Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Discovering My Inner Jew, Part II: My Great Aunt's Written History, Continued

In the end my great aunt Annie--"Auntie Annie"--left us with ten pages of family history. These are the final two, presented out-of-sequence; the second contains what I'd imagine are the seeds to the Olsen family Jewish question (it also makes way more sense on the written page). The real work starts next, but for now...
Something I remembered—
This was told me
[sic] by Mrs. Mary Kustra one day when we had Bible Studies with Mrs. Bennett [Pastor Allan Bennett's wife]. Mary Kustra was Mary Conrad. The Conrad family lived in the same neighbourhood as the Wasky family. This happened before 1921. Mary said that she + her sisters used to "play" with my Wasky cousins. One day Mary came over to the Wasky's [sic]—She opened the kitchen door + she saw "all these people on their knees." She quickly closed the doors + left. [At this point you should all get your heads out of the gutter. Seriously. Get 'em out--now.] She didn’t understand what was going on--at the time. But now she said "I know--they were on their knees praying.” What a change in that household. Where once they had wild parties--now it was a prayer meeting.
(Auntie Annie and I--and, indeed, the rest of the entire world--have slightly divergent understandings of what constitute "wild parties.")
The Wasky family in the States
Mrs. Alex(ander) (Alexandra) Grandmother and our Mother's (Kross) Grandfather were sister + brother
Therefore their parents were cousins
Father's (Kross) Grandmother and Mrs. Wasky's (Alexandra’s) Grandfather were sister + brother
Therefore their parents were cousins
So that we are distant cousins of the Wasky's
[sic] in U.S.A. – Nancy-Walter-Sasha-+Michael (dead)
This Mike was a Teacher--he came to help on the farm + was killed by a [illegible, but looks like "Traitor"]
Aunt Harpina Wasky--husband John
Children--Sara, Sam, Annie, John (Jr.)
Nancy Grunley [this name is circled]
Again, this makes more sense on the written page. And again, I'd imagine this is the crucial page; it's the one that provides a furtive link to the United States, and it's there, probably in the Texas Panhandle, that the answer to the Jewish question lies. Where do we go from here? I don't know--but it'll be fun finding the way.

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