Part II of the tape START HERE:

ANITA; So, when they got to Tampico, they could stay there, and my dad also had money. But, imagine a man trying to change money, or exchange money at the black market. So, they through him in jail……WAIT! NOT IN TAMPICO, IN DANZIG! And, my father left Poland because my grandfather (his father) took him up to Danzig because the army wanted him. Abraham didn’t talk to you about this yesterday?

ALEX: No, he didn’t mention it.

ANITA: My Dad was going to be a rabbi. He all ready to graduate, then the army selected him. My grandfather thought he was going to be prepared, so he took him to Danzig, would keep him there for a little bit, then he would send him to the United States where he had some family members. I don’t remember where the family members were. Do you remember? Did Abraham tell you?

ALEX: The relatives of your grandpa? No, he didn’t mention it.

ANITA:  And, I’ll tell you, it wasn’t done right away. Because, grandpa thought he that would bring him back to Poland. He didn’t really think that he would send him off to the United States. He thought he would take him, and he could work as a rabbit with him. But, what happened was over time, he met two friends. One was Mr. Grossman, and I don’t remember the other one.

ALEX: Was it Majer/ Meyer?

ANITA: No, it wasn’t them. But, he got to know both men, and they changed money at the black market.

ALEX: So, they dedicated themselves to exchanging money at the black market?

ANITA: Yes, that’s’ what they worked in. My Dad got here with a thousand dollars, and sometimes he’ll say he got here with ten thousand dollars.  He, himself, wouldn’t remember.  Whatever he brought.  Well he had money, because, everybody else who came didn’t have anything. So, when they got to Tampico there were three or four guys at the port who were waiting to receive whoever came, and try to help them, because it cost one hundred dollars to get off the boat and go to the port. So, my dad had his money, and he lent some money to Grossman, so he could get off the boat, as well. And, then they stayed in Tampico. When my uncle saw him he clapped, and said, “this one is for my niece”, because he didn’t think he was going to make it there.

Then my mother and my father married. That was very difficult. They came with no language; they couldn’t speak the language. That was typical for everybody who came. Everybody came with very few things to relate ? here.

ALEX: After your father got to Tampico, how long was it until he met your mother?

ANITA: I think three or four days. Because, my Uncle Benito invited him to the house. I think three or four months passed, then they got married.

ALEX: Do you remember how old they were?

ANITA:  I’m going to feel very guilty because I never had the interest in asking them how old they were. And, they didn’t talk about it. They even invented or came up with the day your dad was born because we didn’t…..  Well you know before the system and after the system, we didn’t know them.  I think we came up with of July 14th.  And that was his birthday; that is what was shown on his passport.  And, the other day I found his driver’s license, but that was here from Mexico, and it also said he was from 1940 or 1941, and I saved it. But, what can I tell you? I save a lot of things, and a lot of memories. And, I don’t know how long, but I know they married….

ALEX: Do you know how old they were?

ANITA: My mother 15. My father 21. He was going to turn 21. I didn’t know, exactly. Then I verified. with the “Alturo House” in Tampico that they made them a cup of coffee and some breakfast, and they got married there. And, they stayed to live in Tampico. My grandmother came with my mother and they lived in the same house with my father; all three of them together.

ALEX: Your grandmother and your mother lived together in the same house with your father??

ANITA: Yes, with my father!

ALEX: So, his mother-in-law was living in the house?

ANITA:  Yes, and she was coming as a widow.

ALEX: Do I recall her losing a child, or a son?

ANITA: Two. She lost two sons. Mother remembers that one died from tuberculosis, and the other from another cause, like measles, I think it was; also called “ rubiolla’. That is what my mother remembers; two kids; two little brothers. So, my mother came as an only child. And, my father was alone here.

ALEX: What did your father do?

ANITA: He sold farm stuff; a lot of petroleum stuff. (??fertilizer). There he learned Spanish. Then afterward my grandmother got to know a few travelers in Tampico who came from Fort Worth or Dallas. They were coming back from a trip they had previously made. So, they went to Dallas, then they came back to Tampico. One of the men says he met a widowed woman with only one child in Tampico, and that she was a fine lady. They didn’t tell my grandmother that the man she was going to meet had 5 kids already. He had one married son, and four single sons; and they were grown up. So, they got to talking, and eventually they got married. Then my grandmother went to Fort Worth. When she got there, there and was a surprise!  She met four beasts. Two women who made her life miserable.  And, in a little bit time she got pregnant. That’s when Rosita was going to be born.

There wasn’t any technology at the time. There was not phone or anything. So, my mother sent her a card that she was awaiting a son in February, and asked if she could come and accompany her again. Then my grandmother responded that she, too, was pregnant, and that she is awaiting a son in April! And, it would be better if she came to Fort Worth. So, my mother went with Sterie (estera?) and Abraham, and in a little bit of time, my father as well. And, my grandpa wanted my dad to stay there, but my dad didn’t really like it because he had to learn English, and that took too much work for him. So, they all returned, but they didn’t go back to Tampico, they went to Mexico City. That is when was I was born.  Mother waited for my uncle was  born.  His name was Ross David, but they called him “Artie”. I think they stayed seven months over there. And, my mother got there with two sons, Abraham was five (?fire?) and he/was crazy. They went to Tampico, and he also returned to work as a farmer/ seller; a merchant. Then they gathered some money. He grouped up with somebody, and that man stole everything from him. So, they all decided to go to Tampico, because they thought it was better for my dad.  So, they went there and we came back when Lorita was, I don’t remember if it was three years, or four years old?

ALEX: So, you have memories of Tampico?

ANITA: Very little. I remember we lived on the third floor of a building. I remember one time we were going up the stairs, and my mother she fell down the stairs. It was terrible.  I also remember once I was on the roof and I fell and I broke my arm. What did my dear brothers do? They locked me in a closet.  Then my mother found me when she came home from work. It was around 8 pm, and she looked around, and she said, “Oh , I’’m missing one!”. Then my brothers showed her I was in there!  They took me to the hospital, and I got a cast. What memories, no?

ALEX: You just don’t forget things like that, do you?

ANITA: No, you just don’t!

ALEX: So, you spent the days without your parents?

ANITA: Well, my Mom was there in the morning, but then she would go to work during the day. The boys went to school, because they weren’t born in Tampico, Tampico.  They were born in Villa Secillia, which was later city Medero. Then when I was born, maybe five years, maybe less, around the time I broke my arm, we spent that much time in Tampico.

ALEX; I didn’t know your dad was going to be a rabbi. Do you remember any religious aspect? For example, did he wear a kippah?

ANITA: Well, my Dad always went to shul/synagogue.

ALEX: Was it here in Tampico?

ANITA:  No, it was not in Tampico.

ALEX:  Did you have any conscience that you were Mexican, but you were a little bit different?

ANITA: Yes. Yes, I do remember people made you feel like you were NOT one of them. Then I remember afterward, we lived a house where the owner of the house was a photographer. There was patio and a fountain in the middle. They rented us half of the house. We showered in a big tub made of aluminum. My mother would heat the water.

ALEX; So, did your family have running water?

ANITA: Yes, there was running water, but there wasn’t running hot water. There was an electric heater, but I don’t remember if there was an actual heater, or who’s it was. The other renters didn’t have any children, and they became very good friends with my parents. I remember one day there was an incident at the school and they came to school and they defended me. It was about my last name, or something. But, if you’re asking about if I remember Jewish things: we didn’t eat pork we ate fish and chicken.  First, it was cheaper, and second, it was healthier.  We didn’t eat pork, then there was some access to crab and shrimp, but we didn’t eat that at home

ALEX: What language did you speak at home?

ANITA: Yiddish.

ALEX: That was with you guys (siblings) or your parents?

ANITA: That was with my parents; between them they spoke in Yiddish.

ALEX: And, to you, what language did they speak?

ANITA: To us, the kids, they spoke in Spanish.

ALEX; So, after time they both learned Spanish, right?

ANITA: Yes, they did. My mother went to school and she learned to read and write in Spanish.  She wrote in Spanish without any flaw. She went to night school, and she learned Spanish perfectly. My father spoke, well if you heard him, you’d assume he worked somewhere fancy to learn. He spoke a very great Spanish.

ALEX: So, was it more difficult for your father to learn Spanish?

ANITA: Not Spanish. It was more difficult for him to learn English, so he didn’t want to learn it. But, my mother spoke English, and she spoke a precious English. My mother was skilled in learning languages.

ALEX: So, how long were you in Tampico. How many years?