In 1908, when Pa came to Boston to recuperate from the earthquake in Jamaica, he was thirty-five years old. He had lived as a German gentleman overseer for nineteen years in Jamaica, and had no family of his own. He had saved up a lot of money during his years in Jamaica, as all of his living expenses had been paid for by the United Fruit Company.
He decided he wanted to live as a Jew again. It was Yom Kippur time. He went to the shul in the South End. For the Neilah service, they auctioned off the aliyahs. Everyone else bid twenty dollars, forty dollars, fifty dollars. Suddenly a tall white-haired stranger- Pa- bid two hundred dollars (like two thousand dollars nowadays)! Everyone wanted to know, who was this rich (and handsome) stranger?
Naturally, they invited him to their homes, to meet their eligible daughters. Among them was Aunt Neysa (Netti) with three unmarried step-daughters.
Instantly, George fell in love with sixteen-year old Rosa. She had been born in Odessa in 1890, but the family had immigrated to Boston when she was two years old, settling initially in the old West End of Boston, but later moving to the South End.
Rosa was 5’4”, with beautiful chestnut hair, a good figure, and a sunny disposition.
Neysa did not approve of the match at first. George was 36 years old, eighteen years older than Rosa. Besides, Rosa had an older sister, Harriet, who was not yet married. They would have to get married first, Neysa insisted. According to Toby, Kate found her own match, and made Rosa’s grammar school graduation dress.
Pa was not deterred. He went out and found a match for Harriet, and helped Neysa pay for her wedding and dowry. Finally, he married Rosa. They both lied on their marriage license, making Rosa a little older and George a little younger, so the authorities wouldn’t question things. They eventually had five wonderful children, and lived to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary in 1958.
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