I am so very happy that you can use Noah's drafting
tools. I do NOT know much about Noah Berkofski. He was an older, dignified
man when I met him, when I was about your age [1948] ! He had been
teaching at a Technical School in Prague, but managed to survive the Nazi
invasion.
The family of my mother [Hilda Berman Danzig] had changed
their name from Berkofsky around 1880 when they immigrated to America. But
their cousins [Noah's family] obviously, did NOT go to America at that time,
unfortunately, and were destroyed during the war.
Noah was a dignified
man, of the European 'old school.' Very polite manners, wore a hat outside
and a tie inside at all times. He spoke English with a foreign
accent. But then, again, he also probably spoke four or five languages with an
accent ! ! {Czechoslovakian, Austrian, French, Yiddish, Hebrew, German,
Russian and English.]
My mother would see him once or twice a year [she
was a good hostess] and he lived in New York, probably until around 1960.
I have a picture of him with his Technical students in Prague: a well
dressed man of the time, with a special look in his eye. I am sorry I did
not get to know him better, but am glad that some memory of him lives on, now,
with you.
I hope you enjoy using these precision instruments in your
drafting class, but remember: the humidity in Florida is NOT good for metal
instruments, so try to keep them sealed in a tight air-free bag [like a
sealable sandwich bag] if you can. A light wiping with a thin oil would
also help.
E N J O Y!
Love,
Grandpa
Phil
++++++++++++++++
Dear Grandpa Phil:
Thank you very
much for the drafting tools. They are very interesting. So is the story on
where they came from. Thank you very much.