Celebrating my Mother's 100th Birthday in New York City

Jessie Taft Smith, my mother, is the third daughter of Russian immigrant parents. (The original name in the Old Country was Tapuach: “apple” in Eng. translation)

On the occasion of her centenary, I flew East from Berkeley CA to celebrate at her quaint apartment overlooking the scenic Hudson River, in the Inwood section of Manhattan. It was a festive afternoon captured by yours truly on video. In fact, the Borough President of Manhattan, Gail Brewer, issued a city-wide Proclamation declaring mom’s birthday as a special day of honor. (Barack and Michelle Obama added their own congrats)

http://youtu.be/GWxcFJ6jHCI

A brief bio includes stellar organizing activity going back to the 1930s, when Smith spearheaded a campaign to unionize laundry workers. In this regard, an article in the New York Daily News shows the rabble-rousing icon chained to the Taft Hotel protesting unfair labor of the Sutton Superior Laundry. This marked the beginning of a legacy that’s memorialized in a tribute written by Jane Latour, my sister-in-law.

http://www.dc37.net/news/pep/10_2006/profiles_jessiesmith.html

Having turned 100 years old officially on Oct. 7, 2014, Jessie Smith is still living in her treasured apartment with 3 round-the-clock caretakers. Everyday she completes the New York Times crossword puzzle, and listens to her favorite commentators on Public Radio.

The proud grandmother of 6 grown grandchildren, she’s drawing praise far and wide for her remarkable life of activism and unswerving generosity.

LINKS:

Our family genealogy

http://arioso7.wordpress.com/2011/11/09/little-apple-big-apple-mayhem-murder-and-music-my-familys-history-and-genealogy/

The balance of my trip East encompassed interviews with favorite, sterling musicians. These posts with embedded you tube videos can be found at my Word Press blog site:

http://www.arioso7.wordpress.com