Soul Sister

This is a photo of Bronx, New York,-born Sylvia Bergman Kopstein, taken around 1931, when she was 21 years old. Both Sylvia and her twin sister, Blanche, embraced the fashions of the times. They loved to dress up in fitted skirts, cute hats and sweaters—including this sweater coat with a fur collar, which Sylvia most likely made herself.

She and Blanche hung out together at the Fishkin Sisters Knitting store in The Bronx. They both had many dates and sometimes, when one of the twins had double booked or just didn’t feel like going out, tried to fool the guys by passing themselves off as the other. The sisters also double-dated and attended lots of dances. They did the Charleston and the Black Bottom, which were popular at the time. They donned pastel chiffon and satin dresses, and put henna in their hair to get it reddish. Sylvia stayed red her whole life. Blanche dyed her hair blonde in her younger years, but later in life switched to Sylvia’s color, Honey Red by Clairol.

Sylvia worked for 12 years, from 1933 until 1945, as a secretary to the boss at a local paint store. She stood up to members of the Mafia, who were trying to strong-arm her into joining the union. The guys thought she was so cute and tiny, so they laughed and left her alone. Soon after, Sylvia left the paint store to follow the love of her life, Phil, to San Antonio, Texas. She made the trip by train with her cousin Millie and stayed for three months, but Phil was taking his sweet time proposing. Having had enough, Blanche informed him that she was heading back to New York and she wired her mom for train fare back. But instead of driving her to the train station, Phil drove her to City Hall for a marriage license! A few women Sylvia had met in San Antonio helped her shop for her wedding outfit: a white short sleeve dress with a lace headpiece, white lace bag and shoes. Sylvia and Blanche were married in May 1945 and were together for 56 years, until Phil’s passing.

Sylvia lived most of her life in and around the New York area and Tamarac, Florida. She had two sons and ran a weekly get-together for seniors at the Plainview Jewish Center on Long Island. She lived to the ripe age of 98, while her sister Blanche lived until 103.

—As told to Red Typewriter by Sylvia’s son Rick Kopstein and niece Diane Hess 

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