~;l ! \ 1 I j l THE SER-CHARLAP FAMILY NEWSLETTER Vol. 5, No. 2 Tammuz 5754; June 1994 THE CLARION CALL by Ben Kristol Ben Kristol and his wife Ruth live in St. Augustine, Florida. Ben is one of the vast Kristol clan that originated in Zareby Koscielnie (Zaromb, Zaremba) and spread to other shtetlach in northeastern Poland. Kristols intermarried with many branches of the Ser-Char lap family, including Mankuta, Ser, Tama, and Kur. They are also intertwined with the Glovnia, Grappa, and Migdal families, all of whom may someday be included on our tree. This article was edited from several pieces provided by Ben and was augmented in a meeting held just prior to Pesach 5754. With their eyes set on the stars and their hearts full of hope, Jewish pioneers went west in 1911 to establish the Clarion Jewish Colony in the Gunnison Valley of Utah, about 100 miles south of Salt Lake City. In May of 1913 my father Samuel, of blessed memory, joined the colony. I was born early that summer and in July my dear mother with her three week old first-born son joined her husband. They were among the farmers, workers, shopkeepers, craftsmen, and people of culture who dreamed of building a model community and turning this rugged piece of wilderness into a land of milk and honey. They cleared rocks, irrigated the soil, cared for the animals, sowed and reaped, raised families and pursued their dream, one that has inspired mankind through the ages. The land was semi-desert with good soil on only some of the plots. And the environment could prove daunting. Winter storms were severe with massive snowfalls; in summer the temperature could soar well above 100 degrees. The water supply was undependcrble. It fluctuated between droughts and floods. Every obstacle that could befall man was visited on this courageous group of pioneers. Hardships took their toll but the challenges were met head-on and enlightened, toughened, and, yes, even delighted the hardy pioneers. The gnarled trees, the mountain peaks soaring up to more than 11,000 feet, the craggy rock formations, the vast panoramas of sandstone eroded by eons of wind and water into strange twisted shapes of magical color, all became part of them and they were bonded to the land. The pioneers were taught and inspired by the wonderful Rabbi Joseph Krauskopf of Congregation Knesset Israel in Philadelphia, who had founded the National Farm School. The purpose of this school was to train young people in the science of farming and to form a nucleus for a "Back To the Land" movement. In that way Jewish immigrants who had fled the pogroms and indignities of eastern Europe could be given hope for a better way of life. The National Farm School was of inestimable help to the Clarion pioneers. In the 1930s it was the training ground for many others including the writers Pearl S. Buck and James Michener. Michener later paid tribute to Rabbi Krauskopf. "My debt to him is infinite for he opened a door for me. He did the same for thousands of boys who attended his school. Many of his young Jewish farm pioneers went on to help others." So these young Jews went out west and invested whatever savings they had and all their energies into the land. The Utah Land Management and Development Company sold the colonists 6,000 acres of land with the promise that (continued on page 2) 2 CLARION CALL (cont.) back east to fertile Bucks County, Pennsylvania and for water would be available to support 150 families. Each the next 28 years ran a prosperous farm. of the families drew lots for their choice of 40 acre In 1991 Ruth and I returned to Utah. We drove parcels. My family was fortunate in that our selection south towards Clarion with great expectations and my had better soil than most. But for the first two years the heart was filled with nostalgia. We arrived in Gunnison. promise of water was illusory. There was too little to Here I was, back in this place my family had left over meet the needs of the families and farm animals and also 70 years ago. Deep emotions surged up within me. I was to cultivate the crops. Somehow we all survived through hard pressed to contain myself. Vivid memories of the those first hard seasons. Then the third year was a experiences and places of my childhood bubbled to the joyous success. The novice farmers had learned from surface and with the recollections of my beloved family experience and were about to reap a bountiful harvest. their movement in and out of my consciousness formed Then one night a fierce storm swept through the valley. a ballet in heart and mind. We moved on to the Clarion Never had they experienced such rain and wind. The Colony itself and sought out our old Kristol homestead. frightened farmers huddled in their cabins with their To my dismay it was all leveled. Gone were the families. At daybreak they looked out and saw their farmhouse, all the sheds, the corral - even the pond was pockmarked farms. The bountiful harvest was gone; all filled in. Yet, the farm was verdant with an abundant growth was leveled. The farms had been overwhelmed alfalfa crop. The present owners showed us the by wind, water, rocks and landslides. Debris covered foundations of the old buildings and, once again, I was everything. The storm quashed the greater hopes of the overcome with emotion. Our spillway and canal system Clarion Jewish community. Many of the pioneers had was still in use and the modern farmers testified to their used up all their resources and were forced to leave. My importance. Then we visited the nearby cemetery. I saw father, along with six others, purchased the land and set the tombstones of baby Lieberman and pioneer Binder. about to reestablish the farms. World War I had broken He was killed in an avalanche as he returned from an out and there was a shortage of sugar. The main cash expedition into the mountains. He was crushed under crop became sugar beets and it was successful. falling horses, wagons, and timber. Now he rests quietly Throughout the war we raised tons and tons of beets, in this still beautiful spot. loaded them on wagons, and hauled them to the mill. There is a view that the Clarion Jewish Colony We had learned successful irrigation techniques and had was a failure because it did not continue. However, it built a canal system with spillways and pond feeders. We forged a tough breed of American Jew who went on to had our house, several sheds, and a corral. And I went contribute both to the ancient tradition and the new home to a one room schoolhouse with all the other children. In of America. The beautiful experiences of my childhood this distant place we celebrated Shabbat and the men will remain with me always. would join to form a minion. The modest farmhouse we ********************************************* lived in replaced the tents which were our first homes MORE ON MORRIS SMITH upon our arrival at Clarion. Then, the pioneers had hoisted flags next to the makeshift homes and toasted the Rabbi Bertram Leff (584,Pl.4ba) called to comment on land and the clear blue skies. Their singing was echoed an article by David Rosen that appeared in the Feb. 1994 by the howls of the coyotes - a symphonic tribute to the Newsletter. Entitled "On Jewish Investment", it freedom of the natural life and their dreams of the discussed Morris Smith who left a lucrative career as future. That future ended in 1920. After nine years, the manager of the Fidelity Magellan mutual fund to make Clarion Jewish Colony disbanded. My father sold his aliyah. Bert mentioned "My wife Gloria (578) has a first Utah acreage but he didn't give up farming. We moved cousin Melvin Brill (573,Pl.4bb) who is married to ********************************************* Sylvia Solomon (740). The Brill's son, Uri (771) was THE SER-CHARLAP FAMILY NEWSLETTER is Bar Mitzvah in February. Gloria and I met Sylvia's published quarterly. We encourage submittal of news sister whose daughter is married to Morris Smith. It was items, essays, poems, and historical articles. coincidental that an article about him appeared that same Correspondence should be directed to: month in our family newsletter." Bert holds an important Arthur F. Menton, Editor position with the Orthodox Union and Gloria is Assistant P.O. Box 108 Principal of the Sephardic High School in Brooklyn. Mel Cold Spring Harbor, N. Y. 11724 is the son of Rose (550) and the late Louis (551) Brill. Tel. and Fax.: (516)754-1742 Rose's mother and Gloria's grandmother was Chaya Copyright G) 1994 Faiga (546,Pl.4), daughter of Baruch Pasternak (504) All rights reserved and Kayla Kur (503). 3 MARCH OF THE LIVING A growing number ofAmerican Jewi.sh teenagers are panicipating in the March ofthe Living program. 1he young people gather for a pilgrimage to eastern Europe death camps and from there go on to Israel where they see the rebinh of a proud, independent Jewish nation. We are happy to repon that we have had our share offamily members who have panicipated in this program. Jason Ser (1663,Pl.12), son of Howard (1610) and Michele (1618) Ser, was the first panicipant brought to our attention. He was followed by another Jason (1952,Pl.lBc), son of Kenneth (1940) and Carol (1929) Packer. Now we have received word from Larry Levy (1339,Pl.