Al Scheinberg (left) and Sam Iselin
at their birthday party in Boca Raton’s Downtown Library.
Steve Plunkett/The Coastal Star
By Steve Plunkett
The festivities were a few days early, but when you’re past 90 — well past 90 —who’s counting?
"You’re how old?” asked colorful helium balloons overhead as Boca Raton police honored two longtime volunteers, almost 100-year-old Sam Iselin and almost 96-year-old Al Scheinberg.
“These guys are my heroes,” Police Chief Dan Alexander said. “You can’t have a bad day when you walk into the lobby and see these guys smiling.”
The birthday celebration Feb. 7 came five days before Iselin’s real birth date and 10 days before Scheinberg’s.
“It’s not a function of how long they’ve lived. It’s how long they’ve served,” Alexander said.
Iselin has been a greeter Friday mornings at police headquarters since 2000. Scheinberg helps out in the communications division, working three 8½-hour shifts a week since 2001, or more than 16,000 hours.
“I honestly believe I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have this to wake up to,” Scheinberg said.
Mayor Susan Whelchel declared Feb. 12 to be Sam Iselin Day in Boca Raton and presented him an official proclamation.
“Every visitor to the Police Department received a hearty smile welcome and helpful directions,” Whelchel said.
Both men are Army veterans and originally from New York, Alexander said, giving each of them an engraved plaque.
“Your continued service is an extraordinary achievement,” Iselin’s memento read.
Scheinberg, who lives in Boca Teeca in the north end of the city, said he’s never missed a day in 13 years of volunteering.
“They’ve been calling me the Ironman,” said Scheinberg, whose birthday is Feb. 17.
Iselin has no plans of stopping now. He and his wife, Beverly, are listed as future occupants of the now-under-construction Sinai Residences. The complex, at the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County campus west of the city, is scheduled to open in two years.
“It’s going to be a five-star building, no doubt about it,” Iselin said.
Comments