 1918 - UNKNOWN
-
| Name |
Isadore Bovitch |
| Birth |
13 Jun 1918 |
Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Death |
UNKNOWN |
| Notes |
- Isadore “Whitey” Bovitch Memories
Michael McKenzie spoke with Whitey Bovitch on several occasions in 2012 specifically to gather oral history information. At the time they spoke, Whitey was 94 years old having been born in 1918.
I asked him initially about his brother, Morris Bovitch, because as a child growing up, I don’t recall having had the occasion to meet Morris although I do remember meeting most of Whitey’s other brothers and sister.
Whitey explained that he never really knew Morris as a “child”. Morris was the oldest Bovitch born circa 1902. Whitey came along in 1918. By the time Whitey has/had any clear recollection of his childhood (circa 1925), Morris was already twenty three years old. Consequently, that explains why Morris always seemed to be a grown man as far as Whitey was concerned.
Whitey remembered that Morris owned a grocery store in Overbrook, which is a fairly close-in suburb to downtown Pittsburgh. Whitey also remembered Morris’ wife, Alice Rosen.
Because of the age difference, Whitey did not have many stories to share about Morris. According to Whitey, Morris was an athlete and Whitey remembers him working out at a local gym quite often. He wasn’t sure if this was before or after Morris married Alice.
Not much else emerged from the conversation re: Morris, but Whitey did recount some interesting anecdotes about a trip to Los Angeles, California that he and his brother, Bernard (Burke) made in 1938. Burke had already spent some time in Los Angeles and came back home for a visit. Whitey decided to go back with him. They started out by hitch-hiking from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Pontiac, Michigan. While there, they got an offer to drive a car from Michigan to Sherman, Texas. This was back in the day before big automobile carriers and car dealers would hire young men to transport cars around the country. Burke and Whitey were provided a car to haul (on a trailer) a new 1938 Pontiac all the way to Sherman, Texas.
Once they got there, they made arrangements to haul another vehicle from Texas to Los Angeles. When they first arrived in LA, they both got a job at a publishing company putting labels on magazines. That job lasted two weeks. Burke then got a better job working at a construction company. A few weeks into that job, he tired of it and told the woman who was one of the owners that he knew someone who could take his place if he quit – of course it was Whitey. When Whitey showed up for work the first day, the woman was skeptical about him and said she thought he was a runaway. Whitey of course denied it and said, “call my parents, they’ll tell you that Burke is my brother and that I am out here with him”. The woman actually called Whitey’s mother to verify the story.
The Whitey continued working in that job until he received a call from his sister, Ida, saying that their Mother had become ill and that Whitey needed to come home. I don’t have a recorded date for when Whitey’s mother and father died, but hope to get that for my records.
Whitey returned to Pittsburgh, met his future bride, Katherine, and they eloped to Wheeling, West Virginia and were married on 16 Aug 1941. By then, Whitey was in the Army.
He was first stationed (he thinks he recalls) in California and was initially assigned to the infantry. When Pearl Harbor was attacked (December 7, 1941), he was shortly thereafter transferred to the Signal Corps and sent to Fort Dix, New Jersey for additional training. After that training was completed, he was sent to the Panama Canal Zone and was one of the many soldiers tasked with guarding the canal during the war. Altogether, he spent a total of 4 years in the service.
Hopefully, more to follow . . .
U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946
about Isadore Bovitch
Name: Isadore Bovitch
Birth Year: 1918
Race: White, citizen (White)
Nativity State or Country: Pennsylvania
State of Residence: Pennsylvania
County or City: Allegheny
Enlistment Date: 23 Oct 1941
Enlistment State: Maryland
Enlistment City: Fort George G Meade
Branch: Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers
Branch Code: Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers
Grade Code: Private
Component: Selectees (Enlisted Men)
Source: Civil Life
Education: 3 years of high school
Civil Occupation: Skilled mechanics and repairmen, n.e.c.
Marital Status: Married
Height: 70
Weight: 147
|
| Person ID |
I00365 |
McKenzie Genealogy |
| Last Modified |
29 Oct 2021 |
| Father |
Hyman Bovitch, b. 25 Sep 1880, Lomza, Poland/Russia d. 25 Jun 1949, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Age 68 years) |
| Relationship |
natural |
| Mother |
Anna Goldstein, b. Abt 1883, Lomza, Poland d. 1 Jul 1967, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Age ~ 84 years) |
| Relationship |
natural |
| Family ID |
F00294 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family |
Katherine Marie Frank, b. 13 Jul 1923, Pittsburgh, Allegany County, Pennsylvania USA d. 13 Feb 2018, Deerfield Beach, Broward County, Florida (Age 94 years) |
| Marriage |
16 Aug 1941 |
Wellsburg, Brooke County, West Virginia |
| Children |
|
| Family ID |
F00292 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
29 Oct 2021 |
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