Monthly Archives: August 2013

Two Grandfather’s, Two Paths

Posted on August 27, 2013 by kjw616

As I have researched the events preceding my grandparents’ decision to move their family from New Jersey to the USSR, I couldn’t help but reflect on how my other New Jersey grandparents handled living through the Great Depression. Dad’s parents … Continue reading →

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London to Leningrad- December1931- Last Leg of Journey

Posted on August 25, 2013 by kjw616

The final leg of the journey from New Jersey to Leningrad began in Hull, England, where Dad’s family boarded the Arcturus, a small Finnish passenger steamship at 6:00 on the evening of December 23.   The Arcturus was nothing like … Continue reading →

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The Traveling Diary

Posted on August 23, 2013 by kjw616

The diary I stumbled upon in Dad’s dresser drawer turned out to be the key to unlocking many of the mysteries of his life prior to marrying my mother.  I have reread it countless times since discovering it four years … Continue reading →

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The importance of reading between the lines (London-1931)

Posted on August 20, 2013 by kjw616

When I learned that Dad’s family spent five days touring the sites of London before embarking on the next leg of the journey to the Soviet Union, I was a surprised, because I didn’t envision the trip as being anything … Continue reading →

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My Grandma- “Baba”- Growing up in White Russia

Posted on August 15, 2013 by kjw616

This posting is also from the other journal. This one is about my Russian grandma.  It is not fine literature, but rather, the story of her early life exactly as written on February 14, 1975. Mother was born on May … Continue reading →

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My Grandfather- Who he was and what brought him to Rockaway,New Jersey

Posted on August 14, 2013 by kjw616

I found another journal, with only one , but quite exciting, entry.  It was a narrative of my grandfather’s early life and journey to America. Reading his story made me realize how difficult it must have been to return to … Continue reading →

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Anna: The First to Leave- March 1931

Posted on August 13, 2013 by kjw616

My Aunt Anna was the first to leave their New Jersey home, sailing on March 6, 1930 on the Mauretania with my grandfather’s brother, Mark.  She was only 15. I have often wondered why they left first and why, among … Continue reading →

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First look at the diary

Posted on August 12, 2013 by kjw616

Because the diary I found among Dad’s belongings is over 80 years old and had traveled a great distance, it is extremely fragile but quite legible. The first page includes the name of its owner, my aunt- Anna Wardamasky; her … Continue reading →

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Where Was the Money?

Posted on August 11, 2013 by kjw616

They were moving from New Jersey to Leningrad during the Great Depression. How did they get the money? My immigrant grandparents made the difficult decision to return to their homeland  two years after the stock market crash of 1929 presumably because … Continue reading →

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The Trip: First Stop London-December 1931

Posted on August 10, 2013 by kjw616

In keeping with my idea of the necessity of incorporating history into the understanding of our ancestor’s story, I decided to research what London was like in December 1931.  This was the first stop on Dad’s journey. I had visited … Continue reading →

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