I Didn't Care What They Called Me, As Long As They Paid . . . . .In Cash

When I was younger, I would ask my Grandfather Harry about the family business.  My Great Grandfather Sam was a cooper before he emigrated from Belarus to Canada, and later to the United States at the turn of the 20th century.  His father Avraham (my great-great grandfather) and his grandfather Shmuel Zelek (my great-great-great grandfather) were coopers as well.  Coopers are tradesmen that make wooden barrels from oak staves and lids, bound wrought iron bands.  It is a combination of carpentry and blacksmithing that was essential to packaging goods up into the mid 20th century.  Today, cooperage is mainly for whiskey barrels utilized to age the liquor and add special characteristics.

www.barrelsdirect.com

Originally, when my Great Grandfather immigrated to the United States, he worked as a heat treater in a Flint, Michigan auto plant making driveshafts.  His brother Ed and him formed a barrel making business that last a few years before they went their separate ways. Sam Bussell later started a new company with his two sons Harry and Ben Bussell named Detroit Barrel and Box.  They manufactured new barrels and crates, and repaired used barrels for re-use.  Around WWII, my grandfather Harry shifted the business focus from cooperage to the recycling of steel barrels (drums).  

Harry, Sam, and Ben Bussell in front of Detroit Barrel and Box just prior to WWII

Sam, Ben, and Harry would develop contacts with manufacturers that would receive their raw materials in steel drums.  These materials could be food products, chemicals, paints/coatings, fuel, etc.  They would purchase the used drums for scrap prices and would bring them back to the shop.  The drums would be opened, emptied of residue, shot blasted, painted, and then the top would be welded back on, ready for resale.  The business was sold in the early 60's amidst acrimony between them.  My grandfather did not often speak to his brother Ben who died a few years later, or his father who passed away in 1975.

Scrap business like this were often called "Sheeny Businesses".  European Jews were often engaged in scrap metal and recycling business when they came to the US.  Since religious Jews were unable to work on Saturdays because of religious observance, it was difficult to hold jobs when working for non-Jews.  This is before the 5-day work week that we take for granted.  

These types of business became quite lucrative, but because so many were operated by Jews, the term "Sheeny" became a common derogatory remark.  There were other pejoratives like "Kike", "Yid", "Heeb", and "Shylock".  Most of these are seldom used today, and are often considered anachronistic.  Before inclusion, these slurs were thrown around with reckless abandon.  When I was younger, I asked my grandfather how he felt about being called those names.  He looked at me with a smile, and a small shrug, and simply said "I didn't care what they called me, as long as they paid . . . . in cash".

The online world of social media brings us closer.  But it also brings troll-like behavior from malcontents that hide behind their laptop computers.  I don't want to get into the weeds on the psychology of their behavior, so I will just comment on my observations.  People can be unsatisfied with their lot in life, and will always look for someone else to blame for their problems.  Introspection takes self-awareness, and the internet trolls that are all over the world lack that understanding.  When someone with an axe to grind against Jews makes a shitty comment to me online, I don't argue with them.  Instead, I ask them where their anger comes from.  Sometimes they just hate the Israeli flag I use as an avatar on Facebook or Instagram.  So I send them a reply with a dozen more Israeli flag emojis and an "Am Yisrael Chai" (The nation of Israel Lives).  I don't attack people who have an avatar pertaining to their beliefs or ethnicity, even if it is diametrically opposed to my own.  Why do people go on the attack over an image?  We could write volumes to answer this question, but in the meantime, never underestimate the power of hate, and the damage it can cause.  Keep it in the back of your mind, and smile when they have to pay you anyway.