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Suitcases and wardrobe trunks were not in fashion or available in the village, and they cost money. The packing was done in large bundles. Everything to be shipped was placed on heavy sheets and down-feather comforters and tied with ropes made by a local rope maker. The rope maker would set up a portable wooden machine in front of his house. The finished product would be stretched out on the street and cut to desired lengths.... To watch him was another form of entertainment for the youth.
In the center of our all-purpose room was a clutter of bundles. Our wooden board box-like beds were not disturbed. The straw in the beds in which we slept was covered with heavy muslin sheets and remained for the lucky purchaser... The bundling of our possessions was so expertly done that everything arrived in the USA in perfect condition, including the glassware, china, copperware, and sealed bottles of Vodka for Father, as well as the musty ocean odor that penetrated everything for a long time.
We Depart
On a scheduled day early in November, 1906, the time arrived for our departure from the village. The Balegola stopped in front of our house. The bundled luggage and the six of us were eased into the wagon, and the long journey to America was about to begin. The excitement was great. The village well-wishers chanted in Yiddish, For't gezunt' (Travel in good health), Zol zein mit glick, (It should be with luck), and Ziet gezunt (Stay healthy). And, for the last time, the Balegola drove us to the railroad station.
Our First Sea Voyage
[There] we boarded a train to take us to the port city of Riga, Latvia, to embark on a freighter to take us across the Baltic Sea, passing through many smaller bodies of water to the northernmost part of Denmark. From there we entered the North Sea into a violent fall storm that delayed us more than four days before we reached a port in England. There w[ere] good reasons for that route being more suitable for us. It was the least expensive, and Father most likely thought that all ships that carry passengers were as good as the passenger ship in which he had crossed the Atlantic from Hamburg, Germany. For us, [furthermore,] it was best to enter the USA from Canada to avoid the delousing and compulsory steam baths, and the numerous inspections and health tests required at the Port of New York.
The discomforts and dangers of the ship we were on were fitting for people who seek adventure and dare the worst to happen. Personally, at the age of ten years I could not visualize how what seemed to be a large ship could possibly be in any danger.
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