Jul 20, 2009 7:27 pm US/Eastern
Family Stunned After Odd Find At L.I. Golf Club
Engraved Jewish Tombstones Used To Hold Back Waters Of The South Shore That Border On Upscale Woodmere Club
Club Management: Graves Not On Site, Just Unused Headstones
WOODMERE, N.Y. (CBS) ―
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A father and son on a nature walk on the grounds of the upscale Woodmere Club on Long Island stumbled upon Jewish headstones used to hold back the waters off the South Shore.
CBS
There was a bizarre find at an upscale Long Island country club.
A family taking a walk found partially engraved Jewish tombstones shoring up portions of the Woodmere Club golf course.
Ahron Weiner of Hewlett took his 7-year-old son, Amiel, on a nature walk along the fringes of the private chic club in the 5 Towns, on Long Island's South Shore.
Amiel Weiner said he saw gravestones, and when he slipped he looked down and amid seaweed, beach grass, and clams, they discovered dozens of engraved Jewish tombstones, stacked along the shore, apparently protecting the golf course from high tides.
"I think it's entirely inappropriate that a country club has stones with Jewish names and stars carved on them. This is a club with a preponderance of Jewish membership," Ahron Weiner said.
Weiner, an orthodox Jewish photojournalist and historian, picked up his camera.
Among the many names and Stars of David on the tombstones were Hyman Friedman and Morris Gutterman.
Needless to say both father and son Weiner were shocked and surprised.
"My family was holocaust victims," Ahron Weiner said.
Woodmere Club general manager said the find was news to him.
"Over the last 24 hours once we found out about this we did some investigating," Donald Mollitor said.
Mollitor, Woodmere said the club just found out the markers were unused and came from a former member, decades ago, who owned a monument company.
"Excess stones either misspelled or granite not strong enough and donated them to club 50-plus years ago and the superintendant used them for bulk heading," Mollitor said.
Still, the Weiner family said it seems disrespectful that discarded Jewish cemetery stones are now breakwater bulkheads shoring up portions of the golf course from Reynolds Channel.
"Even if it was a business decision, it's wrong to have what were Jewish gravestones -- even if they were never meant to go directly on a plot, lining the side of a country club," Pamela Weiner said.
The club's management is now informing members exactly how the gravestones ended up here and why. If members decide they want them removed, they will be, or perhaps flipped over, or the names chipped away.
Ahron Weiner recently returned from Europe where he photographed Jewish gravestones that had been used by Nazis to build homes.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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