Indestructible Sarah Silver

BY KNOWLES DOUGHERTY

I try to catch each issue of The Alley Newspaper but I”'m not always successful. However, I did obtain a copy of the recent December issue with the story about the scheduled razing of the building on East Lake Street which was home to the Burma Shave Company some time ago.

During WWII, my parents saved their gas coupons all year so that they, my two sisters and I could make the trip Up North each August for a delightful vacation. My dad loved word play and made sure we took in the Burma Shave signs along the way. One of our favorites was:

The mister, the miss

The kiss, the curve

He kissed the miss

And missed the curve.

Naturally, I read that Alley article with great interest.

Not long thereafter, I happened to meet Harvey Winje, The Alley”'s Senior Editor. I told him that, seven or eight years ago, I enrolled in an Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) course on memoir writing. I attended the first of the weekly meetings along with six or seven interesting women. The leader never showed up! We chose to continue meeting as scheduled without a leader. Every week, each of us read aloud some of what we had written.… Read the rest “Indestructible Sarah Silver”

Obituary: Silver, Sarah F.

Sarah F. Silver, age 86, dear and indestructible mother, grandmother, aunt and friend, died peacefully in her sleep on January 29, 2016. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Gerald Silver (Gerry), and numerous extended family members. Sarah is survived by her children, Melinda Silver (Melvin Buchwald), Cory Silver (Beth Grace Silver), and Payton Silver (Wayne Kastning), and her grandchildren, Shane Buchwald, Andrea Buchwald and Marcy Silver. She is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews, their children, and sister-in-law, Marilyn Silver. She is also survived by a bevy of good and loyal friends, some who have known her a lifetime and some who met her just this past year.

Sarah was an independent woman, who acted on her convictions. Born in Chicago, she grew up in Eveleth, Minnesota, the only child of Isadore and Celia Sternberg. Sarah majored in journalism at the University of Minnesota, and left in her senior year to marry Gerry. Sarah was no ordinary mother and wife ”“ championing causes local and beyond: successfully convincing department stores to issue credit cards to married women; creating a badly needed city park; hiring an extraordinary public elementary school principal. Active in party politics, she was on the DFL State Central Committee, and helped form the DFL Feminist Caucus, with a mission to elect women to political office.… Read the rest “Obituary: Silver, Sarah F.”