LSU Press book authors Trestman, Gratz relate to JCC’s Uptown building’s 60th year

By ALAN SMASON, Exclusive to the CCJN

Book authors Marlene Trestman and Robert Brandes Gratz enjoyed a rare moment on stage together on Wednesday night at the Uptown Jewish Community Center. Both gave their own specific takes on their several books published by the LSU Press that served to honor the 60th anniversary of the formal dedication of the JCC building that occupies the former site of the Jewish Orphans Home and the original offices of what is now the Jewish Children’s Regional Service (JCRS).

Marlene Trestman, left, and Robert Brandes Gratz at the JCC on Wed., November 11. (Photo by Alan Smason)

Trestman, who spoke briefly on her former biography of Bessie Margolin, “Fair Labor Lawyer.” Like Margolin, Trestman was a recipient of care as a Jewish orphan from JCRS. Margolin had been a resident at the renamed Jewish Children’s Home as a young lady and went on to receive her education at nearby Isidore Newman School as a result of their care.

She also spoke on her latest book, “Most Fortunate Unfortunates,” which is a living history of the Jewish Orphans Home and Jewish Children’s Home, which today operates as JCRS.

Gratz, a New York journalist who first moved to New Orleans following the devastation from Hurricane Katrina, now calls New Orleans home. She has previously published “We’re Still Here, Ya Bastards,” an account of the survival of New Orleans from the storm and the stubborn determination of its people to rebuild.

Her most recent tome is a biography on the life of philanthropist Edith Rosenwald Stern. Titled “Fearless Philanthropy,” it speaks to the unusual nature of Stern, who was one of the richest women in the United States and who moved to New Orleans in 1921 to marry cotton broker Edgar Stern, Jr.

Pictures from the event are here: