Aaron Tomberg Remembered By His Nephew, Martin Tomberg
My Uncle Aaron Tomberg's love of travel has been inherited by my son Charles Tomberg who painstakingly,
with his girlfriend Susan, copied the hardly legible fragments of Uncle Aaron's diary given to them by
Andrea Adams, Aaron Tomberg's granddaughter. They include some of Uncle Aaron's poetry & comments of
his trip to Europe. I also remember him telling of his travels to Palestine & other countries in the
Middle East. I remember in the 1940's he always felt Israel could not become a viable country, as there
was too little water and too much desert. But don't forget his trip to Palestine was before WW I.
My focus will be personal, however, my memories of him when I was a child and comments that others made to me after his death.
I always remember him as a teacher. When I was about 11 or 12, he took his class to Yankee Stadium.
He knew I was an avid Yankee fan so he asked my father if I could come along. My father happily agreed.
During Passover, he and his brothers, my father Charles and my Uncle Moe, raced through the service to see
who could finish first so we could eat dinner quickly. My grandmother would continue to finish the services
in her slow, methodical way - so we all waited for dinner.
It was at her funeral, that I saw a grown man break down and sob for the first time. It was my Uncle Aaron.
He died when I was only 18 so much of what I know about him comes from comments of others.
He devoted his adult life to children at camp, or teaching at Sunday school and public school.
When I met people and they heard my last name, they would ask if I were related to Aaron Tomberg.
They all remembered him as a beloved teacher. I don't think I remember any of my teachers.
As recently as a year and one half ago at a social gathering, an old man came over to me when he heard my last name.
He excitedly told me he remembered his wonderful public school teacher. It was 56 years after Uncle Aaron died.
As far as I know, one of his grand children Leslie Wellbaum & I are the only living relatives who were alive during his
lifetime. Leslie was 2 years old. And now with these bits of writings copied by my son, I know a little more about Uncle Aaron.
