Art and Val Muroff both grew up in New York City, but in a city of millions, they didn’t know each other. The retired couple, who now live in Port Haywood, recently reflected on their fascinating lives.

The son of a Jewish Russian immigrant who had worked his way up from a job in a sweatshop to become a dentist, Art grew up in a Brooklyn that was nicknamed “the borough of churches and farms.”

“It was safe,” he said. “You could go anyplace for a nickel on the subway. It was great.”

The fact that the family breadwinner was a professional didn’t keep the Muroff family from feeling the effects of the Great Depression, though. Many of Dr. Muroff’s patients didn’t have the money to pay for their care, so he would treat them on the barter system. He would accept food for payment if his patient didn’t have any money, or he would treat someone for free if they didn’t have anything to barter.

“He was a great father...