Moishe Morris “Mace” Bugen was quite a sight. Standing three-and-a-half feet tall, Mace could be spotted driving “Hadassah” — a Jeep custom-fitted with extra-long pedals — around Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley from 1940 to 1980. The Jeep was quite a sight, too: It was plastered with blue-and-white stars and sported its name across the front.
Bugen, the subject of Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer’s new book, The Little Gate-Crasher: The Life and Photos of Mace Bugen, was born with achondroplasia dwarfism — but, as Kaplan-Mayer, Mace’s great-niece, points out, he refused to let his disability impede a good life.
Kaplan-Mayer’s great uncle became a successful real estate agent, and was often spotted driving around the valley, picking up used clothes for his mother to send to refugees in a recently-formed Israel. He loved celebrities—among his possessions are photographs taken with Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr., and Muhammad Ali.
The idea behind the book wasn’t only to record a wonderful life, but to raise awareness about the need for welcoming, supportive and creative accommodations for people with disabilities. For Kaplan-Mayer, the director of Whole Community Inclusion at Jewish Learning Venture — and who is the mother of a son with autism — this is a poignant task.
Both his life and Bugen’s, Kaplan-Mayer writes, “reflect the tremendous diversity of the human experience — and that is to be celebrated.”
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
