The Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois meeting Sunday, Nov. 19, 2017

Meeting time: 12:30-3:30 p.m.; presentation time: 2 p.m.

Place: Temple Beth-El, 3610 Dundee Road, Northbrook, Ill.

2 p.m. program: "My Mother's Life in Cuba: In Her Own Words"

Speaker: Martin Fischer

"My Mother's Life in Cuba: In Her Own Words" is the topic of a talk planned by
genealogist Martin Fischer for the Sunday, Nov. 19, 2017, meeting of the Jewish
Genealogical Society of Illinois. Fischer's presentation, based on his mother's
25-page memoir about life in the Havana Jewish community >from 1928 to 1942, will
begin at 2 p.m. at Temple Beth-El, 3610 Dundee Road, Northbrook, Ill.

The JGSI genealogy research library and help desk will open at 12:30 p.m. For
more information, see https://jgsi.org/event-2635116 or phone 312-666-0100.

Fischer will present excerpts >from the memoir written by his mother, Chana Anita
Levik Fischer (1921-2007), who, in the wake of the turmoil of the Russian
Revolution, was conceived in Russia, born in Poland, grew up and was educated in
Cuba; and got married, raised a family and had a career in the United States.

After briefly summarizing Chana's earliest years, Fischer will focus on the
period >from 1928 to 1942, when she and her parents, Abraham and Dweire Levik,
struggled to adjust and make a living in Havana, Cuba. Despite a promising
business venture begun by Abraham shortly after their arrival in Havana, the
family was soon to become victims of the worldwide Great Depression and
eventually came to depend on friends for support and the local Jewish community
for employment.

Although language differences, status as a foreigner and a life in and out of
poverty created obstacles, Chana Levik managed to gain a valuable education in
Cuba. She attended a free public technical high school, which prepared her well
for a career later in life as a laboratory technician at Jewish Hospital in St.
Louis, Missouri.

Martin Fischer, vice president of publicity for the Jewish Genealogical Society
of Illinois, is also a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists,
International Society of Family History Writers and Editors, and St. Louis
Genealogical Society. He has been doing genealogy research since the 1970s and
has an extensive family history website at martinfischer.webs.com .

He recently won a first place award for excellence in writing >from the
International Society of Family History Writers and Editors for "How the
Gogolinsky Family of Warsaw Became the Barney Family of St. Louis," an article
published in Avotaynu: The International Review of Jewish Genealogy, Spring 2016.

Submitted by:
Martin Fischer
Vice President-Publicity
Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois