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From Pin Boy to Kingpin
by JACK NADEL
Executive Director, 92nd St. YM-YWHA
Mr. Nadel, whose nearly 50 years of consecutwe service
with the 92nd St. YM-KWHA, oldest existing Jewish Com
munity Center, makes him the dean of active Center tcorkers,
recalls in these reminiscences, written on the occasion oj
the American Jewish Tercentenary exclusively for The
Southern Israelite, some of the striking changes iii the status,
character, program and service he has witnessed in the
Center movement since he became part of it in 1900.
—THE EDITOR
The coincidence of the end of
the first three centuries of Ameri
can Jewish life and the beginning
of the second century of the Jew
ish Community Center movement
in America is more than an acci
dental circumstance. In the growth
and development of American
Jewry the Center movement has
been a decisive force. In my own
lifetime of association with this
movement I have seen striking
changes in Jewish life and in the
role, character, service and pro
gram of the Jewish Community
Center. If the achievements of the
past are any criterion, it can safe
ly be predicted that in the fourth
century of American Jewry the
Jewish Community Center will be
an even more significant factor.
It does not seem possible that
almost 50 years have passed since
I first came to the 92nd Street
YMHA, determined to read every
one of the many Horatio Alger
books in its library. In the months
that followed, I became acquainted
with other boys who frequented
the building and discovered most of
us had much in common. We were
immigrants ourselves or children
of immigrants not long in the
United States. The escape from
poverty and persecution in Europe
had left a deep scar upon our
parents and we, their children,
carried the marks of their trials,
albeit unconsciously. The term
“immigrant” was common then as
the word “refugee’ during Hitler’s
regime.
The Y was a place for young
men only, hence the name Young
Men’s Hebrew Association. The
theory was that only the youth
of the community could be served
advantageously because “the youth
of today is the man of tomorrow.”
The Y existed to build “character
above all,” and only the young
were susceptible to this influence.
Juvenile delinquency was unknown
but the Y existed “to keep the kids
off the streets and out of the pool
rooms.” Looking back, it never
entered our heads to visit the
pool rooms because, if for no other
reason, we didn’t have the money.
Actually, we were too close, di
rectly or through our parents, to
the life and times when organized
recreation was a luxury which we
dared not contemplate.
Our education ended when we
The Southern Israelite
were old enough to work, and
some of us worked after school
at a very early age. There were
no child labor laws in those days
and I, too, began my working
career at the age of 13 when I
became a pin boy in the Y bowling
alleys after school and on Sunday
at a munificent salary of $3.50 a
week.
The Y was a haven for boys
and young men who needed an
outlet for their energies, for friend
ship and for education in a broad
sense. They wanted to be good
Americans and to learn how to go
about it. There were so-called
Americanization classes of all
kinds, including English for new
arrivals, civics, history and com
mercial courses. People worked in
the daytime and studied at night.
A new generation of Americans
were preparing to take its place
in the affairs of our city, state
and nation.
The recreational activities in the
Y at 92nd Street consisted chiefly
of a gymnasium, a game room,
bowling alleys and carefully pre
scribed entertainment of a cultural
nature. Dancing was permitted
twice a year, under the most care
ful scrutiny of the administration.
The latter followed a minstrel
show or strawberry festival which
constituted the great events of the
year. Long after modern dances
were introduced in New’ York, the
Y continued to permit only the
waltz and the two-step. The shades
of the past must look with horror
upon the present program when
dances are held daily and three
times on Sunday.
The activities which gave life to
the organization grew out of the
club program. Then, as now, quali
ties of leadership were recognized
and development was encouraged.
However, there were no profes
sional leaders and supervisors,
such as we deem essential today.
The advisors were all volunteers,
and many men high in the affairs
of the Jewish community today
remind us of the days when they
were unpaid leaders in the Y, the
Educational Alliance and similar
Centers in other communities
which date back for half a cen
tury or more.
We have not resolved the phil
osophical conflict, which has been
raging for years, of paid versus
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