Palestinian Immigrant Gertrude Liebman

"Gertrude would save the apricot pits because she had heard if she rubbed them she could make chewing gum.  Disappointed that her experiment failed, she buried the pits in the backyard.  It was long before an apricot tree grew there." (Gertrude Liebman)

Apricot tree branch courtesy https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-dried-apricot.html.

Gertrude Liebman was born in Montefiore outside of the old city of Jerusalem.  Her father, not wanting to be drafted into the army during the First World War, hid in an attic for two months, then immigrated to America.  Gertrude's strongest memory of her father was at a seder, after which they read the Hagadah and sang all of the Passover songs.  Her father showered the young five year old with compliments.

Gertrude's mother had to eke out a living for her four children during the next three years.  She was very resourceful.  Gertrude's mother baked bread which she sold in the neighbouring Arab village.  Soldiers who deserted the army would stop at their house for a short stay.  They would leave their army blankets which Gertrude's mother would make into coats and sell them.  Gertrude's mother woul dpick apricots from neighbourhood trees and make jam.  Gertrude would save the apricot pits because she had heard if she rubbed them she could make chewing gum.  Disappointed that her experiment failed, she buried the pits in the backyard.  It was long before an apricot tree grew there.

The family wanted to join their father in America and planned their trip.  The first thing they packed was their periner (featherbed) which came in handy later on when there were no berths available on the ship that took them across the Mediterranean.  They sailed to America aboard the Ryndam which departed from Cherbourg, France.  They were detained at Ellis Island; authorities suspected that Gertrude's older brother had trachoma.  

They settled in an apartment in Manhattan where Gertrude had to get to know her father all over again.  In the three years he had been in the United States, he had become Americanized.  He taught himself how to read and write English.  He found a job as a chicken slaughterer.  Gertrude found a new school on Lexington Avenue.  Their new life had begun.

Manhattan circa 1920's courtesy http://www.archdaily.com/783927/how-the-metlife-building-redefined-midtown-manhattan.

Turkish Immigrant Osla Esen

"During the trip we had a very big storm.  The boat was rocking and big fishes, sharks, they used to jump almost on the boat.  People were afraid.  They [the Jewish people] started to pray and throw the matzo in the ocean to calm the sea.  It calmed down very well and thank God, we arrived at Ellis Island three weeks later." (Osla Esen)

Ankara, Turkey directorate building courtesy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankara.

During the Spanish Inquisition, Jews were driven out of Spain.  Some, like Osla Esen's ancestors, settled in Turkey, which welcomed them.  Osla grew up in Ankara, Turkey in a modest home.  She and her siblings slept on a Turkish carpet in the kitchen.

When Osla's father met her mother, he said:  "She is the prettiest girl in town."  However, at ten years younger, she was not ready to marry.  Osla's mother made some delicious dishes:  borek (pastries stuffed with feta cheese and spinach), doner (thinly sliced lamb similar to the Greek gyro), manta (dumplings stuffed with chopped meat served in a garlic and yogurt sauce) and patlican (pureed eggplant).

Borek courtesy http://www.turkishyummies.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Leek-Borek-Final.jpg.

Osla's father worked as a tinsmith soldering lamps.  He and Osla's mother owned a business in Ankara.  With great people skills, he worked well with the customers while with great math skills, she handled the books.

At home Osla and her family spoke Ladino, the Spanish spoken in Spain.  However, on the street they spoke Turkish.  At school, they learned a third language, French.

Osla's parents wanted a better opportunity for their children and decided to immigrate to America.  Osla's father made the trans-Atlantic passage in 1912.  The following year, Osla's mother, Osla and her siblings made the voyage.  They travelled in steerage on the Argentina.  Osla was seasick:  all she could keep down was bread and garlic.

"During the trip we had a very big storm.  The boat was rocking and big fishes, sharks, they used to jump almost on the boat.  People were afraid.  They [the Jewish people] started to pray and throw the matzo in the ocean to calm the sea.  It calmed down very well and thank God, we arrived at Ellis Island three weeks later."

The family settled in a Jewish neighbourhood on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.  About a month or two after their arrival, Osla's father took them to see the Statue of Liberty.  Osla said:  "I remember staring out through her eyes to Manhattan in the distance."

Boy peeks through the crown of the Statue of Liberty courtesy http://i12bent.tumblr.com/page/1131.

The Brooklyn Bridge: World's Longest Suspension Bridge

"To me, the building of the Brooklyn Bridge is still one of the most dramatic stories in all of American history." (Ken Burns)



Thousands flocked to the new bridge in its opening week at http://untappedcities.com/2013/10/23/rumor-brooklyn-bridge-stampede-collapse-sparked-fatal-during-opening-week/.

It spanned 5989 feet.  It weighed 14,860 tons.  It contained 3515 miles of wire per cable.  It took 14 years to build.  Originally the East River Bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge was the brainchild of John Augustus Roebling and complete by his son Washington Augustus Roebling.

A technological marvel, the suspension bridge's towers were built by floating two wooden caissons upside down in the East River, then building the stone towers on top until they sank to the bottom.  

The bridge's construction left many constructions workers injured including the architect whose toes were crushed and amputated; he developed tetanus and died.  His son, Washington, took over the project.  Later, the son developped a paralyzing injury due to decompression sickness.  Many workers contracted the bends due to the underwater work, a condition that the project physician called "caisson disease".  

Washington supervised most of the work from his apartment window.  His wife, Emily, played a major role in the bridge's construction over the next 11 years, "calculating catenary curves, the strength of materials, bridge specifications and intricacies of cable construction" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Bridge)

The bridge, which cost $15.5 million to construct, was built with several passageways and compartments in its anchorages to fund it.  The vaults, always at a temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit, were used to store wine.  With a shrine to the Virgin Mary at the entrance to the vault, it was nicknamed the "Blue Grotto.  

Opened in 1883 by President Chester Arthur, the bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time.  The architect, Roebling, was unable to attend the event due to his poor health; he held a celebration at his home, where the president visited him to shake his hand.

The Brooklyn Bridge, not only a conduit for New Yorkers travelling from Manhattan to Brooklyn and back, is also a historical landmark.  People come from far and wide to view its caissons, its cables, its view.  Filmmaker Ken Burns was thrilled to hear that his documentary on the Brooklyn Bridge made a difference in the lives of many Americans, particularly one family:

"In film classes back in college, we had debated endlessly whether films ever had any impact on people's lives, whether films ever really made people do something.  Shortly after this documentary first appeared, the New York Times ran a front page photograph of a married couple and their children walking over the Brooklyn Bridge.  They said they were from Idaho and they had travelled all the way to New York so their family could see first-hand this remarkable structure.  They said they got the idea after watching a film on PBS.  To me, the building of the Brooklyn Bridge is still one of the most dramatic stories in all of American history." 

Today, 125,000 cars, 4,000 passengers and 2,600 cyclists cross the Brooklyn Bridge each day.  It remains one of America's most magnificent landmarks.

The Brooklyn Bridge, the world's longest suspension bridge of its time, courtesy http://www.newyork.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/2-brooklyn-bridge_650.jpg.

Note:  To see part of the documentary, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-dvOwseK84).

Noel Regney & Gloria Shayne's "Do You Hear What I Hear?"

Said the night wind to the little lamb,

Do you see what I see

Way up in the sky, little lamb,

Do you see what I see

A star, a star, dancing in the night

With a tail as big as a kite

With a tail as big as a kite.

In October of 1962, Noel Regney walked down the street in Manhattan, discouraged and disillusioned.  The world was on the brink of war:  America and the U.S.S.R. were arguing over missiles recently built in Cuba, aimed at the United States.  Rather than enjoying the autumn colours in their backgrounds, people were building bomb shelters.  The tension was so real, they could feel it.

Noel Regney was no stranger to war.  Born and raised in France, he had been drafted by the Germany Army during the Second World War.  Unbeknownst to the Germans, he went underground as part of the French Resistance.  Wounded during the war, some suspect he was hit by the French, to protect his identity from the Germans.

Noel Regney survived the war and in 1952, he immigrated to the United States.  The composer was smitten by a young singer named Gloria Shayne.  After a whirlwind courtship, the couple married.  Shayne was a talented lyricist, Noel a talented composer, so the two teamed up to write songs.  "Rain, Rain Go Away" was one of their trademark tunes.

However, in October of 1962, their arrangement changed.  As Noel walked down the Manhattan streets with a heavy heart, he looked up and spotted two babies in carriages.  He was struck by their joy and innocence.  They gave him hope.  Back at his apartment, he started to compose a Christmas song about the hope that the two babies brought, despite the world being on the brink of war.  Noel's wife, Gloria, wrote the music.  Do You Hear What I Hear? was the result.

"Pray for peace, people everywhere" became Noel's plea.  The two babies became the "little lamb".  "A star in the night" brought hope.  A "child sleeping in the night", the baby Jesus, brought "goodness and light".  Noel and Gloria struggled to perform the song at first, explaining:  "Our little song broke us up.  You must realize there was a threat of nuclear war."

The carol was first recorded on Thanksgiving of 1962 by the Harry Simeone Chorale.  However, it was Bing Crosby who made it a hit with his recording of October 1963 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuE_DXrt2Js)  The carol was by far the biggest hit for Noel and Gloria Regney.   

The Cuban Missile Crisis was resolved after a few weeks, in large part thanks to President John F. Kennedy's levelheadedness and diplomacy (see http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2012/10/october-14.html and http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2015/09/the-cuban-missile-crisis-kennedys.html).  Sadly, the President didn't get to enjoy the peace that resulted as he was assassinated only a year later in November of 1963.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diYQnZFLBY0

"No Soup for You!"

"A stone faced immigrant chef with Stalinesque moustache, he is renowned throughout Manhattan for his soups." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Soup_Nazi)

It aired on November 2, 1995.  It is arguably the most famous Seinfeld episode.  Jerry, Elaine and George visited a soup stand that Kramer raved about.  Jerry explained to his friends the strict protocol that the owner enforced when ordering soup.  George complied, but Elaine refused; the latter was tossed out.

George returned and ordered more soup, this time complaining that he didn't receive the complimentary bread.  The Soup Nazi said that the bread cost $2.00; George balked and the owner raised it to $3.00.  George still complained and the owner barked:  "No soup for you!"

Jerry returned with his girlfriend, and the tow were kissing in line.  The owner complained; Jerry's girlfriend didn't like being reprimanded and voiced her protest.  The Soup Nazi kicked her out as well.  Jerry pretended he didn't know her so he could still purchase soup.

Elaine bought an armoire which was stolen on the streets of Manhattan.  Kramer explained the plight of his friend to the Soup Nazi who offered his own armoire as a replacement.  Elaine visited the soup stand to thank him, only to be told he wouldn't have offered it if he had known it was going to her.

Elaine later discovered the secret soup recipes in the armoire and returned to the soup stand to gloat.

Seinfeld and his cohorts visited the soup stand weeks after the episode aired.  The real Soup Nazi, Al Yaganeh did a triple take, proceeded to shout out profanities and ejected the men from the restaurant.

Soup Nazi courtesy http://screencrush.com/soup-nazi/.