Gureasko Family Heritage

To all:

We already have the Steel Pier video on DVD. The Gureasko video needs to be screened first and then converted.

The Steel Pier Video covers a span of just over one decade from about 1929 to 1940 or so. It was shot by someone who worked at Bell Labs who was an early movie hobbyist. He came each summer and filmed whatever he saw. The water circus at Steel Pier in those days was where many of the great circus acts spent their summers. It was only later that this all moved to Sarasota and the Ringling Bros. crew. It includes clips of all the great circus acts of the 20’s and 30’s including high wire acts, animal acts in addition to the water circus acts. There are many shots of Uncle Marty in this on the diving horse and doing stunt work on boards while they were being towed by high speed motorboats. There is also a shot or two of him backstage.

This film is basically a compilation of out takes. As a result is a bit disjointed and sometimes repetitive but always fascinating. The edited film was put together for the owner of the Water Circus at Steel Pier. The out takes were given to a friend and fellow performer of Uncle Marty’s. This women was the sister of Uncle Marty’s predecessor; the performer who went blind (possibly as a result repetitive hitting the water ) during the horse diving act. Since the person on the diving horse was supposed to be a women, Uncle Marty went off dressed as a women. In one scene you will see that when he takes his bathing cap off there is long hair sewed into the back. I talked once to people in Atlantic City who have set up a museum showing artifacts of Steel Pier. They were not aware that a man ever went off on the diving horse.

Marty once told me that the way you could tell whether it was him or his predecessor on the horse was to see how they held themselves on the way down. According to him, she went down like a performer with her head held high (possibly a contributing factor as to why she went blind). He went down like a gymnast with his head buried in the horses mane. He also once told me that the greatest danger was not the fall or hitting the water, but making sure he was not kicked by the horse after they landed in the water.

The women who was the original custodian of the film used to do an act that featured her and a dog on a high speed towed board. I am not sure when she turned it over to him

Laura, your mother also has a copy of the DVD. You can see it when you visit her if you want.

Hope this is all interesting to you.

Chick

Some Gureasko anecdotal stories you all might enjoy.

1. Spanish American War stories.

We all know that Louis Gureasko was in the Spanish American war and spent time in Cuba during the conflict.  For the record, he was a Corporal.  His unit was 7th Cavalry, Troop L.

What you may not know is that he was not the only Gureasko to volunteer and serve in that conflict.

Also serving was his younger brother Sam, father of Henry. I do not know his outfit, but know he served in the Philippines during the Morro insurrection following Admiral Dewey’s victory over the Spanish fleet in Manila harbor.

According to my mother (Hilda) her grandmother was very angry at her father for having so inspired his younger brother.

For those who are interested, Jamie has the Spanish bayonet and Jon the Spanish sword that Louis brought back from Cuba.  And I believe Michael has the Spanish musket he brought back.

2. Turkey & Khazar

As many of you may know it is likely the bulk of the Jewish that settled in Poland, Lithuania and northern Russia arrived there via Germany starting in the 17th century at the invitation of the Polish king of the moment.

Much of the Jewish population in the Odessa and Black Sea area (where the Gureasko came from), however, probably took a different route.They likely settled in that region via Turkey which was historically very friendly to Jews.  It is a fact that he Ottoman Empire invited Jew to settle following the expulsion from Spain in the 15th Century.

It is likely that all or at least a significant portion of the Gureasko family came to the Odessa area via that route.

My mother (Hilda) told me that she remembers one of her older relatives telling her specifically that the family came to Russia via Turkey.  This came up when she was reading the Massie biography of Peter the Great.  She told me hat she had always wondered when the family moved from Turkey to Russia but realized when reading the book that it was not the family that moved.  Rather, it was the border that moved following the conquests of that region by Peter the Great and later Catherine the Great in the 18th Century.

Some of you may also know something of the Jewish Kingdom of the Khazars.  This kingdom is a historic fact.  It flourished in that region from about the 8th to the 10th century (give or take a hundred years or so) until it was destroyed by Tamerlane and then following that absorbed into the Kievan Kingdom.

My mother also told me once that another older relative also indicated that some of the family in that area might have been descendants of Khazarian Jews.  I cannot vouch for this, but might give it some credence if only because only scholars at that time really knew of the Khazars so the story could only have come down through family lore.

3. The Hollywood connection

As some of you may know, we had one or two relatives with Hollywood connections.

The best known of these was the actor Dane Clark, ne Bernie Zanville.  Dane Clark was a featured player in many movies through much of the 40’s.  From what I gather, his parents might have been 2nd cousins of Hilda, Ruth, Marty, et al.

I know my parents used to visit with his parents when they were in Florida.  He had a very solid career and was always featured.  In most 2nd world War movies there was always a tough talking, city-wise infantryman or, if in a submarine, torpedo man written into the script.  This part was generally played by either Richard Conte or by our cousin, Dane Clark.  He crops up periodically in old movies on TCM or TNT.  He was pretty good.  But he never wanted to have much to do with the family after he made it in Hollywood.

Interesting aside on the Dane Clark connection.  His grandparents were from the old country and very superstitious.  After losing several children in infancy they came up with a plan designed to fool the angel of death.   When the next baby born turned out to be a girl, to fool the angel of death they named her Bubbie (Yiddish for grandmother) on the theory that when the angel of death came looking for an infant she would only find a grandmother and go away.  It worked.  The baby lived.  So the next time a baby was born and it turned out to be a boy they named it Zadie (grandfather in Yiddish).  This baby also lived.  Zadie or Zadel was Dan Clark’s father.

4.  Hollywood connect (2) – the Hungarian side.

On the Hungarian side, Hilda, Ruth, Marty, Joan had a number of Hungarian relatives on their mother’s side.

One of these was Lazlo Shaffer (brother of Alex Shaffer, proprietor of A la Vielle Russie in NYC.

Lazlo was head cameraman and therefore a big gun in UFA, the German film giant in the 20’s and 30’s.  Among other things, he was head cameraman (or so I was told) when they filmed The Blue Angel with Marlene Dietrich.

He came to the US briefly in 1934 with Max Rheinhart.  My father, at that time, tried to convince him not to go back to Germany as Hitler had already begun his rise to power.  But Lazlo thought he was safe and went back.  Later he came as a refugee in 1939 or 1940.  But he could not regain the status here he had in Europe.  He ended life as a film cutter in Hollywood.  I know that Ruth used to see him occasionally when he was in Hollywood.  Michael, Danny you may remember some of this.

I hope someone is writing this all down.

Left out of all of this mix are the children of Joan, the youngest of Louis and Dora Gureasko’s children.  She was married to Artie Pressman and the lived in Flemington, NJ and had three children.  These are Lenny (who died young in a motorcycle accident), Sandy (last name Doris will have to supply) and Eddie.

Sandy has also been doing extensive research on the family.  Doris is in touch with her and can hopefully contact her for her input.

Also left out is Jackie, a half brother of Hilda, Marty, Ruth and Joan.  He was born to Louis and Esther (aka, the wicked step mother).  Jackie had two children.  Martin L. Gureasko and Jacqueline.   Both live in the south somewhere and Martin L. last I heard was in a Christian rock band.

Also left out was a half brother, Irving, who was the son of Esther and came into the family when Louis Gureasko remarried after the death of Dora.

Wonderful story about Irving.  As I heard it, he was a marine in combat in the South Pacific (Guadalcanal) in WWII.  He and other nearby marines ducked into a shelter under fire.  As they introduced themselves, one of the other marines turned to Irving and said, “I think you are my brother.”  It seems that when Esther divorced her first husband she had two sons not just one.  She took the baby (Irving) when she left, but not the older son.  The older son knew there was a younger brother, the younger son (Irving) did not know he had an older brother.  They met for the first time under fire in the South Pacific.  Or so the story goes.

Louis Gureasko came to this country in the 1880’s with his father.  As I understand it his father came first with the older children after being warned that there was a pogrom in the offing and that he  might be targeted. He then brought his wife (Doris can you supply the name) some time thereafter.  The younger of his children were born here, but am not sure where the cut off it.  Dorothy, Edyth and Max, the youngest of this brood were born here, but I am not sure beyond that.

Max was father of Russ Gureasko and sisters Ronnie and Florence.  Ronnie and Florence are still alive and may possibly be the only one’s left alive from that generation.

The only other one from that generation who might still be alive is Gladys (Stetzer).  I am not sure.

Gladys is the youngest sister of: Louis Gureasko (New Orleans – Married to Beate, father of Jacqueline and step father to Jeanette Dreskin, a medical illustrator and living in Greenville, SC plus…

…Eddie Gureasko (married to Esther) who is in one of the pictures who was father to Linda Yang and Stephen Gureasko…

…and Pearl and Edna.

Gladys had two children.  Cynthia who is in one of the pictures and Richard (who I believe lives in Houston).

Doris will, I hope, supply the names of the other brothers, sisters and cousins of that generation.

I believe Louis’ father came from near Odessa.  His mother came from a city called Kamianets-Podilskyi, also in the Ukraine.

One last note.  In the event none of you know this, Dora (mother of Hilda, Marty, Ruth, Joan) has TB for several years and died in the Flu epidemic of 1919, shortly after the birth of Joan.

And I think that is about it for the moment.

Hope this is helpful.  please feel free to ask questions.