Abraham Danziger

Abe came to the US first and then sent for Ella, who came with 5 children, Frances (Faiga), Ethel (Eta), Moe (Chaimo), Howard (Cardke) and Helen (Chudes), all born in Poland. They went from Warsaw/Radom to Bremerhaven and sailed to Baltimore. October, 1912.

David Jacobowitz: I remember Grandpa as pretty friendly but worried. He had shot off his toe to avoid being conscripted into the Polish Army. He always wore a shoe or slipper with the toe cut out so the missing toe wouldn't be irritated.

He was expected to be a rabbinic student, but the family could't afford to have him not bring in an income, so he worked as a carpenter and ran a paint and hardware store

In Brooklyn when I would stay over he would let me hang out at the candy store on Ralph Avenue. I could draw egg-creams with the seltzer dispenser. Neighbor kids would come in to buy penny candy. Grandpa always kept a close watch on them, expecting them to steal small things. (Didn't we all?)

He also played the violin. I remember visiting him in Englewood when he opened up his old violin case and took out the instrument. He hadn't played in years and was visibly sad when he couldn't make his fingers do what they had obviously done in his youth. A sad man.

Ethel's Memoirs: "Dad as a youngster also was an ardent lover of music, and since the strings of a violin reached his inner soul, he had asked his father to buy a violin for him so that he could start taking lessons, But Grandpa Meyer Danziger was not inclined to give in to his son’s foolishness, whereupon Dad as a young lad had decided to save up enough enough money secretly to buy his own cherished instrument. This accomplished, he tirelessly proceeded to manage the knowhow of these intriguing strings till he was able eventually to be a self-taught by-ear violinist.

His determination of a lifetime ambition had been realized. It was not only for his own pleasure but we all (the family) were the recipients of many lovely evenings when we sould come home from an opera or a concert he would reach for his treasure and perform the beautiful scores or the most popular areas."