To look at a collection of Jerome ("Jerry") Greenberg's photographs is to look at a unique pictorial history of Buffalo. Just a few of them are shown here, but you can see many more at Jerry's one-man show, opening June 8, and running through July 7 at Doreen DeBoth's Artsphere Gallery, 466 Amherst Street, between Elmwood and Grant.

Jerry started taking pictures when he was very young age. Indeed, he has been a photographer as far back as he can remember. When he was quite young, somebody gave him a Brownie camera and, "from that day on, I was interested in photography."

In his early teens, he worked as a "hopper" on one of the delivery trucks for Osscar's Beverages, his father's soft-drink company. ."I loved the 'pop shop' because of the machinery," Jerry said. "I was chief sampler.. Cream soda was my favorite flavor. I drank so much cream soda that I finally reached the point that I couldn't drink it at all. After that, I never had cream soda again for years."

"But I also liked watching the machinery that took the empty sterilized bottles from the washer, down a conveyor, into the filling machine. I loved to see the bottles going around, into the machine empty and coming out full and then capped before a fork lift put the cases on a dolly. As a young boy, I loved being the hopper on the truck. I didn't do much physical work, but I loved to ride around and look at the city."

Oscar's beverages were, named for Jerry's father, Oscar Greenberg. "He came here (from Russia) in 1911," Jerry told After 50. "One of his first jobs was working for this company, then called The Empire Water Company. In time he purchased the business and changed the brand name of the product line to Oscar's Beverages."

Jerry's mother, Matilda ("Tillie") Barkun, also came from Russia, but didn't meet Oscar Greenberg until she came to Buffalo. Oscar lived in the boarding house where Tillie's family lived also. "She was their oldest child," Jerry says.

Oscar and Tillie had five children. Jerry had three brothers, one is now deceased. He has one sister. "All four boys served in the second World War at the same time. My two oldest brothers saw a lot of action and my younger brother and myself were in the occupation forces".

"I have two beautiful children," Jerry beamed. "My daughter, Linda Jo, and my son, Dr. Gary Lee Greenberg, live in San Diego.

Jerry attended school 74 and East High School. Prior to working at Oscar's Beverages, he worked for a grocery store, making deliveries "with my little red wagon." He also sold the Buffalo Times when Buffalo had three daily newspapers. They sold for one or two cents a copy. Later he got a Buffalo News route and made a big $4.95 a week.

Sometimes he would get tips. "Fowler, the candy-maker, used to be on my route," Jerry recalls ."And when I'd collect the eighteen cents for a week's papers, she'd always give me a half a dozen chocolates."

When he turned sixteen, Jerry was promoted from "hopper" to truck driver for Oscar's Beverages. "I took a road test and passed it and took a truck out right away." Normally, a sixteen year-old wouldn't be driving a truck, but it was war-time, and drivers were hard to get. Jerry always had his camera with him. When I'd stop for a red light, I'd take pictures." That was over 60 years ago, and Jerrry Greenberg has been photographing interesting parts of Buffalo ever since.

Jerry was in the pop business all his life. Later on, after Oscar Greenberg died, he and his two brothers took over the business. Because Jerry always took his camera with him on the truck, his oldest brother, who hated truck-driving himself, frequently taunted Jerry with the question, "are you working or playing?" Jerry could always stop the taunts by handing his brother a truck key.

Jerry remembers this about his Army years. "When I got into the service, I got ahold of a 35 mm camera and I would go to the social club. Some of them had dark-rooms. I didn't really know what I was doing , but I learned a lot from that experience".

You can tell, just by looking at his photographs over the years since, that he learned a great deal, and that he has a natural talent for creative photography.

After 50 readers can enjoy these photographs too by attending Jerry Greenberg's one-man show at The Artsphere Studio and Gallery, 466 Amherst Street between Elmwood and Grant, from Friday June 8 to Saturday July 7. Hours are Thursdays and Fridays from 12 noon to 5 pm, and Saturdays from 11 am to 3 pm. While you're three, you can also see some wonderful artwork and pottery by Doreen DeBoth and her son. For further information call 510-4007, 876-7188, or go to artsphere@verizon.net.

See you there.