Story Archive

29 Mar Vera Kadar’s story of Margaret

Posted at 11:17h in 1910's, Europe

My mother, Margaret Jager, was born on October 10, 1914 in the small town of Matyovce, Czechoslovakia, a mainly Hungarian speaking community close the Russian border. Her mother, Johanna Weitzen, had just returned from America shortly before her marriage to Jehuda Jager, a well to-do local businessman. By the time she found herself pregnant with their first child, the cloud of war had flown over Europe and her young husband had to join the Austro-Hungarian army. When my Mother was born my grandfather was fighting on the front and had to wait 4 years to meet little Margaret. At first she was scared of this man who one day just walked into their house and called himself her father. Every two years after that they had another girl: Bella, Edith and Hanna. The family had a comfortable life together until one day, at age 42, their mother died of pneumonia and Margaret, barely a teenager, had to step into the role of the mother - cooking, washing and cleaning for the family. They all rode the train daily to a nearby town called Ushgorod to attend school.

13 Sep Sheila’s story of Ella

Posted at 11:34h in 1920's, Anonymous, Britain

Bewley's Oriental Café, a traditional establishment in Grafton Street, Dublin, Ireland, first opened in 1927. In the 1930s, for a treat, my maternal grandmother used to take one of her six children there for cream buns and tea each week. More than fifty years later, in 1982, my mother, Ella, and I visited the same café together. I remember the aroma of freshly ground coffee, the clattering plates, and the constant chatter. The café was sombre; the floor, tables and wall panels were all made from dark wood. Sunlight illuminated the large stained-glass windows; the light appeared to breathe life into the brightly coloured exotic birds painted on the classical pillars. A display case was filled with chocolate eclairs, cream mille-feuilles and all kinds of fancy cakes.

07 Mar Rose’s anonymous story of Maria

Posted at 15:34h in 1930's, Anonymous, Mexico

My mother Maria was born in 1933 in El Rancho Libertda in Zacatecas, MX, and later lived in Emiliano Zapata, Zacatecas and somewhere in Mexicali before they moved to Los Angeles, CA and finally to Pico Rivera, CA. I had the good fortune to find...

31 May Gayle Swain’s story of Minnie

Posted at 14:14h in 1910's, Canada

Minnie Zelda Izen, was born in Vancouver on June 8, 1916. She was the first of three children from my grandmother, Mary, who had been orphaned as the result of the pogroms in Lithuania. Mary was sponsored by an aunt to come to Vancouver at the age of 15. She was subsequently married off to the first man who came knocking, William Izen, who had been born in Poland. Mary didn’t love him. Her heart was set for a cousin in Seattle but that was not approved.

09 May Deb Svanefelt’s story of Rosemary

Posted at 20:08h in 1930's, Canada

Her obituary began: “In Loving Memory of Rosemary Elizabeth Faye Cozens. July 1, 1935 - July 4, 2019. Feminist psychotherapist; passionate advocate for human and animal rights; Nature lover and avid reader; good food and tai chi enthusiast. Rosemary adored all her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was a spunky (and sometimes opinionated), ardent trail-blazer looking deeply into life, ceaselessly exploring the human shadow-lands as well as the bright and beautiful - she just loved the adventure of traveling, both on the planet and inside the human experience. She passed away peacefully in her home.” So, who was this amazing woman, who embodied all these aspects, yet who's life also contained so much more of human experience? Born in Toronto Ontario, Canada, on the day that Canada celebrates it's birthday too, Rosemary was the first born daughter, with a younger sister born 5 years later. It was in the middle of the Great Depression.

07 May Chandrika Radhakrishnan’s story of Lakshmi

Posted at 20:14h in 1930's, India

My mother was a product of her upbringing. The stiff upper lip, a legacy of the British Empire, was left behind even after independence and it became the trademark of my mother’s parental home in Madras, which is now known as Chennai, a South Indian coastal city in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Stoic, hardworking, frugal; her family was among the ones who appreciated the finer aspects of art by way of music, playing musical instruments, art and craft. Movies were one among the list of taboo topics and books were meant to educate and elevate the brains and not meant for entertainment. The family lore goes that my affluent grandmother was one of the few children who had a perambulator. She was a genteel lady and often used the word, ‘cultured.’

06 May Shirleyan English’s story of Amy

Posted at 20:33h in 1900's, Canada

First the statistics: She was born Amy Elizabeth Bowerman, June 4, 1906. Married Elliott David Grieve, August 8, 1934. Had three children: Shirleyan, 1936; Sharon, 1939; and Sandra (Sandy), 1946. Her name was Amy Elizabeth but her siblings called her Liz. No one else did. At less than five feet, she was short on height but long on resilience, initiative and personality, qualities that brought her through various periods of adversity throughout her long life. She was also a risk-taker and often a gambler. These qualities helped too. When confronted with a problem, she used to say, “Well, how am I going to handle this?” She usually found an answer.

08 Apr Cory Bretz’s story of Lee

Posted at 05:55h in 1940's, Canada

My mother is Henrietta Leigh Butts. She was born October 15, 1941 in Fort William, Thunder Bay, Ontario. She died at the age of 48 on May 25, 1989. She was known by her mother as “Henri” but she referred to herself as “Lee”, re-spelling...

13 May Surjit Singh Flora’s story of Niranjan Kaur

Posted at 02:56h in 1940's, India

My Mother Niranjan Kaur Flora was born in the town of Ramghar Punjab India, on July 12, 1941, the second of four girls and one brother: Jaswinder Kaur, Niranjan Kaur, Gurbax Kaur, Jasvir Kaur and Mohan Singh. In Sikh families all girls are named Kaur as all boys are named Singh.

09 Dec Elizabeth Jurenovich’s story of Sally

Posted at 22:50h in 1930's, Uncategorized, USA

Sally Vanderwerf She was a study in contrasts, this identical twin born to a Jewish prizefighter and an Irish Catholic teenager, who went on to become a Presbyterian minister's wife. Her name was Sally Marie, and from childhood through adulthood, she was intelligent, articulate, mercurial and...