Again the Lederer Cousin Gathering

 

A few more pictures of the Lederer Family Gathering taken by my cousin Flash Rosenberg.

The top one is again Team Clara in the sanctuary with the Lederer torah.

The bottom one was a toast at the end where we all toasted together for the great times that day and our ability to all be a family.  One can be better.

Will we all be together again?  Who knows? I haven't seen Team Clara (actually a name I made up) for many years.  Not so long this time, eh?  And pretty good looking, no?

I have not been around here as I had knee replacement surgery.

Back to the Lederer Cousins meeting

Going to go back to the Lederer Cousins for a bit as I have some great new pictures.  This was taken at a stairway at the synagogue.  Taken my always star cousin Flash Rosenburg.

Each of the people in this picture is a great grandchild of Samuel and Marie Abeles Lederer.  Or related to one by genetics or marriage.  Samuel ran a tannery in Manhattan and later in New Brunswick New Jersey

It wasn't a reunion because most of us hadn't met before.  Though us Clara descendants, we had a great turnout. Here's an even better picture of Team Clara taken in the sanctuary of Anshe Emeth  Memorial Temple.  On the bima with the Lederer torah.  Pretty good group to be related to, don't you think?

 

Marvin Bargar - May his memory be a blessing

In honor of Marvin Bargar, the longtime archivist at the Jewish Historical Society of Greater New Haven.  This picture was taken by myself, featured on this blog 10 years ago.  Marvin was 85 at that time and running the archives with enthusiasm.  And my cousin Mary Ann, my boots-on-the-ground, we always liked to go to the Ethnic Heritage Center where 5 ethnic historical societies shared a space.  Dennis would say that it was the most enjoyable part of the trip.

See, the white folks, they have a large historical society, known colloquially as "The Colony" and they have a big mansion on one of the most fashionable streets.  But the Jews, the Irish, the Italians, the African Americans and the Ukainians all banded together to make their own place.  A great thing actually.  In a corrogated windowless building with huge industrial doors.  

But that was our place, that's why Dennis liked it so much.

I heard that Marvin Bargar passed away last week.  He was the archivist until he was 95.  He was so good to me and Mary Ann.  Always helped us, gave me permissions, always engaged and helpful.  One time, we were looking for information about my aunt's first husband.  Marvin got a gleam in his eye and went up this huge ladder "OMG, Marvin don't, you are going to KILL yourself."  He brought down this scrapbook that somebody had made about all the WW II  Jewish soldiers.  Sure enough, there was a page for him.  Mary Ann and I shrieked!  The Ukrainian lady from the next one over came over and said "What's going on over here, you are having too much fun!"

But no windows and all that glare, it made taking pictures really hard.  You can see "The Picture" in the background.  Of Maier Zunder, Mary Ann and my great great grandfather.  Taken out for special occasions only.  I tried to take a picture, hopeless.  So we asked my cousin Mal to come and take a picture.  He said, there's no way we can take the picture with all the glare and reflections, we have to take it outside in natural light.  Oh, the fuss about that!

We always knew that Marvin would help us.  I appreciated him so much.  May his memory be a blessing.

A 2012 Mishkan Israel cemetery view

 This picture was taken in 2012 at Mishkan Israel Cemetery in New Haven.  Not that great a pic but meaningful to somebody else.  My cousin Mary Ann and my husband Dennis have their back to the camera.  Dennis is standing right in front and blocking the view of Maier Zunder's monument.  A summer trip, no snow, no blowing leaves.  But Maier's former business Charles J. Metzger's stone is right next to him.  They likely bought the plots at the same time.

Three of the Rosenthal sisters (one step) are my great great grandmothers.  I had the suspicion that there were not just three Rosenthal sisters (from Bavaria) in New Haven, but six.  I was looking at a newspaper article about the funeral of one of them Johanna Rosenthal Weil and it mention that the pallbearers were all nephews.  I recognized 4 of the names as Maier's sons and stepsons.  But one, Dr. Max Mailhouse actually was the son of one of the suspected sisters, Caroline Rosenthal Mailhouse.  Usually I don't pay attention to Ancestry Family Trees because so much garbage.  But one of the family trees had all six sisters.  I wrote to her and turned out she was related to Clara Rosenthal Metzger.  But had never seen the monument.  We corresponded quite a bit and I found this shot which shows the Metzger stone.  So bad picture for me, good picture for her.

Lyle's Groomsmen

My cousin's son Lyle, got married a few weeks ago at his own rural (sort of) home.  He chose (why is that such a wedding word?) young boys close to him as his groomsmen.  One is his son, one is his stepson, at least two others are his nephews.  Not sure, but they are so cute there, all standing up for him.

My cousin Maryann said it was a wonderful day full of love even if it was a little unusual.

Final destination?

Mary Ann points to the spot in the Mishkan Israel Cemetery in New Haven that I am trying to score for myself and Dennis. To the left and in front of the plot Mary Ann is pointing to, is the grave of my great grandmother Delia Zunder Weil (of The Delia Wall fame).  1866-1910.  My mother's grandmother but she died well before my mother's birth.  I'm still working on this with the cemetery person who is none too motivated to move this forward.  That place was my great grandfather Charles Weil but he remarried and is buried with his second wife's family.

But that's the spot.  My parents, grandparents, great grandparents and great great grandparents are all buried here.  Along with a lot of 19th century Jewish New Haven.

New cousin!

Just a week ago, on our trip to Connecticut, I participated in Mishkan Israel's 175th History Weekend.  I spoke on a panel of families with connections with the 19th century families.  One huge plus was that I got to meet a new cousin (third cousin or something) Stacie who, with her husband traveled over 2 hours from New Jersey to meet us and hear my talk.  So now I know her and she's part of my extended family.  Great!  Thanks so much Stacie for coming!

Also a not so focused picture of me during my (very short) talk.  The people on the panel and likely in pretty good sized audience were descended from those Bavarian Jews who came to New Haven in the 1850s or so.  Betsy B, to the right of me, remembered my mother and my grandmother.

Such a good crowd; I think there were 60-70 folks there.  Wanting to hear about Maier Zunder, can you imagine?  And I've been boring people for years about him here in Seattle.

Maybe even more than had attended the keynote the night before.

On the steps on Orange Street

How about some pictures?

Yesterday, the History Weekend event was a tour of the old Mishkan Israel Building on Orange Street.  The cornerstone laying occurred in 1896 with the building dedicated the next year.  The congregation moved to Hamden in 1960 and their original building (how could they give this place up?) eventually became an arts high school.  The religious school kids and anybody else interested toured their old building on Sunday morning.  At the end, the rabbi wanted a picture of everybody on the steps.  I wanted to be in the picture but I was the only one with a camera (several others took pictures with their phones).  Rabbi is center right in the tan suit behind the boy in the red striped suit.  Dennis and Mary Ann are on the far right.  You can see my hat and water bottle lower right. That's my stamp....

I talked up the box in the cornerstone at every opportunity.  Actually I met the key useful guy, the maintenance man.  He's the guy who could really poke around.  Didn't get his name but I talked to him.

I guess we do it for our mothers.

Sam and Mimi

My cousin and her youngest grandson.  Sam has definite ideas about the world; a passionate thinker!  Been that way since the beginning.  As a parent, we recognize that our children (and grandchildren) are born with their own personalities.  They come like that!

I originally found this on facebook posted by Sam's mom "Sam wanted a picture of him and Mimi on Facebook!"  Even though I have not spent a lot of time with Sam, I can just hear him saying this very insistently.

New Haven 1955

I'm cleaning out my main office; my brother's coming and I've got to make a little room.  Here's a big photo album from the 1950s.  Of course, I have to look at it and pick out a picture before I put it away.  I've used this album for the Glendora pictures.  I joined the Glendora Historical Society btw and get their mailings.  The place is part of the greater LA contiguous city in the San Gabriel Valley.  But somehow it had a small town feel to it when we visited last February.  The Historical Society emphasizes this, July 4 parade and the primo seats in front of the Historical Society which is the old firehouse.

This picture dates from that era but is clearly taken in New Haven, I'm guessing the summer of 1955.  When my mom was older, she swore that she took us to New Haven every summer.  Not true, maybe when I was little like this.  I remember a trip when I was in kindergarten, then one in 5th grade and that was it.  My parents made sure that my grandparents came regularly to visit.  I totally get that, it is very hard to travel with small children.  We didn't!

My mother (of the small waistline) on the left with me in front of her,  She's holding my brother who I am sure is going to take off the minute he can.  Her sister Ruth on the right, with my cousin Mary Ann (a few years older than me, eyes closed) and her son Malcolm (same age as me) on her lap.  Their mother, my grandmother Regina with glasses and big bow maybe kneeling behind us.  And the other lady?  I'm guessing it's my other grandmother Betty maybe come down from Boston.  I've asked Mary Ann (same one) she will know if it's somebody else.  But she's dressed as Betty would with the belted sundress with the understated pattern, matching jacket and the necklace. And she's looking at her grandchildren.

There was quite a disparity at that time between the class status and assets of my grandparents with my paternal grandparents very much better off.  Harvard, insurance executive, etc.  My maternal grandparents had nothing really.  But go back to when my grandmother was young and the situation would have been reversed.

UPDATE: I knew Mary Ann would know.  That's Aunt Dede in the middle.  Gertrude Baumann Kleiner,  My maternal grandfather's sister who was quite close with the family.  Makes  perfect sense.  More sense than Betty coming down from Boston.   She also thinks that the location was the back yard on Foote Street in Hamden.

Photographing the scrapbook

My brother Charlie and my cousin Mary Ann at work photographing Maier Zunder's scrapbook in January 2013 at the Jewish Historical Society of Greater New Haven.  In the previous trip in the fall, I had realized that Maier Zunder had kept his own scrapbook by noticing the strong similarity in the handwriting labeling the items in the scrapbook and a promissory note written by Maier Zunder in the files of the New Haven Historical Society.  Plus reflecting that nobody else could really have kept them.  Previously I had made images of pages that looked interesting.  I realized that I needed a comprehensive complete set of the pages of the scrapbooks. 

So, as I do, I signed up my brother to take the photos.  I've found, in my adult life, that men like missions.  If you present a task you want done (except house projects) as a well-defined mission, they can't resist.  I did it this summer when I assigned the mission of moving Naomi to Glendale AZ to my husband Dennis.  "Your mission, should you choose to accept it is...."  In fact, I had decided that Charl was doing this and was talking about it neglecting the fact that I hadn't asked him yet.  He heard about it from my sister and daughter on a trip to Lafayette.  He called me and said "What is it that I'm supposed to do?"  I described it as strictly an in and out mission.

Also, the scrapbooks, especially the second volume was in extremely poor shape and I knew we needed to photograph it soon or nobody would know about the contents.  Marv, the archivist allowed us to do it.  We did it over a period of two or three days.  My brother set up his tripod in a certain way and my cousin Mary Ann or I would position the page with identifying post it noting the volume and page.  Afterwards Marv tied up that second volume and I knew he wasn't going to let anybody else look at it.  Eventually I prepared a paper and digital volume of the images  for the collection so that other people could use the scrapbook content.

Here they are at work.  Later I got a contact who had a lot of the Board of Education materials.  Turns out that her material was after Maier's time so I wasn't so interested.  She mentioned that she had seen us working and she wished we would photograph her material.  Doubtful I could convince my brother.  Plus Charl has a demanding new job in California.

My cousin Mary Ann is my extremely competent and clever partner in crime in all this.  Now, I'm working on purchasing plots in Mishkan Israel Cemetery.  I'm slowly working through it, with Mary Ann's assistance, of course.  We have our eye on the plot next to our great grandmother Delia (1865-1910).  We're pretty darn sure that the plot next to her was supposed to be for her husband Charles Weil.  She died relatively young; he remarried and is buried next to his second wife in another part of the ceremony.  So, who's there?  Anybody?

My genealogy group has always been so jealous in that I have all this assistance.  Not only Mary Ann but I've assigned roles to my husband, brother, other cousin.Malcolm.  So far, they always do it.  Just lucky, I guess.

Photoessay #2863 - Trip to Pike Place Market

We made a sightseeing trip to Pike Place Market this morning.  Much better organized than last year.  We left early, got there just as things were opening up.  Had a plan for the cheese place.  When we got there, no line, easy schmeezy and we even got some place to sit.  Macaroni and cheese and cheese sandwiches.  Saw some fish throwing, gum wall, bought some doughtnuts for Ilana but we ate them all up.  Beautiful day, posed for this shot "assume the position!" I bark out, across the street from the market with Elliot Bay in the background.

Beautiful day.

Sam and Savi made us food plus we bought some pizzas.  They came over and everybody fussed over them.  It worked out well.

Photoessay #2779 - The family shot

I'm getting a little closer with this wedding photography thing.  That's one advantage of having four kids, you get more than one chance.  I did say that I did want a family picture so they did pose this one on the terrace with the Space Needle in the background.  And this is not half bad.  It's great to have a group of everybody.  I was so busy keeping everything straight that I forgot to say that I wanted a bride and groom with all of the parents.  Somehow I just assumed that would be a standard shot.

But it wasn't.

So next time, we're going to have a bride and groom and parents shot.  For sure.  You can see how I completely overwhelm the family demographic.  My brother is not married, no kids.  My sister is not married, one daughter.  Then I show up.  With my cast of thousands.  Which is good, I guess.

In my class today, the professor decided to stage a debate about a post-processual archaeology writer.  He made up the teams (there's 14 in the class).  He put people on the side opposite to how they thought.  Hey, I love the touchy-feely whoo whoo stuff; that's who I am.  I love post-processual.  So, of course, he put me on the other side.  We were having so much fun, he decided to extend it some into next week.  It is hard for the English-is-not-my-first-language folks.  But I really have to hand it to them, I would have a real hard time taking tough classes in another language.  UW is 20% international, probably 25% out of state, how many of the Washington kids get to go.  And us access students?  We're completely off the radar.

But this class moves at such a clip, no class next Monday.  Even the professor needed a break.  Plenty of work to do, though.

Who's in the picture?  I'll say specifically if people want.  My husband and I, our four kids, three of their partners, my granddaughter, my brother, my sister, my cousin and her husband.

Photoessay #2435 - My cousin and me back in the day

During most of my adult life, my cousin Mary Ann was mostly close to my mother rather than to me or my sibs.  But we have gotten closer since my mother's death.  She's my partner in crime in my major genealogy efforts.  She's interested in genelogy too, and being in the greater New Haven area is always up for my crazy ideas and projects.  My classmates in my genealogy class were so jealous, I always had 'boots on the ground,' to investigate something new I might uncover.

Plus, when I got to New Haven, me or my sibs, we always always have to go to the Mishkan Israel cemetery to check up on everybody.  We have to, there's no question, Mary Ann always takes us.  People here look at me quizzically, "Why do you go to the cemetery?" they ask.  I say "Of course, we have to go to the cemetery because we just do."  She and her husband, Denny, go twice a year and clean everybody all up, make sure everything looks ok, no weeds or anything.  We had such a hard time finding my parents during a trip during the fall, that they killed the grass around the stones so we can find them next time.

For the first time, Mary Ann and Denny came here in July for Danny's wedding.

But here's Mary Ann and me, sometime around 1967.  I think we are at the Japanese Garden in San Francisco.  We are dressed up for 'the city' as my mother insisted at the time.  We are wearing stockings and funny shoes.  My hair was better then and I was much thinner, hey I was 15 years old.

From my father's slide collection.

Photoessay #2490 - Wedding fun on the patio

One of my favorite pictures from the wedding weekend two weeks ago. 

Megan and I were just going through the snapshot pictures and there's loads of really good ones taken with Charl's camera (by him) and my camera (taken by lots of people).  Some rocking ones on the dance floor.  The bridesmaids, the grandmas, me, my kids. All rocking out.  Stay tuned!

I took this one out on the patio, part of the whole event complex on the second floor.  Melina, in her fancy junior bridesmaid dress.  See how, even though it's strapless and she's moving a lot, that bodice is not moving, it's strapped on there really securely.

After the wedding, before the dinner.  Out on the patio.  Weather fabulous as all that week.  Naomi and Melina are doing a rhythmic clapping game, going faster and faster.  Susanna and my cousin Mary Ann looking on clearly enjoying themselves.

And a reflection of the space needle in the glass.  Fun!

Photoessay #2489 - Lake Crescent

This past Monday, Dennis and I took my cousin Mary Ann and her husband to the Olympic Peninsula and Olympic National Park with its attendant ferry ride and trip to Hurricane Ridge.

But the best part was an unscheduled stop at Lake Crescent.  We had some extra time so why not go a little further down Hwy 101 to Lake Crescent?

We ended up at an old resort Lake Crescent Lodge.  We hung out there for an hour or two just by the side of the lake.  Quiet, relaxed, some boating and swimming going on.  Perfect weather, didn't amplify the color of the lake.

"I feel like I'm on vacation!" said Mary Ann.

On  the way there, Mary Ann and I wat in the backseat and worked on the albums full of post cards sent to our grandparents when they were young by family members....the post cards were from 1905-1912.  The inside of the Lake Crescent Lodge looked just like the post cards we had been  looking at for hours.  So unreconstructed.

They've been in Vancouver, coming through sometime today, maybe we'll see them....

Photoessay #2846 - Hurricane Ridge

Yesterday, Dennis and I went to the Olympic Peninsula with my cousin Mary Ann and her husband Denny.  Weather fabulous, brilliant sunshine.  Not like western Washington at all.  We went up to Hurricane Ridge where you can truly see forever.  Sea level to about 5K elevation in 17 miles.  You go straight up.

Tremendous views of the rugged Olympic mountains.

Many other pictures from this eventful week, hardly even scratched the surface!

Mary Ann and I sat in the back with the books of postcards kept my our grandparents when they were young.  1905-1912.  And tried to figure out who they came from and what they were about.

More back to normal.  Matt and Ilana are here on various errands.  Naomi to Ellensburg,  Megan to the toy store.

Here we are standing on the veranda overlooking the whole darn world.

Photoessay #2922 - Wedding Cake Knife

My cousin sent me the special wedding cake knife by mail.  She didn't want to risk taking it on the plane.

We know that this knife has been used for wedding cakes certainly since our great grandmother Delia's wedding in 1894.  My grandmother Regina (Delia's only child) used it, also my mother and aunt used it.  I used it as well as my siblings.  My cousin's daughter Kristin used it at her wedding.

Danny and Jessica will use it later this month.

The marking says "Meriden Cutlery" and 1855.  Meriden CT was known for it's cutlery and silverware and is close to New Haven.  I'm pretty sure the 1855 is the year it was made.  So Maier must have purchased it early on.  Delia was his youngest daughter, so it was likely used by her older brothers and sisters.  Maybe.  We don't know.

Purple and silver are the wedding colors.  My cousin Mary Ann decorated it before she sent it.\

Photoessay #2878 - Cold cold Yale

My cousin Mary Ann and I standing on the steps of the Sterling Memorial Library last Thursday morning in New Haven. Despite the bright sun, it's very cold, temp in the teens. I'm scrunched up as I had not zipped up my coat (mistake!) and I'm trying to hold it around me. I'm wearing my warm UW hat (and glad to have it at that moment).

 I joked to my brother that we bought Southwest Airlines tickets so we could cancel if the weather was bad. And we went anyway. Actually the very cold temperatures didn't really affect us much. We did everything we wanted. A little snow when we arrived and a little when we left. But clear and cold the rest of the time.

Very chilly walk through that cemetery. Picture taken by my brother Charlie.

Photoessayu #2872 - Proof we were there!

Charl sent me the picture taken by me of himself and our cousin Mary Ann in the Yale Law School dining hall.  They're trying to look studious, you know, with the program.

We couldn't quite believe we were there and it being so unexpected.

I'm taking this with Charl's camera with the very fancy lens that weighs a ton.  I could barely lift the thing.  I was smart enough to not take a picture of the cafeteria as a whole.  Though I was tempted to.  Charl was busted by the security guard the next day just for taking a picture of the woodwork out in the hall.

I start getting new questions coming home.  Need to check with Marvin about the New Haven School records that the Yale archivist said were at the Ethnic Heritiage Center.  And, if most of the local community archives were directed to the Colony, there's likely more there than we anticipated.  Don't know how I would find out.

Marvin is going to try to find out what happened to the B'nai B'rith library.

I think it would be very interesting to explore the founding of the New Haven Public Library.  I'll write about this little book about the Institute Library and their role.

If I'm so interested in the formation of a public library, don't you think it would be easier to do the
Seattle Public Library rather than the New Haven Public Library?  Just the logistics alone.

I have a lot to work on with what I have...

An positive unintended consequence of my paper publication went to Jewish Historical Society and archivist Marvin.  He said the Ethnic Heritage Board meets every month or so and they all give a little report.  He was able to showcase my paper in Connecticut History about how somebody used the resources to get a legitimate publication.  He was very pleased about that.  Me too.