Dear H-siggers,

I'm sure most of you know about this site, but just in case, I thought it
best to post it. Through this site I just now found long lost relatives
that my father and I have been looking for ever since we began our
genealogical expedition.

The tricky part of utilizing this website is that there's no mention of who
had the honorees listed. The solution is to call the correct office at
Ellis Island, to give whatever information you got >from the website, and to
ask them to tell you the names of the donors and the town and state of
residence (they won't give out addresses and phone numbers, understandably).
At this point you have two possibilities. One is to send a letter to Ellis
Island and have them forward it to the correct people. The other is to get
on Yahoo People Search, or some similar search engine, and find them that way.

If you haven't checked this site out recently, definitely take a look. Bear
in mind that many of the donors do not have internet access, and therefore
the Wall of Honor contains a different database than other ones which rely
solely on internet contributions.

Be forewarned--this site can be miserably slow at times. Be patient.

The @ddress is:

http://www.wallofhonor.com/wallofhonor/search_f.asp

The phone number of Ellis Island is:

212-883-1986

Their address is:

Ellis Island Foundation
52 Vanderbilt Avenue
New York, NY 10017-3898

Yahoo People Search's @ddress is:

http://www.yahoo.com/search/people/


Good Luck!!!

Robert

Morning, JewishGen colleagues -

Finally back after absences for business, and desiring to ask your
advice for a friend who believes his grandparent's true ancestry may be
Jewish in whole or part. My friend's name is Dr. Virgil Kovalenko of
Salt Lake City, Utah.

I have done a Family Finder search on his family already, and will
shortly be posting his data in the Finder's Data Base. In the interim,
he asks if anyone knows anyrthing about this family and can provide him
with information a/o basic insights.

(1) TUBALOV, Maria Fedorovna of Kharkov, Russia [Ukraine];
Name may be known as - TUBOLOFF, TOOBOLOV, TOOBALOFF.

Died - Melitopol,Ukraine, circa 1923; Buried in original
central cemetery next to husband, KOVALENKO, Nikolai Kuzmich

(2) KOVALENKO, Nikolai Kuzmich - Kharkov, Sumi, Feodosia or Melitopol,
Russia [Ukraine]. Also - KOVALENKO, Kuzma of Kharkov, Russia [Ukraine]

Nikolai died 1905 during revolution. At death, he was station master
on railroad north of present city of Melitopol.

The central cemetery was eliminated when city expanded.
All interred were reburied in common graves outside of city limits
near present site of small (name ?) Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

As my friend, Dr. Kovalenko, is a Mormon and in SLC he is already trying
the Mormon Family History facilities. What he suffers >from currently is
info >from the Jewish vantage point on the area/s cited and the names.

E-Mails can be posted back to me <cfphrai@bellatlantic.net> a/o Dr.
Virgil Kovalenko <vasaa@facile.com>, or posted to the Discussion Group,
if of common interest to others.

Best regards,

Chuck Printz,
Elizabeth, NJ/USA
JFF Research No.7493

Dear H-siggers,

I'm sure most of you know about this site, but just in case, I thought it
best to post it. Through this site I just now found long lost relatives
that my father and I have been looking for ever since we began our
genealogical expedition.

The tricky part of utilizing this website is that there's no mention of who
had the honorees listed. The solution is to call the correct office at
Ellis Island, to give whatever information you got >from the website, and to
ask them to tell you the names of the donors and the town and state of
residence (they won't give out addresses and phone numbers, understandably).
At this point you have two possibilities. One is to send a letter to Ellis
Island and have them forward it to the correct people. The other is to get
on Yahoo People Search, or some similar search engine, and find them that way.

If you haven't checked this site out recently, definitely take a look. Bear
in mind that many of the donors do not have internet access, and therefore
the Wall of Honor contains a different database than other ones which rely
solely on internet contributions.

Be forewarned--this site can be miserably slow at times. Be patient.

The @ddress is:

http://www.wallofhonor.com/wallofhonor/search_f.asp

The phone number of Ellis Island is:

212-883-1986

Their address is:

Ellis Island Foundation
52 Vanderbilt Avenue
New York, NY 10017-3898

Yahoo People Search's @ddress is:

http://www.yahoo.com/search/people/


Good Luck!!!

Robert

Morning, JewishGen colleagues -

Finally back after absences for business, and desiring to ask your
advice for a friend who believes his grandparent's true ancestry may be
Jewish in whole or part. My friend's name is Dr. Virgil Kovalenko of
Salt Lake City, Utah.

I have done a Family Finder search on his family already, and will
shortly be posting his data in the Finder's Data Base. In the interim,
he asks if anyone knows anyrthing about this family and can provide him
with information a/o basic insights.

(1) TUBALOV, Maria Fedorovna of Kharkov, Russia [Ukraine];
Name may be known as - TUBOLOFF, TOOBOLOV, TOOBALOFF.

Died - Melitopol,Ukraine, circa 1923; Buried in original
central cemetery next to husband, KOVALENKO, Nikolai Kuzmich

(2) KOVALENKO, Nikolai Kuzmich - Kharkov, Sumi, Feodosia or Melitopol,
Russia [Ukraine]. Also - KOVALENKO, Kuzma of Kharkov, Russia [Ukraine]

Nikolai died 1905 during revolution. At death, he was station master
on railroad north of present city of Melitopol.

The central cemetery was eliminated when city expanded.
All interred were reburied in common graves outside of city limits
near present site of small (name ?) Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

As my friend, Dr. Kovalenko, is a Mormon and in SLC he is already trying
the Mormon Family History facilities. What he suffers >from currently is
info >from the Jewish vantage point on the area/s cited and the names.

E-Mails can be posted back to me <cfphrai@bellatlantic.net> a/o Dr.
Virgil Kovalenko <vasaa@facile.com>, or posted to the Discussion Group,
if of common interest to others.

Best regards,

Chuck Printz,
Elizabeth, NJ/USA
JFF Research No.7493

Just a few notes on our trip to the Ukraine this summer with Louis Schonfeld
and Family Tree:

Berehovo/Berehi/all the towns we went through in the Ukraine look like they
must have looked 100 years ago. The people looked worn and haggard. In
Berehovo, there is a large square (I bought a post card dated 1978) where
there had been a statue of Lenin -- no longer there. The synagogue was
replaced by a music hall. Gypsy beggar children were all over us -- touching,
always touching. In Berehovo (as in other towns), there was a market --
people brought their wares, bread, chickens and fish(no refrigeration -- just
laying there in 104 degrees covered with flies), eggs, etc. Outside of
Berehovo, we saw horse-driven carts -- I did not see any mechanization at all.

We ate breakfast at the hotel in Mukechevo -- eggs were safe -- scrambled,
well done. Dinner was always at a nice restaurant. We brought (>from home)
food for lunch -- raisins, tuna fish, crackers, trailmix, cheese/crackers,
granola bars, etc. -- ate in the bus. Before we reached the border, we bought
bottled water (gas or still) for drinking, brushing our teeth. We were told
not to have dairy products (poor refrigeration), water, salad (which would be
washed in the water). A few of the people ate those things anyway and were
fine. I did not take a chance.

The roads were in very poor condition. The gravestones were in Hebrew.

We were very comfortable in an air-conditioned bus but outside of Budapest and
throughout the Ukraine, of course no AC --- no screens on the windows and lots
and lots of mosquitoes. Also we noticed that fans are almost unheard of --
only one restaurant had one. The locals did not seem to mind the 104 degree
heat even though it was a heat wave they are not used to.

We went through the following villages, stopping at cemeteries and "talking"
to the locals -- Berehi, Botrad, Kaszony, Lalovo, Drahovo, Lipsha, Hust,
Fekete Ardo and Vinogradov. The larger towns were Berehovo, Uzhgorod and
Mukechevo. In Lalovo, we "communicated" with the children with Life Savers
and chewing gum and with the adults through our interpreters. They were all
very friendly. It must have been the biggest event in the past 50 years,
because it seems like the whole town came out to see what the excitement was.
We walked through some of the villages -- it was an emotional experience for
me since my mother and her family probably walked the same streets.

More later

Szia
Betty Rosen

Just a few notes on our trip to the Ukraine this summer with Louis Schonfeld
and Family Tree:

Berehovo/Berehi/all the towns we went through in the Ukraine look like they
must have looked 100 years ago. The people looked worn and haggard. In
Berehovo, there is a large square (I bought a post card dated 1978) where
there had been a statue of Lenin -- no longer there. The synagogue was
replaced by a music hall. Gypsy beggar children were all over us -- touching,
always touching. In Berehovo (as in other towns), there was a market --
people brought their wares, bread, chickens and fish(no refrigeration -- just
laying there in 104 degrees covered with flies), eggs, etc. Outside of
Berehovo, we saw horse-driven carts -- I did not see any mechanization at all.

We ate breakfast at the hotel in Mukechevo -- eggs were safe -- scrambled,
well done. Dinner was always at a nice restaurant. We brought (>from home)
food for lunch -- raisins, tuna fish, crackers, trailmix, cheese/crackers,
granola bars, etc. -- ate in the bus. Before we reached the border, we bought
bottled water (gas or still) for drinking, brushing our teeth. We were told
not to have dairy products (poor refrigeration), water, salad (which would be
washed in the water). A few of the people ate those things anyway and were
fine. I did not take a chance.

The roads were in very poor condition. The gravestones were in Hebrew.

We were very comfortable in an air-conditioned bus but outside of Budapest and
throughout the Ukraine, of course no AC --- no screens on the windows and lots
and lots of mosquitoes. Also we noticed that fans are almost unheard of --
only one restaurant had one. The locals did not seem to mind the 104 degree
heat even though it was a heat wave they are not used to.

We went through the following villages, stopping at cemeteries and "talking"
to the locals -- Berehi, Botrad, Kaszony, Lalovo, Drahovo, Lipsha, Hust,
Fekete Ardo and Vinogradov. The larger towns were Berehovo, Uzhgorod and
Mukechevo. In Lalovo, we "communicated" with the children with Life Savers
and chewing gum and with the adults through our interpreters. They were all
very friendly. It must have been the biggest event in the past 50 years,
because it seems like the whole town came out to see what the excitement was.
We walked through some of the villages -- it was an emotional experience for
me since my mother and her family probably walked the same streets.

More later

Szia
Betty Rosen

My grandfather's brother Armin Lefkovics should have been a magician.
He changed his name to William Lane. He missed every census, appeared
in the US without having set foot on a boat, avoided every city
directory >from 1900, and has a grave but no death certificate. But,
family members saw him and can attest to his actual existence. Armin
just wanted to hide.

His son Harry was an attorney. So I sent for Harry's NY state bar
application having heard that these documents are treasure troves. I
found this to be true. The application contained every address that
Harry lived at >from his birth in 1903 (in US, not Hungary I discovered)
to the application in 1928. And all the schools he attended and every
job he ever held up to that date. So, now I had addresses to search the
NY City censuses, and the federal censuses by address instead of by
name (which had been previously fruitless). I was elated.

So, I looked up the 1905 address, and alas, his block was the ONLY
BLOCK that the census taker missed in the entire district. How much did
Armin pay him to do that? Then, not to be deterred, I tried the 1910
census. The house number listed on the application does not exist on
the given street and none of the surrounding addresses housed uncle
Armin. I still have things to check, but I remain convinced that Armin
will not be found. I suspect that when Harry said - hey dad, what
addresses did we live at when I was young, Armin just made some up.

If anyone wants the address to send for NY bar applications, I will
provide it. But, be wary of the quality of the mass of information that
you might receive and check it carefully.

Debbi

My grandfather's brother Armin Lefkovics should have been a magician.
He changed his name to William Lane. He missed every census, appeared
in the US without having set foot on a boat, avoided every city
directory >from 1900, and has a grave but no death certificate. But,
family members saw him and can attest to his actual existence. Armin
just wanted to hide.

His son Harry was an attorney. So I sent for Harry's NY state bar
application having heard that these documents are treasure troves. I
found this to be true. The application contained every address that
Harry lived at >from his birth in 1903 (in US, not Hungary I discovered)
to the application in 1928. And all the schools he attended and every
job he ever held up to that date. So, now I had addresses to search the
NY City censuses, and the federal censuses by address instead of by
name (which had been previously fruitless). I was elated.

So, I looked up the 1905 address, and alas, his block was the ONLY
BLOCK that the census taker missed in the entire district. How much did
Armin pay him to do that? Then, not to be deterred, I tried the 1910
census. The house number listed on the application does not exist on
the given street and none of the surrounding addresses housed uncle
Armin. I still have things to check, but I remain convinced that Armin
will not be found. I suspect that when Harry said - hey dad, what
addresses did we live at when I was young, Armin just made some up.

If anyone wants the address to send for NY bar applications, I will
provide it. But, be wary of the quality of the mass of information that
you might receive and check it carefully.

Debbi

Does anyone in this newsgroup receive The Galitzianer published by Galicia
SIG? I am looking for an article written by Daniel Teichman in Volume 5 No.
3 - Spring 1998. The approximate title of the article is My search for a
Connection to the Dynower Rebbe (1783-1841). If it's only a few pages I
would appreciate a fax to 216-291-0824 or please mail a copy
to Louis Schonfeld / POB 34152 / Cleveland, OH 44134. Much appreciated.


Louis

Please visit our website at:
http://www.jewishgen.org/Hungary/

My husband, Martin J. Silver, is celebrating his 80th birthday
next month. It would be a wonderful surprise if we could find
his brother, Herbert, a few years younger. They have not met
in at least 30 years! Marty would be delighted to invite his
brother to the birthday celebration if we could find him. He
was born in Philadelphia and lived there when they last met.
We have tried the online "switchboard," but about 30 telephone
calls to Herbert Silver have not turned up the right one. Their
sister, Ruth, will be joining us, but there are no other living
siblings. Any help out there?

Edie Silver

Does anyone in this newsgroup receive The Galitzianer published by Galicia
SIG? I am looking for an article written by Daniel Teichman in Volume 5 No.
3 - Spring 1998. The approximate title of the article is My search for a
Connection to the Dynower Rebbe (1783-1841). If it's only a few pages I
would appreciate a fax to 216-291-0824 or please mail a copy
to Louis Schonfeld / POB 34152 / Cleveland, OH 44134. Much appreciated.


Louis

Please visit our website at:
http://www.jewishgen.org/Hungary/

My husband, Martin J. Silver, is celebrating his 80th birthday
next month. It would be a wonderful surprise if we could find
his brother, Herbert, a few years younger. They have not met
in at least 30 years! Marty would be delighted to invite his
brother to the birthday celebration if we could find him. He
was born in Philadelphia and lived there when they last met.
We have tried the online "switchboard," but about 30 telephone
calls to Herbert Silver have not turned up the right one. Their
sister, Ruth, will be joining us, but there are no other living
siblings. Any help out there?

Edie Silver

I just returned >from a visit to eastern Slovakia, mainly in and around
Stropkov. I stayed at the local hotel (no hot water, but a sizeable
discount) for five days, travelling around to small villages -- all the
ones that I had ever wanted to see -- Okruhle, Medzilaborce, Havaj,
Bardiov, Bardiov Kupele (of the famed "rusty water"), Mikova, Chotca, .....

I was especially interested in Olka, as my family had lived there before
they moved to Stropkov. I had studied the LDS death records before I left,
in preparation:

We drove east to Olka, Slovakia -- halfway between Hummene and Medzilaborce
-- where my family had lived some two hundred years ago. Records in the
LDS Library show that some Olkans were buried in Kriva Olka, a hamlet about
three kilometers to the south. It does not appear on current maps,
however, so we discovered it by instinct Today, Kriva Olka is all of
seven or eight farms, tucked in a valley surrounded by hills. Speaking to
the older folks there, we heard that is indeed a cemetery there -- or
there once was.

Adults who died in Olka were taken the ten kilometers to Stropkov for
burial. Stropkov, with her chevra kadisha was "mother" to her
"daughters", small villages with a small number of Jews among the
population. But poor Jewish families of Olka buried their babies and
children beside their homes, just over the hillside, not even marking the
graves with a stone.

Today, the cemetery lies within private fields, unattended, unmarked -- but
still remembered by the locals. Just writing about it makes me feel
better, a little closer to those people then.


After the disappontment of the Kriva Olka cemetery, we searched for the
Radvan cemetery which served that nearby, larger village. Again we
stopped, speaking to the older people, and were told that the Radvan
cemetery is out in the fields, "not too far." Two elderly women
accompanied us to the edge of the village, watching as we started out. We
followed directions, but could not see any tombstones in the distance. It
was nearing sunset.

We walked and walked -- carefully navigating muddy hoofprints and other
signs that cows leave behind them. We crossed brooks and scrambled over
and under fences along the way. All the while, it was getting darker; the
women whom we had left behind looked smaller and smaller on the horizon --
and still no cemetery in sight. One of us hurried ahead into the woods --
and disappeared, while the other circled around the other side. Each
called back and forth to the other, until the cemetery was finally located.
It was deep in the woods, far beyond the fields, on a very steep hill.
The gravestones were nearly inaccessible because of the slope. Many had
succumbed to gravity; many had been displaced by tall trees. Although
isolated and neglected, this cemetery was uncommonly beautiful and
peaceful. I would choose to spend eternity here.

On the walk back, with darkness approaching, we heard a train somewhere,
whistling forlornly into the night. How easy it was to imagine the trains
that had carried Jews to the camps. Then, like now, trains passed by tiny
hamlets scattered throughout the green meadows of rural Slovakia, hardly
noticed, hardly heard.


Melody Amsel Gross




















v

I just returned >from a visit to eastern Slovakia, mainly in and around
Stropkov. I stayed at the local hotel (no hot water, but a sizeable
discount) for five days, travelling around to small villages -- all the
ones that I had ever wanted to see -- Okruhle, Medzilaborce, Havaj,
Bardiov, Bardiov Kupele (of the famed "rusty water"), Mikova, Chotca, .....

I was especially interested in Olka, as my family had lived there before
they moved to Stropkov. I had studied the LDS death records before I left,
in preparation:

We drove east to Olka, Slovakia -- halfway between Hummene and Medzilaborce
-- where my family had lived some two hundred years ago. Records in the
LDS Library show that some Olkans were buried in Kriva Olka, a hamlet about
three kilometers to the south. It does not appear on current maps,
however, so we discovered it by instinct Today, Kriva Olka is all of
seven or eight farms, tucked in a valley surrounded by hills. Speaking to
the older folks there, we heard that is indeed a cemetery there -- or
there once was.

Adults who died in Olka were taken the ten kilometers to Stropkov for
burial. Stropkov, with her chevra kadisha was "mother" to her
"daughters", small villages with a small number of Jews among the
population. But poor Jewish families of Olka buried their babies and
children beside their homes, just over the hillside, not even marking the
graves with a stone.

Today, the cemetery lies within private fields, unattended, unmarked -- but
still remembered by the locals. Just writing about it makes me feel
better, a little closer to those people then.


After the disappontment of the Kriva Olka cemetery, we searched for the
Radvan cemetery which served that nearby, larger village. Again we
stopped, speaking to the older people, and were told that the Radvan
cemetery is out in the fields, "not too far." Two elderly women
accompanied us to the edge of the village, watching as we started out. We
followed directions, but could not see any tombstones in the distance. It
was nearing sunset.

We walked and walked -- carefully navigating muddy hoofprints and other
signs that cows leave behind them. We crossed brooks and scrambled over
and under fences along the way. All the while, it was getting darker; the
women whom we had left behind looked smaller and smaller on the horizon --
and still no cemetery in sight. One of us hurried ahead into the woods --
and disappeared, while the other circled around the other side. Each
called back and forth to the other, until the cemetery was finally located.
It was deep in the woods, far beyond the fields, on a very steep hill.
The gravestones were nearly inaccessible because of the slope. Many had
succumbed to gravity; many had been displaced by tall trees. Although
isolated and neglected, this cemetery was uncommonly beautiful and
peaceful. I would choose to spend eternity here.

On the walk back, with darkness approaching, we heard a train somewhere,
whistling forlornly into the night. How easy it was to imagine the trains
that had carried Jews to the camps. Then, like now, trains passed by tiny
hamlets scattered throughout the green meadows of rural Slovakia, hardly
noticed, hardly heard.


Melody Amsel Gross




















v

Time for another update. This one is a bit late because of the JG server
problems.

Despite summer vacations after the L.A. Seminar and insufficient htmlers to
process all the documents that were submitted >from June-August, we have put
some very extraordinary material on the Yizkor Book web site in August.
And the pipe line is very long, indeed, meaning that you will be treated to
a significant increase in yizkor documents online in the next few months.
You can now find the following recent additions:

*More material on Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine has been added. See it under
ARIM and Lists of Victims. Susannah Juni has created a beautiful web page
for the Hebrew tables of contents and Martin Kessel constructed a
handsome, easy to read format for the Lists of Victims culled >from the
Russian Commission which investigated war crimes.

*Sczuczyn, Poland: translation of the Yiddish part of HURBAN KEHILAT
SZCUCZYN. This translation, made many years ago, was in a typed
manuscript. Dr. Stone wished it to be on the yizkor book web site, but
until a friend came along to scan it and edit the names, this was an
impossibility. See this magnificent donation to our site. In addition,
the head of the landsmanschaft was so delighted that people were interested
in what happened to his shtetl that he contributed his own history of the
shtetl to our web site.

*Transnistra, Ukraine: reminiscences by Mendel Halpern. Now 88 years old,
Mendel Halpern wrote two stories in German about his life during the
Holocaust which his daughter translated and donated to us. We think you
will find these stories and his daughter's introduction very moving.

In a few weeks you will also see material--now in the html queue--on
Kybarti, Bobruisk, Gorodenka (Horodenka), Obertyn, Deliatyn, Berezhany,
Siemiatycze, Kozienice, Sadagura, and Dabrowa-Gornicza. We also have some
interesting database materials that are awaiting special treatment by the
database team. In fact, there is so much fascinating material coming in
that we anticipate an exceedingly busy fall and winter.

We have been receiving many compliments on the Translation Project. The
long manuscript on Popervale, for example, has elicited interest >from the
Latvia SIG. Compliments on SCZUCZYN and TRANSISTRA have already come in.
We do love to hear >from our readers, so keep the comments rolling in.

In order to process all the material in the pipe line, we published a
request a few weeks ago for volunteers to help us create web pages. The
response was so overwhelming that an online course has been designed to
train a cadre of volunteers to help the Yizkor Book Project, Shtetlinks,
and JewishGen. Watch for the announcement after Labor Day.

Also, on our web site we have a completely revised information packet
called PROCESS FOR DONATING TRANSLATIONS, which can be downloaded or
printed >from the web site. Please take the time to read this material
which explains the process in an easy to understand format.

After Labor Day an announcement will be made on the implementation of a
new procedure for funding translations. Look for it. We are going to make
it easy for you to donate funds to the Yizkor Book Project to translate
yizkor books.


Joyce Field
Translations Manager
Yizkor Book Project

Time for another update. This one is a bit late because of the JG server
problems.

Despite summer vacations after the L.A. Seminar and insufficient htmlers to
process all the documents that were submitted >from June-August, we have put
some very extraordinary material on the Yizkor Book web site in August.
And the pipe line is very long, indeed, meaning that you will be treated to
a significant increase in yizkor documents online in the next few months.
You can now find the following recent additions:

*More material on Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine has been added. See it under
ARIM and Lists of Victims. Susannah Juni has created a beautiful web page
for the Hebrew tables of contents and Martin Kessel constructed a
handsome, easy to read format for the Lists of Victims culled >from the
Russian Commission which investigated war crimes.

*Sczuczyn, Poland: translation of the Yiddish part of HURBAN KEHILAT
SZCUCZYN. This translation, made many years ago, was in a typed
manuscript. Dr. Stone wished it to be on the yizkor book web site, but
until a friend came along to scan it and edit the names, this was an
impossibility. See this magnificent donation to our site. In addition,
the head of the landsmanschaft was so delighted that people were interested
in what happened to his shtetl that he contributed his own history of the
shtetl to our web site.

*Transnistra, Ukraine: reminiscences by Mendel Halpern. Now 88 years old,
Mendel Halpern wrote two stories in German about his life during the
Holocaust which his daughter translated and donated to us. We think you
will find these stories and his daughter's introduction very moving.

In a few weeks you will also see material--now in the html queue--on
Kybarti, Bobruisk, Gorodenka (Horodenka), Obertyn, Deliatyn, Berezhany,
Siemiatycze, Kozienice, Sadagura, and Dabrowa-Gornicza. We also have some
interesting database materials that are awaiting special treatment by the
database team. In fact, there is so much fascinating material coming in
that we anticipate an exceedingly busy fall and winter.

We have been receiving many compliments on the Translation Project. The
long manuscript on Popervale, for example, has elicited interest >from the
Latvia SIG. Compliments on SCZUCZYN and TRANSISTRA have already come in.
We do love to hear >from our readers, so keep the comments rolling in.

In order to process all the material in the pipe line, we published a
request a few weeks ago for volunteers to help us create web pages. The
response was so overwhelming that an online course has been designed to
train a cadre of volunteers to help the Yizkor Book Project, Shtetlinks,
and JewishGen. Watch for the announcement after Labor Day.

Also, on our web site we have a completely revised information packet
called PROCESS FOR DONATING TRANSLATIONS, which can be downloaded or
printed >from the web site. Please take the time to read this material
which explains the process in an easy to understand format.

After Labor Day an announcement will be made on the implementation of a
new procedure for funding translations. Look for it. We are going to make
it easy for you to donate funds to the Yizkor Book Project to translate
yizkor books.


Joyce Field
Translations Manager
Yizkor Book Project

Fascinating! Thanks for the scholarly report.

Ed Goldstein ( Yes, a Litvak! )

Fascinating! Thanks for the scholarly report.

Ed Goldstein ( Yes, a Litvak! )

In a message dated 9/7/98 12:07:35 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
litvaksig@lyris.jewishgen.org writes:

<<
Subject: Board of Directors
From: Allan Freedman <freedman@pathcom.com>
Date: Sun, 6 Sep 1998 21:40:43 -0400 (EDT)
X-Message-Number: 5

Can someone explain to me why the nomination list for the Board of Directors
contains not one name of a non-resident of the United States.


>>

This is a good question because the LitvakSIG, while incorporated as a
nonprofit corporation in the US, is an international association, with
subscribers and dues paying members >from over twenty countries. The By Laws
of the LitvakSIG require that all Board Members hold positions which involve
the work of the SIG. Most positions require at least twenty hours a week, and
the Co-Coordinators averaged over 60 hours a week over the past 14 months. We
felt that the people who do the work should share in decision making.

Announcements of openings (with detailed job descriptions) were made
repeatedly over a two month period in the spring. Additional volunteers were
asked for at the annual meeting of the LitvakSIG at the Jewish Genealogy
Seminar in Los Angeles. This meeting was attended by about 300 people.

In addition, Davida and I invited and strongly encouraged active SIG members

from South Africa, Israel, Great Britain, Canada and other countries to

volunteer for one of the five elected and six appointed positions. We had
after all relied a great deal on Advisory Board members >from South Africa,
Scotland, England, and Israel for guidance through our first year of activity
as a SIG. While all of these people have agreed to serve on committees and
continue to serve as Advisors (should an Advisory Committee be reappointed by
the new Board of Directors), none wanted to serve on the Board. Their main
reasons were having prior commitments which would not allow enough time for
one of the Board jobs, and not being able to travel to the US to participate
in meetings at the Annual Seminar.

Please note that Idafay Mervis, of Cape Town, South Africa, has served from
the beginning -- and continues to serves as the LitvakSIG archivist.

One very important Board position remains open -- as our Webpage Manager.
Anyone with the technical skills which are required, anywhere in the world is
encouraged to apply for this position. Marion Werle has generously continued
to assist us, but has little time to spare >from her responsibilities as
President of the Latvia SIG. The website is going to develop rapidly, with a
lot of new material either ready or nearly ready to appear in the next few
weeks. Any volunteers? If you know someone who could do this, particularly
with experience and some graphic art skills, please help us recruit this
person who is so essential to our work.

David and Davida
Co-Coordinators, LitvakSIG

In a message dated 9/7/98 12:07:35 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
litvaksig@lyris.jewishgen.org writes:

<<
Subject: Board of Directors
From: Allan Freedman <freedman@pathcom.com>
Date: Sun, 6 Sep 1998 21:40:43 -0400 (EDT)
X-Message-Number: 5

Can someone explain to me why the nomination list for the Board of Directors
contains not one name of a non-resident of the United States.


>>

This is a good question because the LitvakSIG, while incorporated as a
nonprofit corporation in the US, is an international association, with
subscribers and dues paying members >from over twenty countries. The By Laws
of the LitvakSIG require that all Board Members hold positions which involve
the work of the SIG. Most positions require at least twenty hours a week, and
the Co-Coordinators averaged over 60 hours a week over the past 14 months. We
felt that the people who do the work should share in decision making.

Announcements of openings (with detailed job descriptions) were made
repeatedly over a two month period in the spring. Additional volunteers were
asked for at the annual meeting of the LitvakSIG at the Jewish Genealogy
Seminar in Los Angeles. This meeting was attended by about 300 people.

In addition, Davida and I invited and strongly encouraged active SIG members

from South Africa, Israel, Great Britain, Canada and other countries to

volunteer for one of the five elected and six appointed positions. We had
after all relied a great deal on Advisory Board members >from South Africa,
Scotland, England, and Israel for guidance through our first year of activity
as a SIG. While all of these people have agreed to serve on committees and
continue to serve as Advisors (should an Advisory Committee be reappointed by
the new Board of Directors), none wanted to serve on the Board. Their main
reasons were having prior commitments which would not allow enough time for
one of the Board jobs, and not being able to travel to the US to participate
in meetings at the Annual Seminar.

Please note that Idafay Mervis, of Cape Town, South Africa, has served from
the beginning -- and continues to serves as the LitvakSIG archivist.

One very important Board position remains open -- as our Webpage Manager.
Anyone with the technical skills which are required, anywhere in the world is
encouraged to apply for this position. Marion Werle has generously continued
to assist us, but has little time to spare >from her responsibilities as
President of the Latvia SIG. The website is going to develop rapidly, with a
lot of new material either ready or nearly ready to appear in the next few
weeks. Any volunteers? If you know someone who could do this, particularly
with experience and some graphic art skills, please help us recruit this
person who is so essential to our work.

David and Davida
Co-Coordinators, LitvakSIG