About a 1 1/2 years ago I was contacted by my second cousin,on my Poley side, Janet Slovin. Janet and her husband Gilbert are the trustees of the of the estate of the late Alfred Levitt Z"L who passed away in a tragic car accident on March 5 2008 on his way to work. from her post:
He was crossing the street in front of his office building and was hit by a car. He was 86, still going to work every day, leading an active life. It was a cruel irony of life that a man as gentle be struck down in such a violent way. He was mourned by his loving family, a host of friends, and hundreds of colleagues he had worked with over the years. He left some money to be donated to a good cause, and I ( My husband and I are trustees) would like to support (in a very modest way) a project in your town. I think it would be meaningful for Alfred to be associated with the Monosson family. Let me know if you have any ideas.
Memorial Card Cover
Memorial Card
I suggested, after asking for advise, that the library be a possible candidate.. This was welcomed and after confirming the status of the library as a non-profit organization the library received a very generous gift of the sum of $2,500. A more than "modest gift".
Now to decide how to use this gift ...at first they wanted the local administrator for Neve Monosson to match the gift and to enable the library to renovate a storage area to add to the library... but of course as is well known squeezing funds from the city, we are part of greater Yahud area, is almost an impossible feat! So it was decided to add new shelving to the area for Travel books and guides to be named after Alfred Levitt. Finally after getting contract bids the shelves were ordered and recently set up. Not only the special travel corner but a huge shelve area for childrens' books at the entrance to the library.
Here are a few images of the new shelves. The clock will be replaced by a plaque dedicated to Alfred Levitt.
Travel Guide Corner
New English Books
Large new shelves for children's section
With the remaining money books will be bought for both the English and Travel Guide sections...
A beautiful and wonderful gift in the memory of Alfred Levitt and again emphasizing the strong bonds between the Poley and Monosson families.
Family Connections
Alfred was the son of Rose [Poley] and Max Levitt. Rose was the third daughter of Jacob and Mary Poley. Image of the Poley Family in 1906 when the whole family reunited.
Two of the Poley sisters married two of the Monosson brothers. The two families resided in the same area of Boston and probably met at the many social events in the area, oral history from my late father Adolphe Monosson. I have a photograph of such a social gathering showing three of the Poley sisters and David Monosson, not shown together in the image, David Monosson married Esther Poley and Fred Monosson married Minnie Poley. . Here is an image of all the Poley sisters with their sister-in-law Jean Poley who married their brother Abraham, Chick, Poley.
The Poley and Monosson connection was very strong. Max Levitt was a witness on both David and Fred's naturalizing documents along with another Poley brother-in-law Ruben Popkin husband of Sadie Poley.
