13 Good News Stories: Keeping Yiddish Alive; Strangers Salute Veteran

ACROSS AMERICA — Tucked away on the seventh floor of a warehouselike building in Long Island City, New York, is CYCO, a bookstore that has helped keep Yiddish alive through a collection of roughly 100,000 volumes.

“A bookstore,” though, inadequately describes CYCO, the only secular Yiddish book store in New York City. It is a treasured cultural center, publisher of works in the Yiddish language, and a repository of songbooks, memoirs, books of poetry and political writings.

After bouncing around Manhattan locations for decades, at long last CYCO (pronounced "Tsiko," and short for Central Yiddish Cultural Organization) appears to have found a home in Long Island City, whose affordable rents and diverse population have been a perfect match for CYCO's eclectic archive.

“They love this, because it connects them to a language that asks nothing of them,” said Hy Wolfe, CYCO's director, describing his patrons. » By Nick Garber for Astoria-Long Island City, New York, Patch

Taps

Hannah Symanski and her family’s request was simple: Please come honor Edwin Basterl, a veteran who died and had no more than a few friends to support him (top photo). Veterans filled a funeral home in Brick, New Jersey, overwhelming Symanski and her family with their response. And though he may have collected few close friends, Basterl was “a great person” who “helped a lot of people … even strangers,” Symanski said. » By Karen Wall for Brick, New Jersey, Patch

Who Is This War Hero?

On a related note, two World War II medals, obviously treasures, were retrieved from the wall of a house in Lake Oswego, Oregon, before it could be torn down. State veterans affairs officials are trying unravel the mystery behind the medals, a Distinguished Service Cross and a Medaglia al Valor Militare, the Italian equivalent of the Medal of Honor, both given to Army 1st Lt. George Edwards Hodgdon. “These medals represent the enduring appreciation of two grateful nations for the courageous and exemplary service Lt. Hodgdon performed in World War II more than 75 years ago,” veterans department Director Kelly Fitzpatrick said. “They belong with the Hodgdon family.” » By Colin Miner for Lake Oswego, Oregon, Patch

‘180-Degree Turn’

Two leaders of the Jewish Federation & Foundation of Rockland County, New York, whose members raised $88,000 for Ukrainian refugees, are on a humanitarian mission in Poland, where they feel compelled by their faith to help those fleeing the Russian invasion. “Eighty years ago, if you were a Jewish person trying to flee from a war, there was no one to take you in. You were turned away,” Ari Rosenblum, the CEO of the Rockland County Jewish Federation, told Patch. “We were standing 10 yards from the border of Poland and Ukraine, and the first eight tents you see were from Israel and Jewish organizations from around the world. It's an 180-degree turn. It's something to be proud of.” » By Lanning Taliaferro for New City, New York, Patch

‘A Responsibility, As A Person’

A Fairfield, Connecticut, native living in Germany is shuttling Ukrainian refugees to safety by driving in war relief convoys. Emily Kilgannon-Neumann has participated in two such convoys during the past month, shuttling clothes, food and medical supplies to Kraków, Poland, and returning to Germany with refugees from Ukraine. The 2012 graduate of Fairfield Warde High School told Patch in a Zoom interview she never imagined she would “ever be helping in this manner,” but believes she has “kind of a responsibility, as a person, just trying to help where it's possible.” » By Anna Bybee-Schier for Fairfield, Connecticut, Patch

Illinois Congregants Help 17,000 Refugees

Christian Worship Center congregants in Downers Grove, Illinois, have now raised and sent $47,000 to Ukraine to help move refugees from the middle of a war zone to safety. “Images that we see on the news outlets do not even begin to describe the atrocities these refugees have experienced,” church pastor Peter Kucher, who grew up near Kyiv, wrote to his congregants from Ukraine. “Many lost their family members. Most have lost their dwellings. Many women and children have been raped and abused by the Russian army. These refugees are shell-shocked, having seen way more death, devastation and violence than humanity was meant to handle.” The stories have touched the heart of congregants, whose support has now helped 17,000 people reach the border with Poland. » By Jeff Arnold for Downers Grove, Illinois, Patch

Gimme Shelter

When it came time to choose an Eagle Scout project, 16-year-old Bransen Tong settled on one that satisfied his desire to help animals. He spent $1,000 of his own money to make the horses and animals displaced by wildfires more comfortable during their stay at the East County Animal Shelter in Dublin, California. There was no place for the animals to find shelter from the sun or rain, but Tong remedied that — and got more than he expected in return. “It felt really good to benefit the animals in the community on top of getting to know my community, bonding with the Scouts who helped me and their parents,” Tong said. » By Sara Schaefer for San Ramon, California, Patch

Borough Socks It Out Of The Park

Something was afoot in Paramus, New Jersey, Monday. As part of the borough’s 100th birthday celebration, the Centennial Committee waded knee-deep into the fun with a goal to set a Guinness World Record for the most pairs of socks collected in eight hours. The final tally was 38,700 pairs, enough to claim the new record, and the socks will be donated to local charities. » By Michelle Rotuno-Johnson for Paramus, New Jersey, Patch

He Did This Because He Could

Sandy Gencarelli says her 11-year-old son Nicholas has been passionate about building for a while, something he combined with his interest in engineering to create a Lego vending machine for his sixth grade classmates at a North Caldwell, New Jersey, elementary school. It wasn’t an assignment; Nicholas did it because he could. When his classmates tried it out, it worked perfectly, dispensing candy only if a quarter was inserted in the slot and rejecting other coins. » By Caren Lissner for Caldwells, New Jersey, Patch

Every Step She Takes

With each step on what she has mapped out as a 100-mile journey, Alexa Suess is pounding out an urgent message about a broken health care system that cripples millions of people with debt every year. The Southold, New York, resident went through a lot to get to the point of taking on the fundraising trek — her own expensive, painful and debilitating medical journey, including times when she couldn’t walk or stand. Her Miles for Medical Debt walk is raising money for RIP Medical Debt, a nonprofit that pays off portfolios of medical debt for low-income households across America. » By Lisa Finn for North Fork, New York, Patch

This Is Not An April Fools’ Day Joke

Hudson Fox Hayes owes his middle name to the street where he was born, Fox Lane in Elgin, Illinois — literally in the left-turn lane — before his parents, Tim and Katie Hayes, could make it to the hospital. And if being born in the passenger seat — and not even holding up traffic as he made his entry into the world — wasn’t enough to put Hudson Fox Hayes in the birthday hall of fame, there’s more. He was born on April Fools' Day. No fooling. » By Amie Schaenzer for Algonquin-Lake In The Hills, Illinois, Patch

A Prolific Oyster

So, this happened when Anja Kellenberger and her fiance, Rod Balmer, sat down to a plate of raw oysters at a Florida restaurant. As she started to chew, she thought she’d gotten a piece of shell in her mouth, but it turned out to be a pearl — something found in only 1 in 10,000 wild oysters. “I got the first one out, and then the second one spoke, you know, third and fourth, fifth, it kind of felt the same way,” she said. “So, I knew they were there. And that was kind of really freaky.” » By Nikki Gaskins for Across Florida Patch

Last Take: Priceless Rudeness

What? This is a compendium of good, happy news, so what is this doing in here? It is the last laugh, priceless karma, a glass not just half full but overflowing and drowning out the careless disregard of “some rude person” who bumped into LaQuedra Edwards at a California supermarket and caused her to punch in the wrong numbers at a scratch ticket vending machine. It was worth $10 million. Big disclaimer, though: It’s never good to be rude. » By Paige Austin for Los Angeles Patch

Find Your Patch

Patch is in more than 1,000 communities across America. Find your community and see what's happening outside your front door.