Source:  Elly Motro, Elieser's wife, wanted to make sure her husband's story was told.  In her last years, while suffering from cancer, she wrote down his story.  The following was transcribed from her handwritten notes.
 

We decided to go to America and try our luck.  My uncle Andrew was our sponsor.  Elieser and I had to travel by boat to Marseilles, France and then by train to Holland, where we had to wait for our visa.  With Elieser's Israeli passport we could not stay anywhere.  France and Belgium gave us 3 days to stay and in Holland they lengthened our stay to 3 months.  We stayed in Arnhem with Kaye, my sweet stepmother.  My father had just died.  When we finally could leave for the USA, we went to Hartford, Connecticut to stay with Elieser's sister, Simcha and her husband Aaron.
 

Elieser worked for Aaron for 6 months in the building trade.  It was no fun.  I was expecting my first child, Joe.  In June, 1959, Joe was born and through Aaron, we bought 40 small miserable homes in Jacksonville, Florida.  E. and I had come to America with $31,000.  We put down $20,000 for the houses, $10,000 for some retail stores in Arlington and we put our last $1,000 on a house in Jacksonville.  The house cost $10,000.  We had to pay off many mortgages on all of the properties.  Our salary for 10 years was only $320/month, later $360/month.   In the beginning, we rented a house on Naldo Ave.  Those were terrible years for E.  The kind of people renting the small houses were trash.  They broke everything in sight.  I myself did not have a bad time.  I was very busy with Joe and Harry.  I had some American and some Dutch friends.

Once, when we were desperate for money, a lady who rented one of our houses died and left $2,000 to E. because he was always nice to her and had taken her to the hospital in the middle of the night.  It was certainly a miracle.  We could not believe it. 
 

No longer having to maintain the houses, E looked at the stores at Arlington.  We had trouble there too.  The city widened the road so customers could not reach the stores during construction.  After the road was finished the city realized that they forgot the electric lines and the road was disturbed for another year!

But there was a man, Mr. Stark, who rented one store from us.  He sold wood and paneling.  He was a sloppy businessman and E started helping him.  E worked with Stark for a while and then started a Paneling Center on the other side of town (Norwood Ave).  He did this with Buddy Hopper who was retired from  the local electric company.  E. enjoyed working in America for the first time! 

After a few years, E returned to our stores in Arlington and started his own store, Arlington Paneling Center.   These were his best years.  He loved the trade, met lots of people and was finally respected as "Mr. Motro".  Twice E bought the most material from the lumber supplier, Georgia Pacific, and our family could chose prizes from a catalog.  We got a TV, 2 tables, a camera, and more.  We had never been so excited, especially the boys and me.

The boys always worked their summers at the Paneling Center.  They hauled wood, loaded and unloaded lumber since their 13th birthday.  Joe also installed cabinets one summer. 

One man owed us so much money that he gave us a building on Hecksher Drive in exchange.  We rented that place and years later sold it. 
 

In 1978, after Harry went to college, we moved from our home on East Road to a condo in Jacksonville Beach.  We had always loved the beach and never regretted the move.  In 1980, we had saved enough to buy land on 3rd Street at Jacksonville Beach.  We had seen the land for a long long time and finally could put up the money for it.  This would be our first strip shopping center which we named "Pelican Plaza". 

The store in Arlington (Arlington Paneling Center) was E's best time, but he had to work every week day from 7AM to 7PM, and also on Saturdays.  After 10 years in Arlington he rented the store out and later sold it. 

E. was about 60 years old when he started building several strip shopping centers and some apartments.  He always stood there and watched the construction from morning to night.  He still is loved very much as a landlord, not strict and always helping someone out. 

At present, at age 81, Elieser is selling all his strip centers but one.  He plans to still go to his office once or twice a day.  That way he can keep up to date about real estate at the beaches.  Whenever E. decides to do something, that's it.  He never looks back or says I should have. 

If we can, we might still travel a bit, otherwise we'll stay at our "vacation" home at the beach.  The kids visit us and we'll visit them.  Not a bad life!
 

Elieser is easy to live with.  He always says, "Do the best you can, that is all you can do."  And if something does not work out, it had to be like that.  You try to repair or rebuild the best you know how.  Once you decide something, that's it, no regrets ever, no ifs or buts.  It is a wonderful attitude. 

Elieser respects all religions as long as they are not fanatic.  When he looks at the ocean he feels wonderful and can say a prayer from his heart.  He also likes to help people who need a little booster.

Elly died of cancer in 1999, quite a surprise since she thought she would outlive her husband who smoked and rarely exercised.  After my mother's death, my father, then 84, remained in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, living independently for a few years until he fell and broke a hip.  After the fall, he never returned to his beachside condo, but rather moved to live in Melbourne, Florida, close to his oldest son, Joe, in an assisted living home.  Joe and his family took extremely good care of him.  Although he greatly missed Elly, he was in relatively good health during this last phase of his life until late in the summer of 2007, when his health quickly slipped away.  He often said he was ready to die whenever the "big boss" called his number.  His number finally came on a Monday morning, Oct 22nd, when he died peacefully in his sleep.

I remember my father as a man of wisdom and humor.  He usually had a saying for every situation that would make you smile and also provide guidance or insight.  He never lectured, instead he taught by what he did.  If you lived with him, you couldn't help but have a strong work ethic and a generous spirit.  He loved to joke with everyone to make sure no one was taking life too seriously.  His love for his family was the center of his life.  He always made me feel loved.