Happy 112th birthday in Long Beach

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The oldest resident of Long Island and possibly the oldest Jew in the world, celebrated her 112th birthday on Sunday at the Grandell Rehabilitation and Nursing Center.

Mrs. Goldie Steinberg’s actual birthday was on October 30th but the approach of Hurricane Sandy derailed the center’s plans. Grandell was evacuated on October 27th and Steinberg weathered the storm at the nursing facility at Meadowbrook Care Center in Freeport. Residents were sent to 20 different nursing homes. After three and a half weeks of intensive efforts to repair the storm damage to Grandell’s kitchen, lobby and boiler, the Health Department allowed the residents to return on November 23rd. Steinberg’s birthday party was incorporated into a free community wide celebration sponsored by Grandell and the Beach Terrace Care Center for the return to Long Beach, explained Tzvi Barax, Grandell’s assistant administrator. He noted that her party was indoors, “coupled” with the other celebration outdoors, with fair rides, balloon jumps, food and drinks. Inside, they had waiters, a sushi bar and hors d’oeuvres. “It was very nice,” said Barax. “A bunch of kids sang happy birthday.” They had a very large chocolate birthday cake.

Steinberg was born in Moldova, formerly Kishinev, Russia on October 30, 1900. One of eight children, she survived both Kishinev pogroms, in 1903 and in 1905. The first pogrom left 49 Jews murdered, many others injured, and many homes and businesses destroyed. She immigrated to America at age 23. Goldie settled in Brooklyn, working as a seamstress, and met her husband, Philip Steinberg, there. They had two children, Donald Sargent and Ann Teicher. Philip died in 1967. Goldie continued working as a seamstress into her eighties and lived in the same apartment until she had difficulty walking at age 104. She then moved into Grandell.

Barax pointed out that she continues to be active, reading the newspaper, knitting and is an ardent Yankees fan. She recalls voting for Herbert Hoover and can speak English, Yiddish, Hebrew and Russian.

“She’s great,” said Barax. “She’s very sweet, very calm. The staff loves her. She is easy to deal with. She has nothing negative to say.” If asked to what she attributes her years, said Barax, “she would say her children. She lived on her own till 104. Eight years later she is going strong. Her daughter credits her attitude. She’s a happy person. There is no getting upset. She doesn’t discuss her time in Europe.” Barax noted that even her children don’t look their age. “It’s something in the genes,” he theorized. “Albert Einstein College of Medicine took a blood sample for research to see what obtained for her old age; she gave DNA for that.” He noted that they are studying super centenarians, those 110 and over.

About six months ago, Barax recounted, Goldie’s 90-year-old roommate was coughing and unable to sleep. Goldie got out of her own bed and gave the roommate two cough drops and told her to put one in her mouth and instructed her that when it dissolves to put the other one in and she would then be able to sleep. “Goldie got out of bed to help her,” said Barax. “It’s unbelievable.”

Grandell is located on West Broadway between Grand and Lindell in Long Beach.