Familia Scherer

I was staying with a friend in South Beach so going a bit north on Collins Avenue wasn't a big deal. On the way to the Scherers apartment, I passed those gorgeous Art Deco hotels: the Eden Roc, etc. Not far away was an attractive apartment building near the water....and I rang up.

After exiting the elevator, I saw Stan waiting for me in the doorway. I spoke with Marjorie and Stan only a few times before meeting and I was excited to finally connect the voice to a face. They kept me company as I set-up my elaborate audio/video mobile studio and started talking about Salvador before I even hit record. Luckily, I was able to backtrack a bit to those first days of marriage and Marjorie's childhood in Guatemala and beyond.

For a few years Stan and Marjorie lived only a few blocks from each other in Great Neck on Long Island. Like a good romance novel, they never met during that time. Stan had various siblings and spent most of his early years in Manhattan. Marjorie was born in Manhattan as well but did not stay there for long.

After some years in Guatemala, Marjorie moved with her parents to El Salvador where she lived a generally happy childhood. Eventually she moved to the States for university and somewhere along the way met Stan. (the story is much more complex but you'll have to listen to their oral history to get the real deal).

Stan soon left to join the military where he flew a fighter plane in WWII. Based for some weeks in Tunis, he remembers being invited by the local Jewish community for the high holidays. His memories are incredibly detailed. "They had nothing but they would have first hidden in a closet than not invited the American Jews to their table. We fit about two truckloads of guys. They were smart men, enlisted as doctors, intelligence commanders, officers. I was the only stupid one who signed up to be a fighter pilot." Stan remembers that night as if it were yesterday. With a bit of French and inserts of broken English, the two groups of Jews communicated.

After the war, Stan met Marjorie at a party/card game. "He had the worst hand of cards at the table!" Marjorie remembers. "He was such an interesting guy...I couldn't help but want to learn more." Marjorie's father convinced Stan to join his sales oriented business in Salvador and soon Marjorie and Stan were living in San Salvador (Los Planos to be exact). Their two daughters were born in San Salvador and remained in the country until they reached college-age. Marjorie and Stan loved their life in the capital....

"It was paradise!" Stan says. "But boy did it change."

Marjorie smiles as she talks about the revolutionary changes she helped to bring about at the synagogue (along with a few other ladies).

Marjorie: We refused to sit separately from our husbands during services.
Jessica: So what did you do?
Majorie: Not much, we just sat down next to our husbands and no one said another word (insert huge smile).

One cannot help but admire her chutzpah. A small Jewish community that was very set in its ways....this was no deterrent for such an enlightened, strong young woman.

I asked Stan about living in El Salvador, whether the abject poverty bothered him on a daily basis? whether he felt guilty about living a life of splendor in the midst of shantytowns.

"Of course it was difficult. We tried our best to treat everyone who worked for
us very well. I'll never forget one of our maids....a very sweet, young, and
smart woman. She once became sick and needed to take the afternoon off to visit
the doctor. He gave her some medication and I immediately offered to pay for
it...

She responded; "Don't worry, Sir. My father will pay for it."

I later found out from the other maid that her father was one of the wealthiest
Salvadorans in the country. She was just one of his many illegitimate
children. He probably thought he was doing a great deal to help her by paying for
the medicine. Can you imagine? The daughter of such a wealthy man working hard,
long hours as a maid? Sometimes this type of treatment would make me furious.

To be honest with you, it still and will always make me furious."

The Scherers history continued for two more hours and was rich with a fascinating American perspective and a sharp sense of humor.

"Sometimes I think we should still be back there." Stan says shaking his head. "It was so painful to leave."

Grabbing his hand, Marjorie looked straight at me and smiles: "But we are OK darling, as long as we have each other."