Writing a family history is a daunting task. The wealth of information available through genealogy websites, public records and web searches is overwhelming. Shortly after beginning the project it became clear I would need to enlist serious help. Honestly, I thought I would be able to take the facts and events that various people had collected and turn them into an interesting story. Impossible! What I needed was personal knowledge and to listen to events in an individual’s voice.
I began with Esther, and proceeded to walk through every detail of her grandparents and parents life that she could remember. I can still feel the excitement when we found the original Canadian land grant certificates awarded to her grandfather in 1903. As I moved along through the years from the early 1900’s to more current events, we reached out to cousins and often conferred with Andre to confirm disputed recollections.
I was excited about our progress and began to feel the project might be a success. The next events to be converted from facts, random recollections and sparse documents was Andre’s story. Most of you know Andre as a man of few words and this was most evident when he talked about himself. That went by the wayside when I started my interview . We were able to find images for many of his recollections, including the synagogue where he was bar mitzvahed, the old cod bottling machine he worked with as a young boy and even the unique method of hanging war criminals in Hungary. It was fascinating to both of us that we could find so much information.
As I moved along the timeline I reached out to Tina, Susan and Sam for details. Each of us had so many wonderful memories and stories we wanted to share. Everyone’s input helped put the flesh on this living story that is filled with love and respect for family.
This project could not have been completed without the help and support of my parents, siblings, cousins and friends who were always happy to add important details, identify mystery photos or gently correct any inaccuracies.
Our story is a fairy tale.
