For most of you reading this, Campbellton, New Brunswick may be a total unknown, but to the previous generation (sic. mine), Campbellton was where auntie Regina, & uncle Julius Litwin lived with our cousins.
It's hard to describe what auntie Regina's meant, but to Jews throughout the Maritimes, the Litwins of Campbellton was a famous well known stopover. To us the cousins, it goes without saying that this was the home that never was locked, where you always found a good meal and a smiling face to greet you. Where on Sundays the kids played games, the adults played cards, and everyone had a good time.
Before the age of TV, entertainment was provided by ourselves so if you wanted music you played piano or some other instrument, and at aunty Regina's they even had a roller piano where you put in a scroll punched full of holes, pushed the pedals, and lo and behold music came forth.
It was where we learned to play bridge and pinochle, where they played poker on yahrzeits until the early hours of the morning, where the fridge was always full, the pantry stocked with seasonal pies, and everything you could ever desire was there. Boy did we have fun, wow did we enjoy it, nothing beat visiting the Litwins on Sunday, and if we were tired we slept over, there was always room, no matter how many we were.
Aunty Regina's specialty was hash. I was 15 before I learned that this meant leftovers from Shabbos, it tasted so good, Uncle Julius put it all in the roaster while aunty Regina played with the guests, or more likely was busy baking shtritzel (chala rolls braided with poppy seed).
And they came from all over... the Dalfens from Dalhousie, we Sands from Bathurst, the Hutmans from Edmundston , the local community of the Rosenheks,Glikmans, etc. and any others just passing through. I remember engagements, birthday parties, anniversary parties, and anything else you can imagine were put together in minutes, we were always celebrating something.
Truthfully speaking I don't want you to get the impression that this went on only at the Litwins, actually it was the same everywhere at all of the uncles, and aunts, but I refer to the Litwins because they were the leaders. All the relatives had stores, worked hard all week and when Sunday or Wednesday afternoon rolled around, we all got together at each others homes alternating locations.
The Litwins had something no one else had, and that was an attic. Sure every house had an attic, but the attic at the Litwins was a treasure house of everything and anything you might imagine. From a rattan baby doll carriage, to a wind up gramaphone, from old dresses and shoes, to a fishing pole or cow bell. Those were the days of the "waste not want not "and so nothing usable was ever thrown out but kept for when we may need it. Let's say you decided to make wine and needed a few crocks you could surely find them next to the old trunk in aunty Regina's attic, right behind the skis, and in front of the rat trap. There was a wash board, a tin pail, and lots of canning equipment. Who didn't make jam in those days. Talking about it is one thing, but the joy on the faces of the kids when they tried on and got dressed up in the old corsets, dresses and shoes can't be described.
Us guys spent lots of time on the garage roof picking cherries, behind the dining room picking raspberries, climbing the apple tree and swinging on the rubber tire swing. We played cards or monopoly in the back sun porch, where we were close to Mariellas (the maid) pies, and couldn't wait for supper of baked beans (home made) in auntie's crock pot with molasses.
Summer we had the same thing at the country house in Maple Green about 7 miles from Campbellton. This was really something to see. Everyone came with their cars, the trunks were opened and out came the sandwiches. All the aunties brought their specialties, auntie Dinah came with lemon and cherry pies, my mother brought Buchtel filled with onion, cherries, strawberries, etc. the Shabbos leftovers were all demolished by us all while we swam, laughed, played and had fun. The folding card tables were everywhere as were the games, balls, etc.
On many occasions there were meshulachim (institutional collectors for charitable organizations), travellers (salesman for clothing factories), visiting doctors who were interning at the hospital in Campbellton, or any of our own city cousins who didn't live in the country but who visited during the summer.
The bonding which took place between us cousins was phenomenal, not having other Jews in our towns, restricted our ability to have friends and so our cousins were our relatives and our best friends and have remained so throughout our lives.
