My Dad's father (Itch) came from Russia to New York City when he was about 87. My father took to meet him (in NY) when I was about 9 years old. He spoke to me in Yiddish and asked me if I spoke Yiddish. I answered with the only phrase I knew : Hock me nish con chinic(sp?) which Dad later explained meant "don't bother my head." ( the yiddish literally means, "Quit banging the tea pot.") I never saw my grandfather again. I understand he lived to be about 92, and spent his time enjoying classical music and going to shul.
I also remember visiting uncle Bib and being impressed with his high standard of living. He took me to the 1939 world fair. He was a charming man, who lived in the same building as Eleanor Roosevelt.
My father was Abraham Danzig. He came to america at age 18 and went to work in Harris Danzig's factory making furniture (really it was barrels and crates). After working there sometime, he tried to organize a union for the workers. Needless to say, Harris promptly fired his nephew. Abrama was either sent or decided to go to Rolling Fork, Miss. where other, more understandign relatives were living. There he met and married Sophia Frieda Rosenthal, the sister of Sam Rosenhtal, the Mayor of RF. She was a nurse and also opened various stores to try to support the family while Abe tried to help in the store, but he was not very good at it.
Sophia lost twins at birth and 12 years later had a son, Elliot. Abe, my father, was a gambler and often did quite well thus we lived sometimes very well, and others without any money. My mother's nursing work help us get by. But this lead to tension in the family and eventually my parents separated and at the age of fifteen, I was left for six months with the family of the local sherrif. This trauma lead me to invest a lot of energy into the world or reading.
Eventually, Edwin Danzig told Abe to open a beer joint with dominos, a pool table, and food in the back for black people. They also set up gambling there, and the sheriff also gambled there, along with judges and the like. The sheriff suggested that the house take a cut. This proved to be a success, and the family was reunited and financial problems were overcome. This sheriff went on to become the governor of Arkansas(?) and invited my father and mother to visit the governor's mansion.