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Shattering the myth of Jewish passivity, the last surviving partisans tell their stories of resistance in FOUR WINTERS, revealing a stunning narrative of heroism and resilience. “All I owned was a leopard coat, a rifle and a grenade in case of capture…the pillow was the rifle, the walls were the trees and the sky was the roof.” says partisan Faye Schulman, one of over 25,000 Jewish partisans, who fought back against the Nazis and their collaborators from deep within the forests of WWII’s Eastern Europe, Ukraine and Belarus. Against extraordinary odds, they escaped Nazi slaughter, transforming from young innocents raised in closely knit families to courageous resistance fighters.

New York Times Review: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/15/movies/four-winters-review.html

Ms Magazine Review: https://msmagazine.com/2022/09/06/four-winters-film-review-julia-mintz-jewish-womens-resistance-nazis-world-war-ii/

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‘The Man in the Red Bandana’
By Jefferson H. Crowther

Please excuse these ramblings of a proud, old father who lost one the
brightest lights in his life. This light was my dear, dear son, Welles
Remy Crowther, who at age 24 was killed when the South Tower of the
World Trade Center collapsed on him and so many other innocent victims
of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Welles was an equities
trader with Sandler-O’Neill and Partners working on the 104th floor of
WTC2. He was also a volunteer firefighter and member of Empire Hook &
Ladder Co. #1 in Upper Nyack, NY. Somehow he made his way to the 78th
floor Sky Lobby after the plane had impacted his building, and there
he found a group of people who were afraid to move. They had huddled
together and were waiting for the rescue workers to get to them. They
felt if they moved around they might fall through a hole in the floor
and be lost as the visibility was almost nil due to the dust and
smoke.. There were many injured people around them, screaming with
pain, unable to extract themselves from under the slabs of marble that
lined the hallways that had them trapped. My son, Welles, wearing a
red bandanna (which he always carried in his back pocket) to protect
himself from the dust and smoke, found them and told them that he knew
where the only open stairway was and if they could walk they should
get up now, help those whom they could, but that there were people
they could not help and that they had to go right away. His words as
quoted to us by some of the individuals who were there and survived
were “follow me, I know the way”. Welles made three trips from the
78th floor down to the 61st floor where the lights were still on and
the air was clearer. He told them to keep going down the stairs, but
he kept going back up to escort more people down. In all we have
confirmed three trips he made between the floors before he went all
the way down to the lobby. He was in the lobby ready to go back up
with a fire lieutenant and two other firefighters with the tools
necessary to lift some of the heavy debris in order to rescue more
victims. But the building did not stand and we lost our beautiful son
who cared more for others than for his own life.

There is so much more I could tell you about him, and you can read
about Welles at CrowtherTrust.org., a website for the Welles Remy
Crowther Charitable Trust, a charity we set up in his memory as a
memorial to a young man who saw his duty and did it. You can also
Google “the man in the red bandanna”.

People tell us that we raised our son too well. I respond that he was
born with the software installed. The good Lord put Welles on this
earth knowing that he would have to call on him. Unfortunately, it was
just 24 years into so promising a life.

But, we started The Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust to bring
some good out of a terrible tragedy. Through it we have been able to
work with many other agencies by making grants and gifts to help young
people become exemplary adults, whether for educational, health
related, or recreational needs. Again, I refer you to our website to
find out more about the incredible work we have accomplished. And this
proud, old father thanks you for having read about a true civilian
hero of 9/11/01.  May God bless America.

Fred C. Klein, Esq.

Managing Partner

Klein Zelman Rothermel Jacobs & Schess LLP

Representing Management in Labor/Employment Law for Over 40 Years

NY Super Lawyer 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013

AV rated for years by Martindale Hubbell

Co-Founder

Gotham City Networking, Inc.

“It’s Better to Give Than Receive”

485 Madison Avenue – Suite 1301

New York, NY  10022

Tel:  212-935-6020

Fax: 212-753-8101

email:  fklein@kleinzelman.com

www.kleinzelman.com

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On Monday, October 22, 2012 amidst the sophisticated, ruby red décor of Crimson, firefighters stepped out of their firehouses and into the spotlight to take home big honors for their incredible cooking talent at our 11^th Annual Iron Skillet® Cook Off.  You may be familiar with culinary competitions like Food Network’s Chopped or televised throwdowns between professional chefs, but the Iron Skillet® Cook Off differentiates itself from the pack of culinary competitions by focusing on the camaraderie, spirited brotherhood, and jovial nature of the firehouse cooking clan.  And it comes across in the food.  At the competition, five firehouse chefs were matched up with five top restaurant chefs to see who could make the most crowd-pleasing dish of the night.  The firehouse chefs supplied the original recipe and the professional chefs were charged with reinventing it, making it better (if they dared).  The winners of the night were everywhere – in the chef coats, in the sponsor booths, and on stage.  Everyone who came added to the lighthearted, but heartfelt spirit of the night.  The smells and sights of the dishes – fried chicken with sweet potato waffles, skirt steak with burgundy cream sauce, and smothered pork chops – permeated the restaurant with an intoxicating breeze that we swear could be smelled throughout the five boroughs.

At World Cares Center we’ve managed to pull off the impossible:  to host a night filled with sumptuous food and jovial spirits that reenergizes our serious mission of providing training in emergency preparedness for emergency managers, community leaders, and concerned citizens.  This evening would not have been possible without the connection between the emergency response community, our corporate sponsors, and the everyday heroes that came out to support us.  For this one night, we saw the wonderful dichotomy of the firefighter spirit.  Two sides of the same coin:  the ever-present professional emergency responder and the lighthearted, spirited community member.  As Lisa Orloff, Founder and Executive Director of World Cares Center put it, “the Iron Skillet® Cook Off represents what we see in any crisis situation, people of all walks of life coming together to do good.  The event is a celebration, in disaster response it is the visceral goodness in people that World Cares center ensures is applied in a safe, effective and coordinated manner.”

A Tribute to Everyday Heroes

The night was a tribute to the everyday hero.  Queens Council member Peter F. Vallone Jr. and his two brothers, Perry Vallone and Paul Vallone, were honored for their quick thinking and ready response in saving two young girls in rough waters off Long Branch, NJ.  The award was given among their peers – a room full of heroes that demonstrated their unwavering commitment to emergency preparedness and effective training for emergency response.

It’s telling that the top chef of the night, Iron Skillet® champion Khalid Baylor from Ladder 14 in Manhattan, made a dish that comforts the soul as much as it tempts the palate.  Chef Baylor’s Lemongrass Fried Chicken with Sweet Potato Waffles and a Peach Schnapps Compote caused the crowd to sigh with a collective southern swoon that comes from food that truly satisfies.   To win, Chef Baylor took a heaping spoon of southern roots, a cup of grandma’s cooking wisdom, and a pinch of love for baking, and put it all into a spectacular dish that had guests begging for more.  Second place went to firefighter Pete Lazarcheck from Engine 291 in Queens for his Skirt Steak with Burgundy Cream Sauce.  Pete’s restaurant competitor, Matt Gibson from Legends Hospitality at Yankee Stadium, took third place for his rendition of the skirt steak dish.

Celebrity Judges Bring the Sparkle & Sizzle

Rounding out the night was a raucous live auction that included hilarious commentary by our guest judges who acted as auctioneers.  Ben Aaron, an NBC Universal reporter, got the crowd in a bidding war over the auction’s choice items including sports memorabilia, international trips, and entertainment packages.  Our panel of celebrity judges included radio/television personality Valerie Smaldone, who served as emcee for the night, Council member Peter J. Vallone Jr., WPIX 11 reporter Sukanya Krishnan, Former NHL player (New Jersey Devils) Grant Marshall, NBC Universal reporter Ben Aaron, WNYC Radio host Soterios Johnson, former NFL player (NY Jets) Freeman McNeil, Former NFL player (Washington Redskins) Thomas Huff, NBC 4 consumer reporter Lynda Baquero, and NFL player (NY Giants) Stevie Brown.  Restaurant owner and chef, Adrianne Calvo was a celebrity guest chef providing tasty nibbles for the crowd throughout the night.

As returning judge Sukanya Krishnan said on her WPIX 11 morning show, “I’ve had the privilege of serving as a judge for the competition and let me tell you the food is fantastic, the people are wonderful and it all goes for an organization that’s really making a difference.”  Each year, the competitors manage to put more love, more flavor, and more life into their cooking.  We thank all our firehouse and restaurant chefs, our generous corporate sponsors, our celebrity guests, and our volunteers for an incredible night of spectacular food and exceptional company.  The proceeds from the event will help us continue to provide the best in emergency and disaster training, helping to empower leaders and volunteers to become ready responders.  See you all next year for our 12^th annual Iron Skillet® Cook Off!

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