Longhorn Camera exchange became a well-known establishment in Dallas, and camera enthusiasts visited often to discuss the merchandise, and sometimes to trade cameras, lenses, or other technical devices that were extremely well-crafted, or unique in some way. Sadly, David Gitelman suffered from heart disease, and around early 1961 experienced a heart attack. At the time, medical technology was not advanced enough to treat the condition effectively. He died from another heart attack in July 1961. My family recalled that day well: at that time, the Dallas Fire Department were the city's paramedics, and they were called when David became suddenly very ill one morning. Maxine took over the store for a short time, and made arrangements to sell the business. Some of the people who helped her, such as an accountant and an attorney, asked for their fee ... in cameras. A lawyer who handled the business matters requested two high-quality cameras in return for his professional services. The accountant who helped Maxine with the business records discouraged her from selling Longhorn Camera Exchange. He told her the business was thriving, and could continue to be successful. It was, in the words of his profession, "a going concern." But, with two small boys to look after, running a camera store along was not a reasonable plan, and the business went to new owners. Mrs. Gitelman moved with her sons, ages 6 and 4, to Abilene, Texas, to be closer to her own family. Many years later - around 1982 - my brother David, who had moved to Denver, Colorado only a few years before, had an interesting surprise. A technician came to his home to assist with his cable television installation. When my brother paid his bill, with a check, the technician said he was from Dallas, and recognized the 'Gitelman' name. He told David, "I remember that name - there was once a man in Dallas, Mr. David Gitelman, who owned a unique camera store, filled with antiques and collectibles. And when he died, a Dallas television station sent a film unit to note the event of his death for their newscast." He told my brother Dave that some of the film footage on the Dallas TV news included a man walking up a flight of stairs, to Longhorn Cameras on the second floor, carrying an airplane propeller - a very unusual item. David Gitelman would trade cameras, lenses, or movie projectors for anything strange, unique, or unusual, if it was a highly refined technical item. And that was one of the keys to the success of his business.

David and Maxine had two sons, David and Damon, born in 1955 and 1957. While the father wanted his first son to have the name 'David', he was concerned that people might call him 'Junior', but fortunately, that never happened. Maxine chose the name 'Damon', which occurs in Greek mythology in the tale of Damon and Pythias. Because Mr. Gitelman often acquired new cameras - or rare, antique, unusual cameras - on a regular basis, he tested them by shooting a roll of film. The subjects were usually his family, and sometimes his two lovely but destructive dogs, so there are many boxes of photos of Maxine and the boys. Maxine became a good photographer, too. With so many cameras in her life - at Longhorn Camera, where she sometimes worked, and at home - she developed a good photographic eye, and could compose a good picture. Over the years, I have found many individuals who appreciate older cameras of many kinds: 35-mm SLR cameras from Germany, 8-mm movie cameras, stereo cameras ... and have given some of these items away to collectors who know the value of these antiques. While some people have said the cameras might bring money, it has always been more important to me to give them away as gifts to close friends, and people who will display them as the works of art they really are.

Two Cocker Spaniel dogs, Emanon and Fred, feature prominently in many family photographs. The name 'Emanon' was selected, because, read backwards, it reads: 'No Name'. When he was a child of about 4 or 5, David Gitelman had a dog he named 'DOG'– his sense of humor was taking shape at an early age. David's wife Maxine told many tales of how much fun two pups could be, but the couple was also surprised at how destructive they could be. When he had an important meeting, or business event, and need to look his best, he would usually discover his best shoes, or his belt, had been chewed to pieces by the dogs. When David and Maxine could afford some nice Venitian blinds for their windows (quite a fashionable household furnishing, at the time), the dogs pulled them down and tore them up. In 1963, when Maxine moved with her two sons to Abilene, Emanon became a farm dog. His new home was the 200-acre farm that Maxine's parents in West Texas owned: a good and happy place for any dog. Unfortunately, Emanon had a taste for chickens, and it wasn't long before the small number of chickens on the Agnew farm were gone, completely.

In the early 1950s, David Gitelman moved to Dallas from his home in Brooklyn. His older brother, Aaron Gitelman, also moved to Dallas around that time, and they became successful in the world of cameras. When he first moved to Dallas, David worked in a jewelry store, before opening the business that made him well-known in the city. He met his wife, Maxine, in the jewelry store, where she was also working. While Aaron built a reputation as a salesman who visited clients in Dallas, and traveled to meet sales prospects, David opened a store in Dallas. Because he wanted an image and a brand name that was distinctively Texan to go with the new business, he chose the name of an animal long associated with the state of Texas: the Longhorn. That's how Longhorn Camera Exchange of Dallas began. Five extremely large pairs of horns, from Longhorn cattle, were placed in the business. Everyone who saw them was amazed that horns of this size could actually be on the head of an animal - the longhorns were probably five feet from end to end. Maxine and the boys kept the longhorns; they were too interesting (and valuable) to give away. Many years later, a museum in Abilene, Texas took several of the pairs as a gift for their exhibit on Texas history, and the museum - at Hardin-Simmons University - wrote kind letters of thanks for this unique contribution.

David was young when the United States entered the Second World War, only around 16 years old, and he had an operation when he was a youth which made him ineligible for military service. His oldest brother, Phil Gitelman, was a pilot in a U.S. Army Air Corps B-17 crew that flew more than 50 missions. His other older brother, Aaron, enlisted in the U.S. Army, and participated in the Allied Forces invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Aaron received numerous decorations for valor during his service in World War II. While living in Brooklyn during the war years, David accompanied his younger sister, Esta, to basketball games in Madison Square Garden. And he attended concerts by famous jazz artists who performed in New York City. David and his sister-in-law, Selma - whose husband Phil was in the U.S. Army Air Corps - took classes at Brooklyn College in the war years. One of their subjects of study was making jewelry from silver and other metals. His skills in this area would later serve him well when he was repairing rare and antique cameras. Near the end of the war, David was called into military service, for practice drills in case more soldiers were needed for the war effort. But when the commanding officers saw a scar on his back, from an operation to remove a rib when he had pneumonia, his marching days were over.

David Gitelman was the third child of Israel and Mary Gitelman, who immigated to the United States from Pinsk, Belorus, and Vienna, Austria. He grew up with his two older brothers, Phil and Aaron, and younger sister, Esta, in Brooklyn. A few years before he was born, three of his young cousins in Russia lost their parents in a flu epidemic that swept through the country. These three boys – Seymour, Eugene, and Viktor – were brought to the U.S., and the children were all raised together. There were seven people in the Gitelman household at one time. He attended public school in Brooklyn, and among our family keepsakes is a small pin with the school name: "PS 103". His three young cousins who came to America when their parents died spoke only Russian and Yiddish; English came later. All of the children that Israel and Mary Gitelman raised accomplished remarkable things in life - in business, in professions, in the military.