Link to Family Tree to understand family relationships.
After graduating from high school in 1941 at the age of 17, Helene’s son Harry worked for the Levi-Zentner produce company in Sacramento. Matilda (Tillie) Zentner was Helene’s first cousin and her husband was co-owner of the company. They were instrumental in Harry and Eva’s coming to the U.S. 1939 and arranged for them to stay with other cousins. There were clear rules and expectations for the younger generation and Harry and Eva quickly found ways to become independent.
Today we have an article that Harry saved from the Sacramento Bee. I recently did a search on Newspapers.com and found that it appeared in the paper on October 17, 1942.
The YMANDOS in Action
The Ymandos are the recruits of the Sacramento Young Mens Christian Association physical culture classes in which prospective members of the armed forces, war workers and men now in service attain and maintain physical fitness.
The program includes weight lifting, judo, play gymnastics, pulley weights, stall bars, wall climbing, calisthenics and scientific tests to determine vital capacity, strength, flexibility, motor ability, swimming ability, agility and endurance.
Harry appears in the photo indicated by an arrow. The caption reads “Harry Lowell practices going through a small opening speedily.” As his granddaughter said upon seeing the photo, “Grandpa was a hunk!”
Harry made many copies of another Sacramento Bee article from January 9, 1943 on the subject of self-defense:
Hand to Hand
It’s an ArtJudo, the art of self defense, is taught at the Young Mens Christian Association by Merle Corrin.
His civilian classes, composed chiefly of young men preparing to enter the armed services, now are augmented by officers from the military establishment in this area.
Judo is the answer, they say, to the hand to hand combat which comes with war.
Caption for top 2 photos on the left: Harry Lowell, left, locks hands to break Frank Moore’s strangle hold. And here’s what happens…He swings his arms upward, breaking the strangle hold and striking his assailant in the face. He follows through with knee to groin.
Caption for the bottom 3 photos:
The Judo come along hold is illustrated at lower left by Frank Moore, front, and Harry Lowell.
In another come along hold at left, Merle Corrin’s victim is Harry Lowell. A little pressure would break Lowell’s wrist or thumb or both.
Above, Frank Moore uses a cross arm grip on Harry Lowell’s jacket for a strangle hold. Moore’s knuckles against Lowell’s neck halt the flow of blood to his head.
Recently I did a search for Harry’s name in the Sacramento Bee and discovered that he was mentioned in many articles in 1942-1943, the vast majority of them in the sports section when he competed for the YMCA in badminton, swimming, and indoor rifle. By April 1943, he was in basic training in Wyoming.
I’ve been wondering as I find newspaper articles about family members whether this is unusual – are other families so well-documented? This year, I’ve found newspaper articles about most of the men in the family: Vitali and his son Harry, and Harry’s cousin Paul Zerzawy. Does their affinity for newsprint spring from Harry’s and Paul’s mutual grandfather, Adolf Löwy, publisher of the Biela-Zeitung in Bilin in the late 19th century?