by Elaine Durbach
NJJN Bureau Chief/Central

February 12, 2009

At his 95th birthday party, when Joe Resnick was asked the secret of his longevity, he answered, “Because I haven’t been knocked down by a bus.”

Celebrating his 100th birthday last Thursday, Feb. 5, when asked the same question, he said the secret is “belonging to the Y.”

That might just have been a typically gallant answer, given that the birthday party, a seniors’ celebration, was at the YM-YWHA of Union County. The Y will also host a second party for him on March 16, with his fellow members of the board.

But it could also be true: The Y — then in Elizabeth — was a big part of his youth, and the center, now on Green Lane in Union, has become an even more important part of his retirement.

Resnick was president of the Y more than 60 years ago, from 1942 to 1944, when he was in his early 30s. “We paid off the mortgage during that time,” he said with satisfaction, reminding current executive director Bryan Fox of that long-ago achievement.

Resnick’s wife of 67 years, Gertrude, died at the age of 90 a few years back. He still lives alone in the same house in Elizabeth that they moved into as newlyweds. Each day, he drives himself to the Green Lane facility. He takes advantage of all it offers seniors, from current events to music to exercise, and lunch. Senior adult program director Susan Silberner describes him as one of the most active — not to mention most charming — participants.

Resnick’s daughter, Phyllis Herschenfeld, came from her home in the Bronx to join last week’s party. He has three children, 11 grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren. Herschenfeld, herself the mother of three and grandmother of six, comes to visit her dad a few times a week.

She was accompanied by a longtime family friend, Alice Firgau, who played a “triptych” for piano she composed in Resnick’s honor. Volunteers Emmy Hoffer of Springfield and her friend Greta Cohen also provided musical entertainment. All three said they were honored to be celebrating Resnick’s centenary.

Resnick still reads The New York Times every day, and was delighted last week when Herschenfeld’s youngest son, Ethan, an opera singer currently performing in Europe, sent him a subscription to The Wall Street Journal for his birthday.

‘We love him’

Born and brought up in Brooklyn, Resnick qualified as a lawyer but never practiced as one. He went into the garment industry instead. “It was the Depression, and you took whatever work you could get. I went into the rag trade and stayed there,” he recalled. He added with a chuckle, “As Yogi Berra said, ‘When you come to a crossroads, take it.’”

Asked what he thinks of the current economic crisis, Resnick said, “I think we’re already in a depression. That first one was bad but it only involved the United States; this one is global — it’s worse.” But he added that he has been through half a dozen recessions, and they always come to an end. “It’s all cyclical,” he said.

Resnick’s first presidential vote went to Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. Last year, he voted for Barack Obama. He thinks highly of the new president, but said with a skeptical shake of the head, “They’re all hoping he is going to be able to do something to help the economy….”

As the party progressed, Resnick rose again and again to shake hands and hug friends, accepting cards and gifts with repeated assertions of “You really shouldn’t have.”

“We are all family here, brothers and sisters,” said one of his longtime friends, Sonya Oshman. She recently moved to an assisted living facility in another community, but came by car service to the party. “I wouldn’t have missed Joe’s birthday for anything,” she declared. “We love him.”

Oshman used to be part of a group of friends who go out for dinner together every Saturday evening at a diner in Elizabeth. Ruth Roberts and Sonia Samuels still share those “dates” with Resnick and other pals.

Al Friedman sat at his side at the horseshoe-shaped table at the Y, and made a brief speech in his honor. They have been neighbors and friends for about 67 years, and played golf together as members of Shackamaxon Country Club, till Joe gave up the game at 90.

Friedman said Resnick is known as “Gentleman Joe,” and still insists on opening doors for ladies. “Joe is my best … -looking friend,” he said, drawing laughter with that pause and nods of agreement. “And I love him dearly.”

Herschenfeld said the family is throwing a big party for her dad on Feb. 14, spacing out the celebrations as one minor concession to his age. Asked about his longevity, she suggested good genes, but added that his parents and his one brother all died in their 70s. She said he has been active, and careful about his diet — except for his passion for chocolate. “I love every kind,” he agreed.

As for his own explanation of his endurance, Resnick said matter-of-factly, “Life is a game. The real test is when it gets tough. But you have to take it as it comes. What other choice is there?”

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