What Me Wander?

After pushing back on the whole idea of blogs for several years, I got religion when I found Danny Miller's Jew Eat? (www.dannymiller.typepad.com). How I got there in the first place is where the story really begins, or is it the middle? For sure, it's not the end.

I had been researching family history in the context of a book I have been working on for the past two years or so. No matter how many times I googled "Stashev", the Polish shtetl from whence my maternal grandparents had emigrated, I never got anything meaningful. While working my way through the Ellis Island website (www.ellisisland.org) I found my maternal grandmother, Taube "Tillie" Gladstein, her sister, brother and my great-grandmother, Miriam Rivka Gladstein listed on the passenger manifest. Their place of origin was listed as "Staszow". My lack of understanding the nuances of the Polish alphabet had been the stumbing block.

From there I found a few listings about Staszow in Polish. Though unable to read Polish, I was able to ferret out a few bits of data. The official government website extolled the endless economic development possibilities in this town of 15,000, located a couple of hours northeast of Krakow. Ever since the sulfur market had gone bust, Staszow has continued to struggle beyond its place as an agricultural market town.

Then, I hit paydirt. I found an article in The Jewish Week about a man named Jack Goldfarb, who had been instrumental in restoring the Jewish cemetery in Staszow. I will have much more to say about Jack and his work in the future. In the meantime, you can find the article that details his work at www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=7925 .

Here was a living and breathing link to the home of my ancestors. Further, it demonstrated that, despite what my grandmother had told me while growing up, the town had not been destroyed during the war, after all. I might be able to find some evidence of the Gladsteins, Wexlers and Schwagers. I wrote a note to the editor of The Jewish Week and asked if he could connect me with Mr. Goldfarb. I received a rapid response saying that my email would be sent to the reporter and that he would forward my request. Less than a week later, I received a phone call from, none other than, Jack Goldfarb.

I told him that I was interested in tracing my family roots and even had a notion of going to Poland. Jack could not have been more welcoming and by the end of the conversation I was feeling that I had reconnected with a part of myself that I barely knew had existed.

Later in the day, I received an email from Jack, telling me that he believed we were related, however distantly. Indeed, he was named after Yakov Schwager, my great-grandmother's stepfather. As an added bonus, I got a call the next day from Emanuel Schwager, whose grandfather was my great-grandmother's brother. Man, who has recently passed away, had assembled a family genealogy book and even knew of my daughters' existence. He just had no way of knowing where we were or how to contact us. Long-lost links were being reforged.

Since that time, I spent nearly a month in Eastern Europe, much of it spent trekking through Staszow and Sidra, the home of my paternal grandmother. Future posts will cover these trips.

Upon my return from Poland, Jack told me that he had discovered a fellow Stashever, Danny Miller, through his blog, Jew Eat? Danny's wry observations are well-written, insightful and, often, hilarious. Many thanks to Danny for encouraging me to put this out and to Jack for being the fearless guide and inspiration that he is.

Comments

[Danny]

Mazel tov, Jerry, what a great site! And how great to see those photos of your family and of Staszow. Hope you'll write in here often!

[Danny]

P.S. Jerry, I just looked at your profile and was surprised to see that you were born at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago on September 5, 1949. I was born at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago on September 4, 1959!

[Lawrence A. Levit]

Jerry-All looks good. Copies of the photographs posted above are in the hallway by the front door of my house.
Love,
Larry Levit

[John Parton]

Jerry - What a great start! I'm looking forward to learning all about your trip; this is like a teaser. Mazel Tov on re-connecting. Your spare comments with the pictures are moving even without the upcoming story.

[danny sasson]

hi my family from staszow

i am going at 10/8 to 16/8 to make a movie about jews of staszow
like to ralk to you to get more info about staszow

[jerrylevit]

I'd be happy to talk with you, Danny. My email address is jerlevit@att.net. Phone in the USA is 336-376-5559. Best always.