Noah Calhoun and Morris Goldman

Noah Calhoun and Morris Goldman's relationship is a defining professional and personal bond that transforms Noah's life from a Depression-era laborer into a successful businessman and ultimately enables his return to New Bern and the restoration of his ancestral home.

Origins and Employment

After leaving New Bern to escape the memory of Allie Nelson and because the Great Depression made earning a living there almost impossible, Noah found work in a scrap yard in New Jersey. The owner, a Jewish man named Morris Goldman, was intent on collecting as much scrap metal as he could, convinced that a war would start in Europe and that America would be dragged in again. Noah did not care about the geopolitical reasoning; he was just happy to have a job. He worked hard, not only to keep his mind off Allie during the day but because he felt he had to. His father had always said: "Give a day's work for a day's pay. Anything less is stealing." That attitude pleased his boss immensely.

Mutual Respect and Growth

Goldman's appreciation for Noah's work ethic was expressed in a distinctive compliment. "It's a shame you aren't Jewish," Goldman would say, "you're such a fine boy in so many other ways." It was the best compliment Goldman could give. Over the next eight years, as the company grew, Noah was promoted. By 1940 he had mastered the business and was running the entire operation, brokering the deals and managing a staff of thirty. The yard had become the largest scrap-metal dealer on the east coast. During this time, Noah continued to think about Allie at night, writing to her once a month but never receiving a reply. He eventually wrote one final letter and forced himself to accept that the summer they had spent together was the only thing they would ever share.

The War and Goldman's Gift

In December 1941, when Noah was twenty-six, the war began, just as Goldman had predicted. Noah walked into his office the following month and informed Goldman of his intent to enlist, then returned to New Bern to say goodbye to his father. Five weeks later he found himself in training camp. While there, he received a letter from Goldman thanking him for his work, together with a copy of a certificate entitling him to a small percentage of the scrap yard if it was ever sold. "I couldn't have done it without you," the letter said. "You're the finest young man who ever worked for me, even if you aren't Jewish."

The Legacy That Changed Everything

Noah spent the next three years with Patton's Third Army, tramping through deserts in North Africa and forests in Europe, his infantry unit never far from action. He watched his friends die around him and saw some of them buried thousands of miles from home. Just before he was discharged, he received a letter from a lawyer in New Jersey representing Morris Goldman. Upon meeting the lawyer, he found out that Goldman had died a year earlier and his estate had been liquidated. The business had been sold, and Noah was given a cheque for almost seventy thousand dollars. This windfall allowed him to return to New Bern and buy the plantation-style home he had dreamed of owning since he was a young man, the house he had once shown Allie, looking past the decay and telling her that one day he was going to own it and fix it up. When Allie later asked how he could afford the house and its restoration, Noah explained: "Morris Goldman. My old boss from up north. He offered me a part of the business just as I enlisted, and died before I got home. When I got back to the states, his lawyers gave me a cheque big enough to buy this place and fix it up." Allie laughed under her breath and said, "You always told me you'd find a way to do it."