Editor’s Note
You don’t forget a person like Bernice Friedland.
Dressed in a white tunic and pants when we met, she’s a force of nature.
A kind, energetic octogenarian who’s lived a fascinating life. You feel like the
most important person in her sphere when you’re with Bernice, which was
actually the case when I found myself on the deck of her Cumberland home
in May during the pandemic.
Overlooking a forested backyard, I was there to interview her but she deftly
turned the conversation back to ask questions of me. On the rare occasion
when I was able to lob a question, she’d backhand with a story that somehow
ended with another story and a promise of “and that’s another story for a
different time” before returning to the question she wanted to ask me.
So what can I tell you about Bernice? Simply that she perceives the humanity
in everyone and she exudes positivity.
7 ACCESS ACM / Reimagining Dreams
Bernice Friedland was honored at
the 2017 Allegany County Women’s
History Celebration for her lifetime of
community service and commitment
to improving the lives of women.
ACM Foundation Board Member
Bernice (nee Alpert) Friedland
grew up in Manheim, a small
town farming community in
Pennsylvania, north of Lancaster.
Her parents owned Alpert’s
Department Store, but Bernice’s
interest was in teaching not in
retail, or so she thought. Growing
up in a family that deeply valued
education made an impression
on Bernice. With the uncertainty
of WW II as her impetus, she
negotiated with her parents to
attend Penn State year-round
so she could graduate in only
two years and nine months. She
earned her degree at the age of 19.
Nineteen.
She was in Atlantic City visiting
an aunt when she received a job
offer from Fort Hill High School
to teach English via telegram.
A telegram. With only a few
weeks to spare, she was to
report immediately. She knew
nothing about the area, but landed
inexplicably in the Queen City
during an economic boom thanks
to wartime manufacturing.
The move was difficult. After
crying every day for a month,
Bernice grew to love Cumberland
and her students. She was only
four to five years older than her
students. When I mention this
detail, she tells me that it didn’t
matter and they respected her in
the classroom. In non-COVID-19
times, she continues to go out to
lunch with a group of her students,
her “kids” as she affectionately
calls them. Her “kids” are at least
in their eighties.
In time, she was asked to
organize Fort Hill’s prom. In true
Bernice fashion, she decided that
she needed someone to be her
date for the prom. It’s at this point
that I realize that her beloved Arthur
never stood a chance to say no.
Another Chance to Learn:
Bernice Friedland