It is difficult to determine where to go if you do not know where you have been

One hundred years ago, William Golberg landed at Locust Point in Baltimore, after sailing from Hamburg, Germany. He came with his mother, Dora and three siblings, Sophie, Goldie and David. It was necessary that immigrants be sponsored by someone living in the United States and the Golbergs were sponsored by Simon and Manye Malkin.  Manye was Dora’s sister.

The Malkins had previously immigrated and established a hardware store at Pratt and Central Avenue. William was the man of the Family; his father, Constantine died earlier in the Ukraine. The Golbergs lived on the third floor above the hardware store and William worked in the store to support the family. He was 16 years old; only Sophie was older.

The Malkins were called Uncle Malkin and Tante Manye. Tante is Yiddish for aunt and fetter is Yiddish for uncle. I have no idea why we did not call him Fetter Simon. They had two daughters; Sarah, who was adopted and Phyllis. Sarah married Harry Shpritz, a dentist and had two children, Gloria and Norton. Phyllis married Eli (Ginny) Paul and had one daughter. Ginny Paul was an accomplished softball player and played second base for a world championship team sponsored by Jack Pollack, a political Baltimore 4^th District leader. The hardware store relocated to Liberty Height Avenue and was renamed the Liberty Paint and Hardware. Ginny Paul worked in the hardware store and it existed until his retirement.

William had a house built at 3326 Ingleside Avenue and married Esther Poloway in 1924. Dora and Sophie and Goldie moved in with the newlyweds. William worked for the Independent Lock Company until his retirement in 1963. Kenneth arrived in March, 1925, Ruth in June, 1929 and Marvin Bennett in January 1931.

Birth

I am so excited! I would like to announce the birth of a ………………………………TOMATO!!!!!!!!!!! Three weeks ago, I went to Home Depot and bought two planters, two bags of topsoil and two six inch tomato plants. My Aide, Mariana and I planted them along with some miniature pepper plants that she grew from seeds. The tomato plants are about a foot and a half high. Today she noticed a tomato the size of a marble, had appeared. I have a long way to go to recoup the $67.00 that I spent at Home Depot.

Tradition

TRADITION, TRADITION!

I believe that tradition is the glue that binds race, religion, culture and family together. No matter how secular a Jew may become, there is usually a Bris (if male, of course), a Bnei Mitzvoh and a Jewish funeral. Traditions may change depending how mores change. I'm big on tradition. I gave Aunt Molli and Uncle Larry my gold wedding band and asked them to be the keeper and supply it for use in all future weddings in the family. As Jewish tradition dictates, it is the one that I put on her forefinger 65 years ago.

Imagine Jacob, some two or three decades from now, telling his bride, as he puts that ring on her forefinger, "This is the ring that my great-grandfather Ken put on the forefinger of my great-grandmother Marcie nearly a century ago."

This being said, I believe that we should remember our loved ones with two dates; the secular one of their birth and the religious one of their death. That sort of ties their whole life together. So I remembered Grandma on her birthday, February 2nd and I will light a candle on the evening of February 22nd, the Hebrew date.