Agnes Schwartz shares Survivor’s story as community observes Yom HaShoah

By Ken Turetzky
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The ideal of forgiveness helps some victims of trauma overcome their suffering.

That concept is anathema to Agnes Schwartz, who survived the Holocaust in Budapest, Hungary, passing as the Catholic niece of a compassionate family housekeeper.

Agnes was guest speaker for “Remember the Past – Transform the Present”, the April 15 Yom HaShoah observance co-sponsored with CANDLES Holocaust Museum & Education Center at United Hebrew Congregation.

An audience of about 125 people attended the second annual event on a Sunday afternoon in the Temple sanctuary. Participants from area social action groups lit candles to to honor the 11 million Jewish and non-Jewish victims of the Holocaust.

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Daughters recall Estelle Corrigan’s love of folk dancing, music, education and service

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Estelle Blond had just returned to New York City from Israel when she and John Corrigan met at an Israeli folk dancing class in 1953.

“She was fond of pointing out that he had come there with another woman, and she must have come there with another man, because that’s how we did things back then. Women didn’t come to dances on their own at the time,” Estelle’s daughter Eve recalled.

John proposed within a couple of weeks, and Estelle accepted six months later. They were married for 60 years, before John died at 86 in 2015. On April 5, Estelle’s family lay her to rest beside John at Highland Lawn Cemetery in Terre Haute. Estelle died April 2 at age 90.

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Religious school students, lay leaders capture the spirit of Purim holiday

By Patty Lewis
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Our religious school children learn so much from the Purim holiday. The first thing they learn is that it doesn’t always take an army to win a battle. In this case, it just took two individuals who loved the Jewish people to save them from elimination.

Bruce Black conducted Shabbat services on February 2, the Friday after Purim. I have heard the Purim story read many times but not the way Bruce told the story. I could envision every character as if watching a movie.

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Betsy Frank returns to the question: ‘Are you engaged?’

By Betsy Frank
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At first glance, when reading the title of this column you might have responded as follows:

“Of course not, I am married!”

“Of course not, I am single and have no intention of getting married or getting married again!”

Or, “Of course not, I am in a relationship, but marriage is not in the horizon.”

Yet, “engagement” has a more general meaning. According to the Merriam Webster app on my iPhone, engagement involves an emotional commitment. That means a commitment to a person, place, organization or a myriad of other entities. So why am I writing about engagement? Yes, I have an ulterior motive.

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