Documentary Film Tells Story of Jewish Immigrants Teachers Cut In
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US. POSTAGE PAID GLASTONBURY CITIZEN, INC. P.O. BOX 373, GLASTONBURY, CT, 06033 POSTAL CUSTOMER PRESORTED STANDARD LOCAL ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ RIVEREAST News Bulletin Serving Amston, Andover, Cobalt, Colchester, East Hampton, Hebron, Marlborough, Middle Haddam and Portland Volume 42, Number 15 Published by The Glastonbury Citizen January 19, 2018 Teachers Cut in Portland School Budget by Elizabeth Regan The Portland Board of Education on Tues- budget lines by 10 percent each, while special day unanimously approved a level-funded education is cut by $12,000. A plan to purchase $20.68 million education spending plan that an $18,000 floor scrubber that has been re- cuts nine staff positions and threatens the high quested for years was scrapped again. school tennis program. O’Reilly said it’s not yet clear how the de- Superintendent of Schools Philip O’Reilly partmental reductions would be implemented. told school board members he will need their But he did specify that preliminary discussions help making sure no further cuts are made as with athletic director Chris Serra have already the education budget makes its way through the taken place about how to address the 10 per- budget process. He said the Board of Select- cent cut to the athletic budget. men and the public needs to understand the “It may mean we’re going to cut something “zero increase” budget represents significant that doesn’t have a very large enrollment, and sacrifices. tennis would be on the chopping block,” “Less than zero is not an alternative, in my O’Reilly said. opinion,” O’Reilly said. “It can’t go further. It When asked by reporters if there are any other must not.” sports being threatened, he said tennis is the The Board of Selectmen is charged with ap- only one being considered. proving the education and general government O’Reilly earlier this month proposed a 2.34 budget in April after a series of workshops, percent increase over the current year, which deliberations and a public hearing. The local included only four staffing reductions instead budget proposal goes to voters in May. of nine. School board members at the time asked The Board of Education’s spending plan him to come back with a level-funded spend- eliminates nine staff positions. The cuts are ing plan so they could see what it looked like. composed of three elementary school teachers, In discussing the flat budget proposal, school one secondary school teacher, one special edu- board member Christopher Darby described it Ready to Make Music… The Mass-Conn-Fusion Duo will play at 7:30 p.m. cation teacher, and one teaching position that as a short-term way of addressing a larger prob- Friday, Jan. 26, at Marlborough Arts Center, 231 N. Main St., Marlborough. hasn’t been identified yet. The proposal also lem. He said the school board needs to look The duo consists of Jim Healy, left, on the upright bass and Liz Roberts, right, cuts two paraeducator positions as well as one into long term solutions to address continuing on saxophone. Admission is $10/person at the door. BYOWine, with other assistant library position left vacant through a reductions in state aid that aren’t showing any refreshments available. Doors open at 7 p.m. For more information, visit retirement. signs of abating. He cited ideas such as looking into different marlborougharts.org or leave a message at 860-295-9565. The budget proposal reduces the technology department, athletic department and building See Teachers Cut page 2 Documentary Film Tells Story of Jewish Immigrants by Julianna Roche came by way of the kosher hot lunch program While not ideal for farming, the hundreds of sponsored by the Jewish Federation in both New acres of rocky soil running rampant across much London and Norwich. of the region serve as a holding ground for a According to Fischer, the program’s director lesser known, but timeless story about courage at the time suggested he meet some of the and strength – and one which has endured over people who attended the Norwich hot lunch, a century. whom she described as “not the type of Jewish Last Friday morning, Jan. 12, executive di- people you know… [they’re] coming to lunch rector of the Jewish Federation of Eastern Con- in barn boots and barn coats, and overalls.” necticut Jerry Fischer shared that story with a Since Fischer already had an interest in farm- packed room at the Colchester Senior Center ing to begin with (he often worked at his uncle’s via a special viewing of his documentary film, training farm in Hightstown, N.J.), he felt he Harvesting Stones: The Jewish Farmers of East- had discovered a story that needed to be told ern Connecticut. after meeting countless farmers who attended The film, which he worked on for more than the program – many coming from families who 14 years, tells the stories of Jewish refugees had been helped by de Hirsch when they first who escaped religious persecution in the late immigrated. 1800s by immigrating to America and ulti- The documentary delves into the story of mately becoming farmers in eastern Connecti- de Hirsch, a German philanthropist who lived cut with support from affluent Jewish philan- from 1831 until 1896. While working to create thropist, Baron Maurice de Hirsch. a 1,500-mile railway network in the Ottoman “These are inspirational stories about the Balkans, de Hirsch decided to dedicate part of dreams they [Jewish immigrants] had for his fortune to providing welfare to eastern Eu- America, which came true,” Fischer said of the ropean Jews who were facing religious perse- film, adding that among those refugees was his cution and stark living conditions in Russia at grandmother Ida, who came to America in 1918. the time. Fischer – who grew up in Washington Convinced that a modern-day education The documentary Harvesting Stones, screened last week at Colchester Senior Heights in a small, two-bedroom apartment could improve the lives of the oppressed Jews, Center, delves into the history of Jewish immigrant farmers, many of whom settled with his grandmother, brother and parents – de Hirsch established his own organization in in eastern Connecticut. As the film details, Jewish farmers often turned to poultry explained that the idea for the documentary See Immigrants page 2 or dairy farming, as the rocky soil proved difficult for much else. Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Cover Story ï Immigrants cont. from Front Page oldest brother was taken by soldiers in the New York – the Baron de Hirsch Foundation – middle of the night to serve in the army. to help settle immigrants in the United States Through de Hirsch, Friedman was able to pur- and educate them in agricultural training so they chase a farm in Colchester, which grew to be- could become independent farmers. come the largest Jewish farm in Connecticut. Unfortunately, many Jews who had immi- A descendant of Jewish immigrants, Sam grated at the time were living in squalor in the Kofkoff also inherited his farm in Bozrah – city with no means of support and in crowded, Kofkoff Egg Farms, which grew to host 40,000 dirty tenements. In the documentary, for ex- chickens and become a national-award winning ample, Basia Wittenberg of Columbia recalled egg farm. cockroaches crawling all over them in the In addition to various recollections from Jew- middle of the night. ish farmers, Fischer’s documentary also fea- However, with the promise of “open land and tures interviews with state Sen. Richard space” by moving to a farm, de Hirsch offered Blumenthal and well-known Manhattan district Jews an escape from the cramped and depress- attorney Robert Morgenthal, both of whom ing conditions of living in the city. have a rich Jewish heritage. Even after his death, de Hirsch’s foundation Those in the audience also recognized an- continued to support Jewish farmers through its other familiar face during the Harvesting Stones subsidiary project, the Jewish Agricultural So- viewing – the late Henny Simon of Colchester, ciety, established in 1900, which helped fami- who drew heartfelt sighs from around the room lies obtain mortgages and loans to purchase when she appeared on screen. farmland. Simon and her husband at the time, Abram, “I shall try to make for them a new home in emigrated to America in 1949 after she survived different lands where, as free farmers on their years of atrocities brought on by the Nazis in own soil, they can make themselves useful to concentration camps. Once in America, she the country,” the documentary quotes Hirsch as reunited with her father, who had arrived in the saying. “My own personal experience has led U.S. in 1948 from Shanghai, China, and with me to recognize that the Jews have a very good her husband, purchased a poultry and dairy farm ability in agriculture and my effort shall show shortly thereafter. that the Jews have not lost the agricultural quali- Simon passed away in a car accident in April ties that their forefathers possessed.” 2017. Through interviews, home videos and his- Many Jewish farmers quickly discovered the torical footage, Harvesting Stones tells the story rocky soil of Connecticut farmlands to be “try- of those Jewish families helped by de Hirsch, ing” and “difficult,” so most turned to dairy or many of whom reside on farms in areas like chicken farming; while others turned their farms East Haddam, Colchester, Chesterfield, Leba- into summer resorts to help supplement their non and Norwich.