Barsams During the Depression

New York Christmastime 1933, around the time Annie and Warbucks meet…  My father, Ed, had just completed his third semester in the Engineering School at The College of the City of New York, now known as City College CUNY.  It’s a good thing that with good high school grades tuition was then free, otherwise he could not have afforded to go.  He and his younger sister and brother lived with their parents in an apartment in Washington Heights.  Dad’s Pop sold Persian rugs as an independent contractor with the renowned Avakian Brothers firm.  Grandma stayed at home.  When things were good movie stars would furnish their Hollywood mansions with rugs from Avakian in New York.  But with the Depression, not many rug sales.  Grandma took on word-of-mouth sewing jobs and made every last penny count.  There had to have been sacrifice and deprivation, but Dad said he never felt it.

 

My father chose Engineering (and enjoyed a life-long career in the field) because the Engineering school was walking distance from home - no transit fare.  While Ed was in school his garage-owner friend George landed a contract to service Brinks armored trucks and invited Ed to help part-time with a few after-hours oil and lube jobs.  Upon graduating from City College with an Engineering degree in ’36 the prospects were zilch.  A rumored job for, say, a truck driver opening would bring 300 applicants for 5 jobs.  He went on this way, taking odd jobs, making a few bucks here and there.

Meanwhile his friend George had gotten himself hired in Baltimore at The Martin Company which was building military aircraft for France due to the Nazi threat, and called his friend.  Ed!  Come to Baltimore right away there are jobs here.  My whole life I have been amazed by this phone call, that George knew about Baltimore, that Dad trusted George enough to go, that it has led me 80 years later to perform in this production of Annie.

 

But that’s what happened.