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You are here: Home / Genealogy / Freud’s Butcher: Reuniting Old Friends Since 2012

Freud’s Butcher: Reuniting Old Friends Since 2012

March 18, 2013 by Edie Jarolim 9 Comments

Some of the topics I cover on this blog are difficult; my last few posts have been about the Holocaust, Austrian antisemitism, and my mother’s sad past. Today, however, I move on to a far happier subject: Renewed friendships.

I’ve mentioned the many relatives who were located through this blog.  But as wonderful as it is to unearth family ties and potential relationships, perhaps it’s even better to rediscover ties that already exist. I’ve been thinking about this a great deal since I started posting about my mother here; it’s meant a lot to have childhood friends come by and comment on her from first-hand, but very different, perspectives than mine.

So… I’m extremely pleased to highlight the first of two friendships that were rekindled through this blog, that of Bernie Kornmehl and Arthur Aronoff of Buffalo, New York. I asked the two men to describe how they knew each other. Arthur answered directly and Bernie responded through his wife, Jill Leibman Kornmehl, an invaluable contributor to this blog. Jill also provided all the pictures and revealed the fact that Arthur used to be known as Archie.

Arthur Aronoff

Arthur, 7th grade. Great madras jacket!
Arthur, 7th grade. Great madras jacket!

A few years ago, I re-ignited my interest in Vienna’s Jewish history when I read de Waal’s The Hare with Amber Eyes.  That led me to your blog and all the information there about the Kornmehl family’s links to Vienna; when I saw the names “Kornmehl” and “kosher butcher” I knew there must be a connection with Nathan [Bernie’s father; see The Last of the Kornmehl Butchers (Maybe)]. From there I re-connected with Bernie.  He and I were good friends as children in Buffalo, grew up on the same street, and went to school together through high school.  Our father’s shops — Nathan Kornmehl’s kosher butcher shop and Sam Aronoff’s sign painting shop — were on the same street. I am so glad we reconnected, and thank you for your role in it. Today Bernie and I are both lawyers, one of us in New York and the other in Washington.

Bernie and I pretty much lost touch after high school. He stayed in Buffalo for school and I pretty much never lived there after high school. We graduated in 1969.

I have had email exchanges with Jill (but have not met her) and a long phone conversation with Bernie to go over the missing years (decades). Jill’s genealogical work is excellent. I have no family connections to Vienna, but I have had some success dealing with my father’s Latvian antecedents.

Why do we pursue genealogy? Partly because we can–given the resources available on the internet, it’s relatively easy and cheap. We reconnect to different eras, we find out how we are like and unlike our ancestors.  We admire their accomplishments, we learn or re-learn lessons from their fates. Sometimes we find out things about our immediate families that no one told us–whether deliberately or inadvertently. It’s a hobby, it’s detective and analytical work, it’s history, and ultimately it’s a personal meditation.

Arthur, today. Still a spiffy dresser.
Arthur, today. Still a spiffy dresser.

Bernie Kornmehl (via Jill)

Arthur, 7th grade. Ah, I remember madras jackets!
Bernie, above the girl with blond hair. I couldn’t bear to crop out the rest of the picture. More madras!

The connection between Bernie and Arthur goes back many years to North Parker Avenue in Buffalo where they both grew up.  Bernie and Arthur walked to grade school PS 86 (now called the St. Lawrence Academy) together in the morning.  On Friday nights, they were often found watching The Twilight Zone and eating fresh buttered popcorn made by Mrs. Aronoff.  Years passed and they lost touch with each other. Both had left Buffalo and coincidentally became lawyers.  Their paths did not cross until Arthur reached out to the blog to locate Bernie.

Genealogy offers a bridge between the present and the past.  That bridge not only serves to connect generations of family members no longer alive, but also friends that are searching for lost connections with those they knew years before.  Reuniting Arthur and Bernie has been a wonderful way to validate how a hobby like genealogy can have a lasting benefit beyond family documentation.

 

Bernie with son, Jason. To complete the circle: Arthur has only spoken with Bernie on the phone, but he met Jason -- who is studying law at George Washington University, a few weeks ago
Bernie with son, Jason. To complete the circle: Arthur has only spoken with Bernie on the phone since they reconnected, but he met Jason — who is studying law at George Washington University —  a few weeks ago, in D.C., where Arthur works.

Filed Under: Genealogy Tagged With: Arthur Aronoff, Buffalo New York, Kornmehl family, reunions of childhood friends

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Laura E. Kelly says

    March 18, 2013 at 9:06 am

    In this great post you feature 2 testimonials to the power of genealogy to bridge generations and make connections. It brought to mind this very interesting NY Times article about the value of learning and telling your family’s life story to your own family members. Studies are showing that it apparently increases everyone’s health and happiness to know about their ancestors’ struggles and triumphs. So the narrative you’re developing about the Kornmehls is not only helping others find old friends, but may strengthen your larger far-flung family!

    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/17/fashion/the-family-stories-that-bind-us-this-life.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
    Laura E. Kelly recently posted..Exercising my reading musclesMy Profile

    Reply
    • Edie Jarolim says

      March 18, 2013 at 9:58 am

      Thanks, Laura. Interesting study indeed!

      Reply
  2. Sharon says

    March 18, 2013 at 3:25 pm

    Such a nice post! here’s to old friends!

    Reply
    • Edie Jarolim says

      March 18, 2013 at 10:44 pm

      Yes indeed! See you soon…

      Reply
  3. Mariann Regan says

    March 18, 2013 at 6:47 pm

    I like this post, with all its hopefulness and wisdom. Reuniting old friends. I’ve treasured the connections I’ve been able to make over the years, from high school to grad school. Hm. It’s like genealogy, only with live people! (Just kidding, sort of.)

    I so much agree with you that genealogy is “ultimately . . . a personal meditation.” Thanks for sharing this story.

    Reply
    • Edie Jarolim says

      March 18, 2013 at 10:45 pm

      It was a treat to be able to share some good news. I can’t take credit for the personal meditation comment though — those were Arthur’s words of wisdom.

      Reply
  4. Jill says

    March 20, 2013 at 12:17 pm

    The blog has done a wonderful job in so many ways–including matching up old friends. Bernie and Arthur shared a wonderful childhood on N. Parker Avenue in Buffalo. They also both looked great in madras! Now they have an opportunity to reconnect and reminisce. Thank you, Edie, for sharing their story with your readers.

    Reply
    • Edie Jarolim says

      March 20, 2013 at 6:53 pm

      My pleasure!

      Reply
  5. ARON KAY says

    October 23, 2014 at 1:10 am

    HI i remember you and archie back at school 86way back when…i wonder if you remember me….rabbi philip pohl is my cousin and i did go to temple beth david ner israel and schools 86 and 66 before leaving buffalo for the left coast….feel free to rsvp via pieman420@gmail.com

    Reply

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