Tanya visits Dora, January 2011

This post is written by Fisher Picture guest blogger, Dora.

The Fishers have a large, close extended family. I feel so lucky to know and be close with so many of us- Fishers, Cohens, Weinbergers, Fong-Cohens, Luxenburgs, now even some Amiras (venturing into 3rd cousin territory)!

This weekend, second cousin Tanya came to visit me in Chicago. Many of my friends say to me, "what does it mean to be second cousins?". So let this post explain how we are related.

We share great grandparents, Mollie and Isaac Cohen.



Our grandmothers are sisters, Rae Luxenburg and Sue Fisher, both pictured here on the left in this whimsical picture (on the right is Marci, Tanya's aunt and my dad's first cousin)

Our fathers are first cousins, Josh and Verne.

Verne with his aunt, my grandmother, Sue, in 1996.



I'm pictured here with Tanya's grandmother, my great aunt Rae, at my grandparents 50th anniversary 15 years ago:



Tanya, with her mother Susie and grandmother Rae (my great aunt), as a baby:



All this makes us second cousins!

Photo taken 5 minutes ago at a cafe in Chicago:



So fun to have you here, Tanya, and may our families continue to be close for generations to come.

Fishers and Cohens (almost certainly Bronx, NY, about 1950)

This is my favorite of all the family pictures, having all four of my grandparents, and almost all their children, in one photo. I don't know where this was--Betty and I noodled over it, and eliminated all the likely places, but I'm sure it was someone in our family's apartment. I don't know the event either, but given how everyone is dressed, it could well have been a Passover celebration. In any case, in this photo are:
[Back row] Annie, Sam
[3rd row] Jerry, Betty, Mollie, Isaac, Sue
[2nd row] Rae, Paul, Rose, Sol
[Front row] Josh, Willa

Missing are Bud and Harry Cohen, plus my father (who undoubtedly took the picture). As always, click on the picture for a much larger version.

Sundays in Van Cortland Park (Bronx, NY, around 1950)

My parents' move to Syracuse in 1952 took me away from my extended family, and it removed me from the ethnic world I was often part of, especially on my mother's side of the family. Many Sundays each summer, Turks and Greeks would gather in Van Cortland Park, with tons of food, music and dancing, like out of a movie. The kids would run free, and Paul and I in particular would explore the park.

My grandfather, Isaac, was an accomplished darbuka player (I am told he earned money playing in Turkish nightclubs in lower Manhattan at night). Here he is, below, with Rae, my mother, and my grandmother Molly looking on:


Betty and my grandparents.



My grandparents dancing.


My grandfather doing the DJ honors. I wonder if that's Paul, Harry and Bud's back on the left?