Mazel Toy!

NORINE ZIMMER

Special to The Jewish News

ilberta Rothstein Jacobs dis-
covered a precious legacy—
her memories.

The 78-year-old wandered down
the golden corridors of closely held
images of people, places, and things
that are the blueprint of a life to create
a written record about four generations
of her family.
The idea for the 400-page book
came from her son, Charles, who gave
her a computer on condition that she
would write the family history. A year
later, 11 copies of A Family History:

Gilberta Jacobs produced a 400 page family history.

Mrs. Jacobs had to learn to use a computer for her
project.

Notes On A Journey From Then to Now

were printed tirKinko's and distrib-
uted to the family.
Even before research for the book
began, Jacobs had the daunting task of
learning to use the computer. Jacobs's
research came mostly from the stories,
photos, legal documents, clippings, let-
ters and notes she had saved over the
years, "though there were calls to
Machpelah Cemetery to find out my
great grandfather's name, and to the
library to confirm correct spellings of
,,
names.
Jacobs didn't try to sum up her life in
grand, sweeping, historic strokes. She
stuck to the seemingly small basics.
"Yes, we had a shady family member,
some intermarriages, some secrets, but I
felt better not to embarrass anyone and
let certain things rest in peace." She
writes of her grandfather Margolis com-
ing to this country in 1890, working to
earn enough money to send for his fam-
ily.
Eventually, her grandmother, five
sons and a year-old daughter went to
buy steamship tickets, accompanied by a
sister-in-law.
The sister-in-law generously offered
to hold some of the baggage while

Grandmother went to inquire. When
Grandmother returned for her handbag,
the money and sister-in-law were gone.
Grandmother Margolis had to return
home until Grandfather could send
more money.
The most
popular chap-
ter in the book
for the family
is "Showbiz."
It's mainly
about Jacobs'
father, Charlie
Rothstein. At
7, he was selling newspapers at Griswold
and State streets downtown, where
wealthy and influential businessmen
befriended him. In 1899, at age 14, they
arranged for him to be nominated as a
page in the state Senate in Lansing.
"This was a remarkable thing for a
Jewish boy, " said Jacobs.
Later, Charlie went from a secure job
as chief licensing clerk in Detroit —
with the reputation of being able to
bring in the Jewish vote — to "show-
biz." He owned 12 burlesque theaters
around the country, including the

Avenue, the Gaiety, and the National in
Detroit.
Jacobs maintains her book clears
away any doubts the family may have
had about how her dad got the bur-
lesque license.
"We have the
police chief's
own glowing
letters lauding
his years of ser-
vice," she says.
A former
English
teacher,
Jacobs's prose preserved some intrigu-
ing family history which she hopes
future generations will continue writ-
ing. But she found that she had to
assume the initial task alone. When she
asked extended family at a reunion for
birthdates of family members, she
receievd so many conflicting answers
that she knew she had to assume the
writing task alone. But in the end, "this
project was joyful, even therapeutic,"
she says. "I tied up some loose ends of ),
family stories and gained new insights.
Her children's positive responses to

A local senior
records her family
memories with style.

the book and, in some instances, lack
of responses gave Jacobs an extraordi-
nary opportunity to see what mat-
tered to them. For example, her chil-
dren were particularly impressed
with the way she traced their fami-
ly's historical Jewish experience from
the early 1800s and immigration
from Sweden and Russia to the pre-
sent. They also liked the reminis-
cences about their 1960s activism,
including a sit-in for welfare moth-
ers which landed daughter Elizabeth
and son Charlie on television and in
an Ann Arbor jail. Mort and
Gilberta Jacobs' son John avoided
that limelight
Jacobs gets mad these days when
people don't list the names of great-
grandparents and grandparents for
their children's simchas. "That's
when I know I'm old," she says. "If
those names were listed, I could
place the family." If you're thinking
of writing your own family history,
Jacobs advises, "Be assured your
family's story will be cherished
beyond anything money could buy.
Just start!" Fl

.

2/12
1999

Detroit Jewish News

45

