Centenarian looks back on a life of activism, love and world war

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Henry Nusbaum sits in front of two over-stuffed binders that he has made into scrapbooks. Old identification cards, military photographs and letters he wrote to then-President Bill Clinton decorate the insides of books covered in clear, protective sheets.  Scrapbooking, Mr. Nusbaum said, helps him retain a century’s worth of memories.

A resident of the RiverWalk apartments on the campus of the Hebrew Home at Riverdale, Mr. Nusbaum turned 100 years old on March 30. Wendy Steinberg, director of communications for the home, said Mr. Nusbaum is the second oldest RiverWalk resident, but only by a few months. 

Despite his advanced age, Mr. Nusbaum admitted that he does not have any real secrets for staying healthy and resilient except for never limiting himself.

Keep active

“Activity is the answer. People actually wish themselves into a state of disrepair, and they take a negative view on doing anything that will get them involved,” Mr. Nusbaum said.

Staying involved is something that Mr. Nusbaum explained he has done his entire life. Born in 1914 to Austrian immigrants, Mr. Nusbaum grew up in Williamsburg with five siblings. He is the middle child, but his two younger siblings died at 50 and 55, respectively.

At the age of 10, he worked backstage at the Lyric Theater and the Gayety Theater in Brooklyn, running errands and helping out in any way he could. Mr. Nusbaum explained that he also sang in a choir and worked on Coney Island in the summer where his father peddled to concession stands.

The Gayety Theater played burlesque shows, but even at age 10, Mr. Nusbaum said, his parents were supportive of his ventures.

Family values

“I’ve always valued family values; we worked together, we worked with our parents,” he added. 

When he was in his late teens, Mr. Nusbaum met his wife, Ann, whose older brother was a friend of his. The couple will celebrate their 68th wedding anniversary in July. 

Mr. Nusbaum studied at Brooklyn Law School and became an attorney in 1938, but his career was interrupted when World War II broke out. He spent four years in the Army. 

Henry Nusbaum, centenarian, Ashley Helms
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