BackStory
Over 30 years ago, a young woman was looking through a desk in her parents’ home and found an odd legal-looking document. It had the name Cime Rosenbloom listed as the primary individual. She didn’t know who that was. When she inquired about the name, she received an interesting story.
Her paternal grandfather, Shamuel Rosenbloom, had been recruited to perform in John Phillip Sousa’s band as a clarinetist. He arrived at Ellis Island from Russia at the turn of the century. Although he had genuine talent and loved performing, he had not fully understood the amount of extended travel necessary to be part of this extraordinary musical endeavor. He was afraid to leave his young family unattended in their new home and his fate became that of many who came to this country at the time; he became a factory worker. While he forfeited the love of his art, he knew it was honest work. He believed dedication to his family and gratefulness for freedom to be nobler ideals to follow.
Fortunately, his creative legacy lived on in his son Chaim who was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut. As happened with many immigrant families at the time, they sought to assimilate to the “American way of life”. Consequently, when Chaim was asked his name, the guttural “chai” sound was tempered and his name was mispronounced “Hymie”. Since his name was not spelled with an “H”, it was further documented incorrectly by uneducated officials and “Kymie”, spelled “Cime”” was created. When Chaim later began his career as an amateur boxer in the Golden Gloves, it was suggested that he change his name for better acceptance and appearance on marquees. Cime Rosenbloom finally became Herb Ross.
Herb Ross went on to become a well-known nightclub owner, entrepreneur and talent promoter in Buffalo, New York. He developed many close associations with well-known celebrities of the day including: the Andrew Sisters, Harry Belafonte, Eartha Kitt, Doris Day, Nancy Wilson, Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme and many others. As a radio station owner, record distributor, prominent business developer and philanthropist, he secured a position as an influential leader and advisor to the Mayor, as well as being a renowned friend to the African/American community.
The young woman had always known that her father took great pride in his ethnic identity and originally had a Yiddish name, however, she had never known the intricate details of the story. Years later when she sought inspiration for creating her own business; the insight, life anecdotes, entrepreneurial spirit and understanding of the human heart that embodied her beloved father came to mind. ”Cime” finally had a place to reside with pride. The ideals and life lessons that were actively passed on to her as a legacy for the future, became the positive energy and momentum in creating CIME4enterprises
