Abby Barnett

Papa didnt think it was a good idea. But Papa also didnt know what it was like without

Alexander since last winter. Smallpox took many people in Russia at this time, but it wasnt until

the rash appeared on her husbands hands that Anna knew they were in danger. She couldnt

protect Alexander from his own body. The rash spread to his forearms and torso, and Anna couldnt

find the strength to watch him face a battle he would ultimately lose.

Jewish customs taught Anna to practice cleanliness in her surroundings, but this wasnt

enough to protect her family from smallpox. By some miracle of God, Anna Shafman lived through

the entire season and after her husbands death, and many after that. She never imagined his shiva

to occur just a few years after their wedding. The year was 1909. Widowed and alone, Anna took

solace in her childhood dream of America.

America was where she could escape his ghost. In America, she would be a new woman

with no unfortunate past. If she did well there, she wouldnt have to worry about money. A small

voice promised her she belonged in a new place. She could belong where everybody was a stranger,

and where she could practice her religion without fear or consequence. There was only so much

for her in the pale, a designated area for Jewish people to live in western Russia, and once she lost

her spouse, reality set in. She must immigrate to America; there she would have enough to eat and

experience freedom from persecution. If she worked her hardest she could bake challah to support

herself in the luxurious new world.

Papa wasnt coming around to it, Oh bubbeleh, little doll, why must you go so far away?

Who will be there with you for Shabbat? But Anna didnt have anyone for her here; not anymore.

America was where opportunity waited for her. She didnt need her Papa, what she needed was a

ticket.
This was years ago. Anna sits on her porch and remembers the journey. Almost all of those

emigrating from Russia were Jews. The boat was a friendly place. Anna could relax around similar

mannerisms and familiar phrases. She may not have known what her future looked like, but her

Jewish heritage provided the guidance and community to get there.

It was almost winter in Detroit, marking five years since Alexanders death. Anna couldnt

help thinking longingly of home. Americans behave so differently in the wintertime. Anna still

didnt understand how they managed the cold like this. Where were their fur caps? Where were

their bear-skinned gloves? In Russia, she would bundle up when going out. Here people were so

restless it was as if they couldnt be bothered or restricted by such garments.

Anna stands up and wraps her shawl around herself. It had barely snowed and she could

already hear the neighborhood children as they yelped and squealed through the street on their

sleighs. So small! How will they all fit? Anna remembers her first winter in Detroit. American

sleighs were only for a single person, unlike how she would play in the snow as a child. Russians

would send off five or six children in one sleigh to pave through the snow.

Anna shakes her head. She wasnt in Russia anymore. She was in America. Its as If

everyone and everything around her had suddenly changed; the only thing left to do was adapt.

Walking past the children makes her smile. These children would love the big sleighs and

exciting seasons of her homeland. Anna trudges forward through the thin layer of snow. It was

only a short walk to work. She had quickly found her place at a Kosher Bakery where she utilized

what she learned from home to make and sell baked goods in the shop down the street.

Anna bursts through the door. She is greeted by warm air and the smell of baking bread.
Good morning! cries Mr. Kaufman. The bakerys owner seemed to be Annas sole reason for

survival in this new place.

The sweet smells of home and glorious braided loaves had drawn her into the shop her first

week off the train from New York. Mr. Kaufman saw the look on her face and asked if she was

new in town. Thankful to hear Yiddish for the first time, Anna stayed at the bakery to chat long

enough that he offered her a job; she graciously accepted and since then worked to pay for her

small home.

Annas home, like most Jews in this area, was part of the community surrounding the

synagogue. The behavior of these Jewish American people was quite a shock to her upon arrival.

Customs werent mandatory and laws were treated as flexible to fit their lifestyle. Anna felt her

religion feel more and more like a culture. It came with so much behavior and history; she felt

comfortable taking a step back from it to focus on her new life.

As the day trailed on, Anna could feel the city moving around her. She imagined the roll

of machinery from Ford Motor Company to the hustle and bustle of the marketplace. Everything

in the city was so fast-paced it sometimes alarmed her. There was always more work to be done.

Anna could only imagine what it was like to spend a lifetime here; nothing but commotion and

innovation. The only constant thing in a city seemed to be change.

Anna retrieves the pitcher of water and gets to work finding the yeast. Her mind wanders.

How different her life is now! Anna never imagined her environment to have such an effect on

herself. She felt like a part of something at her bakery. When she sees the faces of the customers,

she cant help but smile. Her new life was a future. It always had something new for her around

the corner.
 Speaking of which, a young couple enter through the door. Anna looks up and greats the

customers with a smile. She realizes she has never seen this man or woman before. She waits for

them to speak to confirm her suspicion.

Hello? the man says in Yiddish. Anna was right. They must be new to the city just like she was.

Anna wipes her palms on her apron and scoots around the counter to greet them. She introduces

herself and asks where the couple is from. They seem to have moved not far from Annas old

home.

Welcome to Detroit, says Anna.

Works Cited

Boyd, Robert L. "Ethnic Shopkeepers in u.s. Cities in the Late Nineteenth Century." Sociological

Spectrum 30.3 (2010): 317-37. Web. 3 Oct. 2017.

Chiswick, Barry R., and Nicholas Larsen. "Russian Jewish Immigrants in the United

States." Contemporary Jewry 35.3 (2015): 191-209. ProQuest. Web. 3 Oct. 2017.

"CONDITION OF JEWS MAY BE IMPROVED." Detroit Free Press (1858-1922): 3. Nov 17

1906. ProQuest. Web. 11 Oct. 2017 .

"FOREIGN GOSSIP." Detroit Free Press (1858-1922): 2. Jan 21 1867. ProQuest. Web. 10 Oct. 2017 .

"KOSHER BAKERS AIR GRIEVANCES." Detroit Free Press (1858-1922): 6. Apr 27

1913. ProQuest. Web. 11 Oct. 2017 .