Freda Fox

Grandma Freda had one fond memory of her time in Odessa before her family left for America. Her grandfather took her to the tzerk (circus).

When they left Odessa to come to America, they stayed in London with relatives for a year. When they prepared to leave for the U.S., it was discovered that Freda had trachoma - an eye infection - and her family had to leave her in London for a cure. She told her son Frank that she stayed with her Aunt Ethel in England, but years later, Freda's sister Anna told Frank that Ethel had a husband, 3 children and two boarders, so probably not. Frank asked his Mom why she lied. She said, "I did it to protect Aunt Ethel. People may have thought she was unkind or unfeeling. She just couldn't do it." When Freda's mom left England, she gave Freda a few shillings for herself. Although Aunt Ethel could not care for Freda, Freda shared the money with her Meema (Aunt) Ethel (pronounced Etel) because she felt sorry for her.

When Freda was cured, she boarded a boat alone, with a tag pinned to her coat with necessary information. She learned a little English as she waited to travel alone to join her family. The captain of the ship was kind to the young girl and had her sit at the "captain's table" for meals; her English was good enough to speak to the captain at the age of nine.

When she was united with her family, she may have spoken more English than her family, since they lived in a Jewish area and mostly spoke Yiddish. Whenever company came to their home, her father put Freda on a chair and said (in Yiddish) "Talk the way you spoke to the captain."

We think she went to night school in Philadelphia, but did not have a lot more education. Years later, when her granddaughter Heidi, at age 4, corrected her English, Freda went to her son as said "When I was 8 years old, my English was good enough to talk to a captain. You mean that I'll have to go to college to talk to my 4-year-old granddaughter?" (Years later, Freda told Frank she was proud of Heidi: "She is pretty, smart, well-educated, successful, kind, considerate, has a nice husband - but she sure was a rotten kid."

Freda's father never earned much money as a paper hanger, and the family needed more income to support all of them .When Freda was 11 years old, she was taken to a magistrate who (for 25 cents) gave her fake work papers, stating that she was older than she really was.

She worked in a factory. Most of the workers earned $3 for the week, but since she did piece work, she complained that, when they went to the bathroom, it cost the boss money, but if she had to go to the bathroom it cost her money. Freda gave her pay to her father and kept only a few pennies for herself. She never had enough clothes or shoes, but never went hungry. She would buy a piece of candy for a penny and divide it into 7 pieces - one for each day of the week. With her small savings, she would buy something like a hair ribbon.

Her father was the treasurer of the Painter's and Paperhanger's Union; he brought co-worker Louis Fox (the union secretary) home for union business and Freda (who was 16 years old at the time) and Louis fell in love. Louis courted Freda for a year and then proposed. They married when she was age 17. Her parents thought she was young and wanted her to continue giving them her paycheck. So the couple eloped and were married on August 6, 1911. After the marriage, Freda's parents accepted them. Louis and Freda were married by a rabbi and lived in Wilmington, DE where Zayde (Franklin Fox) was born 2 years later.

To quote her son, Frank Fox: "I was seven years old when we moved to Erie. Her family in Philadelphia was a large one: there were her grandmother, father, mother, three sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins by the dozens. My mother briefed me before we started the trip to our new "home," 'He (your father) is taking me to the golus (exile). It is a shteitel (a small town). Me, a big town girl from Odessa and Philadelphia in a shteitel!. I hear the weather is like Siberia. What if there is no Jewish grocery? How will I get sauerzaltz or lox or bagel?' (The plural of bagel is bagel, not bagels.) She was relieved when she found out that citric acid was sauersaltz - - needed to make borscht. She would not use lemon in borscht - - lemon is for tea."

Grandma discovered that sauersaltz is citric acid and can be bought at grocery stores or pharmacies. There was a Jewish bakery and deli, so bagel was not a problem. The cousins who invited the family to Erie, Jake and Annie, were their best friends for over 50 years.

Grandma Freda was a good cook and an excellent baker. She loved having her grandchildren help her in the kitchen. We all learned her special holiday recipes and wrote them down so you can try them, too. Her measuring methods were hard to transcribe. Her "cup" was big white ceramic mug, and measuring spoons were not used. She just sprinkled the right amount of salt and other spices based on experience and taste. Since she lived with her sons at various times, she taught her daughters-in-law to cook and both Aunt Adele and Grandma Myrtle loved her very much. She was the perfect baby-sitter, offering chocolate chip cookies decorated with red and green cherry pieces.

She was a traditional housewife who believed that marriage was important. She taught Aunt Heidi to say "I want to get married (may-weed)." When Grandma Myrtle and Zayde brought Aunt Heidi home it was "I want to go to college." Luckily, all 3 kids got to do both. When Grandma Freda came to Aunt Heidi's house after marriage, Grandma declared that Aunt Heidi was a "real balabusta" - a good homemaker - which made Aunt Heidi very proud. Grandma Freda made lots of things for her grandchildren. When Uncle Joel came home after school, she would say, "Goodbye cookies!" She also made special things for her children (Zayde Frank and Uncle Jerry). She would tell Grandma Myrtle, "You take care of your kids and I'll take care of mine."

Grandma Freda taught us the importance of family and had her grandchildren help her to write to her sisters in Philadelphia. Aunt Heidi said her great-aunts taught her how to be a loving aunt even when living far away.

Grandma Freda and Grandpa Louie moved to Erie when Zayde was 7 years old. Zayde started the tradition of sending the aunts without children Mother's Day and birthday cards.