I DETROIT I Seven reasons to shop House of Watchbands. Sisters Rediscover Their Soviet Ties SUSAN GRANT Staff Writer F or 40 years, Sally Lux and Norma Nolish wondered about their relatives in the Soviet Union. Both women remember the letters and packages that their parents, Harry and Fanny Shapiro, would send from Detroit to the Ukraine. To this day, Mrs. Lux recalls the $58 it cost to send her mother's family a package filled with second-hand ma- ternity clothes and some old linen. "We didn't even know if they had gotten it," Mrs. Lux said. "All their letters were censored, words were cut out of the letter. But then my father noticed the word 'linen' in a margin and we figured they had received it." In 1950, when Harry Shapiro died, the family lost touch with their Soviet "We were in shock." Norma Nolish relatives. The address was lost after the letters from the Soviet Union stopped com- ing. Then, on erev Yom Kippur, as she was getting ready for Kol Nidre services, Mrs. Lux got a call from Herbert Kaufman of Ira Kaufman Chapel. As soon as Mr. Kaufman mentioned the Kozlikova family, Mrs. Lux recognized the name of her first cousin in the Soviet Union. The call marked the end of months of searching. It had begun with a simple letter written in English by Fenja Lvovna Kozlikova, living in the Ukraine, and addressed to the Jewish Community of New York at the Lubavitch Foundation World Head- quarters in Brooklyn. In the letter, Ms. Kozlikova sought the two daughters of relatives who lived in Detroit. The note was forwarded to Rabbi Berel Shemtov, Detroit regional director of the Lubavitch Foundation, who sent a letter to Jewish institutions hoping to find a lead. Using his funeral files, Mr. Kaufman discovered the chapel had buried Harry Shapiro in 1950 and his wife, Fanny, in 1974. He also found a Southfield address for Mrs. Lux and her hus- band, Nathan, and a Farm- ington Hills address for Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Nolish. "I had goose bumps when I was able to come up with an- swers and was able to locate the two daughters," Mr. Kauf- man said. Crying with happiness, Mrs. Lux called her sister to tell her the news, but had to leave a message on the an- swering machine. Mrs. Nolish still has the recor- ding of her sister's voice shaking with joy. "We were in shock," Mrs. Nolish said. The sisters had lost almost all hope of con- tacting their relatives. The Ukrainian town for years had been closed to outsiders by the Soviet military and wasn't open until recently. While she lost touch with her relatives, Mrs. Lux, 77, never forgot about them. "I was born in the Soviet Union," Mrs. Lux said. "We came over when I was 9 years old. I vaguely re- member most of our relatives. "My father left the Soviet Union for America when my mom was pregnant with me in 1913," she said. "My mother was supposed to follow him to America, but the war broke out. After the war, we were supposed to go, but I got sick. My parents didn't see each other for nine years." During the separation, her mother's sister and her hus- band, Lisa and Lova Kozlikova, took the family in, she said. Fenja was one of the Kozlikova's children. After receiving a copy of Fenja Kozlikova's letter, the sisters wrote a brief note to their first cousin, explaining they lost the Soviet address and that their mother had died. Rather than write about themselves, the sisters wanted to know more about their relatives. "We don't know what they want," said Mrs. Nolish, 67, who has never met her Soviet relatives. "I would imagine they want to im- migrate. We would be glad to sponsor them. Our kids would be glad to sponsor them." "We're waiting for a re- sponse from them," Mrs. Lux said. "We want to know all about them, who is liVing and who isn't and what we can do for them." [11 1. HOWB Selection. 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With Seiko Intelligent Quartz computer-driven subdial automatically indicates the time in up to 21 cities around the world. Striking black dial and polished gold-tone case. Full service watch and jewelry repair. WATCH BANDS SOUTHFIELD Southfield & 12 Mile 552-0080 FARMINGTON HILLS Orchard Lake & 13 Mile 851-0440 MADISON HEIGHTS Dequindre & 12 Mile 541-0808 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 11