“May you live until 120 years” is the benediction that someone often tells a Jewish person on his or her birthday. Several members of the Jewish community in Milwaukee are well on their way to that august age.
With his full head of hair, and some even darkish yet, Mikhail Becker, 97, walks with a straight military bearing and looks much younger than his actual age. ‘Some people have even thought that I’m in my early eighties,” he said.
He leads services at Lake Park Synagogue on the east side of Milwaukee, which means standing on his feet and saying the prayers in a clear and strong voice for about an hour or so. Often he conducts several different portions of the service.
He does this whenever he attends the synagogue, which is most Saturdays and on all of the Jewish holidays, when he both reads and sings the services.
A former civil engineer, he was a sergeant in the Russian army. He lives in his own home with his wife, Rita.
Becker takes walks, “mostly once a day.” Around the house he sometimes cooks or cleans, or helps his wife with the chores. He prides himself on his ability to fix things around the house. If he sees something broken, like furniture or books, he likes to try his hand at fixing it.
Every Monday and Friday he goes to the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center for two hours. He exercises for half an hour, using the weight machines to keep up his muscle tone, and then he swims from 30 to 40 minutes. When he’s not at the JCC he works out with weights at home.
He goes along with his wife to do the grocery shopping as well. He’s an avid reader of three newspapers in English, Russian and Yiddish and is avidly interested in politics. He keeps abreast of everything political.
He said he takes care of all his own bills and personal business. “I never missed paying a bill. It’s all in my head. My memory is good so far,” he said.
Still in business
Felix Bandos, 93, lives with his younger (89) wife, Feigie, in their home on Milwaukee’s west side. Both are slim and fit looking, standing straight. Both dress well and conservatively. They’ve been married for 69 years.
Bandos had founded the Bandos Recycling and Shredding Company on the south side, a nine mile drive from his house. He still drives there five days a week and works in the afternoons.
“Working,” he said, “is my medication and I’m pretty healthy. When you’re home you think of your health. When you go on the job your head is not taken up with health.”
Bandos is still business savvy and sharp, offering advice on where to get the best deals in anything from shoe repair to auto repair. Often the couple travels to visit their children in Israel, and for any other occasion in Israel. In Israel they travel alone by bus.
Bandos still does vacuuming, sweeping and the dishes. He’s the chauffeur for himself and his wife. Around the property he still checks the lawn mower.
Bandos’s passion is fixing bicycles. He said he used to be an avid rider, but now limits himself to riding the bikes he fixes, to test them, in his alley. He test drives the bikes for short distances and then gives the repaired bikes to the children of Congregation Beth Yehudah synagogue “for free.”
He said he loves to tinker and fix things, which he does whether at home or in the company.
Once a week his wife comes into the shop and “first thing she looks for is a broom and then she makes sure those toilets and other things are nice and clean. She tries to straighten out things as well,” he said.
Bandos founded the company 40 years ago. Melanie Bandos, his daughter-in-law and co-owner and vice president of the firm, said, “We still look to him for advice, he offers his invaluable experience.”
Felix said, “I feel alive because I’m always active. When I’m on the job I’m always on the move, doing something. My wife also always finds something to do at home. She reads a lot. She’s always interested in what’s going on in Israel. While she keeps active cleaning the house, doing the laundry and visiting on the phone.”
Rabbi Jay R. Brickman, rabbi emeritus of Congregation Sinai, with erect carriage, outgoing personality and strong voice, seems much younger than his 89 years. He doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
He’s written three books, including “Poetry Doodles,” which offers pithy and very dryly humorous sayings about life, like “Adam never ate another apple” or “It’s extremely important for men not to put their boxer shorts on backwards.”
He carries a full schedule, teaching, lecturing and keeping his body fine-tuned, working out at the JCC a few times a week and doing tai chi in addition.
Brickman also teaches Bible classes Saturday and Wednesday mornings to the members of the congregation year round. He speaks occasionally for the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center on religion and nature.
Brickman often cooks for the household where he lives in Fox Point with his wife Rita. “I do make a good stir fry and I’ve even made a shepherd’s pie with lamb,” he said.
He’s also very artistically creative. His hobby is making baskets out of various materials. He’s been doing this for 20 years and his latest creation is a small basket made of waxed linen cord for jewelry.
He also writes a column about Judaism and other topics for the Door County Advocate and a “Reflections” column for the Congregation Sinai newsletter.
Arlene Becker Zarmi of Shorewood is a freelance writer whose work has been published in more than 40 publications nationwide, and is a Jewish genre and portrait artist.
Loading ...