When all is said and done, I am the product of a successful “set-up.”
Seventy years ago today a 29-year-old man from Queens married a 24-year-old woman from Manhattan. This young couple filled with hope, whose whole life lay in front of them that October Sunday in 1950 would end up being my parents.
Have I Got a Girl For You
In the spring of 1949 after excessive nudging by his Astoria neighbor to meet her lovely niece Betty who lived on the Upper West Side of NYC, young Marvin Edelstein begrudgingly agreed. Hesitant at first, he claimed to have had his share not only of blind dates but of “West End Princesses” ( an earlier incarnation of JAP)
They arranged a date to meet at my mother’s country club in Alpine New Jersey for lunch and a round of golf.
He was smitten; his overbearing neighbor had not lied. A dark-haired beauty, he was taken by Betty’s sweetness, intelligence, lack of pretense, and in no small measure I’m certain, her shapely figure.
My mother though was less than taken. Having lost her beloved father only a year and a half earlier, her heart still belonged to daddy. A patina of sadness over his untimely and unexpected death would follow her for the rest of her life. It would be she who would need a bit of prodding now. With a sudden blitz, he gave her the whole treatment, flowers, telegrams, orchestra seat tickets- to- impossible- to- get-South Pacific.
There were differences between the 2 families. There was my paternal pawnbroker grandfather, a 6th-grade dropout and a Damon Runyonesque character whose cronies were straight out of Guys and Dolls. He stood in stark contrast to my maternal grandfather who had been a genteel, highly respected corporate lawyer, and by all accounts a refined gentleman. Yet what both families shared were common core values. A deep devotion to family, to doing good works, to kindness.
A Post War Promise
And it seemed to be no better time to be in love. President Truman presented a rosy picture of the future- if all went well according to his Fair Deal program, Americans would work less, play more, purchase more!
It was predicted, the average American family would have an income of $12,000 by the year 2000! With a staggering income like that, there would be no limit to how much happiness they could buy.
This blind date yielded 58 years of married life, a son, a daughter, a rich life full of travel, community activism, and good friends living in a home they loved. Grandchildren were the icing on the cake. All exactly what they had hoped for 70 long years ago when they toasted one another with pink champagne at The Monkey Bar at the Hotel Elysee on a cool Sunday in October.
Happy 70th Anniversary to my parents!
© Sally Edelstein and Envisioning The American Dream, 2020. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Sally Edelstein and Envisioning The American Dream with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Envisioning The American Dream 
What a beautiful Envisioning! Happy 70th Anniversary to your beloved parents! Your writing warms my heart traveling back to the times of my childhood too!
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Thank you, Beth, I am glad this can bring you back to a warm and loving time in your life.
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Lovely portrait, Sally. Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you so much, and I am delighted you enjoyed it!
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Keeping their memories alive Sally… I am sure you have worked on your family tree.
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I am the designated family historian a position I enjoy and cherish. On my mothers side, there is actually a formalized family tree in book form that was produced in 1952 or so before I was born and goes back to Russia in the 1600s. It’s a pretty remarkable document and I loved reading it as a child and was always updating it. One of my fondest memories was reading it to my little 5 years old niece at the time and she was as fascinated with it as was I was. I have always been fascinated in family stories and fortunately, my parents shared a lot.
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Do you know I have a blog about genealogy?
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Will you post something on your ancestors one day? That would be fascinating especially your roots going back to Russia in the 1600s.
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Sally, what a great story. It is not uncommon for one to fall faster for the other. I am so glad it worked out. Great pictures of the loving couple. Thanks for sharing. My father passed away before my parent’s 57th anniversary. It shows how people who are committed to each other can make it work. Keith
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Like all marriages and relationships, it could be a few bumps along the road. But they were deeply committed with a keen sense of loyalty. Traits I am grateful to have inherited from them in spades.
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Happy Anniversary
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Thanks!
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Pierre, I never realized you did have a blog on geneology. I must take a look. Thank you for your interest and I should do a post on my family history.
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Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum 70. Geburtstag an deine geliebten Eltern!
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