The Herschlag family of bakers in Dembitz, Poland, dates back to that area to the mid-1800s.  The family name, Herschlag, is common in the Alsace (also known as the Alsace-Lorraine), the strip of land between France and Germany.

The bakery that our immediate relatives left behind in Dembitz continued to be run by other family members.  In doing Internet research I came across a story about Dembitz that took place in 1941 during the Nazi occupation.  The story told of the Jews being forced to move into one section of the town, a kind of forced ghetto.  Later they were ordered to line up on a certain street, between two points identified by house locations.  One of the houses was that of “Abraham Herschlag, the baker.”

The first Herschlag-owned bakery in the U.S. that I know about was in Long Branch, New Jersey.

The second bakery was located on Rockaway Road in South Jamaica (New York), around the corner from Uncle Bennie’s house on Shore Road.

The name of the bakery was the Meyer and Herschlag Wholesome Sunlight Bakery. Meyer was a cousin we called Uncle Cohen. He put up some money for the bakery.  The name “Wholesome Sunlight” probably was the name of the bakery when they bought it.

Here’s a roundup of online appointment calendars

Living the fantasy of retiring abroad

Dom Perignon was 60 when he produced his first champagne. It’s never too late to pursue your dreams.

How would your life change if you could not buy anything that was not available locally? Would you learn canning? Would you move to a warm climate and plant citrus trees in your backyard? These questions are not as outlandish as you’d think. Peak oil, or The End of the Oil Age, as some call it, is right around the corner.

Here are some ideas from Peak Oil Hausfrau for meals that can be stored.

At precisely 1:30 a.m., on the 25th of August 2009, I was driving an 18-wheeler on CR.196 which runs off of FM.416 in Freestone County, Texas. I had just driven about 100 meters on an oil field lease road, when I spotted what I thought was a large Russian boar hog on the right side of the lease road about 75-100 feet in front of me. What really caught my eye was that it had a really big head covered with long, bushy hair. I’d been driving about 20 mph before I saw it, but as soon as I saw it, I slowed down to maybe 5 mph. At this time, it stood up on its hind legs and looked directly at me and growled at me….Then it ran on its hind legs like a human being, but faster than anything I’ve ever seen in my life, across the road in front of me, and into a tree line. I was in an 18-wheel Mack truck and this thing stood so tall as to look at me eye- to-eye. I’ve worked in the oil field for years and I’ve seen hogs of all sizes and breeds. Thousands of deer, and even black panthers. But this was something different, almost un-natural. I’ve never been more afraid in my life than during the time I saw it and while I was performing the job I was sent to do.

“Avatar”
“The Blind Side”
“District 9″
“An Education”
“The Hurt Locker”
“Inglourious Basterds”
“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
“A Serious Man”
“Up”
“Up in the Air”

I am excited about the Oscars this year for two reasons. A film about sexual abuse and poverty, featuring a black cast and a black (and gay) director (Lee Daniels), and based on a semi-obscure novel — Precious — is in the running. The Hurt Locker, directed by a woman (Kathryn Bigelow), is in the running. Did you know that just three women in 82 years have been nominated for Best Director? Pathetic.

What have you seen? What do you think will rise to the top?

Here are 47 lists of Bloggers to Watch this year, brought to you by ProBlogger

Bad luck personified: Lottery winner dies on the day she gets the check

Cute photos of Martha Stewart’s dogs getting bathed

I don’t watch Jersey Shore, but I’ve heard it wallows in the dark underbelly of the Garden State. Just as my home state was starting to get some respect, a new reality series comes around to screw it up. My guess is that the show focuses on a bunch of declasse working-class kids, because they’re an easy target. Like Jerry Springer East.

For other folks who don’t watch the show, I found these popular one-liners to give you a sense of life in Seaside Heights:

“I don’t eat frickin’ lobster, or anything like that, cause they’re alive when you kill it.”

“I am like a praying mantis … After I have sex with a guy, I will rip their heads off.”

“He’d bang a Gatorade bottle if it had a pulse, at this point.”

Do you watch the show? Whaddya think?