Don’t Forget History.

My family, from Lodz, circa 1912, Brooklyn, New York.

family

I decided to post this image of my mother’s side of my family. It’s the side I am closest to. I posted this image previously on Facebook and Pbase, where it has generated quite a lot of responses.

We tend as we grow older, when friends and family have begun to pass away, to begin an exploration of our own personal histories. This picture is one, among others, that has always fascinated me. There she is, my grandmother, Rose, second from the left, circa 1912/13, when she was just about 15. There are her brothers, sisters, and her parents. My grandmother always told people she was born in 1900, but the truth is she was born in 1898. When her family came to America, she wanted to go school and learn English. She couldn’t if she was 14 or 15. So, she lied. She went to school, learned English, worked, married, had one child, my mother. Yes, there is more to the story. This story. My story.

History is part of what brought you here. Not just HERE, but THERE, where YOU are.

Don’t forget history.

Published by Keith Goldstein

Photographer, husband, dad, and passionate cyclist. Lives and works in New York City.

5 thoughts on “Don’t Forget History.

  1. Don’t feel funny about posting this. It’s good stuff… I can only trace my family’s history back about 100 years. It’s especially tough on my dad’s side since the fine folks at Ellis Island could not spell our family name. Even though I’m known as Laskowitz, that’s not it. DNA tests say that we are from Belorussia, which does make some sense.

    1. I had my DNA tested last year and it was surprising in a couple of ways. A bit less when I sat down and thought about it. 90% Ashkenazy and the remaining 10% is Middle Eastern and ….. Greek!

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