Yes, horse and wagons were still present on many New York streets during the 1930’s when HG was a youngster. Not plentiful, but not unfamiliar (as was the scent of horse droppings). Many of the Italian greengrocers transported their goods via a horse and wagon (as did the ice men who serviced ice boxes in non-refrigerator neighborhoods). In 1933, little HG was so bemused by the sight of refrigerator installation in a nearby apartment house that the little fellow had an embarrassing sanitary accident. HG’s late, beloved father, Hershele Tsvi Freimann (anglicized to Freeman at Ellis Island), loved horses. He couldn’t pass a horse and wagon without scratching the horse’s nose and having a nuzzled conversation. Father (nicknamed “Grisha” in his youth), rode horses every day in his native Belarus. He was also in charge of the horse and wagon that delivered wheat to the family mill. Surprisingly, this mill escaped damage during numerous Czarist pogroms and the unrest of the Russian Revolution until World War Two. Then, the Germans destroyed the mill and killed the Jews in Father’s home town of Smulovich. Some Jews escaped and joined partisan groups. A Freimann cousin survived by escaping to the east. In 1917, before HG was born, HG’s father was forced to flee the city after his actions in labor union wars made New York too dangerous. Father, Mother and late, elder brother, Bernard, left The Bronx for Harrisburg, Ohio, via horse and wagon driven by Father. Their destination was the farm of Fanny Kravitz, Mother’s sister. During their one year residence there, Mother and Father recalled, with much fondness, the weekly square dances at their rustic hideaway.
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