At some point between the beginning of 1928 and January 1932 (probably 1929).^[1] Samuel, now prosperous as an owner of Lion Shoe, moved his family from 88 Orange Street to a huge house at 27 County Road in Chelsea—a three-story home with six bedrooms on the second floor alone. It became a center of extended-family activity. Between Samuel’s two married brothers, Morris and Nathan, and Lena Kessel Gass’s siblings, all of whom were married and lived in or near Chelsea, there were many children.

Almost everyone visited at one time or another, especially on the Sabbath and on Sunday afternoons. Isaac Razin, Samuel’s partner in the rag business as well as Lena’s uncle, was a regular visitor in the Gass home, especially on Saturday nights. Friends called frequently, too. The one exception was the Gootman family. Mary Gootman was Lena’s sister and their husbands had a falling out over the purchase of 27 County Road. Although the men remained business partners, they stopped speaking to each other outside of work and forbad their wives and children from communicating with each other.

Click here to read the chapter about the Family Quarrel.

Exterior views of the house on Country Road

Details from the interior of the house

Long after the children of Samuel and Lena Gass were married and had children of their own, the house at 27 County Road remained the center of family activity. Their grand­son, Paul Gass, remembered as a child playing house in the attic with his young cousins. He found 27 County Road a fun place to spend time.

His cousin, Judy Ullian Shapiro, the daughter of Ida Gass Ullian, remembered visiting there as a child, too:

“We celebrated every holiday at my grandparents’ home in Chelsea. My family stayed in the upstairs attic apartment. It was wonderful, and scary. At night, we couldn’t turn on the lights because my Orthodox grandparents observed the tradi­tion of doing no manner of work on holidays, and turning on lights was considered to be work. So there we were in this big, dark house.

“In the daytime or when my aunts were around, there was always something inter­esting going on. My sister Shiela was the oldest grandchild and used to sleep over often in Chelsea. She had wonderful memories, especially of Auntie Anna.”

“My grandfather would sit in the second living room on the black leather sofa, wearing his gray sweater and gray gloves with the fingertips exposed, and a yarmulke on his head. He always had a cigarette. Next to the sofa was a long, curved ash tray.”

Paul Gass has more cheerful memories of Samuel Gass:

“He was a big man, over six feet tall. I had a very strong regard for him. I remem­ber him sitting at his roll-top desk in his office and people coming in and he would write checks. For some reason I always thought that he came to this country and had a variety store and saved pennies and nickels and somehow got enough money together to make investments. He wore a sweater because he was always cold. My aunt Ida told a story that once they went to camp and he got on a horse bareback and went galloping with no bridal or saddle. To me he was a mysterious figure. I imagined that he was a pirate or an escaped murderer or a person who had escaped oppression. I just had a sense that he had done a lot. I heard sto­ries that during the Holocaust he had gone to Washington to pay off people to get Jewish immigrants into this country. And when he couldn’t get them in here, he got them into Canada or South America. After the war, my mother received a call from a relative in Latin America, probably one of the people Samuel Gass helped. [Unfortunately, the name and address of this relative has been lost.]  Sam Gass was a private man who helped a great many people through his vigilance without seeking publicity.” 

Twenty-seven County Road was a huge house with a big central stairway and one in the rear. After Sam got sick, he stayed in a bedroom at the top of the rear stairway. He lay in bed and summoned help with a bell.

Paul’s memory of his grandfather’s height was formed when Paul was small. Sam’s 1944 driver’s license, reveals he was not quite as tall as Paul remembers. Samuel Gass stood 5 feet 9-1/2 inches tall. His date of birth was given as September 9, 1882, and he had dark brown hair and brown eyes.

Cy Kassel, the son of Lena’s brother Harry,  remembered his Uncle Sam:

“I can remember one thing about Uncle Sam. He used to smoke one pack of cigarettes with a single match--when he came to the end of one cigarette, he used it to light another. He wore big horn-rimmed glasses and was always smoking. He screamed and yelled if he got angry, but that wasn’t often. Aunt Lena was very quiet.”

Rita Kassel, Cy’s sister, also recalled the house at County Road:

“What I remember of my Uncle Sam was that every time I came to his house, the first thing he did was hug me and then send me outside. I was a little afraid of him because he was overbearing. I saw him as a big round-faced man, very warm to me. I would run around like a maniac, because I was little and he would send me to my aunt Lena and tell her to take care of me, to give me milk and cookies. I always had to eat. Lena was very quiet. She would hug me and send me out into the yard to play--not to get me out of the way but just so I could enjoy playing. I remember the side porch that led up to the stairs. I loved being at their house. It seems like I was there all the time.”

     
[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]