The Boy On The Wooden Box

After settling in America, Leon decides not to discuss his Holocaust experiences. It is a part of his life he wishes to leave behind, and the experiences would be too remote for his listeners to understand. Nevertheless, the memories remain with him.

Leon and his parents live first with Leon’s Aunt Shaina (“Jenny”), then with his Uncle Morris. They enroll in English classes. Moshe takes a job as a janitor at an elementary school, while Leon works at a factory that manufactures shopping carts. After some time, Leon gets a job as a machinist at an automotive factory and attends classes at a trade school.

Leon is drafted in the army in the Korean War and goes to Monterey, California for basic training. There, he makes friends from all over the country. He serves with a unit of army engineers in Okinawa, Japan, for 16 months.

His tour of duty over, Leon returns to Los Angeles and continues his education under the GI Bill of Rights at California State University. He earns a bachelor’s degree, a teaching credential, and eventually a master’s degree in education from Pepperdine University, then he starts a career as a high school teacher.

For 39 years, starting in 1959, Leon teaches at Huntington Park High School.