My grandmother’s photo album continues to amaze me. As I revisit it every few months, I always find photos that call out to me. This time, the portrait of a middle age man caught my attention.
I believe this is my great grandfather.
He looked so familiar, but at the same time, not so much. Then I looked more closely at his ears. Do not laugh! But his ears were very telling. And I thought, “Wait, I think that is my great grandfather.” I pulled out my great grandfather’s passport. And compared the photos. And yes, in my mind the ears are the same. As are the eyes. He is much older in the passport photo. And much had happened in his life. But it is definitely Avraham Shlomo.
My Great Grandfather’s Green card that save him.
My grandmother’s album is filled with photos from the 1920s and 1930s. I imagine that this is the photo she brought with her to the United States when she left Poland in the early 1920s. Her mother had already died. Her younger siblings, she left behind.
But she kept a photo album of the people she met in the USA And with the many photos sent to her from Europe. Some I have identified. But many more remain a mystery, because they have no identification, that I still try to discover. The hardest ones to see are the children. Grandma put in several photos of large groups of children, I would assume from a school photo. I wonder how many survived?
Each time, I figure out who someone is, I feel as if a great miracle has occurred. So today I had my Hanukkah miracle for the year, discovering this photo of my great grandfather in his middle age. A younger vision of him before so much sorrow occurred in Poland and Europe.
Here is the blog I wrote when I first discovered this album. But I have written many others since then. Each discovering just an amazing find. You can see more of the photos in the Category: Grandma’s Photo Album.
https://zicharonot.com/2014/08/19/old-photographs-bring-memories-to-life/
zicharonot 
I agree—definitely the same man! How exciting—a wonderful Hanukkah gift.
Thank you. It really made my day!! Each discovery is a treasure!!