52 Ancestors: Stormy Weather - Snow!

For most of the country, snow isn't an unusual event and people, particularly adults, dread winter arriving because of snow.  

But I grew up in San Jose, about 40 miles south of San Francisco, where snow is something kids (and I'm sure, secretly, adults) wished for.  Almost every year we were severely disappointed but on January 21, 1962, the unexpected happened and it SNOWED!  It was an event worthy of the front page of the Oakland Tribune the following day.

Oakland Tribune, January 22, 1962, page 1

I remember waking up that Sunday morning and running outside to see for myself.  Sure enough, there was a light dusting of the white stuff on our front lawn.  Somewhere I remember seeing a photo of my mom standing there but because my memory says she was in her bathrobe, maybe it's a good thing I can't put my hands on that photo now.

But I found a few photos and this one from that day in San Bruno shows the amount of snow I remember.  

I really don't have memories of going to the snow as a child but as I looked through my dad's slides, I found proof that we did, in fact, have at least one visit.

Not much snow here!

Yosemite, 1958

Big sister explored and found a little more.

I don't know when or where this was but it goes to show you that Dad had some photography "issues" and often times the subject lost all or part of their head.

Big Sis, Me

Not sure where this was but by my brother's age, I'd guess it to be about 1964.

Did I really try to ski?  I do remember going as a teenager and after one trip down the hill I vowed I would never try that again.  And I haven't!

Being that my parents and all grandparents/great grandparents grew up in California, I don't have many photos of any of them in the snow.  But my paternal grandfather, Sig Levy, must have strayed away from Fresno at least once to play in the snow.

That's a big snowball!

Now that we live in Washington, we see snow more than I'd like but it does provide a peaceful and beautiful setting.  Just keep me off the roads!

 

52 Ancestors: Voting - Gordon Levy, President

I'm not sure if my dad, Gordon Levy, didn't talk much about the past or I just didn't listen.  Actually, I think he DID talk about it but once he realized we weren't listening, he gave up.  But one thing I do remember him talking about was his service as Student Body President at Fresno High School in the fall of 1943.

Gordon Levy, c1943

Notice the Block "F" on his sweater signifying Fresno High School

Dad was involved in many, many things in school and throughout his life - he loved serving his classmates and his community.  But I don't think he was as proud of anything as he was of his service to Fresno High School as President of the Student Body.

I know that he was one of three nominees for the position.  What I don't know is how these individuals were 'selected' to run - was there some type of nominating process or, like it was when I was in school, did these individuals just decide they wanted to run and away they went?

Fresno Bee, 29 May, 1943, page 9

And not just because Dad told us he'd won and there was lots of evidence to that effect, The Fresno Bee actually reported this.  Those were sure different times!

Fresno Bee, 3 June, 1943, page 17

And the following year, The Owl (Fresno High's yearbook) confirmed that these individuals were, indeed, officers of the student body.

From The Owl:

Executive Committee Fall Semester

With a platform of better rallies and assemblies and more interest in student body government, President Gordon Levy began the semester by appointing a hard working executive committee, which gave the administration a flying start.

The committee made two wise choices when it appointed Peggy Kohlmann commissioner of social affairs and Roger Burton to the position of yell leader.  John Hammel, commissioner of finance, headed the Senate sponsored war bond campaign which succeeded in winning Treasury Department citations for the school and its senior and sophomore classes.

The hope for increased interest in student body activities was furthered with weekly ex-committee bulletins and the Beef Box which gave students an opportunity to express personal viewpoints.  The social program of noon dances was enlarged by two evening dances which proved extremely successful.

Two portions of the by-laws to the constitution were amended.  One provided for a life pass awarded to all athletes earning four major letters whereas the other authorized a student body Gold Block F award to one boy and one girl of each graduating class.

To better visualize membership in the student body, the committee voted to provide free student body membership cards which proved to be conducive to school spirit.  The committee also became permanently situated in room S-26 where all rally and executive meetings are now held.

At the opening of the semester, President Levy managed to come to terms with the Roosevelt High School student body, a fact which resulted in resumption of relations between the schools on November 11, probably the high spot of student cooperation.

Vice President Lowell Aiken and Rally Chairman Vergil Gerard instituted student talent assemblies and achieved the goal of one assembly per week.  George Holstein, dean of boys, helped to increase faculty co-operation as activities sponsor.

It was nice to read about the improved relations between Roosevelt High School and Fresno High School in the Fresno Bee.  From the account in the article, "the long rivalry of the schools came to an abrupt end last Fall when the two principals recommended to Wilson that competitive events cease because of cases of vandalism and 'near sabotage' involving students of both schools and resulting from 'heated spirit' generated by the 1941 and last Fall's football games."

Fresno Bee, 16 Sep 1943, page 18

Fresno Bee, 16 Sep 1943, page 18

Also in the 1944 edition of The Owl, this photo was included.

That's Dad in the middle of the front row holding.....holding.... WHAT?  He's holding this????

When we put together the memorial service after he died, I remember choosing some photos and other mementos to put on a table for attendees to view as they entered and exited the synagogue.  I don't remember many of the details but I do remember that this gavel was displayed - instinctively, we must have all known just how important it was to him.  Who knew?

52 Ancestors: Sports - Ardee News Sports Reporter

My dad, Gordon Levy, was the sports reporter for the Ardee News in 1946.  He talked about his time writing for them but until recently, I thought he was referring to the RD News.  Oh how I wished I'd spent some time talking about it with him.

The Ardee News star reporter is on the job

On February 6, 1946, Dad wrote home to his parents from his post at Furstenfeldbruck, Germany - or as he sometimes called it, "Firstandthirdbase".

Our little paper (one of which was mailed to you the other day) has finally undergone an organization which made one of the veterans an editor.  In turn, the new ed made me sports chief – which should pan out pretty nicely.  Later on in the spring and summer, they are planning on a large sports program here which will include everything from track to baseball to swimming and ping pong.  So we should have quite a bit of fun trying to build up interest – that’s right up our alley.  Maybe one of these days I’ll take Harry Truman’s place as man of the year on Time’s cover.

He left me a few of the "papers", although it's confusing to me that these are from mid-January, 1946 and his letters home stated he arrived in Furstenfeldbruck on January 24.  Maybe these papers were published en route?  Or maybe the Wooster Booster was a separate publication from the Ardee News?

The Wooster Booster, January 9, 1946

It's hard to read but at the bottom left it shows a list of the staff and shows Dad as Editor.  Hmmmm.

And, of course, my photographer-wannabe father had to take pictures (with captions!)  Boy, I'm glad he did!  Here's a few.

These were the Eagles

Babich Field on opening day

We always play hard

Jungle press box, constructed for Ardee News 'good afternoon baseball fans'

Giant Babich Field scoreboard

It wasn't just baseball - here's the Soldier's Field pool.

And track stadium in Nurnberg.  This field was the scene of Hitler's pageants and in 1946 was owned and operated by the 26th Infantry Blue Spades.

Looks like he even took in some volleyball in Furstenfeldbruck.

The Ardee News on the spot at an Archway Court volleyball game in Furstenfeldbruck

I'm so glad my dad left me some tidbits about his time in Germany.  I hope that one day I run across some of the newspaper articles he wrote.

52 Ancestors: Preservation - Blog Books

A few months ago I shared that I wanted to get back to publishing my blog into books.  In 2011 I published a book using blurb.com of my first year's blog posts to give to my Mom as a Christmas gift, which she seemed to really love.  When we next were together, we had such fun looking through the book and talking about her family.

I'm the little one in the front.

It was fun to do and since she seemed to enjoy it, I made another one in 2012.

Four generations of women in my family

2x great grandmother, great grandmother, grandmother, 3x great grandmother

And then it happened.  In May, 2013 Mom passed away and when the holidays approached that year, I just couldn't face making another book since it felt like there was no one to gift it to.  So I took a pass.

And that pass lasted for eight more years until just a few months ago when it occurred to me that I needed to preserve my blog in different ways.  Maybe, just maybe, long after I'm gone a descendant will come across it and learn more about those ancestors who came before them.  So it was time to get serious and get those years documented in print form.

Naturally, my first stop was blurb.com since I'd had such success with it before.  Unfortunately, blurb had discontinued the service of "slurping" a blog which would mean I'd have to figure out another way.  A blogging friend, Wendy, commented that one way to do it would be to cut and paste.  Duh, why hadn't I thought of that?  So I started to explore that option.  After a lot of cutting and a lot of pasting, I was close to the finish line when I realized that for a 130 page soft cover book, the cost was going to be $82.  Not bad for one but I had nine books to make so that was looking to be a hefty price tag.

Come on, there had to be another option.  And then another blogging friend, Amy, said that she prints her blog books using lulu.com so I explored that option and sure enough, the same book in hard cover would be $27.  SCORE!  So off I went.....

The books would be slightly larger and I'd have to change the cover a bit and it was fun to find a special photo to put on the covers.  It wasn't long before I had my first two books in hand - the end of 2012 and all of 2013 in two different books.  I was thrilled!

Left - Me drying a bowl, Right - my great grandfather, Herman Levy

I was hooked!  Sure it was labor intensive but by putting it in Word I was able to re-format and size things before I converted into a pdf.  Lulu was fairly easy to use and I got it down to a routine.  And then when I got an e-mail from Lulu and realized I could take advantage of their discounts at certain times, I got even more enthused.  It wasn't long before the 2014 book was complete!

Santa Cruz High School Graduating class, 1890, Bertha Schwartz (great grandmother) standing on right

And on it went until I completed through 2020.  What a collection I have!

So that's how I've preserved my blog - I am so happy I finally took the plunge and completed it.  Next up, publishing all of the letters my dad wrote to his parents and the pictures he took when he was in the Army in 1945-1946.  Working on a title for that now.......

52 Ancestors: Steps - Hills of Eternity

When I saw the blog prompt Steps, I immediately thought of a very special step at Hills of Eternity Memorial Park in Colma, California.

Yes, that step shows the name Gunzendorfer, which was the family name of my paternal grandmother.  There are several Gunzendorfers buried at Hills of Eternity.  The family plot shows a few.

Ferdinand and Fannie, seen in the foreground, were my second great grandparents.  They spent the later years of their lives in Monterey - I'm not sure what took them to the San Francisco area for burial.  To the right of the Gunzendorfer monument is their grandson (my grandmother's brother), Wilton, who was placed there after his death in 1989.

From the Hills of Eternity website:

Judaism views death as a natural part of life.  Hills of Eternity Memorial Park honors the two basic principles that are part of this natural life cycle:  k'vod ha-mayat - the dignified and respectful treatment of the dead - and k'vod he-chai - the honored treatment of the mourners.

Congregation Sherith Israel established its first cemetery in accordance with these principles when it was founded in 1850.  The cemetery was located in Pacific Heights on Vallejo Street, between Gough and Franklin [San Francisco].  In 1860, Sherith Israel dedicated its second cemetery in the area that is now Dolores Park.  Twenty nine years later, Sherith Israel's cemetery moved again to its current location in Colma.

I'm relieved to learn that the Gunzendorfers are interred in their original burial location.

Also from the website:

Hills of Eternity Memorial Park consists of twenty acres of graciously landscaped gardens at the foot of the San Bruno Mountains.  The grounds and mausoleums are respectfully maintained under endowed care.  Fresh flower placements and grave ornamentation plantings add to the dignified beauty and serenity of the park.

Also at Hills of Eternity is the Portals of Eternity mausoleum and chapel, which was built in 1934, and was designed by Samuel Human and Abraham Appleton.

Photo by jcemsf.org

It is the Portals of Eternity Mausoleum where my great grandparents, Abraham and Bertha (Schwartz) Gunzendorfer, are interred.

It's hard to see but that's them in the center with the arrow pointing to their name.  I did not add that in the picture - the arrow is actually scratched etched into the plate.  Why would that have been done?  They are very high up so really no way for vandals to have been able to accomplish that.  A mystery, for sure.

Also interred at Hills of Eternity are some of the Steen family - Bertha's mother was a Steen and while she is not there, these are some of her relatives.

Interred here are:  Dena Steen (1866-1894), Hannah (Plotzky) Steen (1828-1909), Hyman Steen (1887-1924), Jacob Steen (1831-1909), Julius Steen (1862-1876), Lena (Jacobson) Steen (1848-1927), Meyer Steen (1861-1926), Rosalind Steen (1885-1902).  

I was so fortunate to have been able to spend time in this cemetery in 2012 and, hopefully, will be back again one day.

52 Ancestors: Fun and Games - Let's Play!

Over the years I've learned that my favorite blog posts are those which show pictures - lots of them!  So in that light, I've put together photos of my ancestors (and me) at play.  I sure wish I had more of them because it really brings them to life.

First up, my grandfather, Sig Levy, loved to play tennis.  I not only have a photo of him as he played, but even have some of his tennis racquets hanging on my wall.

Sig Levy

I also found a photo of my grandmother's brother, Wilton Gunzendorfer, in the 1915 Monterey High School yearbook, El Susurro, when he was a freshman - turns out he liked to play tennis, too.  Yep, he was known as "Champ Gunzy".

It makes me wonder if Sig and Wilt ever played tennis together.  I do know that he played with his brother, Ben Levy, as he wrote on November 2, 1916 to his future wife and my grandmother, Loraine Gunzendorfer:

What do you know about my young brother and myself qualifying in the semi-finals in the county tennis tourney.  Well he is tickled stiff as we have worked our way up to the real fast players.  I had never played with him before and it must be good-fortune that is with us.  Our next opponents are real sharks so I have no hopes of winning but we are getting a lot of fun and good exercise out of it.

I've read a lot about my grandmother, Loraine Gunzendorfer, rowing on a lake in Oakland with her cousin, Hyman Steen.  Since she lived close to Lake Merritt, I assume that's where they went - boy would I love to find a photo of that!  But this picture of her with her Mermaid friends will just have to do.

1915 Monterey High School, El Susurro

Loraine, second from left

I don't have too many photos of my mom and her ancestors, especially of them playing.  But I thought this photo of her with her parents, Clara Fitzgerald and Earle Martin, showed a playful side of the family.

My dad liked to play games and sports - he was ready for football in the backyard on Christmas Day, 1937.

And even when he wasn't actually playing, he found an opportunity to be playful while watching others play.  He must have been watching a granddaughter play softball while he sported her high school letterman's jacket.

Of course the playful gene didn't stop with Dad - he made sure his kids followed in his footsteps.  We had A LOT of board games as kids - one entire shelf in the storage room was filled with them.  I don't remember too many specifics about what we played (or who won) but it was fun to see this 'canned' pose (for a Christmas card, I'm guessing).  Was I paying off little brother.....or was he paying me off?

I sure wish I had some photos of playing games with our next-door neighbor, Mary.  Our favorite places to play were in the far back of their station wagon parked on the driveway (what?) and under the ping pong table with blankets over the top and sides to make a tent.  Not only board games but paper dolls - oh, those were the days!

We also liked to play dress up and produce plays.  Looks like we were here with our cousin putting together some sort of dance routine.  Remember those candy cigarettes with red coloring on the end so you felt like you were smoking?

Cousin, me, sister

My parents loved to play and watch golf - looks like they tried to get big sister interested, as well.  Or at least I think that's big sister?

Dad was not much of a fisherman so not sure how this happened?  Were we at family camp at Camp Campbell?

Little brother liked to play, too!

Maybe my grandmother's love of rowing rubbed off on me and little brother.  Not sure where this is or even how far we got but for a brief moment in time it looks like we were having fun.

As time marched on, I dabbled in different playful activities.  While maybe not exactly play, I remember the March of Dimes charity walk we participated in a few times.  I don't remember exactly how far we walked but I do remember it was a LONG day and my feet hurt like crazy by the time I took the last step.

That's me on the right with the sunglasses

It's fun to see my ancestors at play - I've learned a lot about how they spent their free time and what gave them joy.  Not to mention it's fun to see myself at play as a child.  I just hope I wasn't playing here.  Artillery?????