"Everything Came Intact Except for . . . "

Letter from Manchester, England to Bronx, New York, 30 Dec 1947

In 1901, my paternal grandfather, Isaac Burk (1882-1943) was en route from his hometown of Gargzdai, Lithuania to a new life in North America. He and his brother, Abraham Burk (1877-1962), stayed with their aunt Hinda Anna Mitav Chazan and her husband, Isaac Chazan in Manchester, England for a time. No doubt they were learning English and saving money for the journey across the Atlantic.

The Burk and Chazan families remained close throughout the first half of the 20th century, we know from photos exchanged and family stories, as well as memories of relatives who were youngsters when my father and uncle visited Manchester after World War II. Even after my Grandpa Isaac Burk died in 1943, the families corresponded and occasionally visited for the next decade.

Letters Handed Down for 70+ Years

Some letters written in the late 1940s from the Manchester cousins to my Grandma Henrietta Mahler Burk (1881-1954) in the Bronx, New York, were handed down to her son, Sidney Burk (1914-1995). In turn, the letters were later handed down to my first cousin E, who has been scanning and sharing with me and with our Manchester family.

How grateful I am that these letters were actually handed down instead of being tossed. The personalities of the letter-writers really shine through! And the contemporaneous experiences of the families are helpful in understanding ancestors and their lives.

At top, an excerpt from a letter sent from the Manchester family to my Grandma on December 30, 1947. I found this letter particularly interesting because it listed the exact contents of a parcel of food sent by Grandma to the Manchester cousins. This must have been quite a large box.

And I know it was not the first food parcel sent from New York City to Manchester, because other letters mention other parcels. It adds a personal, family history dimension to the continuing food shortages experienced in England even two and a half years after WWII ended.

Reading the letter, I was impressed at how the adults made a show of opening the parcel to heighten the pleasure their young children (cousins I've now met) felt at being able to taste some highly-coveted foods after years of scarcity.

Which Foods Crossed the Pond?

In this excerpt from the letter, note that two important items did not arrive in the parcel, even though they were packed and shipped properly! Hmmm...*

"Well I think this about all the family news up to date and now I must write to you the exciting news that the food parcel sent to Sadie [Grandpa's first cousin] has arrived. It really is a most magnificent parcel and Sadie and Sol and Solly and I [Grandpa's first cousins and their spouses] made a united ceremony of opening it and the excitement and happiness grew greater and greater as we drew package after package of the, to us, most exciting things. 

"Everything came intact, except for 2 cans meat listed on the label, these were missing, but the sugar (4 lbs), cheese, 3 pieces soap, box raisins, box of tea, 2 bars chocolate, box dried milk, box dried soup, packet chewing gum, can butter, can orange juice, can oil, can Spry [vegetable shortening], can lemon juice, box cocoa, 2 boxes crackers, can pineapple were all there." 

Thanks to Amy Johnson Crow for this week's #52Ancestors prompt of "handed down."

*Wendy's comment (below) asks whether some foods (like the cans of meat) weren't allowed into the UK from other countries or whether the meat might have been pilfered. I don't know exact details from that time period, but my guess is that canned foods of all sorts would be allowed, simply because they're not fresh and not unwrapped. That leaves the possibility that the two cans of meat were pilfered. My thought is yes.