February ZichronNote Sent to Members

The February issue of ZichronNote has been sent by postal and electronic mail to San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society members.  This issue includes an excellent article by Israel Pickholtz about one method of deciding when you have accumulated enough circumstantial evidence to make a decision about a family relationship.  Other articles are an update on the Ger Mandolin Orchestra, how to be an efficient 21st-century researcher, the opening of the new Magnes Museum in downtown Berkeley, and the premier of the new Society logo.

If you are a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society, you have probably already received your issue.  If you are not, you can join by visiting the Society's Web site, and then you too can enjoy these articles and the ones to come during this year.

Ger Mandolin Orchestra: 2011

Ger Mandolin Orchestra, c. 1933

Avner Yonai was inspired by a photograph of his grandfather's mandolin orchestra in Góra Kalwaria (Ger in Yiddish), Poland, to create a new version of the orchestra.  Many of Avner's relatives in Ger died in the Holocaust.  He decided to resurrect the orchestra as a memorial to those relatives.

A Facebook page is dedicated to the orchestra, and articles have appeared on Tablet and Yad Vashem.  A lot of research has been dedicated to trying to determine just what music the orchestra would likely have played.

While researching the orchestra, Avner has found information about his family members who left Ger and connected with long-lost relatives in Israel.  He discovered that his mother and uncle were named after members of the family who perished during the war.

The new Ger Mandolin Orchestra will perform as part of the 26th Annual Jewish Music Festival, taking place March 5-13 in the San Francisco Bay area.  The orchestra's performance will be on Sunday, March 6, at 2:00 p.m. at Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse, 2020 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA 94704.

Even though the repertoire for the performance is pretty well set, if you happen to know anything about what mandolin orchestras in Poland might have been playing in the 1920's and 1930's, Avner would be happy to hear from you.