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Meeting the Neighbors
P A G E 5
“I was the only Jewish girl in my grade and for that matter in the whole school I realized quite early in life what it meant to be a minority group of one. However, religion presented no great problem in that small town... I do remember one small incident in my 7th grade. Our class had planned a picnic towards the close of the year. Picnics were such fun in those years. Each child was asked to bring something in food... the ice cream was supplied by the school. We all looked forward to that occasion for weeks. This year the teacher announced that the date it was to be held was on Saturday and at a grove about two miles from town. My heart fell because I knew I couldn’t ride on the Sabbath. I privately explained my predicament to my teacher. Whereupon she asked me whether I could walk to the picnic. I said I could, but that I wouldn't be allowed to walk alone. To my great embarrassment she explained my problem to the class and asked, ‘Who would like to walk with Rose?’ There was complete silence for a few seconds and I finally got enough courage to raise my eyes and to my great astonishment, nearly everyone in the class had their hand up. We ended up with the whole class hiking to and from the picnic and that was great fun. Not a worry or care in the world!”
Rose Mill Sweed, manuscript, 1977. The Mill family farmed from about 1890 to 1919 near Edmore, North Dakota. Courtesy of the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest.
“Being Jewish in Aberdeen meant being set apart. There were only a few good friends I made who understood some of what it meant and tried to enjoy the differences. From early on I knew that my neighbor's religion made no sense to me, but was compelled to tolerate them so they’d tolerate me. Kids in school didn’t know what to make of me. ‘What is a Jew?’ Most were quietly amazed at me; some (very few, actually) were anti-Semitic.”
Paul Premack, letter, 1986. Premack grew up in Aberdeen, South Dakota, during the 1950s. Courtesy of the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest.
top photo: Baily School District Number 2 in Manning, North Dakota, had five Jewish children enrolled in 1912. Courtesy of the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest.
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