Gitlin: I live in Honolulu, am retired and I came to Columbus for several reasons. It is my sixty-fifth Bexley High School reunion and to visit some family. I currently live in Chicago but I was born and raised in Bexley.
We call Uncle Harold, Harold, even though his official name is Harris, his professional name is Harris and his wife called him Harris. Everyone did except his maternal family. When I asked him about it, he said it was something that started in his home when he was growing up. Of course, my mother called him Harold and so did we. Gitlin: My father was Philip Joseph Gitlin. He was born and raised in Russia. The name of the town was Borisov which still exists today.
He came over to the United States somewhere around age twenty and settled in Columbus. Gitlin: There were people he knew here. My mother was the youngest child in her family. She was the only one of her siblings born in this country β all the rest were born in Russia. Gitlin: Bessie Martlin. Interviewer: Do you know where your grandfather got the name Harris? Maybe Harris was closest to what he told them. Gitlin: She was born here. I know when Harris Martlin was killed, she was with him at the time.
Gitlin: He was killed attempting to stop a team of runaway horses. Today people are killed by automobiles. Her father died at Broad and High Streets. He was fifty years old.
Lieberman: He was born in Gitlin: I remember my mother telling me she was twelve years old and was walking along the street with her father. She saw it all happen. Bessie was nine years old. Lieberman: Your father was ten years older than your mother. Lieberman: Yes. He was one of the founders of Agudas Achim. He made a living in the United States as a drayman, driving horses and wagons. His wife, Molly, made excellent wine which she sold without government intervention.
