Grew up in Coney Island in the 1940's
Ralph was born in Coney Island on July 19, 1934, twenty-two years to the day after his mother in the same house. He lovingly describes growing up in Coney Island in remarkable specifics, including stories of local individuals, their diversity, their...
Content type: Oral History Item
Cousin of Beth Allen, incubator baby
Terry Silverman's cousin, Beth Allen, was born 2 months premature in 1941. Desperate to save her and with few other options - hospitals of the day had no facilities for premature infants - Beth's parents placed her in the care of Dr....
Content type: Oral History Item
Beth Allen recounts her origins as an "incubator baby" in Dr. Martin Couney's sideshow
Beth Allen was born 3 months premature in 1941, weighing 1lb 10 oz. Desperate to save her and with few other options - hospitals of the day had no facilities for premature infants - her parents placed her in the care of Dr. Martin Couney, a neonatal...
Content type: Oral History Item
Family owned Levy's Bar and Grill
Karen Levy Fogel was born in the mid-1940's to a family who owned and operated restaurants in New York City. Her father's family were Sephardic Jewish immigrants from Turkey and her mother's family were Ashkenazi Jews who also lived...
Content type: Oral History Item
Fond memories of Coney Island
Joseph Svehlak recalls two generations of stories from Coney Island. His mother grew up in lower Manhattan as a first generation American born to European parents in the early 1910’s. On Sundays after church, her father would take her and her sister...
Content type: Oral History Item