceedings of the HUAC Investigation of Communist activities in the New York City area from 1953 (https://archive.org/details/investigationofc0555unit/page/1412/mode/2up?q=alice+udren).
5.31 Dave states that Alice was active in civic affairs through Shary's junior high years, serving on the New York State Women's commission in 1946-47. Shary recalls that Alice was active in the Manhattan borough Parent-Teacher Association.
6.16 Alice had little time to devote to any other interests, although Dave remembers enjoying attending plays and concerts together.
Shary recalls regularly attending concerts at Lewisohn Stadium, of the City College of New York. Built in 1915, many concerts and other cultural events were hosted there from 1918 until 1966. The entry fee was only 25 cents, which allowed New Yorkers of modest means to enjoy great performances. Shary remembers seeing "Peter and the Wolf" at Lewisohn when she was eight or nine years old, as well as seeing ballet performed there. She often went ahead of her parents to wait in line for entry. Leonard Bernstein conducted the New York Philharmonic at Lewisohn on numerous occasions, including one concert featuring the great singer Marian Anderson .
Alice played the piano when they were first married--a favorite piece was the Habanera from the opera Carmen .
8.45 Blanche began playing the piano at a young age; Dave recalls a concert of Mozart's music Blanche performed at age seven. Dave remembers constructing something so that she could be lifted up closer to the music to see, since she was so little. He expresses concern that this early emphasis on performance was "too much" and wasn't good for her.
Blanche, age four, with her first piano teacher, Lev Terdgamon [sp?], March, 1932
Alice also enjoyed playing popular dance music. Shary remembers that the family especially enjoyed when Alice played the Black Bottom (popular in the late 1920's) , and they would cut the rug!
PERRY BRADFORD AND HIS GANG Original Black Bottom Dance, Okeh Records, 1926
11.15 In the summer of 1945, when Blanche was eighteen, The Kenyon Review published a lengthy response Blanche wrote regarding a review of the English translation of Road to the Ocean (Leonid Leonov, 1944) that had appeared in the journal earlier that year. The level of sophistication of her analysis is remarkable, particularly for an eighteen-year-old writer.
16.30 Dave mentions a book that he has recently read, A Man Called Intrepid: The Incredible True Story of the Master Spy Who Helped Win WWII. This book, an account of the life and times of William Stephenson (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Stephenson), had been a best-seller when it was published the previous year (1976). Dave goes into extensive detail about the contents of the book and how the course of history can be altered by the "strength, courage and brilliance of mind" of a single person.
26.46 When asked his personal philosophy, Dave states that it is "a question of survival and not-survival...the more you try to draw a blueprint for yourself, the more you will be disappointed...[one must] hold on and live from day to day".
33.10 Shary asks, "What would you have done [that you didn't do in your life]?". Dave replies, "I don't know--something cultural--teaching, writing, something of that sort...".
38.00 Shary asks, "What makes you think that your life isn't interesting?". Dave responds, "I feel that I never attained anything that I really wanted". He goes on to acknowledge, "I had a daughter like you--that's an achievement in itself...and four lovely grandchildren here -[Shary's four children]-and four in another area [Blanche's four children--Blanche had died eleven years before this recording was made]...I feel disappointed in my personal achievement...but I value what I have most dearly."
Alice and Dave, early 1960's
Dave with Nina, Matthew and Martha Chaiklin, 1963
Dave with Daniel Fischberg, Nina Chaiklin, Martha Chaiklin and Jane Fischberg, 1964
Dave with Beth Fischberg, Eve Fischberg, Seth Chaiklin and Matthew Chaiklin, 1961
Dave singing to Noah Staley, his first great-grandchild (son of Eve Fischberg and Steven Staley), 1988
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