My Father's Lost Diary

About the Book

Joel Feder, a well-known photographer in the early 1900s, was the missing link I had been searching for surrounding the mystery of how my family was in possession of this amazing violin that had been passed down from generation to generation. The violin’s very existence began over 150 years ago, in a small province in Poland known as Galicia. The two founding families in the district of Wozwolince—the Goldhirschs and the Feders—were the soul of the community, providing religious and educational pursuits as well as artistic expression, deeply provoking the love of art and music in the inhabitants of the town. The pogroms of Poland have been well documented during the nineteenth century. Many of the townspeople were frightened and were planning they’re exudes to America. Simon Goldhirsch, the community’s beloved rabbi, entrusted the violin to members of the Feder family, leaving for America with the promise that, someday, the violin would be returned to the Goldhirsch family in America.

About the Author

ABOUT SIMONE GOLHIRSCH SALEN WHILE ATTENDING THE COLLEGE OF SAN MATEO I WORKED FOR SEVERAL SAN FRANCISCO BOUTIQUES AND FASHION ICON STORES SUCH AS SAKS FIFTH AVE, MACYS JOSEPH MAGNINS, I MAGNINS, AND FINALLY THE MANAGER OF JAX ON MAIDEN LANE. WHEN I RELOCATED TO HAWAII I WAS ABLE TO FURTHER REFINE MY FASHION SKILLS TO INCLUDE DESIGNING AND BUYING FOR A CHAIN OF BOUTIQUES CALLED WALTAH CLARKS HAWAIIAN SHOPS. I MET JERRY MY HUSBAND OF 45 YEARS ON THE ISLAND. WE SETTLED IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WHERE HE PURSUED HIS MUSIC CAREER AND WE HAD TWO LITTLE GIRLS SHANNA AND ALIANA. LIFE WAS GOOD. WHEN MY GIRLS WERE TWO AND THREE I JOINED TUPPERWARE HOME PARTIES SO I COULD BE A STAY AT HOME MOM AND FOUND OUT THAT I COULD BUILD A BUSINESS AS WELL..MY GROUP OF MEN AND WOMEN HELPED ME REACH THE TOP AND WE WERE REWARDED WITH A TUPPERWARE DISTRIBUTION CENTER IN BROOKLYN NEW YORK. THIS ALL WOULD HAVE BEEN SOMEONE ELSE’S LIFE HAD MY FATHER GIVEN UP IN 1939 AND NOT PURSUED OUR ESCAPE AS A YOUNG FAMILY FROM THE HOLOCAUST THAT WAS DEVELOPING IN VIENNA AUSTRIA. MY DAD WROTE THIS DIARY SO I COULD LIVE AND RELATE THIS COMPELLING STORY OF SURVIVAL. ALTHOUGH THE DIARY HAD BEEN TAKEN ALONG WITH OTHER POSSESSIONS 65 YEARS AGO IT SURFACED JUST LAST YEAR IN 2011. I AM SO THANKFUL FOR THE AMAZING TURN OF EVENTS THAT HAS LED ME TO BETTER UNDERSTAND MY CONSTANT DRIVE AND DETERMINATION TO FIND MYSELF. MY ROOTS ARE REFLECTED ON THE PAGES OF MY FATHERS LOST DIARY. 125491 SALEN