Gold Rush Field Trip

And so the day finally arrived yesterday when we all gathered on Risa Road, at 8:40 a.m., to meet the bus for our trip to Sonora and Columbia. The weather could not have been better all day long - crisp, fall weather, just perfect for enjoying our outdoor picnic at Sonora's Woods Creek Rotary Park and for walking up and down Main Street in Columbia, not to mention up and down the hill there leading to the old schoolhouse.

Gathering on Risa Road - every student received the Gold Rush pouch s/he made or one that was made for them, filled with a large piece of hardtack

The bus came right on schedule, though it took a good amount of time for Craig, our driver, to maneuver the 55-seater to face Mt. Diablo Blvd. We learned later that Craig trains the other drivers to drive school groups.

We got ourselves comfortable in the bus, and were ready to go.

Once the bus was on Hwy. 24, I began my introduction to our field trip. To get everyone in the right frame of mind, we sang two songs from the era - "Oh, California" and "Clementine," then I shared some general history about the pioneer Jews who came to seek their fortunes in Gold Country, most by merchandising, but some (like Adolph Sutro) in the mining industry. Each family received a packet of historical readings and activities just before getting on the bus. As part of the introduction, the adults were asked to read excerpts aloud to the children from a memoir, a letter, and a travelog, relating the writers' experiences on their journeys to California and to Sonora.

Then, it was time to watch a 42-minute film called "Birth of a Community: Jews and the Gold Rush," directed and produced by Bill Chayes, a local filmmaker. Blending action movies depicting the Wild West with interviews of local historians and still photos of the Jewish pioneers and their institutions, the movie was able to give us a detailed background history about the Jewish pioneers who settled in, and established the Jewish institutions we are familiar with today in San Francisco and the Mother Lode country. This was especially helpful for the adults and non-Edot students.

The film ended just about half an hour before we reached Sonora where we stopped to have our picnic lunch and meet the families who drove on their own. While the children ran around the field and played near the creek and on the playground structures, the adults had time to get to know each other over lunch. As a special dessert, I brought along the 1-2-3-4 cakes we made last Sunday which everyone seemed to enjoy. After half an hour, it was time to leave for Columbia, just a 5-minute drive from the picnic area.

We climbed the hill to Main Street and walked to the Fire House, where our docents, Diane and Don, were waiting to greet us in full period costumes.

We divided into 3 groups for 3 stations: the town tour with Diane and Don, the School House lesson with Ms. Phillips, and free time to explore what Columbia State Park had to offer in the form of activities and food - this Wells Fargo coach took you on a 15-minute tour of the historical part of Columbia and was a popular attraction for our families, along with gold-panning and watching a blacksmith work over a forge as they did in Gold Rush times.

When we arrived at the building that housed the S&H Dry Goods Store back in the 1850's, Ben read us his "pioneer letter home" to share the adventures of Harris Morris Levy and his wife, who were shipwrecked off the coast of Cuba on their way to California, and who finally arrived and conducted a very successful business.

After we learned about all the female clothing carried by Philip Schwartz in his "Fancy New York Dry Goods Store," Don captivated the boys by describing the "Gentlemen's Jewelry" worn by most men in those days (the gun, the Bowie knife, and the baton for defending themselves).

Once the tour was over, each group moved on to the old schoolhouse, situated on top of a very (read V-E-R-Y!) steep hill, where the school marm, Ms. Phillips, conducted a lesson typically taught back in 1860, when the school house was built. The superintendent of schools in Columbia back then was Bernard Marks, a Jew who had moved to California from Massachusetts where his family had resided for generations. 

Waiting for us at the entrance to the school was Ms. Phillips, dressed as the teachers would have back in 1860. Boys were told to line up silently on one side of the staircase, girls on the other. The cost for attending this public school was far less than to attend many others for a very good reason - just to the left of the school, nestled among the trees, is the city's cemetery.  School was sure to end before dark in Columbia!

Students had to stand to speak.

As part of our history lesson, we were asked which routes the pioneers took to come to California. I was so proud when many of the students in my Edot class raised their hands immediately, since we studied the routes in great detail in class.

As part of our reading lesson, we were introduced to McGuffey's Reader, and were asked to turn to the page with the poem, "Try, Try Again" on it. Its message is still valid today!

A little after 3 p.m., we all met back at the bus, and drove back to Sonora, to visit the pioneer Jewish cemetery which dates back to 1853. The cemetery lies adjacent to the Tuolomne County Sheriff's Department, with its county jail. For the past 10 years or so, a detail of prisoners has been sent to clean up the grounds of the cemetery, so its one of the best-maintained cemeteries of the 7 pioneer cemeteries the Commission for the Preservation of Pioneer Jewish Cemeteries and Landmarks in the West owns the deeds to and oversees.

As soon as we arrived at the gate of the cemetery, even before we opened the combination lock, some of the Edot students could already spot "their" graves - the graves of the pioneer Jews they were asked to "become" during our letter writing exercise two weeks ago. 

After a brief introduction to the cemetery and the Commission, I gave each family a "treasure hunt," which allowed them to look at almost every gravestone in their search for specific symbols.

Many gravestones were decorated with broken sheaves of wheat, broken tree limbs or wilting flowers, to indicate that here lay someone who died too young. Other stones had Masonic and Odd Fellow lodge symbols, showing how proud the men were who belonged to these fraternal organizations which accepted Jews into their midst.

Then it was time for some Edot students to read the "letters home" they had written, sharing information we know about the pioneer or, since we don't know much about most of the people buried here, making up information which would be historically accurate. Here Sammy brings Moses Reeb, a shoemaker, to life...

...while Jennifer "becomes" Melanie Reeb, wife of Moses.

Alex "becomes" Mayer Baer, a clothing store merchant...

...and Kyra shares the life of his wife, Helena.

Jacob "became" Abraham Barlow, who owned the only Sefer Torah in Sonora and who led prayer services in his home.

Emma Barlow, Abraham's wife, was brought to life by Jessie and...

Ella. Both had a lot of material to work with since the Barlow's were a wealthy family, and so there were a lot of records and articles about them.

Abi brought along her own bonnet, which she put on to help bring Pauline Morris to life.

Jake had his own backup group to support him as he "became" Aron Jacob.

Andrew stood by the iron gate surrounding the grave, as he "became" the wealthiest man in Sonora back then - Emanuel Linoberg. As we walked up to the cemetery, we passed by Linoberg Street.

You may have noticed from the photos above, that by the time it was time to place stones on the graves and recite the Kaddish, the Mourner's Prayer, it was already getting pretty dark. Interestingly, aside from the fact that it was getting cold and damp, no one seemed upset by the fact that we were standing in a cemetery in near-dark conditions. We left the cemetery, locking the gate behind us, said goodbye to the families who were driving on their own, and headed back to the bus. 

On the bus, there was one more song to sing as we started the trip back to Lafayette - "The Ol' Gold Rush Jews," sung to the melody of "Sweet Betsy from Pike." The lyrics were composed by members of Congregation Shir Ami in Castro Valley, the synagogue to which Robert Levinson, the "father" of research into the Jews of the Gold Rush, belonged. Each year during the 1970's, they would visit one of the pioneer cemeteries, and put on a musical relating to the pioneers buried in that cemetery and to the Jews of the Gold Rush era in general. The final verse of the song is a perfect way to sum up our trip -

"So this is the end of our story today

We hope that you've learned and you've found much delight

Like the gold in the mountains

The Jews stood out bright

A beacon of courage

A beacon of light!"

Then we all sat back in our seats, and enjoyed watching "The Frisco Kid" on the way home. It sounded like a lot of people enjoyed the comedy about the adventures of a Polish rabbi (played by Gene Wilder), sent to become the rabbi of a new congregation in San Francisco in the year 1850. It takes a bank robber he meets on the way (played by Harrison Ford), to keep him alive long enough to reach his destination. The movie ended just 10 minutes before we pulled up in front of the Veterans' Building on Mt. Diablo Blvd at 7:15 p.m., and we ended our day-long learning adventure in Gold Country. 

 JEWS IN THE GOLD RUSH?! YES, INDEED!

Gold Rush Pouches

Just 2 days to go 'til our Gold Rush field trip!  Now that we've prepared the hardtack and 1-2-3-4 cakes, our final preparatory activity for the trip was to make Gold Rush pouches, like the ones miners and peddlers used to carry their gold dust or their dried foods, including hardtack.

We made a very simple felt version of the leather pouches they used. Students were introduced to the fact that many Jewish merchants in the area ended up becoming cattle ranchers even while they still ran their stores. Often, ranchers and farmers had to pay the merchants in kind for finished goods that they bought in the "mercantiles," since they often didn't have enough money. Merchants received grain, fruits, vegetables, and not infrequently, cattle and sheep. Emanuel Linoberg in Sonora had a very large cattle ranch just outside the city limits. The Jewish cattle ranchers, like other ranchers, had to brand their cattle.

I shared examples of the brands used by Jewish cattlemen, then suggested that the students might want to decorate their pouches with brands of their own design - perhaps variations of their initials, or completely different symbols. Many students followed my suggestion.

Below are some photos of the students decorating their pouches, and weaving the drawstring through the holes in the round felt pieces they were given, which became their pouches. On Wednesday evening, I put a piece of the hardtack we made into each student's pouch. We made extra pouches for absentees and for those Y'tzira and Shira students who will be accompanying us on the field trip.

Once most of the students had completed their pouches, I read to them an adventure path from a "do-it-yourself-adventure" book called "The Other Side of the Hudson," written by Kenneth Roseman. It's one of a series of historical adventures he's written about different eras in Jewish history. Each page presents the reader (who is the main character in the book) with choices which had to be made by real people, and depending upon the choice made, the reader continues on to a specific page to continue the "adventure path." We made the decisions together - the majority's decision ruled. This is another fun way to learn about Jewish history.

 We also continued to build our Hebrew Through Movement holiday vocabulary this past week, reviewing Shabbat vocabulary which most of the students had learned last year, and introducing two new words: pamot and pamoteem (candlestick and candlesticks). We also reviewed the "Ha'motzee" and "Kiddush" blessings (thanks to Rabbi Greninger's suggestion, I realized that when just speaking the words, they are harder to remember than chanting them, as we're all used to doing!).

La'seem challah al ner shel Shabbat (Put challah on Shabbat candle)

Ian, la'seem nerot shel Shabbat al rosh shel Ari (Ian, put Shabbat candles on Ari's head)

Ari, la'seem nerot Shabbat b'pamoteem shel Shabbat al rosh shel Ian; Ian, la'seem challah al rosh shel Jason (Ari, put the Shabbat candles in the Shabbat candlesticks on Ian's head; Ian, put challah on Jason's head)

Ethan, la'seem nerot shel Shabbat b'pamoteem shel Shabbat al rosh shel Jennifer; Jennifer, la'seem challah al rosh shel Kyra; Kyra la'seem challah al rosh shel Danielle v'l'histovev (Ethan, put the Shabbat candles in the Shabbat candlesticks on Jennifer's head; Jennifer, put challah on Kyra's head; Kyra, put challah on Danielle's head and turn around)

SHABBAT SHALOM EVERYONE!

Hardtack and 1-2-3-4 Cake

We're counting down the days now 'til we travel to Sonora and Columbia State Park - just 6 days to go!

We learned a few weeks ago that Jewish peddlers had to travel sometimes as far as 100 miles between farm houses in the West. They would have to carry their own food which was relatively light and easy to eat as they walked on the road during the day, and easy to prepare at night over a campfire. Those Jewish peddlers who tried to keep kosher usually stuck to beans and hardtack, with perhaps some fresh vegetables or fruits that they might receive in partial payment for goods they sold to farmers.

Hardtack was easy to prepare at night over the campfire. As the peddler would prepare to bed down for the night, he would keep a low fire burning. He could take some of the flour he carried with him in a pouch, mix it with water and perhaps some salt, then leave the dough to bake on his campfire stones overnight. By morning, it was nearly as hard as a rock. Most importantly, it was easy for him to gnaw on a piece as he walked. He could make enough in one evening to last for a month.

When the peddler visited the farm houses, he would often be invited to join the family for dinner or, at the very least, for some coffee and cake. The cake in these pioneer households more often than not would be a simple one made from a recipe the farm wife could easily remember, since most farm wives couldn't read. Mix together 1 cup of butter, 2 cups of sugar, 3 cups of flour and 4 eggs, and you have a "Cupcake," as these very sweet and dense cakes were aptly called. Some also referred to them as 1-2-3-4 cakes - an easy way to remember the recipe!

In preparation for our upcoming trip, we prepared both hardtack and 1-2-3-4 cake during our two morning sessions yesterday. Each table grouping was given a ball of dough made of flour, water and salt (prepared by me the evening before since we wouldn't have enough time in class to prepare it), a rolling pin, a measuring tape, a knife, a chopstick, and a cookie sheet. The directions were simple:  pat down the ball of dough until it's easy to roll with the pin, then roll it out into as square a shape as possible, until it's 1/2" thick. Then measure out 3" square pieces, cut them out, and punch 16 holes on each side. Put them on the tray and they're ready to bake (30 minutes on each side). We'll have plenty of hardtack to gnaw on during the bus ride to Sonora and anywhere else we want to gnaw on it that day!

Even as some students in the group were continuing to roll, measure, cut out and pierce the hardtack dough, others in the group began to prepare the 1-2-3-4 cake. First they were asked to cream together the butter and sugar, then add in the flour and eggs. Mix it altogether, pour it into a greased 8" x 8" pan, and it was ready for the oven. We'll have a chance to enjoy these cakes at our picnic in Sonora.

Those students not joining us on the trip will bring home a piece of hardtack the week following the trip, and will enjoy a piece of the cake as we read our story during our weekday session that same week.

Enjoy the photos below that we shot of the process both sessions:

"Becoming" a Jewish Pioneer

During our last week day sessions, Edot students were presented with four dilemmas faced by Jewish pioneers who came to the United States from Europe during the late 1840's to mid-1850's. Students were divided into four groups; each group was presented with one dilemma and was asked to brainstorm solutions.

The dilemmas:

We had only half an hour to brainstorm the solutions, so there was a lot of give and take, discussion and argument as to what the recorder in each group should write down to share with the rest of the class. As each group shared its solutions, more ideas were offered from members of the other groups, resulting in quite a long list. I typed the list up, and it became a part of a "Pioneer Packet" or archive which each student was given during our Sunday morning session yesterday.

Now that I have shared the history of Jewish settlement in the United States from 1654 to 1855, it's time for my students to share what they have learned. They began doing so yesterday, by "becoming" Jewish pioneers who participated in the California Gold Rush and who are buried in one of the 7 pioneer Jewish cemeteries owned by the Commission for the Preservation of Pioneer Jewish Cemeteries and Landmarks in the West. After explaining how historians glean records from many contemporary sources, such as newspaper articles and announcements, family memoirs and photographs, board meeting minutes from various civic and religious organizations and institutions, etc. in order to learn about a historical era or personality, I introduced the term "archives" and explained what a historian researching a particular era or personality might find in an archive. I then presented each student with an archive I had prepared for the pioneer I had assigned to him or her.

Some "archives" contained a lot of information, some very little. The information for these "archives" was taken from one of three books written by local historians: "The Jews in the California Gold Rush" by Robert Levinson,   "Jewish Voices of the California Gold Rush" Edited and with an Introduction by Dr. Ava F. Kahn, and   "A Traveler's Guide to Pioneer Jewish Cemeteries of the California Gold Rush" by Susan Morris.
The students were given a questionnaire to fill out, the answers to which will serve as an outline for the final "letter home" they will be writing during the coming week day session. Once each student has become an expert on the pioneer whose archive they were given, they will be able to "become" the pioneer and will write a letter back home to the family they left behind in Europe, sharing information about their journey to America and their experiences in Gold country, with an emphasis on how they managed to maintain their Jewish identity during the many hardships they had to face. Those students participating in our field trip to the Sonora Pioneer Jewish cemetery on November 16th, will be asked to read their "letters home" as they stand next to the gravestone of the pioneer they were assigned to "become," helping to make the pioneer buried on that site more than just a name on the gravestone.

Getting a first look at the "archive"

Sharing your assigned pioneer with others 

Filling out the questionnaire

We were treated this Sunday to a very special "Creative T'fila," which sixth grade students have written and presented during the 3rd - 6th grade t'fila session on Sundays over the past few years. Under the tutelage of Rabbi Miller, small groups of sixth graders meet 3 or 4 times during the school year on Tuesday or Wednesday, and decide upon a theme which is used to introduce the major prayers we chant during t'fila.  For our first Creative T'fila session this year, 5 Edot students from this past Wednesday's session met with Rabbi Miller from 4 to 5 p.m., and came up with a sports theme (not surprising, as you may recall the World Series was in "full swing" last Wednesday!).

Lillian introducing the "Barechu" chant

Jack introducing the "Sh'ma" chant

Jacob introducing the "V'Ahavta" chant

Ian introducing the "Mi Chamocha" song

Ethan introducing the "Avot v'Imahot" blessing of the Amidah Prayer

And near the end of the service, all five students were given the honor of opening the Ark doors before the "Aleynu" prayer

YASHER KO'ACH  TO LILLIAN, JACK, JACOB, IAN, AND ETHAN!