‘GOOD TO BE ALIVE, RIGHT ABOUT NOW’ — Thanks to the Andy Grammer song, “Good To Be Alive (Hallelujah),” my resolution for 2016 is being thankful for all the good things in my life. I read earlier this year that as Jews we are lucky to have two New Years, the Jewish New Year for our spiritual self and the secular New Year that gives us yet another chance to start anew. So my wish to all of our loyal readers is for you to have a happy and healthy 2016 and may you feel, “it’s good to be alive right about now!”
IT’S TIME FOR THE FIRST JEWISH BABY CONTEST — Who will be the first Jewish baby of 2016? Will the baby be born on Jan. 1 or will we have to wait until later in the month until we hear the good news? This year, as is our custom, The Chronicle will shower the first Jewish baby of 2016 with prizes. Information about The Chronicle’s annual contest, and the 2016 prize package, appears on pages 12-15 of this edition of the newspaper.
The first Jewish baby of 2015 was Grant Samuel James Cowan, born Jan. 11, 2015, the son of Cara and Douglas Cowan. We checked in with his mother to see how he was doing and she told me, “Grant is growing so fast. He is about 22 pounds now (he weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces at birth and was 20 ½ inches long) and is just starting to walk. He is very busy and loves playing outside, playing with toy cars and reading books.”
The Chronicle’s First Jewish Baby contest is limited to residents of the five-county greater Kansas City area (Jackson, Clay and Platte in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte in Kansas), and the birth must take place in greater Kansas City.
Parent should call chronicle Editor Barbara Bayer at 913-951-8425, or contact her via email at as soon as possible after the child is born, preferably the day of the birth. A winner may not be declared immediately and could take as long as 24 hours after the initial contact with The Chronicle. The parents must agree to be interviewed and photographed along with the baby for a story in the newspaper to be awarded prizes. In the case of an interfaith family, the family is eligible for prizes if they have decided to raise the child as a Jew. The official rules can be found on page 13.
LOCAL SURVIVOR’S BOOK NOW AVAILABLE IN AUDIO — Max Cardozo, author of “A Child Underground” notified us recently that his book is now available in an audio version. The book is available on Amazon in a Kindle edition (Version 2015) and it was narrated by Shane Naster. Sixty-plus years after the war, Cardozo, who is now 80, wrote about his experiences as a boy who lived in hiding during Nazi occupation in Holland. He experienced heartbreak, love and grew up during one of the most turbulent and unpredictable times in world history. The Kindle version of the audio book can be purchased from Amazon.
2016 CALENDAR FEATURES HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS FROM KRAKOW (JTA) — WARSAW, Poland —The portraits of 12 Krakow Holocaust survivors are featured on a calendar put out by the JCC Krakow in cooperation with the Child Survivors of the Holocaust Association.
The 2016 calendar contains the survivors’ stories and lists their achievements after the war.
Jewish community center representatives said at a news conference in early December that it was the first calendar featuring Polish Holocaust survivors.
“Our survivors are the cornerstone of our community and serve as an invaluable resource for Jewish communities across the world, but especially for young Poles, many of whom have only recently learned they are Jewish,” said Jonathan Ornstein, executive director of the JCC Krakow.
Anna Grygiel-Huryn, 73, was among the child survivors featured on the calendar.
“For me, the JCC is a very important place where I can meet Polish Jews,” she said. “I am particularly happy that the JCC looks after us, the child survivors of the Holocaust.”
The 2016 calendar was made possible with funds raised by the 2015 Ride For The Living, a 55-mile annual bicycle ride from the Auschwitz-Birkenau museum to the JCC Krakow. To purchase a copy of the calendar, email .