We, the Coronado Scribes, consist of both professional and amateur writers. We have in common a desire to learn, by sharing our efforts and listening to other writers. We hold pressure-less sessions every Wednesday, at the Coronado Library conference room, starting at 1:30. Often we have guests who wish to just listen. They are welcome, and so are you. Each week on eCoronado, we feature a different piece of prose or poetry produced by one of our writers. Please feel free to comment or ask.
I once talked baseball with the great Jackie Robinson. Not on the ball field, of course, or at some public event. It was in the business office of a man who was also remarkable in his own way.
It happened in the late 1960s, when I was a senior associate in a Wall Street law firm. The office belonged to a man named William Black, a Jewish immigrant who had started a business career 40 years before behind his snack bar in New York’s theatrical district. It was the beginning of the great “Chock Full O Nuts” franchise, which had 80 restaurants at its peak.
Black, a client if my law firm, was engaged in some legal dispute on a subject I cannot remember. I was working on the case and waiting in the reception room of the company’s office, with appointments to interview some corporate executives. Jackie Robinson walked in and took a seat beside me. He apparently had meetings with other executives on other business matters, but still looked fit enough to take the field.
At that time Jackie was a Vice President and “Personnel Director” of Mr. Black’s enterprise. The people who worked in the Chock Full O’Nuts restaurants almost all women of color, who were paid more than other people in similar jobs elsewhere and had benefits that were generous by the standards of the day.
Jackie was like a roving goodwill ambassador in the company. It was his job to visit the various restaurants, talk to the employees, and find out if they had any complaints or suggestions. He obviously would get a warm welcome. The employees were not unionized, and it was Jackie’s ultimate responsibility to ensure that never wanted to be.
There must have been a big internal meeting of some sort, and we both had a long wait. I knew nothing about ay issues he might have, and he was not involved in the legal dispute that I was there to discuss. So, we talked about a common interest: baseball. I was a serious Yankee fan and he, o course, was then rooting for the Los Angeles Dodgers. But, neither team was in the race that year, and we could commiserate jointly.
I was, of course, immensely interested in his opinions and flattered that he was able to express some interest in mine. I could see why he would be good at his job. But, believe it or not, this was not the most memorable conversation I had that day.
William Black, the founder of the franchise, was closing on 80 when he divorced the wife of his youth and married the considerably younger actress who san the “Chock Full of Nuts” song on television commercials. His first wife, however, was still a director of the firm, and knowledgeable about the business.
She was a stereotypical Jewish matron: plump and motherly, with a slight accent. She had a very helpful perspective on the legal dispute: precise and organized. As our talk drew to a close, however, tears appeared in her eyes and she said something like this:
“You know, it is hard to believe this business has been so successful that we are talking about millions of dollars today. I suppose I should be happy about that, but I really miss the days when Billy and I had that little stand in the hall of a tenement house. That was our happy time.”
Jackie Robinson died in 1972 when he was only 53. William Black died in 1983 at 85.
