Joseph Alter

A very inventive and self educated person. He came to the United States not speaking a word of english. Among his many careers, he was a successful farmer, and later became very successful in real estate. In his mid life he had a restaurant and bakery in Highland Park, Michigan. A good father and loving grandfather.

Joesph was born "Josel" in Tarnefrot, and came to the US on May 18, 1906. The ship "Caronia" departed from Liverpool.

He went to New York and stayed with his Uncle, Meyer Baeynk.

Joe Alter owned a bakery and used to sit at the counter reading a Yiddish newspaper. People would come and ask him what he was reading and he would say that he was reading the only language that Jesus spoke :)

He also told us the story about trying to get to New York City. He did soon go to NY where he worked in a sweatshop making shirt collars. In those days men wore the same shirt for many days and just changed the collar; they fastened at the front of the neck with a big collar pin that fastened through the top button-hole. There was some story that he invented some kind of revolutionary collar but had the idea stolen.