Arthur Hurwith
Title
Arthur Hurwith
Creator
Jacob Schlitt
Description
"I saw Arthur on March 25, 2012, when I was visiting my daughter and her family in San Francisco."
Date
2012-03-30
Format
application/pdf
Type
text
Language
en
Coverage
1945/2012
Identifier
Arthur_Hurwith
Text
Arthur Hurwith
(I saw Arthur on March 25, 2012, when I was visiting my daughter and her family in San Francisco. He did not look well. I asked him to fill in the gaps of his life story. He did, and in addition, he gave me his resume, which also helped fill in the gaps.)
I believe the first time I met Arthur Hurwith was my last year of high school, and my friend Bob Epstein invited me to join him and a few other friends for an evening of square dancing and talk at the home of a family for whom Arthur was baby-sitting. Arthur lived in our neighborhood, was a member of Lexington AYD, and was a friend of several of my friends, even though he was a few years younger. Arthur was encouraged by the Elgards, the family for whom he was baby-sitting, to have his friends over. Getting together this way may well have been the start of Reading Out Loud.
Arthur went to the Bronx High School of Science when most of us went to Stuyvesant. He graduated in January 1947 when most of us graduated in June 1945, or January 1946. He followed us to CCNY, and while most of us majored in Education or Economics or Engineering or Chemistry, Arthur majored in Documentary Film Distribution. (I didn’t know there was such a major.) He founded the CCNY Film Society, and did some acting.
During the summers of 1950 and 1951, Arthur shipped out on Norwegian freighters and got to see a bit of Latin America. In the summers of 1952 and1953, he shipped out on American freighters and saw a bit of Europe. His example inspired Bob to do likewise. Arthur worked for the Textile Workers Union in their film division when I was working for the ILGWU, and he wert to NYU for graduate work in communications and education. I am not sure if he went to NYU for the same reason I went to NYU: to avoid the draft, but Arthur was inducted in September 1953, and they got me in June 1954.
The way Arthur tells it: he went to Fort Dix for basic training and decided to apply for OCS—Officer Candidate School. This caused the Army to investigate him and they discovered his involvement, and the involvement of members of his family, in radical organizations. The investigation took a very long time, so they put him to work as a clerk at Fort Dix while the investigation took place. He was finally cleared, but so much time had elapsed that Arthur chose not to enter OCS, and finished his two years at Fort Dix and was discharged.
After the Army, Arthur went to work for the Association for World Travel Exchange and had his first experience as a tour escort. He then took a job as a math teacher with the Syosset Long Island High School, but after three years, the commute got to him. He quit, and in the summer of 1960, he became a tour leader for American high school students in Holland. From here on, we saw very little of Arthur. He gave up his apartment in Manhattan and moved to Holland where he worked as an educator with the American branch of the International School of the Hague. He also spent some time in Israel working on a kibbutz.
Having taught in Holland and Syosset, Arthur took a job as a math teacher in the Millbrae California high school. He taught there from September 1962 to June 1964. And having relocated to California, and having had enough of teaching, Arthur moved to San Francisco and went back to his first love—travel. He became a travel agent with the California State Auto Association, which I assume is the California AAA, and worked for them from 1965 to 1978.
Over the years, my friends and I saw or heard from Arthur intermittently. All of us had gotten married and had children. A few of us divorced and remarried. Arthur never married. It was not until some time in the 1980s that Arthur casually mentioned that he is gay. It came as a surprise to us. There was nothing in Arthur’s manner that suggested he was gay. I once asked him when he realized he was gay. He answered that he thought it was some time in his 20s or 30s. I assumed that gay men knew they were gay in their teens when sex first raised its lovely, tousled head. When I last saw Arthur, he told me that, in Holland, in his early 30s, he had both a girl friend and a boy friend. I said that would make you bisexual. He shrugged his shoulders. Talking about children, his joke is, “I have no children to speak of.”
For the last 30 years, Arthur has been actively involved in the gay community in San Francisco. I believe his first partner was the leading transvestite in the area. Arthur described the fancy balls that took place; his partner would dress up in elaborate gowns and he would be her escort. She must have designated herself as the Baroness. Arthur became the Baron Arthur. His partner had a lovely house on 23rd Street filled with antiques, jewelry, costumes, heavy drapery and all kinds of nick-nacks. Like something out of Charles Dickens, When his partner died, Arthur acquired the house. Another partner whom I met, Warren, lived in San Jose, but spent part of each week with Arthur in his house. He passed away last year. Arthur is now involved with someone he met soon after he came to San Francisco. His name is Ken and he lives on the next block. Arthur describes him as his caregiver. Ken is a retired engineer from West Virginia, a charming and caring person.
Arthur has become quite frail. He may have a heart problem, and has fallen out of bed twice in recent months requiring him to go to the hospital. The last time, he injured his legs and is now using a walker. It has slowed him down a bit. Still, he is on the steering committee and serves as treasurer of the gay seniors club known as the San Francisco Prime Timers. Arthur held office in the Commission on the Aging Advisory Council, the Gay and Lesbian Outreach to Elders, Rainbow Adult Community Housing, and the Gay Pride Parade Committee. He had also been the Treasurer, Vice President and President of Gay and Lesbian Accommodation for the Experienced in Years--GALAXY. I would guess that every older gay person in San Francisco knows Arthur.
3-30-12
(I saw Arthur on March 25, 2012, when I was visiting my daughter and her family in San Francisco. He did not look well. I asked him to fill in the gaps of his life story. He did, and in addition, he gave me his resume, which also helped fill in the gaps.)
I believe the first time I met Arthur Hurwith was my last year of high school, and my friend Bob Epstein invited me to join him and a few other friends for an evening of square dancing and talk at the home of a family for whom Arthur was baby-sitting. Arthur lived in our neighborhood, was a member of Lexington AYD, and was a friend of several of my friends, even though he was a few years younger. Arthur was encouraged by the Elgards, the family for whom he was baby-sitting, to have his friends over. Getting together this way may well have been the start of Reading Out Loud.
Arthur went to the Bronx High School of Science when most of us went to Stuyvesant. He graduated in January 1947 when most of us graduated in June 1945, or January 1946. He followed us to CCNY, and while most of us majored in Education or Economics or Engineering or Chemistry, Arthur majored in Documentary Film Distribution. (I didn’t know there was such a major.) He founded the CCNY Film Society, and did some acting.
During the summers of 1950 and 1951, Arthur shipped out on Norwegian freighters and got to see a bit of Latin America. In the summers of 1952 and1953, he shipped out on American freighters and saw a bit of Europe. His example inspired Bob to do likewise. Arthur worked for the Textile Workers Union in their film division when I was working for the ILGWU, and he wert to NYU for graduate work in communications and education. I am not sure if he went to NYU for the same reason I went to NYU: to avoid the draft, but Arthur was inducted in September 1953, and they got me in June 1954.
The way Arthur tells it: he went to Fort Dix for basic training and decided to apply for OCS—Officer Candidate School. This caused the Army to investigate him and they discovered his involvement, and the involvement of members of his family, in radical organizations. The investigation took a very long time, so they put him to work as a clerk at Fort Dix while the investigation took place. He was finally cleared, but so much time had elapsed that Arthur chose not to enter OCS, and finished his two years at Fort Dix and was discharged.
After the Army, Arthur went to work for the Association for World Travel Exchange and had his first experience as a tour escort. He then took a job as a math teacher with the Syosset Long Island High School, but after three years, the commute got to him. He quit, and in the summer of 1960, he became a tour leader for American high school students in Holland. From here on, we saw very little of Arthur. He gave up his apartment in Manhattan and moved to Holland where he worked as an educator with the American branch of the International School of the Hague. He also spent some time in Israel working on a kibbutz.
Having taught in Holland and Syosset, Arthur took a job as a math teacher in the Millbrae California high school. He taught there from September 1962 to June 1964. And having relocated to California, and having had enough of teaching, Arthur moved to San Francisco and went back to his first love—travel. He became a travel agent with the California State Auto Association, which I assume is the California AAA, and worked for them from 1965 to 1978.
Over the years, my friends and I saw or heard from Arthur intermittently. All of us had gotten married and had children. A few of us divorced and remarried. Arthur never married. It was not until some time in the 1980s that Arthur casually mentioned that he is gay. It came as a surprise to us. There was nothing in Arthur’s manner that suggested he was gay. I once asked him when he realized he was gay. He answered that he thought it was some time in his 20s or 30s. I assumed that gay men knew they were gay in their teens when sex first raised its lovely, tousled head. When I last saw Arthur, he told me that, in Holland, in his early 30s, he had both a girl friend and a boy friend. I said that would make you bisexual. He shrugged his shoulders. Talking about children, his joke is, “I have no children to speak of.”
For the last 30 years, Arthur has been actively involved in the gay community in San Francisco. I believe his first partner was the leading transvestite in the area. Arthur described the fancy balls that took place; his partner would dress up in elaborate gowns and he would be her escort. She must have designated herself as the Baroness. Arthur became the Baron Arthur. His partner had a lovely house on 23rd Street filled with antiques, jewelry, costumes, heavy drapery and all kinds of nick-nacks. Like something out of Charles Dickens, When his partner died, Arthur acquired the house. Another partner whom I met, Warren, lived in San Jose, but spent part of each week with Arthur in his house. He passed away last year. Arthur is now involved with someone he met soon after he came to San Francisco. His name is Ken and he lives on the next block. Arthur describes him as his caregiver. Ken is a retired engineer from West Virginia, a charming and caring person.
Arthur has become quite frail. He may have a heart problem, and has fallen out of bed twice in recent months requiring him to go to the hospital. The last time, he injured his legs and is now using a walker. It has slowed him down a bit. Still, he is on the steering committee and serves as treasurer of the gay seniors club known as the San Francisco Prime Timers. Arthur held office in the Commission on the Aging Advisory Council, the Gay and Lesbian Outreach to Elders, Rainbow Adult Community Housing, and the Gay Pride Parade Committee. He had also been the Treasurer, Vice President and President of Gay and Lesbian Accommodation for the Experienced in Years--GALAXY. I would guess that every older gay person in San Francisco knows Arthur.
3-30-12
Original Format
application/msword
Collection
Citation
Jacob Schlitt, “Arthur Hurwith,” Autobiographical stories & other writing by Jacob Schlitt, accessed April 28, 2024, https://tsirlson.omeka.net/items/show/162.