Hebron's Stories
If a story is important, then it must be told. We can portray dreams of what the future may hold, or allow introspection on what has occurred in the past. A story is a narrative that can relay lessons and warnings. A story can teach us about hope and remind us how important and meaningful our lives are. We are unearthing stories about those buried at Mount Hebron Cemetery.
Every year before Veterans Day, the John Bowne High School Air Force JROTC cadets cross the street to Mount Hebron to flag the graves of our veterans. This year, led by Major Panton and Chief Lopez, they spent five hours on foot across 225 acres, reading names, planting flags, and saluting each one. They honored a World War I Army doctor and a Civil War veteran who once led the Grand Army of the Republic. They also honored Captain Charles A. Ransom, a fellow serviceman killed in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2011 at just 31. His squadron vowed never to leave him behind. These cadets kept that promise. ~Blog by Deirdre Mooney Poulos
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Rebecca Sebar was five years old. Her parents had come from Turkey and made a home in the Bronx. When Rebecca was diagnosed with leukemia, she needed blood transfusions every day. Her brother Albert was eighteen. He gave his own blood as often as he could. He begged his friends to give theirs. He spent every dollar he had. When the blood and money ran out, Albert and his friend Emanuel Buffa broke into a stationery store. They were caught in March 1949. The judge heard their story and did not charge them. Rebecca died on June 30, 1949. She rests at Mount Hebron Cemetery, loved beyond measure. ~Blog by Elisheva Schuster
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The history of Freemasons is global and well known. However, the role of Jewish people in this fraternal organization has a long standing tradition. Please come with us on a journey through our world, national and cemetery history at Mount Hebron.
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Nathan Perlman was born in Poland in 1887 and came to America at four. He studied law at NYU and became a Special Deputy Attorney General at 25. By 1938, Nazi sympathizers were marching in storm trooper uniforms through Manhattan. Perlman decided they needed a Jewish army. He called Meyer Lansky. Lansky refused payment and sent his toughest men. They broke up Nazi rallies in Yorkville until the movement faded in the city. Perlman went on to serve as a judge of the Court of Special Sessions, and in 1945 he helped Justice Robert Jackson prepare to prosecute Nazi war criminals. He rests at Mount Hebron, near some of those men. ~Blog by Deirdre Mooney Poulos
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Renee Meckler was the daughter of Ethel Meckler. She lived with physical and intellectual disabilities and suffered from seizures, and from 1955 she lived at Willowbrook State School on Staten Island. Willowbrook would later become infamous for its neglect and abuse of the children in its care. On June 21, 1965, twelve year old Renee was found on a patio behind her building. She had slipped in her chair, and the strap meant to hold her in place had tightened around her neck. The school called it an accident. After her death, authorities opened investigations into conditions at the school. She rests at Mount Hebron Cemetery with the Paritzer Brotherhood society. ~Blog by Maya Mehrara
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The Skoblionko Family and Ralph Spievak share not only a beautiful monument but also a tragic tale from 1925.
Blog written by Wilhelmine Coste.
Category:
News
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The Sugarmans came from Piatra Neamt, Romania, and left as antisemitic riots spread. They lived in London for about a decade, then sailed to New York in 1920. Father Abraham worked as a cabinet maker, and the large family crowded into a tenement at 1773 Lexington Avenue in East Harlem. Before dawn on April 22, 1922, the building caught fire. Fourteen people died or went missing. Six were from the Sugarman family: Abraham, Sidney, Hyman, Annie, Katie, and Marie. Thousands of mourners joined their funeral. Today a dark granite monument stands over them at Mount Hebron, each portrait set into the stone. Their parents rest beside them, beneath a carved broken tree. ~Blog by Wilhelmine Coste
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