My object is a copper pot with a handle that is big enough for cooking with. It was given to my Great-Aunt Laurie by her mother Dot (Dorothy). Dot received the pot from her mother Annie (Chana Geist) before she passed away. The pot was made in Poland and Annie brought it with her on a boat to New York City when she emigrated with one daughter in 1914 to join her husband David. This pot is over 100 years old. I know that this was very sentimental to Annie, because the pot was very heavy and she was not able to bring a lot of things with her when she immigrated from Poland, yet she chose to bring it along. David left Poland first in the year 1911 for a better life financially and to escape a country that was becoming harder and harder for Jews to live in safely. Today, most of my relatives including me regard ourselves Jewish culturally, while not religiously. My Great Great Grandmother Annie started the tradition of yearly Passover seders. Basically, many of my living relatives gather in a house we rent in New Jersey and we have a giant Passover celebration. This is especially important to me because there are a lot of relatives that I only see at this particular event because I didn’t grow up with them. This object represents me because it not only shows that I’m Jewish and came from Poland, it is a reminder of the travels my family made from Europe to the United States and helps tell a story about how traditional Passover Seders started in the US for my family.

– Ella Geist Roundy

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