Manhattan reunion
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New York, May 6th 1996
Moshe Shaltiel writes: Yesterday we had a regional reunion at Dalia Grenger's Fifth Avenue co-op, with its magnificent views over the reservoir on Central Park. Both Dalia's parents came from Israel - she is the daughter of Albert Cohen of Tel Aviv.
As planned, we made it a bit early, to help with last minute arrangements, but everything was so well planned that all we had to do was prepare the name tags and wait for the guests. Fifty or so Saltiels appeared, and you could not have looked for a more exotic and diverse bunch. Henry's parents, Jacques and Frieda, came from Montreal - we had gone with them the night before to see Miss Saigon - and they had a great time schmoozing with Daisy Basso, Rosa Miller, Albert Cohen and Aby (of the Hans Bechor branch) and his wife Sabrina. Jack declared the event to be a "preview to Salonika." Vic came with his tribe, including his son, Lewis, who looks just like David, Bernard's father.
I finally caught up with Flor after all our time on the phone together. She had all the charm and verve I had imagined. Her sister, Lynn came with her husband, Joseph, who told us, "This is like a dream for me."
Soli Shaltiel came and with a gleam in his eye presented the future (and fourth) Mrs. Shaltiel, a former movie star from Romania, where Soli is making yet another fortune; he likes them young and beautiful. He and I were the only "Shaltiels"; everyone else went by "Saltiel".
Sam and Betty (Hans Bechor) came in from New Jersey, with their daughter Jan, a landscape artist and I was delighted to see Craig and Steve from upstate New York, who had broken other arrangements to make it.
Another Jacques came with his daugher and son in law; I was unable to place this elegant gent till I realised he was the father of Marty, with whom I have spoken several times, but whose line we have not yet placed in what sometimes looks more like a family cobweb than a tree.
Varda, a cousin of Moshe Shaltiel of Reut, Israel, heard of the reunion from Soli, whose son is at the school where she works. She came with her family file, copies from which we hope to use to confirm links between Soli's line, the Carrasso branch and my own family.
The gathering became all the more extensive with the arrival of the Japanese section, Irene London Takamazu, her husband Tatsuo, her brother Stuart, a chef, and Irene and Tatsuo's lovely daughter Rebekka - off to music college this fall. This party might appear exotic to the uninitiated, but Irene and Stuart are Miles' second cousins from the well-documented North Sea line. I regret I spent so little time with them.
The spread at the table was a million calorie beauty, but thanks to my preoccupation with the event, I was saved from pigging. Ariel, Dalia's husband suggested we have a second reunion with the left-overs; I said we should freeze it and save it for Salonika. The reunion was a great success, with people who didn't know each other meeting for the first time, learning a bit of history and familarising themselves with our rich past, the appreciation of which is the surest way to build for the future.
Irene London Takamazu adds:Our hostess, Dalia, is petite and attractive and her apartment was spectacular with a view over the Central Park Reservoir, the Upper West Side, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and beyond. My brother Stu, Rebekka, Tatsuo and myself, were the only representatives of the North Sea branch; our fellow guests were Greek, French, Israeli and Egyptian, with a variety of languages - Stu thought perhaps including Ladino.
I am terrible at shindigs of any size - over say six - unless I know each person, as I don't mingle or make small talk well. We were caught between traffic and a road race, which made us an hour late, coming in just as Moshe was making his presentation.
Tatsuo is a very family-oriented person, who misses his large one in Japan more than he admits. He thought the reunion was wonderful and is looking forward to Salonika, as are we all.