Friday, September 02, 2016
Events in Lifetime of Nadene Goldfoot
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| Taken between 2006-2008 in Portland, Oregon by son Steve. I wrote this after answering interview questions from my son and having to think about the answers. |
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| Overall-Dancing classes from age 4 to 15; tap, ballet, toe, Spanish This gave me confidence and good posture. |
These World events probably shaped my life-from birth 1934 in Oregon and my thinking:
1. WWII declared December 7, 1941 at age 7; 2nd grade. This didn't end or change our life until 1945 when new cars appeared on the streets and my Uncle Kenny bought one and showed us his. I was involved in eternal paper drives; collecting paper and bringing it to Abernathy School to be weighed an entered under my name; Tin cans were stepped on and smashed, collected for needed tin. Dad worked 2 jobs; never was seen much, worked in shipyards as a boss after his own business work in meat/hide industry of his Lincoln Wholesale Meats on SW 3rd and Lincoln in Portland. Newspapers held war news only. I'd ask my mother what they used to print about other than war events. Cutting out cartoon jokes for books to send to soldiers from magazines. Bringing pennies to buy bonds for America. By age 10 1/2, I was pretty mature. I'd daydream while drying dishes of talking to the heads of state and bringing the war to an end. I was 11 when the war ended. |
| About age 4; 1938? age of Jewish children in Europe who didn't have a chance to live. |
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| About 11 years old, 1945 |
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| 3. Graduating from Abernathy Grade School: K-8th grade age 12. June 1947. I skipped 2 half terms. Back row; 5th from left with black waistband on dress. Our teacher was Mrs. Jagger. Mr. Tate was Principal. 44 students in picture. |
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| 1949 at age of 15 |
Personal Events That Shaped My Life
1. Becoming Queen Esther of the Purim Ball in Portland at age 15. I was active in 3 Jewish organizations/sororities. BBG (B'nai Brith Girls), QED (Queen Esther's Daughters), and Sub Deb. I was chosen by BBG to be their princess, then chosen at the dance to be Queen Esther. This flattering honor stayed with me all my life. It kept reminding me of who I was. I actually felt I was unworthy of the honor at the time of selection, and that it should have gone to a Rachel S that was to me the picture of Queen Esther.
2. Graduation high school at age 16 in June 1951. I had skipped twice in grade school; 6B and 7B. It was nice to have happened, but that meant I was always too young to do the things my peers were doing.
3. Starting Lewis & Clark College in Portland at age 17, youngest student in school who had to make a speech with the oldest professor.
4. Marriage to Wes, Reed College junior, the Yale of the West, who was.4 years older than I, June 24, 1952. He was a pre-med student. I hung our curtains with ruffles on right side instead of left. Creative me; I am left-handed! It's a Goldfoot thing; my brother and first cousin, Nate are also lefties. What did I know? Not much at that age. He was a genius, and became a radiologist. I planned on being a dietitian. Later I couldn't stick to my own diets very well.
5. Birth of Son, Steve. 1953
6. Birth of Daughter, Deborah. 1954
7 Graduating from Portland State University
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| Children 13 months apart, taken about May 1955 |
8. Teaching 2nd grade 1958-continued teaching till 1980
9. Marriage to Dan Eskow on August 18, 1972. Here we are with his parents and his sister.
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| Living in Ontario, Oregon teaching (1972-1980) I still have this outfit. Then we attended the only active synagogue in Boise, Idaho. Pose was from graduating Marie Easterly modeling school -high school graduation gift from parents. |
10. Aliyah to Israel September1980; living there until November 20 of 1985. Attending synagogue in Safed, looking down on men covered with huge prayer shawls that looked like a group of tents meditating in prayer; very impressive. Being in National Guard, learning to shoot an M-1 rifle, guarding with other soldiers at night once a month with my German shepherd. Touring sites all other northern Israel with guide who was a friend.
11. Wrote first book, "Letters From Israel" using letters I wrote to family; Copyright 2003
12. Wrote second book, Messages From a Syrian Jew Trapped in Egypt; true as I understood story from Syrian friend in midst of Syrian War who discovered he had a Jewish mother; brought up by stepmother...Copyright 2014. He was afraid of imminent death and that his story would never be known. Writing and getting these books published was a huge achievement for me.
How I react to events in my life could be led by my genes, of course. Through DNA testing and exploration, I find from my Goldfoot side that our line centered with Rabbi Samson Wertheimer or his brother, Moshe, born in 1658. He had traced his family tree to RASHI, the famous biblical commentator born in 1040 in Troyes, France. RASHI had a family tree that went back to King David of 1010 BCE. Along the way we connected to many other well known rabbis, also concerned with Israel's history and Judaism such as the Vilna Gaon of Lithuania, according to our 3rd cousin, Stanley Goldfoot.
I even found that Stanley Goldfoot's daughter was a professional ballet dancer with the Sadler Ballet Co, and here I had studied and danced but never even desired that goal, however had lots of interest and desire to dance. The Goldfoot Y haplogroup males seemed to contain an abundance of writers. My son won many a writing contests and I've written and published 2 books myself.
On my mother's side, I have found an abundance of ministers. It seemed like every Robinson (mother's maiden name) was a minister. I've traced the family through Mom's dad's mother's side back to Royalty of Great Britain and just about every king there. Julia Ann Tuller was my mother's maternal grandmother, and she was born in Royalton, Vermont. Martin Tuller b: 1753 was a famous Reverend there. Julia Ann was his 1st cousin 3 times (generations) removed. Reverend Martin Tuller was my 1st cousin 6 times removed.
It seems that I was destined to have a lot of my life wrapped up in the concerns about Israel and our Jewish people after looking at my ancestors.
