Grandpa

   

Grandpa's citizenship certificate

Photo of my grandfather (he is standing on a chair) with his siblings, Goldie (in highchair), Ansel(seated), Sarah and mother taken in Russia when he was a little boy just prior to coming over to America.

As I wrote in the previous blog entry, Grandpa Bernie came over from Russia in the early 1900's when he was 4 years old.  According to my mother, the journey in steerage was so traumatic for him that he forgot every word of  the Yiddush he knew. This is not surprising considering how deplorable the conditions were in steerage. People were packed together in uncomfortable wooden bunks, many were sick from the roiling and pitching of the ship among other factors. 

I recently taught a 2nd grade unit on Immigration and visited the Ellis Island Museum, a must see site for anyone interested in this history.

There is only one story that I remember hearing about life in "the old country".  My Great Aunt Goldie (Bernie's sister- the baby in the highchair above) was holding a piece of bread and standing outside of their home. Suddenly, a large boar (I guess wild pigs ran amuck in those old villages...) clamped it's mouth around the bread, which happened to include Goldie's little hand, and by extension, the rest of her body. The boar proceeded to run away with Goldie in tow.  The eldest brother, Ansel (he's the one seated in front of Bernie in the photo), heard her shrieks and came to the rescue. Yes, he slew that mighty porker by slamming a heavy object on it's hairy head. 

Alas, I digress-  as I want to focus on the above document, Bernie's certificate of citizenship. Since his  certificate is a bit small to read in the photo I've included here, I'll give you some details.

He was born on February 18, 1906. His complexion is described as "ruddy", his height: 5' 8" and his weight was listed as 155 pounds (he was slight and reedy in stature. Grandma said that was because he had a "nervous stomach" and couldn't eat much). The certificate was issued on December 30, 1955 and this is the part that confuses me. Why was he nearly 50 before he received this document even though it states that he "became a citizen thereof" on December 4, 1920?

Grandpa didn't talk much about his life in Russia or the journey over. I had the sense he wanted to forget all about it. Still, there's no question it affected him deeply throughout his life which I can touch on more later.