Skala was a small town where everyone seemed to be
related by blood or by marriage. So it should be no
surprise when members of the Skala Research Group
discover that their ancestors were relatives and friends.
| Leib Zwirnbaum, brother of SRG’s Denise Azbill’s grandmother Frieda Schachter-Zwirnbaum Weidenfeld, was married to and divorced from Esther Wiesenthal. Esther was the sister of Hersh Eliyah Wiesenthal, great-grandfather of SRG’s Helene Kenvin. |
| Charles Weingast, grandfather of SRG’s Jeff Ritholz, attended the 1940 wedding of Ethel and Melvin Schwartz, parents of SRG’s Helene Kenvin. Also among the guests were Joe Wasserman (background, photo at right), brother of Jeff’s grandmother Sophie Wasserman (Mrs. Charles) Weingast, and several tables of members of the Skala Benevolent Society. |  |
 | Becky Fahrer, sister of SRG’s David Farer’s grandfather Isidore Farer (a former President of the Skala Benevolent Society), was the wife of Skala native Joseph Wiesenthal. Becky and Joe Wiesenthal were the best friends of Jacob and Ida Wiesenthal, grandparents of SRG’s Helene Kenvin. Joe and Jake insisted that they were cousins; but they never knew who their mutual 18th-century Wiesenthal ancestor was and they could not say exactly how they were related. |
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| In this photograph of the Arrangements Committee of the 1946 Annual Banquet of the Skala Benevolent Society are many examples of the connections among the members of the Skala Research Group. Front row (third from right): Jacob Wiesenthal, grandfather of SRG’s Helene Kenvin; (second from left): Harry Weingast, brother of SRG’s Jeff Ritholz’s grandfather. Back row (fourth from the right): Eisig (Ernest) Hausner, great-uncle of SRG’s Tony Hausner; (second from left): Joe Wasserman, brother of SRG’s Jeff Ritholz’s grandmother; (first from left): Charlie Weingast, grandfather of SRG’s Jeff Ritholz. Louis Menchel (back row, fifth from right) and Louis Finkelstein (front row, second from right) are the great-uncles of SRG's Dana Erwin. They were married to sisters of Dana's grandmother Annie Rosenstock Rosenzweig. If you see a relative or friend of your family's in this photograph, please contact Max Heffler or Helene Kenvin . |
This page designed by Helene Kenvin