There is a family tale of Joseph getting stranded after a snowstorm in Cape Smokey. A kindly family took him in for several weeks. Joseph only spoke Russian and Yiddish. When he returned to New Waterford his proud wife told the neighbours that her husband had learned to speak English. She wanted him to thank them for their kindness. So they gathered around.
“What he spoke was perfect Gaelic,” Ms. Goldbloom says with a roaring laugh. “What he thought was English was Gaelic. And that’s a true story: he was the only man in Canada, as far as I know, that could speak Russian, Yiddish — and Gaelic.”
A bittersweet story about the last synagogue in Cape Breton.
It is great in a way that the children have gone on to better and bigger things but sad also that the Jewish population will no longer exist in these small communities.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a lovely article and one that I am glad to see featured in a Canadian National newspaper.
Bittersweet is the perfect description for this.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet and wistful article! This tiny synagogue served as a crossroads for so many successful and vibrant people...it sounds like they had a really good time at the reunion. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat find Fay!