Submitted by Wendy Bayor
(December 29, 2023) — Imagine discovering your family’s Jewish history as an adult; a secret shrouded in mystery for decades. Orlene Gallops’ story is a personal account of uncovering her Jewish heritage in a relentless search for answers, taking her around the globe and meeting people she never could have imagined.
Her story starts with the discovery of her parents’ marriage certificate, signed by a Rabbi in 1949. Finding out that her parents were Jewish was only one revelation; discovering their families’ fate was another. From the moment that Orlene set eyes upon that wedding certificate, she was determined to unearth the truth about her family’s past and thus began the search documented in her book, Hiding in Plain Sight. Her story weaves together the fabric and detail of her family’s experience during the Holocaust with her research journey.
Orlene will be at Chester’s Congregation Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek, for Books & Bagels, on Sunday, January 21, 2024 at 12:30 p.m. to talk about her book, all that she undertook to write it, and the process she went through of understanding not only what her parents had lived through, but the painful decisions they made about leaving all of that totally, irrevocably, they thought, behind them.
Books & Bagels is free and open to the public. Orlene’s book will be available for sale and for signing at the event. All proceeds from the book sale will be given to the Holocaust Museum. Please RSVP, with an email addressed to office@cbsrz.org with the names of people planning to attend. The event also will be streamed on Zoom; anyone interested in joining on Zoom should call the CBSRZ office for details.
In the event of inclement weather (it is January, after all), a snow/ice date has been set for Sunday, January 28, 2024 at 12:30 p.m.
Congregation Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek is located at 55 East Kings Highway in Chester, 860-526-8920.
