Ninteen-fourteen marked the outbreak of the First World War. I was then almost 15 years old. The possibility of continuing my education was gone. To my sorrow, after I ended my school days, during the war years, the difficult times for my family began . . . and this was just as true for all the inhabitants along the German border in general . . . and for us Jews, in particular. We Jews, however, have been accustomed to hardship for ages long . . . so we suffered in silence.
In the meantime, I fell in love with a lad who sang sentimental Yiddish folk-songs and added to that, was an excellent dancer. I always had a penchant for singing and dancing . . . 'But not always do things transpire as easily as they are later related . . .' Our love affair lasted about three years, till the war ended, when the Poles fell heir to the destiny of Poland.
The Poles did not wait long, and immediately began to mobilize the youth by conscripting them into the army. Whereupon all the Jewish young men fled, unwilling to ; serve the Polish idol. The boy with whom I was so girlishly infatuated was also amongst those who fled from Suwalki, unwilling to serve in the Polish military.
I remained, for a long time, without a tutor . . . So days, weeks and months went their way . . . while I yearned for the merry lad. My mother and father were not too happy with my selection of the singing and dancing young man, who refused to pray, and interpreted his protest against religion in his own fashion . . . in a manner that was opposite to the beliefs of my pious mother and father...and I suffered a great deal because of this.
My parents thereupon began to seek a practical solution for their daughter. Not much time elapsed, and a young man appeared, who later revealed his secret to me, that for a long time he had cast his eyes upon me, as in Sholem Aleichem's book, "Tevye, the Dairyman", in which Lazar Wolf, the butcher, cast his eyes on Tevye's daughter, Tzeitel. Moreover, the young man was really serious, and my mother and father more serious still. I felt that it was devil's play. Even so, I gave it much thought, and taking into consideration the fact that it would make the lives of my parents somewhat easier because of this match, they influenced me so, that I became betrothed to the young man, who was my senior by ten or twelve years. He was quite well-to-do. He dealt in pigs-bristles, on a large scale, and was the proprietor of a local plant where these bristles were used in the manufacture of brushes.
I could not arouse any enthusiasm for pig-bristles, nor for his property-holdings. However, when a young man casts his eyes upon a maiden who is pleasing to him, all else is merely academic . . . so - of a sudden - I was a prospective rich bride. So one day I found myself, accompanied by mother, on the way to Warsaw to purchase a trousseau, dressed up in the finest there was. However, I turned a deaf ear to all talk about my made-to-order groom.
My parents were aware of what was actually transpiring and suffered greatly on this account. I therefore thought that something must be done about this intolerable state of affairs. Thereupon I wrote to my mother's sister and brother in America. My mother's sister and her family dwelt in Dallas, Texas for forty years, and her brother for twenty years. I related to them my tale of acceding to the wishes of my parents to marry someone I did not love. I pleaded with them to be merciful and bring me to America, if it was at all possible, and thus rescue me.
* * * * Meanwhile I had to live through quite an ordeal before informing my husband-to-be of my intention to withdraw from our wedding plans, and my further determination to leave my home, my old father, worried mother, sisters and brother - and naturally, to bid my intended groom good-bye. It was truly difficult to convince him, for it greatly grieved me. I pleaded with him in the most compelling fashion that he forgive me; though by this time he fully understood the coldness of my bearing towards him.
He spoke to my parents, urging them to use their influence to dissuade me from such a light-hearted idea. He even consulted a wise, experienced Suwalki householder, who invited us both into his home, so as to endeavor, with his wisdom and statesmanship to 'bring me back to my senses'. The so-called arbitrator was entirely unaware that my whole heart was filled with the resolve to leave behind all that was near and dear to me. My intended groom did not anticipate my refusal to keep my part of the wedding plans.
* * * * Aunt Tema, my mother's sister, was a very good-hearted soul and realized my plight. Instead of merely sending a reply to my letter, she answered my plea by sending me a large envelope containing an "affidavit of support" from both my uncles and my aunts, with a steamship ticket to New York, and a railroad ticket from New York to Dallas, Texas.
And indeed, for me, it was a difficult interlude . . . The waiting until the moment when my passport would arrive - and then, later, my visa . . . which meant two more trips to Warsaw. Then, too, there was the uncertainty of whether or not I would be granted a visa! For me to live through such a period of anxiety was no easy matter. My last visit to Warsaw was one of joy - and tears. . . I did receive my visa at last, even before I fully realized what the hasty stamping of my papers by the American consul signified.
When I did come to my senses, I burst out in a torrent of tears. Were they tears of joy - or a reminder that soon I would have to bid farewell to all my loved ones? Leaving the office of the Consul, with his seal on my papers, and a receipt for the various expenditures which this entailed, I rushed to telegraph home the wonderful news.
I did not realize the kind of hubbub that my telegram would create. What did I find upon my arrival home? Instead of rejoicing, there was a feeling of 'Yom Kippur'* in the house. There was weeping from my father, who was then 79 years old . . . My mother could barely be constrained. My sisters wept bitter tears . . . and my whole 'mishpoche' (family), when they came to greet me, did so with a doubtful joyfulness. I almost regretted all my doings . . . so full was my heart with a feeling of dejection and gloom. However, in time, the feeling subsided, and I was able to let my friends know that two weeks prior to 'Shevuoth'**, which was the 2nd of June, 1921 - 'Yachne Dvoshe'*** was on her way to America.
My intended groom had lived in high hopes that my visa would not be forthcoming. Then, when it dawned on him that within a month I would definitely be on my way, he would send me notes daily, desperately imploring me to change my mind. One day he came to my father's house with the revelation that Texas (the third America) to which Chaya Rochel was headed, was occupied by black people Negroes - and eventually she would marry one if my father permitted, me to go.
My father wisely asked him to forgive me and to seek another bride, who, he assured my ex-groom, would give him a quieter life . . . not the sort that Chaya Rochel would have led him. Furthermore, he continued: "Moishele, you have to thank G-d that you are getting rid of her. He will send you your destined bride - and please don't wish that Chaya Rochel should marry a Negro.
At the request of the would-be groom, I came to bid him farewell on the day of my departure. We said our good-byes, wept, kissed, and forgave one another. He accompanied me to the door and pleaded that I write to him. I promised that I would and kept my word. It was a difficult experience for me indeed . . .
My aunts and uncles in America sent the money to repay my intended groom for the monies he had laid out for my wardrobe. On the day of my leave-taking, I placed this money on his table. He very angrily hurled it to the floor.
My leaving was accompanied by an utter feeling of dejection. However, the day prior to my departure, my friends - boys and girls had arranged a farewell party for me. They plied me with drink. Then we all repaired to the "Arcadian Gardens", our noted and most beautiful spot, where a boat that was used for entertainment was located. There we made merry in the most wonderful fashion. We ate, drank sang . . . and indulged in all kinds of highjinks . . . and high over the tree-lined lake there echoed the peals of our laughter . . . My friends well understood what the next day meant for me . . . saying farewell to my beloved father, mother and my devoted family. All that drinking had made me quite sleepy. The night passed quickly, and very early in the morning my bags were packed for me. Quite a party escorted me to the train, to bid me adieu. This included all of my companions and good friends and my entire family. This penetrated and occupied my entire being . . . and shall live with me eternally.
Once more I found myself on the way to Warsaw. From there a small boat left for Danzig. Upon my arrival there, I encountered many other people as heart-broken as I was. However, we soon struck up friendships, and once more I found myself in good spirits. In Danzig all emigrants had to lay over for six days, and then we boarded a small ship bound for London . . . a trip that took five days. We spent three days in London, seeing very little of that great city. In London we waited, with anticipation and impatience, to board the magnificent ocean liner, the Adriatic. The crossing from London to New York took two weeks. And most joyous were the fourteen days we spent on the Adriatic. Arriving at Ellis Island, we found the tumult most unbelievable. The flurry of leave-taking, and the efforts to secure the new addresses of our recently acquired companions so that we could write to one another and not lose contact with our ship-board friends, was done hastily. Even at that moment it occurred to me that I was the only one who was slated to travel still further . . . to such a distant place . . . all the way to Dallas, Texas. This threw me into new waves of longing and home sickness.
I endured two days and two nights of a wearisome ride on the train before I reached my destined journey's end . . . Dallas, Texas. I was welcomed by my cousins, who inspected their "green" relative - and quickly warmed up to her. I, in turn, found them dear to me, and nestled up to them. My aunts and uncles and their large families showed great love for me and displayed a fine attitude towards me.
*Yom Kippur - Day of Atonement.
**Shevuoth - The Feast of Weeks, or Pentacost celebrating the Spring Harvest, also associated with the revelation of the "Law on Mt. Sinai."