Stephen Shooster
fairs, as well, in other towns. Another not far away was held in Jaslo; it specialized in horses. My father and his friend, Tadeusz, would visit that one to- gether and, once in a while, return with a good find on four hoofs. Tadeusz was my father’s best friend. He was a Catholic. They got along great, earning each other’s deep friendship in the cavalry during WWI. We lived around the corner from them. For me, I felt what public school was lacking, I learned in the marketplace, and the most impor- tant lesson I learned was that to get what you want this world you have to be nice, respectful, willing to work hard and be able to communicate. The Jar- mark was a great training ground for a commercial future, far more interesting than school and learn-
in
St. Catherine’s Church, Grybow
ing by punishment. As idyllic as I may have painted an image of my little town, it was far from perfect. Most of the people were just barely making a living. The surrounding area didn’t help much because of poor soil quality. Fertilizer was needed to grow agriculture, which was no easy task to gather and deploy in our hilly region. Therefore, our produce was very limited. Most had to be imported. What we did produce in mouthwatering abundance, however, was some of the best apples, cherries, plums, and pears you ever tasted. I found myself up many a tree grabbing the little globes of joy and learning the hard way how I had to be quick to avoid their caretakers who carried big sticks. I think running away from those tree shepherds maybe how I learned to run so fast. Regardless of the poor conditions, many small subsistence farmers surrounded the town trying to grow whatever they could. I have always believed the town of Grybow was special. St. Catherine’s church was the second largest in all of Poland, second only to the one in Krakow. But the most interesting fact to me is how, directly in the shadow of the church, stood the small but stately Orthodox Jewish Temple, The Grybow Synagogue, and how, like the church, it was built to last. When I ponder these two pillars of ethics and morals that standing side-by-side for so many years, it doesn’t take a big stretch of the imagination to see how they must have found a way to get along.
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