|
Meeting the Neighbors
P A G E 8
“Most of the people in our town spoke with a German accent. We were the only Jewish family in town. There was one Dutch family and all the rest were Roman Catholics. So I grew up knowing more about Catholicism than Judaism. My birthdate is December 8, which is the date of the Immaculate Conception, and on that day our school was closed as it was on all Catholic holidays. We would participate in the big Christmas program every year, and one year I played the part of the Angel and my sister the part of the Virgin Mary. Several of the townspeople complained to the priest, Father Neibler, and he said, ‘After all, wasn’t Virgin Mary a Jewish Girl?’ and that settled that.”
Audrey Cheit Estrin, manuscript, undated. Estrin grew up in Hague, North Dakota, in the 1920s. Courtesy of the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest.
“We were not allowed to go with any gentile boys. A school program, yes: A school party, yes, when it was in the school. But out of the school, uh-uh. Never could date anyone. So we didn’t. Those were the days children listened to the parents. It wasn’t easy; it was quite disappointing when you’re growing up and everyone’s talking about a party, and for once you were included, because otherwise there were church parties, which naturally, we wouldn’t have anything to do with, but any school parties. And when you’re growing up and you want fun, and you just can’t go.”
Blanche Halpern Goldberg, oral history, 1976. Goldberg grew up in Hebron, North Dakota, in the 1920s. Courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society.
top photo: Audrey and Inez Cheit dressed for their roles in a church pageant, Hague, North Dakota, mid-1920s. Courtesy of the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest.
|
|
|
|
|
