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A photo of my bubbe when Jewish stores still had Yiddish signs

JL;DR SUMMARY The discovery of a family photograph featuring the author's grandmother, Gertrude, in front of a Yiddish-signed store offers a unique glimpse into Jewish immigrant life in early 20th century New York. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish HistoryYiddishNew York CityJewish LifeLower East SideImmigrantsFamily Heritage1930sDairy RestaurantsNimetz Goldberg

Places mentioned

New York City, New York, United States
"So the photo must have been taken in New York City."
Pruzhany, Brest, Belarus
"Gertrude Goldfarb (later Stern) was born in Pruzhany, in today's Belarus, in 1911."

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Cairo Item ID 50933
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2025-05-06 05:31:02 UTC
Curated 2025-05-06 08:30:53 UTC