Hello.
My grandmother and her four siblings, originally >from Horodenka, =
emmigrated >from Poland just before/during WWII. One of her brothers, =
who died around 1982, settled in Montevideo, Uruguay. My grandmother =
died in the early 1990's and, unfortunately, I was to young to be =
interested in these "distant" relatives while she was alive.

During the last couple of years I have become interested in finding any =
possible relatives in Uruguay that may have descended >from my =
grandmother's brother. Neither my father or uncle were able to remember =
any details so my search had to be >from scratch. Unfortunately, my =
internet probes into Uruguay were fruitless.

Then came the issuance of the Gesher Galicia directory last month. =
While casually thumbing through the pages I found there was a single =
member living in Uruguay. I immediately contacted him. He took it upon =
himself to make a few phone calls on my behalf. Within two days he =
connected me with two of my father's cousins, and their large families. =
What a strange experience to exchange emails with complete strangers =
that contained photographs of each other's families!!

To make the story even more amazing, I learned that the grandaughter of =
one of my father's cousins was coming to my city, Chicago, to prepare =
for graduate studies. I got to meet her just a couple of evenings ago! =
So, during the span of a couple of weeks I went >from searching rather =
hopelessly to exchanging emails, photos, stories, and even meeting =
family members I didn't know I had. I am even considering a trip to =
Uruguay with my father next winter.

Amazing what I have been able to accomplish via this web site and SIG.

Regards,
Arthur Michael Hirt
Elmhurst, Illinois
reply to: amhirteil@...