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From: Ron (Gross) Arnone (son of Phil Gross, son of Louis Gross)
To: Email to Gross Family
Date: August 27, 2011
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Hello Dear Cousins,
Just wanted to let you know about a couple of updates to OurGrossFamily.com, a modest little website I created for the family many years ago. It has been far too long and I regret not having the time to keep it more current.
First and foremost, we are all saddened at the passing, last November, of cousin Charles Gross from the Tennessee clan. His daughter, Sharon, has written an eloquent summary about Charles that we will all appreciate. As an adult I met Charles only once, just a few years ago. We continued to stay in touch, exchanging emails and occasional telephone calls. I think of him often and offer love and prayers for God’s care of Doolie, Ron, Sharon and his grandchildren.
On the west coast, if you did not already know, our dear aunt Lillian Drobaz (daughter of Louis and Marion Emma Gross) passed away in October 2009. She and her husband Mitchell were always the spark of the west coast Gross clan. Having no children of their own, aunt Lil and uncle Mitchell were extra attentive to all of their nieces and nephews, leaving us with a rich history of stories, photos, videos and jokes to pass on to our own families.
The good news is we have discovered something of a treasure in Lil and Mitchell’s belongings. A strange looking contraption called a "wire recorder." It took me awhile to figure it out, but ultimately I did and had the six wire recording spools that were in the box professionally transferred to digital format. In all there were about 50 recordings made by various family members in the late 40s and 50s. Most were songs (all ACAPELLA), plus a few comedy “bits” off the radio, AND a couple of precious conversations and “jokes” recited by family members including aunt Kitty and uncle Al, Marion Emma’s brother, and Belle Drobaz, one of Mitchell’s sisters (11 siblings, no children...go figure!).
The songs document the Gross family’s talent and love for music, which is to a greater extent the reason why Louis Gross took his family to Los Angeles after WWII. I took five of the best songs and added music to the acapella arrangements, and created a CD which is available to anybody with an interest. The album is entitled The Tender Side of Gross. There is also a 2nd disc (DVD), which contains all of 50 raw recordings that were on the stainless steel wire spools.
The five songs with music added are available to stream or download from our website; just click on “Gross Music: at the top of any page. The CD packaging labels and insert are also there, featuring interesting photos and more details of the performers and the project.
Lastly, my goal for the website is to complete the family details through Gross Generation 3...meaning the grandchildren of Y’shaya and Liba Ruchel Grushka, and possibly Generation 4 (that would be me) if I can ever get my act together. ;o) The site is somewhat slanted to the west coast clan (only because that is where I am), but I would love to complete it with more details, photos, stories, etc. to include the families of our Chicago and Nashville branches as well. So...PLEASE feel free to contact me with any assistance or information that can be added. I always love hearing from you all and will do my best to respond in a timely manner.
Of course there are many options these days for tracking family ancestry, ancestry.com for example, and I am also developing our tree there (as I expect many of you are). But for now, OurGrossFamily.com is here and I hope you enjoy it.
Take care, with family love...
Ron (Gross) Arnone
Son of Phil and Frances Gross
Son of Louie and Marion Emma Gross
Son of Y’shaya and Liba Ruchel Grushka
P.S. My mailing list is tentative at best, so please feel free to pass this along to the family!
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