Bernard Crane

Dr. Bernard Crane-his life and antecedents

By Minnie Crane (Translated by Minnie Crane from an article she wrote in Yiddish for the Belitsa Yizkor Book).

Footnotes by Smadar Belkind Gerson in parenthesis.

At the age of twenty five Moshe Kranowitz suddenly found himself foot-loose. His only sister, was in her early teens when both their parents died, an since the other brothers were married and scattered all over the globe, it became his self-imposed duty to look after her until she married, so when she married, at seventeen he was free to pursue his own life. He came to Belietza (Also spelled Belitsa) , which was the larger of several villages in the old Lida.

Since was was an educated man, knowing besides Yiddish and Hebrew, Russian and Polish and quite a good deal of German, he became a Teacher in one of the surrounding villages tutoring the sons, rather grandsons of the wealth Yishuvnicks (towns people). There were also some granddaughters in that household, one of them frequently set-in on the lessons, a romance developed, and the teacher married the oldest granddaughter of the house of Jacob Yarmovsky. The sons were later a well known hebrew teacher in Pinsk (Hillel Yarmovsky), the other building contractor in Atlantic City N.J.(Harry Yarmovsky)

At the age of twenty five Moshe Kranowitz suddenly found himself foot-loose. His only sister, was in her early teens when both their parents died, an since the other brothers were married and scattered all over the globe, it became his self-imposed duty to look after her until she married, so when she married, at seventeen he was free to pursue his own life. He came to Belietza (also spelled Belitsa), which was the larger of several villages in the old Lida.

Moshe and Faiga Krainowitz raised five sons and three daughters, the youngest son was Dr. Bernard Crane. Mother always referred to him as a “brenediker ingal” A burning boy. Everything his did was lightning fast, and that is how he entered this world: practically in a field of potatoes, where mother supervised the digging of her share of the potatoes, which the peasants alloted for the privilege of taking away the manure out of the cow and horse stalls, which they used as fertilizer for their fields. Yes, she barely made it home and bear him in her own bed.

All of his life he lived up to her view of him. He worked faster and better than anyone of his age or profession. In his earliest years he was the best pupil any teacher ever had. His grades were tops. He was especially gifted in mathematics. When he was a very little boy mother was stricken by what they called rheumatism. For a year she was flat on her back, being fed by the children who were still not in school. It became an obsession with the youngster to “become a doctor and cure mama”. The tragic part for him was that mother died before he got his MD degree.

He came to the US in his middle teens, made high School in two years, and pre-med in two years, but Medical School took all of four years, one year of internship at AC hospital, and then practice for over twenty five years in the same place, where the people asserted most seriously that without Dr. Crane they would be dead a long time ago.

While a Senior in the University of Michigan he had many youngsters named for him “because you are so kind and good to people”. He had letters from many of the young mothers whom he had been kind to. I doted on those letters, as in a way, he considered me his mother, since I was the only one at home who could do anything for him. The oldest sister was married and I was the big girl at home.

Eventually our brother Max left for the US and one by one he took us under his wing, all except our first born (Lazar), the oldest sister (Braina) and the youngest- a beautiful little girl (Sara Ester). Max did not like NY and settled in New Britain, where our father’s youngest brother lived. He was just like a father to all of us. Later they drifted to Hartford, a larger city, greater opportunities for studying. We spent five of our pleasantest years there. Later, when brother (William Crane) came back from WWI, Uncle Harry Yarmove (shortened his name from Yarmovsky in the US), mother’s brother, persuaded him to settle in AC. He was a successful business man there. He got his youngest brother to intern in the AC hospital and settle there to practice medicine.

All through his studying years, Bernard made his own way: working summers, selling mops and brooms to his customers whom delivered newspapers during his high school days. Later he worked as a plumber assistant for his brother Will, because he made more money that way. Yes, he had a part scholarship to his pre-med school, but was on his own at med school, some of that borrow tuition money for med school he paid off after he began practicing medicine.

While interning he met the lovely Miriam Seaver. They were married as soon as he started private practice in AC. The had a wonderful life together, both civically and socially. Dr. Bernard Crane was actively heading many drives for funds UF, UJA, ZOA, and all others. They came to him first with pleas for taking on just this one more task.

Hew was a member of the Jewish Veterans, Medical Corps. or whatever they called those organizations, American Legion, etc. Always actively participating in all of them. During WWII he had a number of heart attacks while still in the service., and was discharged on a Medical Discharge.

After the armistice he went back to private practice, on a limited basis, as he was not supposed to put too much work on his heart. There was no limiting Dr. Crane as far as work was concerned, so he did too much and had a very severe heart attack, which put him to bed for a long time; after which he was allowed to be up and about a few hours in the mornings, and spend the rest of the day in bed. For a while he obeyed orders, then he got tired of it and went back full swing into his practice and extra-curricular activities, which brought on the final heart attack, which brought on the painful end.

He lived a full life, albeit a short one. He did everything he set out to do: become a doctor, be a good one, have compassion for your fellow men, especially those worse off than you. Be honest, be a good friend, good neighbor. He held free clinics for the poor mothers of babies who could not afford to pay for a specialist. But first and foremost, he had a wonderful wife and two darling daughters. He was terribly proud of his family and did everything possible to take good care of them.

Yes, he was a very good brother. Always ready with advice and everything else that anyone of his brothers or sister needed. I say sister because I was the only one whom he could do anything, the others were for years beyond our reach, and then the bitter-end of them.

How much Hitler contributed to his final death is hard to estimate, as he went into a coma after the nurse handed him a letter telling him of the extermination of his brother and two sisters in Poland.

He died i his own bed, with his wife and two daughters and son in law at his side. Dr. Sam Friedberg (Bernard's son in-law, Ruth Crane's husband) was at his side constantly the last day of his life, which was a great comfort to both of them, as there was a wonderful attachment for each other. They truly loved each other! So the end as the beginning was saturated with love for Dr. Bernard Crane.