My Great-Grandfather and Grandparents in Pinsk and the U.S.
On the top is my maternal great-grandfather (my grandmother's father), Jacob Kaston (Kastonowicz), in the early 1900s from Pinsk (Belarus). He never came to this country. The photo below him is my grandmother Leah Kaston in her high-fashion of the day c. 1915 in Pinsk. She was in her early 20s. The third photo is my grandmother c. 1925 with her husband, Nathan Kaplan (my grandfather) in the U.S. While my grandfather sold fruits and vegetables on his cart, my grandmother invested in real estate in Poughkeepsie and managed the family finances. In Belarus she worked in a bookstore in Pinsk. On the bottom is my grandfather with my mom's brother, Alvin, c. 1945. Alvin died tragically of an apparent heart attack in the late 1950s (he was a pharmacist). I still have a stuffed animal lion (which growls when pressed) given to me by him. I think of him whenever I see it. My grandparents sent all their children--Lotte (Charlotte), Ann, and Alvin--to college.