kaganville

Tonight, Tonight...

Mon, 12 Jun 2023 14:23:51 GMT

As told by Bertha Kagan

Hymie Solomon loved to watch Westerns. That was his favorite. On the opening night of the new film West Side Story, the whole family went to the movies to see it. As it started and a gang of dancing men rolled onto the screen, he said, "It's gonna be a long night."

Photo: West Side Story movie poster

First me, then God.

Mon, 12 Jun 2023 14:22:49 GMT

As told by Bertha Kagan

When Zece Sobol was 6 years old, she got pneumonia and measles together. Her grandmother, known to the family as "Little Bubie" sat at Zece's bedside everyday and watched the doctor do his best to save her granddaughter's life. In a few days, Zece pulled through, and Little Bubie said (in Yiddish) to the doctor, "First God, then you saved my daughter."

The doctor replied, "No, Grandma. First me, THEN God."

Photo: Zece Sobol, Molly Ladinsky ("Little Bubie") and Ruth Scheck, circa 1926

Report Cards

Mon, 12 Jun 2023 14:19:07 GMT

As told by Bertha Kagan

Bertha didn't like school. She wanted to work and make money for her mother. Her younger sister, Gittie would come home each month with an honor certificate, and Bertha would get all C's.

Their mother, Ida used to get migraine headaches. She would lie down and put an acohol-covered washcloth on her head to try to ease the pain. Bertha would take this opportunity to get her mother to sign her report card. She figured Ida wouldn't want to read the grades, and that she would just sign it. Bertha would wake her mother up and say, "Ma, please sign this for school." Ida would sign it and turn it over. She saw the C's and said in Yiddish, "gai endrey-ad"* which loosely translates to "go to hell."

Photo: Hymie Solomon, May 1958