Max and Celia Malkin’s Grave Site Entrance

Beth Israel Cemetery, Woodbridge NJ

“Tzippa Manna, daughter of Aaron David” “Our father Mendel, son of Mordecai”

This is from an E-mail correspondence I had with my cousin Mark Ellentuck (Lena’s son);

what i have learned over the years is that when people immigrated to the united states, first they looked up relatives, then they joined a shul, and then they found a job. when max got to newark, he found his brothers and his brother dave got him a job as a carpenter.  his fellow carpenters probably asked if he belong to a shul.  i say newark because my mother said that she went to high school in newark. if memory serves me, i think it was on 16th street in newark (don't quote me).  anyway, his fellow workers convinced him that he should belong to a club with his fellow russians.  some of the clubs were called minskers and some of the clubs were called the lincoln lodge.  once a week they would take a quarter from their pay and pay their dues in the club.  remember, a quarter was a lot of money then. anyway, the club used some of the money for a burial plot so when he and his wife died, they would have some place to be buried if they didn't ! belong to a shul.
my father in law belonged to a chapter of the lincoln lodge which was one of many in brooklyn.  that's how i learned about these clubs.  so they paid their weekly dues at their weekly meeting,  played cards, had a little "refreshment", and then went home and gave their wife the rest of the weekly pay check.  when max and celia moved to canfield  place in irvington, i remember a discussion that the minsker society was going to sell their burial plots in newark and take the money and buy plots in woodbridge. a new cemetary and lots of cheap land.  my father, at that time, was the secretary of the shul in woodbridge and convinced max that it was a good move and he wouldn't lose his money or plots.

Jack’s note: It was a great move!!! Hebrew cemetery in Newark is now a run down abandoned vandalized dump. Beth Israel is very nice.