עץ משפחה

Haya Karpel (1922-2013) חיה קרפל

Simha Karpel (1912-1987) שמחה קרפל

 

My grandparents first radio; circa 1950

As told by Henia July 2020 (written by Erran Carmel)

Until 1950, my grandparents Feivush and Dvora, had no radio in their home. After all, a radio was still a luxury.  One day, Simha came home huffing and puffing. He had carried a heavy radio console up the stairs and into their tiny flat. The wooden console with tube-based circuitry was massive — at least 1 meter tall in height (at least three feet). Perhaps more.

Simha, Feivush’s brother had been living with them for several years. He was a Holocaust refugee. He got this radio as a deal, he said.

The huge radio console sat prominently in their bedroom for the next 30 years. When I would visit, beginning in the 1960s, I was in awe of this dinosaur. After all, where I came from in America, there were already radios that one could carry in one’s pocket.  I also loved the grandiose frequency display etched on the glass — a detailed display of radio stations, including shortwave,  from all over Europe: London, Berlin, Paris. Hamburg, Roma, and many more. Whenever I tried to tune something with the complicated dial, all I got was static. This elegant dinosaur always felt impenetrable to me since I was never able to get these exotic locations and travel the world.

Also, by the 1960s, Feivush was already doing most of his radio listening with a handheld battery-powered transistor radio that was usually on the kitchen table.

Hannah Borenstein (?-1953) חנה בורנשטיין

Virginia Jordan (1927-2004)

Frank Jordan (?-?)