Banks Shares Family Anecdotes as She Turns 103

More than 60 relatives, coming from 12 states, gathered on Sunday, July 9, to celebrate the 103rd birthday of Freda Banks, the matriarch of a large, loving family with deep Atlanta roots. The celebration took place at the home of her granddaughter, Dr. Sandra Banks, the daughter of Freda’s oldest son, Dr. Samuel Banks.

While enjoying a plentiful brunch buffet, Freda’s children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and three generations of cousins, nieces, and nephews joined to honor a woman whose wisdom, resilience, and joie de vivre inspire them. This reporter heard family members talk about Freda’s life experiences, especially mentioning instances of skill and alacrity at Huntcliff, where she has lived for the last 17 years and where she saved another resident’s life.

Freda Banks with granddaughter Sandra Banks and great-granddaughter Ellie Banks

Swimming in the Huntcliff pool, Freda spotted another swimmer who was struggling desperately, about to drown. Freda speedily swam to the woman, held onto her firmly, and managed to get her to the side of the pool, where Freda’s best friend, Grace Benator, helped to pull her out. Freda was in her 90s at the time.
Freda is a devoted pinochle, poker, and Rummy Cube player at the retirement facility, a testimony to her aural acuity, nimble mind, and strategic thinking.

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Granddaughter Sandra notes, admiringly, “My grandmother is amazing: she remembers everything!” One can understand Freda’s lifetime expertise at the game table, because most adult games have a mathematical component, require good strategy, and computational skills. At Hoke High School, she trained to be a secretary; however, after graduation, she went on to work at a variety of accounting jobs.

“I finally decided to retire,” she notes. “When I was around 80.”

Speaking of high school, a favorite family story recounts a crucial piece of Banks family lore. Freda Warshaw’s 18-year-old boyfriend, Irving Banks, was determined to marry her, to make certain that she would not fall for and marry anyone else. They were secretly married in Jonesboro, Ga., by a justice of the peace when Freda was 16, and each continued living with their parents and kept the secret until she graduated. A year later, they had a Jewish wedding at Ahavath Achim in the old Jewish neighborhood on Gilmer Street in south Atlanta. (Ahavath Achim on Gilmer Street was known as “The Big Shul; Shearith Israel on Boulevard was known as the “Little Shul.”)

Freda speaks highly of Rabbi Harry Epstein, who married the couple, as being very kind and helpful to them.

Freda with her close friend, Grace Benator, who also lives at Huntcliff.

They joined The Progressive Club, a gathering spot for Ashkenazic Jews, and raised a family of three sons and a daughter. “I started life on Washington Street,” Freda jokes, “got married on Gilmer, and then we moved back as a couple, to live on Washington Street!”

Their early years of marriage were interrupted by the Second World War. Irving was drafted, and Freda took their baby, Sam, to New York where she lived with her older sister, Hilda, until the war ended and Irving returned, bringing his young family back to Atlanta. Irving opened a grocery store, Roy’s Food Town, and Freda did the books. Freda and Irving eventually moved to Zimmer Drive and joined Shearith Israel when it moved to its present location.

“We paid around $17,000 for that house. I can only imagine what it’s worth now,” Freda humorously muses. The couple opened a series of grocery stores, owned a furniture store, ran a salvage business, and started a property management company. Herein lies a fascinating tale of coincidence.

Freda with her four children, (from left): Roy, Sam, Barbara, and Arthur

Many Atlanta readers will recall the Piggly Wiggly supermarket chain. Irving and Freda’s property company owned a piece of land in Little Five Points which they leased to a Piggly Wiggly grocery. Eventually, Piggly Wiggly moved out. For authenticity in the award-winning film, “Driving Miss Daisy,” which covers the years 1948 to 1973 in Atlanta, the movie scouts were looking for just the right setting for one of the scenes that takes place at a Piggly Wiggly. Without knowing its history, the scouts serendipitously chose the site of the old Piggly Wiggly in Little Five Points, and the building was transformed back into a Piggly Wiggly of Miss Daisy’s time.

Daughter-in-law, Rayelynn Banks, reads a poem she wrote chronicling highlights of Freda’s eventful life.

Freda’s early years were not easy. Her mother, Emily Domb, came to the United States from Poland when she was 17 years old to marry Harry Warshaw, who was 35 years her senior. He had a child from a previous marriage, and he and Emily subsequently had four more children together in Atlanta. Harry owned Crescent Paint Company, and Freda recalls that Harry made and sold carbonated soda in their backyard. They were very poor and rented a room of their house on Washington Street to a boarder, to help make ends meet. Emily’s children sometimes wore clothing made from flour sacks, and Emily sewed dolls for fair booth contests to bring in income. “We still had fun when we were kids,” Freda reminisced. “We rode the trolley for five cents, and we went swimming in Grant Park.”

When asked what her favorite pastime was in her youth, Freda immediately responded, “Dancing!” Her uncle, Louie Domb, taught dance and owned a dance hall next door to the Fox Theater. Freda was one of the most frequent dancers there. She quickly corrects a visitor who assumes her terpsichorean repertoire centered on ballroom dancing. “My favorite dance was the Jitterbug” she laughs.

The Warshsaw children all managed to graduate from high school and go on to start their own families, professions, and businesses. One of these well-known businesses, Forsythe Fabrics, a major Atlanta resource for drapery and upholstery fabrics, was started and run by Freda’s sister, Lillain Warshaw Kaplan’s family.

Freda’s clan includes four children and their spouses: Sam and Dana Banks, Roy and RayeLynn Banks, Barbara and Sam Schwartz, and Arthur and Lott Banks. She was blessed with nine grandchildren: Sandra Banks, Lori Banks Ruderman, Holli Banks, Ryan Banks, Melanie Banks Metzger, Matthew Schwartz, Ricky Schwartz, Phillip Banks, Emily Banks, and nine great-grandchildren.

Three cakes and ice cream were served. A perfect finish to the celebration.

When a visitor asked for advice on meaningful longevity, Freda offered this life-lesson: “I always worked, and I always stayed as active as I could.” She looks forward to swimming and playing Rummy Cube and cards, “At least four times a week.” An aide from Huntcliff, at the birthday party, wanted all the relatives to know that “Everybody loves Freda!”

The Jewish people have been compared to a bird, with elders as our wings. The Torah considers old age to be a priceless resource: “Old” in Hebrew is synonymous with “wise,” affirming that the elderly, because of their many experiences and challenges, have wisdom and resilience a young person does not yet possess. Freda Banks’ mishpacha clearly appreciate the storehouse of wisdom and resilience in their midst and joyfully gathered to celebrate Freda’s remarkable life and their good fortune to be her progeny.