Susan Hersh Sachs, at The Blogs

Mar 3, 2022, 11:54 PM

Ukraine on my mind – though I am not Ukrainian!

I am not Ukrainian. I state that up front just to be very clear. We hear many stories now from Ukrainians describing the homes they left behind – and the pain they endure at seeing their former homes destroyed...

Jan 25, 2022, 3:21 PM

Remembering Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh and more

Displaying the iconic shirt of the Squirrel Hill attack

If asked, Americans of a certain age can probably tell you exactly where they were on November 22, 1963 when they were shocked to learn of Jack Kennedy's assassination. Similarly, most anybody with any connection to Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh...

Dec 28, 2020, 7:30 AM

Memories are made of….

Rena Yudkowsky, Memory Coach,
Photo credit: Zelda Lubling

How will this past year be seen – in the future, when we have hopefully stepped far away from peering down the tunnel of this pandemic - what will our individual or collective memories be? As someone who’s spent time...

Nov 27, 2020, 6:54 AM

Queen Aliquippa, 1st Resident of McKeesport, PA

Some years ago when my Cousin Jean read a draft of an article on our family's hometown of McKeesport, a small town near Pittsburgh, she replied that before it was even McKee's Port, this was Aliquippa's Town. Who was Aliquippa?...

Oct 6, 2020, 7:45 AM

Pittsburgher Rebbes – From Grandfather to Grandson

This morning's news collided with my project on family history/memoir. The news reported the unfortunate passing of Rabbi Mordechai Yissachar Ber Leifer, the Pittsburgher Rebbe, at the age of 64, from COVID-19, during this Hol Hamoed Sukkoth. The Pittburgher Rebbe...

Jul 23, 2020, 11:45 PM

Where is the Jerusalem of the Carpathians? Where is Munkacs?

We are now at the start of the nine days before Tisha B'Av, mourning the destruction of both ancient Temples of Jerusalem (586 BCE and 67 CE respectively). It is also appropriate during this period to recall other once...

May 28, 2020, 11:06 PM

The people of the book remember

This is an ode to a set of volumes barely known to many of us. To be clear, these volumes, l'havdil, don't have any sanctity associated with them, yet they contain genealogical gems from which we can glean the...

Apr 5, 2020, 6:30 AM

November 1918 – One Family’s Story

I had a little bird Its name was Enza I opened the window And In-flu-enza. (From a children’s jump rope ditty of 1918) I remember the Spanish Flu of 1918. No, I’m not really old enough to remember it personally. Even my late father,...

About Me

Susan was born in McKeesport, PA and grew up in Chicago, receiving her B.A. in English Language & Literature from the University of Chicago. She studied at Hebrew University, Jerusalem, for one year in the early 60s, and made Aliya in 1987. She was a teacher and has been a freelance writer. Susan retired after two decades of public relations and grant writing for the non-profit, Melabev. She is currently working on family history projects.

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