During school years, Sheldon also made lots of sketches, which were displayed in a glass case in the school library.
After high school, Sheldon worked as a shipping clerk for Mojud Hosiery, but continued to draw pictures. His father, Jack, said to him one day: "Why not try designing dresses?" Sheldon remembers walking proudly with his father through the garment district, down 7th Avenue, past 33rd St, 32nd St, with everyone they passed greeting Jack by name.
Sheldon soon found himself working in the garment district, but not designing dresses. Instead, he pushed carts of piece goods through the streets, and at night learned pattern making with a contractor. This man offered Sheldon a future place in his business, but Sheldon had no intention of waiting so long. Mr. Schrader, the contractor, was a big spender. He would get a manicure and haircut every morning, paying with a $20 bill -- big money in those days (around 1947).
After studying dress designing and pattern making for a while, Sheldon applied to and was accepted at Cooper Union, a distinguished arts and sciences college in the city (www.cooper.edu). He attended for a short while, but found himself unduly intimidated by the other students, many of whom worked full time in graphic design jobs. He felt outclassed by what he saw as their "amazing work," did not feel inspired, and quit Cooper Union.
A turning point for Sheldon, he then studied accounting, encouraged in this career by his brother-in-law, Max Schuckman (who had married the eldest sister, Belle, and was the de facto head of the family, following Jack's untimely death in 1955). "Make a living!" declared Max. Sheldon liked accounting, though he had never been good at math, and felt he had been a complete failure at algebra. [His son, Steven, expressed surprise when he heard this, because it always seemed that his father was downright amazing at math, able to (seemingly) casually and quickly glance down a long column of numbers and come up unerringly with an accurate total. It wasn't algebra, trig or calculus, but it was still an impressive feat. This same son, perhaps inspired by Sheldon's apparent mathematical skill, obtained a B.A. in Mathematics from the University of Rochester in 1980.]
Sheldon was called to service in October 1953 and was discharged in April 1955; he spent those 18 months moving around the country, from base to base. He was never sent overseas, missing Korea on two occasions. Out of the army, Sheldon worked for a variety of accounting firms and then, in 1956, met his future wife, Joan Sybil Lee Markus.
Harking from upstate New York (Rochester, to be precise), Joan had come to the city to study nursing and had recently graduated. She was looking for a job in the city, without much success. Sheldon and Joan saw each other for a short time, before Joan moved back to Rochester, but by that time, they had decided to marry (though neither one can remember who, exactly, proposed to whom). They were married in December 1956.
In October 1957, their first child, Jaye, was born. Max Schuckman had by that time once again given Sheldon some direction; he became a lawyer with the support of the G.I. Bill, and then in 1962 joined forces with Max in his accounting firm. They worked together for almost 20 years, until 1980.
Sheldon and Joan had their second child, Steven Eric, in September 1958. Before their first child was born, Sheldon and Joan were hoping for a son. Receiving Jaye instead, they were delighted with their little girl, and when Joan became pregnant for a second time, they hoped for a girl. After Steven arrived, they gave up hoping for a particular gender, and three more girls followed: Shari Ann (April 3rd 1961), Laurie (July 10th 1963) and Nina (June 15th 1966).
Oddly enough, both Sheldon and his son, Steven, were the only boys of five siblings, though Sheldon is the second youngest and Steven is the second oldest.
Around the same time that Sheldon joined forces with his brother-in-law, Max, he moved his family to a small house in Levittown, the first mass housing tract in the nation. This house bordered on an old railroad right-of-way; so that Sheldon and Joan's children were able enjoy both a developed neighborhood (with their elementary school right across the street) and an open, unstructured, natural environment right next door.
As more children arrived, however, the family out-grew the Levittown house; in 1964, the Feuersteins picked up and moved to Wyandanch located off Exit 50 on the Long Island Expressway. The two story, four bedroom house at 2 Bunker Court was home to the Feuerstein family from 1964 to 1991.
Sheldon engaged in a variety of artistic ventures while at 2 Bunker Court. He carved Revolutionary War scenes into wood and also produced a large mantelpiece featuring an eagle with outspread wings. He created a large-scale chessboard and set of pieces (the board was set into a table approximately two-feet square). He built a dark room in the basement and took many photographs. He also continued his painting.
Sheldon was also very involved in the Suffolk Jewish Center in Deer Park, the Conservative house of worship in which his son was bar mitzvahed and all the children received a basic education in Jewish law and tradition. His strong commitment to Judaism was perhaps best demonstrated during the High Holidays, which coincided with the height of his (and his son's) allergy season. No matter how badly his eyes teared and his nose itched, he stayed in synagogue, welcoming the New Year and atoning for his sins.
Though not naturally much of an outdoors lover, Sheldon encouraged his son to join the Boy Scouts, thereby establishing a long and somewhat unlikely friendship with the Scoutmaster, Ed Hannaway, who was in many ways the opposite of Sheldon: an outdoorsman, amateur botanist, hard-drinking Irishman. Sheldon joined Ed, Steven and the scout troop on many overnight camping trips, sometimes much to his discomfort.
A lover of pinochle, Sheldon played a weekly, vociferous game with friends Jack Hirsch, Allan Gross and Harvey Silverstein for many years. His wife, Joan, countered with weekly, and sometimes twice weekly, games of Mah Jong, which she continues to this day
In 1991, with all the children out of the house (Jaye was living in Connecticut, married to Ami Sela, with two daughters, Masada and Timnah; Steven was living in Chicago, married to Veva Silva, and with two children, Chris and Eli; Shari ETC - find out!), Sheldon and Joan sold 2 Bunker Court, a difficult decision that simultaneously filled Sheldon with relief (no more concerns about the flooding basement, no more quarter acre of lawn to care for), and moved to an apartment in Syosset, further west in Nassau Country. They lived there for two and a half years and then relocated in October 1994 to Boynton Beach, Florida, where they have lived ever since.
In retirement, Sheldon has returned to painting more intensively than in previous decades, exploring different techniques and themes. His home and those of his children have been the main beneficiaries of his output, but all expect that his influence and reputation will grow in the coming years.
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Sheldon, 1954
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Sheldon and Joan |
