The year was 1908. Ellis Island . A 14 year old boy from Ukraine had set foot in America at last. His two younger brothers would soon follow. He had to learn English and soon learned a trade in the jewelry business working with gold and others precious metals.
Not too many years later he met a young lady, who had been dating his younger brother. That young lady was to become my grandmother. That young boy was my grandfather.
By 1933 my grandparents had two children, a daughter, Hannah and a son, Martin. They lived in Brooklyn those early years with my grandfather learning the ins and outs of the jewelry business. However, Martin developed ear infections every winter. It was also the height of the depression. So my grandparents decided to move to California. Not super highways, in fact hardly a paved road in 1933. But that did not stop them from driving across the country in a 1929 Model A Ford with a rumble seat. Martin made it to California in that car, but along the way, at 10 years of age, he learned to drive. That young man became my father. And the rest is history.
