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The Women
and family dynamics
There were three Reiter sisters-in-law at this time: Millie Weiss Trager(5), Louis'(6) third wife; Lena Shkolnik, Julius' first cousin and wife; and Sarah Blankenstein married to Hyman/Herman around 1919.
Aunt Sarah, Millie, and my mother became good friends, although Millie was about twenty years older. Lena B and Sarah felt closer and their children played together.
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Sarah and Hyman - c 1919 |
Millie and Louis' daughter Sadie, and Louis' daughter, Fanny, close in age to Lena S.and Julius' three daughters, played together, and the two sisters-in-law were friendly. Julius and Lena S.'s three daughters were Frances, Alice, and Melba.
Lena Shkolnik, 15 years older, who could have been a big sister to my mother, chose not to be close with her. This became a family issue and lifetime disappointment for Lena B.
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Frances, Alice, and Melba - c 1910 |
First Cousins
First cousins in the Reiter family during these years numbered about 16: Louis had 4, Julius-4, Herman-4, and Lena-4. My siblings have no recollections of family gatherings, but they were infants during this time period. The Reinsteins, Esther Leah and her brother, David Zuker each had about 4 children then. Their children were our paternal second cousins.
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