WELCOME TO GARY WOLFSTONE'S BLOG 25 -- Five of the seven Wolfstone Brothers were born in the United States. Hy and Louis were born in Russia. Anna Wolfstone, my grandmother, and Abraham also had two daughters: Ann and Irene who lived and raised their families in the Los Angeles, California area. Our patriarch, Abraham Wolfstone, migrated from Russia to the United States in 1900 and settled originally in Milwaukee. Abraham Wolfstone was a Carpenter. I will not attempt to catalogue all of the second and third generations or probe the refinements of any of them, but my father was Jack Wolfstone whose children were Betty, Louise, Gary and Charles ("Chuck").
The Seven Brothers wanted to keep their families physically and emotionally close so they all moved from Milwaukee to Spokane and ultimately to Seattle. By the end of World War II, all Seven Brothers were living in Seattle and raising families. Leon Wolfstone, the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, was the only college educated brother. Leon practiced law in Seattle until his death, and in 1969 he was elected the national president of the American Trial Lawyers Association. Louis and Dave were jewelers and Hy and Victor were insurance brokers. Mike became the Executive Director of the Four Freedoms Home, and Jack Wolfstone was a business liquidator. Hy (U.S. Coast Guard) and Jack (U.S. Navy) served in the armed forces.
The Seven Brothers formed "The Wolfstone Foundation" and met once per month in Leon's downtown office (the top floor of the Central Building) for a discussion of family news followed by a steak dinner ~ frequently at the Magic Inn at 7th & Union. I was permitted to accompany my father to the Foundation meetings and dinners, and those dinners are now one of my fondest childhood memories. I listened with rapt attention: "Is he a mensch?" "Is your business plan viable?" "Are they moving to Seattle and do they need our help?" The Wolfstone Brothers were always available to help their kinfolk, and they frequently disagreed. When they disagreed, they did so with finesse.
All of the Wolfstone brothers had grown up in the Great Depression of the 1930's. Each one had stories to tell of his business adventures and exploiits. Uncle Mike had a bicycle and delivered messages for Western Union. My father, Jack, followed in his father's footsteps and owned a horse and wagon filled with fruit and vegetables. When my father was five years old, his older brothers would leave him on a street corner to sell newspapers all day. Each of the brothers would bring home a pocket full of small change so that their mother, Anna, could manage a modest household budget to keep kith and kin together and well fed. Grampa Abraham was disabled since he fell from a construction project and was seriously injured. There was, of course, no social security disability in those days. Although Jack Wolfstone was never a scholar, he did graduate from high school in Spokane. My father also owned and operated an outdoor grocery market while living in Spokane which was lucrative.
World War II changed most people's lives, and my father moved his wife and children to Seattle just before joining the U.S. Navy. Before shipping out to the South Paciific, he purchased and paid cash for our house at 3932 Woodlawn Avenue in Seattle, WA. When he returned to Seattle and was honorably discharged from the Navy, my father drove an Oldsmobile, and Betty Ehrig, one of my sister's friends in the neighborhood, would frequently say, "It's such a thrill to ride in the Wolfstone's Oldsmobile!" My father became a licensed pilot and had many close calls with his little Cessna which spitted and sputtered like a John Deere tractor! The below photo of the Seven Brothers was taken shortly after the War ~ perhaps in 1945.
My father, Jack Wolfstone, was a colorful figure. Although he was short of stature, Jack Wolfstone had the courage of lion. More than once, I saw my father stand face-to-face with an adversary and tell him "what fur!" He would never back down. My father had a love of animals, and he once saw a man whipping a horse in the 1930's. Jack intervened. He took the man's whip and started whipping the abusive horse owner. Bravo! I have written his biography in a separate page on this web site. After he closed his liquidation business, Jack became a realtor and worked with my younger brother at MacPhersons in the University District. He was a source of wisdom among his colleagues.
Gary Wolfstone, Harvard Law (1972)
Seattle injury lawyer
52 Year Member, Oregon State Bar
50 Year Member, Washington State Bar Association
garywolfstone@gmail.com
