מאגר סיפורי מורשת

My name is Amy Janet Baum Matus. My parents named me Amy because my mother loved the book “Little Women” and one of the sisters is named Amy. Also, because there was a famous song at that time “Once in Love With Amy.” I was born on November 15, 1953. My middle name, Janet, is after my great-grandmother on my mother’s side.

My mother Helen and my father Bernard were both born in NY, America. My maternal grandparents came from Russia when they were young. My paternal grandparents were both born in America.

I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Brooklyn is and was a wonderful place and I had a wonderful childhood. I have one younger brother, Eddie. He lives in Woodstock, NY, with his wife and two daughters. I love and miss him very much. As children we had friends from all different races and religions and I never felt any anti-Semitism. We were all just growing up together and sharing holidays.

Our apartment was on the 5th floor and we played after school every day outside. When I wanted money to buy ice cream (from the ice cream truck), I would yell, “Mommy Helen” and she would throw me money in a bag. We lived across the street from a big lovely park in Brooklyn, Prospect Park. Every Friday night we would go ice-skating in the park and on Saturdays we would ride our bicycles around the park (on Saturdays the park was closed to cars). When it snowed, we went sleigh riding. It was wonderful and beautiful!

We didn’t have school trips, except to museums or plays. I liked those trips, especially to the Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, NY. We saw dinosaurs, pre-historic animals and the evolution of mankind. It was always so interesting and I always visit the museum when I go to NY.

Every year on Father’s Day we had a family picnic with all of my father’s family. This means his brothers and sisters and all of his cousins (we were about 100 people from all the generations). We would all bring food and spend the day together eating, playing games and spending time with each other. It is one of my favorite memories as a child.

I came to Israel for the first time at the age of 16 ½. I came on an organized tour for 6 weeks. Our base was in Jerusalem. We traveled to the north, down south, worked on a kibbutz and visited many cities in Israel. I fell in love with the country and decided that I wanted to return. My mother agreed for me to return after the Yom Kippur War. I came back the summer of 1974 and have been here ever since then.

I went to Kibbutz Beit Hashita where I had a friend from NY. On the kibbutz I had many tasks; cooking breakfast eggs, working in the kitchen, “jumping” in the cotton trucks, helping in the fields, but the job I hated the most was working in the olive factory. I hated (and still hate) the smell and didn’t last there more than one day!

After the kibbutz I moved to Tel Aviv with a friend and studied at an ulpan (intensive studies to learn Hebrew). We had lessons every day and spoke only Hebrew there. The problem was, and still is, that when I speak everyone hears my American accent and they all want to practice their English with me, So, my Hebrew is not as good as it should be.

On one of my visits back to America I stopped in Amsterdam, Holland, where I met Avi. When we both came back to Israel, we dated, married and our life together began. Avi had greenhouses where he grew vegetables and flowers. I received my degree to teach English and worked in that field for over 25 years.

Our first and oldest, Jonathon, was born August 31, 1977. Then came Anati (Romi’s mother), born on February 27th, 1983. After that Michali was born on July 11, 1986 and last but not least, is Asafi, born on February 2, 1994. We are proud parents to four intelligent, loving and caring children (with their spouses) and to nine miraculous grandchildren. Hopefully that number will grow!

We have lived in Hod Hasharon since we were married and still live here today. As a family we meet every two weeks for Friday night dinners. It is very important for me to have my children and grandchildren know each other and be a part of each other’s lives. Their home is here in Israel with each other.

When I was born, my mother bought my father a cup which says “Proud Papa”. We have a family tradition where we pass this cup to the family of a new grandchild. This way we all share the cup.

הזוית האישית

רומי הנכדה המתעדת: סבתא, היה לי ממש כיף לעבוד איתך ולימדת אותי הרבה דברים חדשים. אני מאוד שמחה שזכיתי להיפגש איתך פעם בשבוע. החוויה הייתה מאוד כיפית, שונה ומיוחדת בזכותך.

סבתא איימי:

Thank you so much for giving Romi and I a chance to share something very special. I feel that it brought us closer and we both learned new things about each other. To me it was an exciting and enjoyable experience. I wish for Romi to always follow her dreams and to always find new things that interest her. I love you, Romi.