My great-grandparents immigrated to Brooklyn from Poland in the early 1900s. They were one of the only families who lengthened their name after they left Ellis Island, trading in “Frak” for “Frank”. They kept their connection to the old world and my great grandmother returned to Poland to give birth to all of her children except my grandfather, who was the first born on American soil. My great grandfather was a kosher butcher and owned his own store. One day when walking home from work, he was mugged by members of Murder Inc, the Jewish Mafia because they expected him to be carrying money from the shop. As it turned out, he did not have any cash with him and they killed him. My grandfather was a teenager at the time and remained in school, but he and the entire family took over working the shop. I don’t know if it was coincidence or not, but my grandfather always wore a piece of jewelry he had made with a coin and hence always had money with him.

– Hailey Riechelson

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