STORIES FROM BALIGRODERS IN AMERICA

I was told by my parents that the first minyanim of the Crown Heights Shul were held in Yidah Mittman’s butcher shop. The Shul was built by the community and family. The Shul is now owned by the Lubavitch. The Shul is located on Crown Street between Nostrand and New York Avenues (in Brooklyn, New York.)

My grandparents Sadie and Jacob Morgenbesser were part of the group that came from Baligrod. When one of the Grossingers was ill and needed to move to the mountains they helped contribute money. I don’t know if it was a loan or a gift.

Many years later, after my grandfather died, my grandmother married Mr. Singer. He was the Mashgiach at the Grossinger hotel. They lived there for ten years during the 1960’s and 1970’s.

Sharon Morgenbesser Feldman

My mother told me about my grandfather Hanoch Mensch. He was a red head. He owned the bathhouse in Baligrod, and was known as Hanoch the bader.

Ernest (Issa) Herring

Shlomo and Baila Herring were married in Baligrod. They came to the United States with their children. After coming here they had a child, Ernest (who went by the name of Isser). Isser grew up on the Lower East Side. During WWII, he was in the US Army Air Force. After he was released from active service, he became a US customs officer. He was the first orthodox Jew to hold a position of customs officer. The family changed their name to Haring.