Significant Anniversaries of 2019

Newspapers, particularly smaller local ones, often used to have a "memories" feature where they published synopses of stories and events that had been in the paper 50, 75, 100, etc. years ago.  Genealogists try to collect as many dates as possible about family members during their research.  This sounds like a great combination, right?  So I looked through my family tree (or at least the parts of it that I have access to, still being somewhat in limbo for a program) and found that 2019 will mark some important milestones in my family.  And it turns out that all of them are for my mother's side of the family.

100 Years Ago

My maternal grandmother, Lillyan E. Gordon (originally Esther Lillian), daughter of Joe Gordon and Sarah Libby Brainin, was born March 6, 1919 in her grandparents' home at 1575 Madison Avenue, Manhattan, New York.  My mother was very close to her mother, so we saw my grandparents on a regular basis.  My grandmother and my mother steeped me in family lore from the time I was just a little girl and definitely influenced my interest in genealogy.  If it weren't for them sharing their love of family with me, I may never have become a professional genealogist.

75 Years Ago

On March 5, 1944 — one day before she turned 25 — my grandmother gave birth to her second child, my uncle Martin Herbert Meckler, in Brooklyn, New York.  (My mother was the oldest child.)  So my uncle will be turning 75 this year.  I used to visit my uncle regularly when we both lived in California, and I miss seeing him and my aunt.  I have to make sure I remember to send a card out in time for this birthday.

50 Years Ago

For the 50-year category, I actually have a birth, a marriage, and a death to commemorate.

On June 29, 1969, my 1st cousin once removed Gail Arlene Gordon, daughter of Alexander Gordon (my maternal grandmother's brother) and Rose Rubin, married Stephen Roy Chepenik in Miami, Florida.  I actually attended this wedding.  I remember flying to Florida with my mother, brother, and sister.  My hair was all done up fancy for the event.  (Somewhere I still have the "rat" that was used to puff up my hair.)  My mother's 1st cousin Harriet Stein helped take care of us kids a lot during the trip.

My 4th cousin once removed Jake Socherman, who lives in the Portland area and whom I met only a few years ago, turns 50 this year, an important number for anyone.  He was born June 9, 1969.  His parents are Sam Socherman (originally Szocherman), one of my Cuban cousins, and Cecelia Keselman.  I hope he plans to celebrate big time!

Morris Garfinkel, my 2nd cousin 2x removed, died 50 years ago, on December 28, 1969.  He was the father of my dear cousin Esther Weinstein.  In Judaism, a person's death date, or yahrzeit, is commemorated every year, based on the date on the Jewish calendar.  December 28 was the 19th of Tevet in 1959; because of the way the Jewish calendar moves around in comparison to the Christian calendar, the 19th of Tevet for "this year" will actually fall on January 15, 2020.