By Ralph Harpuder

Rather than to begin with my own comments about the Rickshaw 2008 Reunion cruise, yours truly prefers to present a small sample of Shanghailander’s remarks what they thought about our unique adventure on the beautiful ship, the Caribbean Princess, and whether they would enjoy this kind of venue for our next bi-annual reunion.

"After spending a week with the Rickshaw Reunion on the Caribbean Princess I want to say how much Libby and I enjoyed the trip." (Werner Lewin)

"The successful results reflected the extensive efforts the diligent members of the committee evidently devoted to this memorable event." Norman Shelton)

"We, Esther and I, feel this reunion (and we've been to others) was the best." (Steven and Esther Low)

“The food, the cabins, the entertainment was terrific, as well as all programs which you put together for us. Hopefully there will be another reunion soon." (Gary Kirschner)

“Our heartfelt compliments for a great job; it was beautiful, emotional and hard warming." (Ora and Harold Janklowicz)

" More words could never do justice expressing our experience regarding the memorable Shanghailanders cruise on the Caribbean Princess. It was fabulous in every way and we feel honored having shared the company of so many extraordinary people." (Fred and Shirley Ganz)

“Thanks to the Committee for helping make the reunion a success." (Alfred 'Laco' Kohn)

"The committee deserves our grateful thanks for having done a wonderful job and making it a memorable experience for those of us who attended." (Leah Jacobs Garrick)

There seemed to have been no problem finding our reception desk located at the ship’s beautiful atrium with the bold and attractive sign identifying our group, and with the committee welcoming the Shanghailanders aboard. Thanks to one of our committee members, Ruth Spiegler (known to many as “the Shanghai Encyclopedia”) whose brother works for Peter Max, and the initial contact made by Gary Naftanial, an individual poster dedicated in writing to each Shanghailander and signed by the popular Pop Artist, was given to each one of us at the reception desk. Lots of hugs and warm greetings among friends who did not see each other for a long time were made with lots of time remaining on the day of embarkation to become familiar with the beautiful facilities the ship had to offer.

The following morning, after a good night’s rest, Gary Matzdorff who acted as M.C. in his usual and expert manner, welcomed all the Shanghailanders and introduced our special guest and main speaker Manli Ho, daughter of the Hon. Feng Shan Ho, who was the Chinese Consul in Vienna from 1938 to 1940. The former Chinese Consul, among the Righteous , honored by Yad Vashem, issued visas to many Jewish refugees enabling them to get to Shanghai . The PowerPoint presentation by Manli Ho was followed by a number of documentary films about refugees in Shanghai that were produced during and after the war years.

Rene Willdorff then presented an award to each member of the committee with a special plaque to Ralph Harpuder inscribed with the words “for his inspired creativity and dedication as Archivist and Historian of our War Experience.” (The words inscribed on the plaque mentioned here were not meant for my own self esteem.)

The next morning, another PowerPoint presentation, planned in the last moments, was made by Leah Jacob Garrick in the same lounge. Ms. Garrick, who was born in Shanghai, and whose family came to Shanghai in the 1840’s, shared a very different experience as a fourth generation Sephardic Shanghailander. She believed that the only reason they were there was to receive and help rehabilitate their fellow Jews from three very diverse migrations, namely Iraq, Russia and then Europe.

A small presentation by Werner Lewin followed that same morning. Werner who was a former executive of the famous Fairmont and Hilton hotels in San Francisco gave an interesting talk about his many encounters with famous personalities from presidents to entertainers. His brother, Henry, who was in charge of the Hilton hotels in Las Vegas very sadly passed away from a long illness very shortly after Werner arrived back from the cruise.

A 5:00 P.M. private cocktail party followed the following afternoon at the Fusion Lounge during which time Shanghailanders had more time to reminisce about the old times. The cocktail party was sponsored by our most capable and efficient travel agent.

The next day we arrived at St. Maarten where our group separately enjoyed some shopping and saw several scenic sights of the island.

One of the main highlights of the Rickshaw Reunion cruise was a visit with the Rabbi at the St. Thomas synagogue in the Virgin Islands. Arranged beforehand by our most capable organizer, Gary Naftaniel, Rabbi Arthur Starr gave an interesting presentation of the origin of the temple explaining that the synagogue was not the oldest one in the Caribbean but the oldest continually used in the Western Hemisphere. It was founded, according to Rabbi Starr, in 1796 and consists today of 110 families. A unique feature is the floor covered with sand most likely derived from a practice among Crypto-Jews during the Spanish Inquisition which helped muffle the sounds of their prayers.

The Friday night Shabbat Service held in the Princess Theater was very well attended. Seema Zimmerman lit the Shabbat candles followed by a modest but meaningful service conducted by Fred Freud and Alfred Kohn, former boxing champ, and Leah Jacob Garrick.

The last full day was spent by a few Shanghailanders at the Princess Cays, a beach island where passengers had to be tendered to shore. A High Tea Farewell get-together gave our group that last chance to schmooze and enjoy each other’s company.

In summary, there was a lot of time during the cruise to be with former friends and acquaintances whether it was on the spacious decks of the ship or inside the elegant dining rooms. Shanghailanders came from far and near, from Australia to Canada and from the East and West Coast of America.

The consensus seems to be that most of the Shanghailanders wish to repeat this relaxing and most memorable cruise in the very near future. Please submit your suggestions to our dear Webmaster, Rene Willdorff who will be delighted to pass them on.

Please note that a series of photographs of the activities mentioned above in chronological order follows this report.


	By Ralph Harpuder Rather than to begin with my own comments about the Rickshaw 2008 Reunion cruise, yours truly prefers to present a small sample of Shanghailander’s remarks what they thought about our unique adventure on the beautiful ship, the Caribbean Princess, and whether they would enjoy this kind of venue for our next bi-annual reunion. "After spending a week with the Rickshaw Reunion on the Caribbean Princess I want to say how much Libby and I enjoyed the trip." (Werner Lewin) "The successful results reflected the extensive efforts the diligent members of the committee evidently devoted to this memorable event." Norman Shelton) "We, Esther and I, feel this reunion (and we've been to others) was the best." (Steven and Esther Low) “The food, the cabins, the entertainment was terrific, as well as all programs which you put together for us. Hopefully there will be another reunion soon." (Gary Kirschner) “Our heartfelt compliments for a great job; it was beautiful, emotional and hard warming." (Ora and Harold Janklowicz) " More words could never do justice expressing our experience regarding the memorable Shanghailanders cruise on the Caribbean Princess. It was fabulous in every way and we feel honored having shared the company of so many extraordinary people." (Fred and Shirley Ganz) “Thanks to the Committee for helping make the reunion a success." (Alfred 'Laco' Kohn) "The committee deserves our grateful thanks for having done a wonderful job and making it a memorable experience for those of us who attended." (Leah Jacobs Garrick) There seemed to have been no problem finding our reception desk located at the ship’s beautiful atrium with the bold and attractive sign identifying our group, and with the committee welcoming the Shanghailanders aboard. Thanks to one of our committee members, Ruth Spiegler (known to many as “the Shanghai Encyclopedia”) whose brother works for Peter Max, and the initial contact made by Gary Naftanial, an individual poster dedicated in writing to each Shanghailander and signed by the popular Pop Artist, was given to each one of us at the reception desk. Lots of hugs and warm greetings among friends who did not see each other for a long time were made with lots of time remaining on the day of embarkation to become familiar with the beautiful facilities the ship had to offer. The following morning, after a good night’s rest, Gary Matzdorff who acted as M.C. in his usual and expert manner, welcomed all the Shanghailanders and introduced our special guest and main speaker Manli Ho, daughter of the Hon. Feng Shan Ho, who was the Chinese Consul in Vienna from 1938 to 1940. The former Chinese Consul, among the Righteous , honored by Yad Vashem, issued visas to many Jewish refugees enabling them to get to Shanghai . The PowerPoint presentation by Manli Ho was followed by a number of documentary films about refugees in Shanghai that were produced during and after the war years. Rene Willdorff then presented an award to each member of the committee with a special plaque to Ralph Harpuder inscribed with the words “for his inspired creativity and dedication as Archivist and Historian of our War Experience.” (The words inscribed on the plaque mentioned here were not meant for my own self esteem.) The next morning, another PowerPoint presentation, planned in the last moments, was made by Leah Jacob Garrick in the same lounge. Ms. Garrick, who was born in Shanghai, and whose family came to Shanghai in the 1840’s, shared a very different experience as a fourth generation Sephardic Shanghailander. She believed that the only reason they were there was to receive and help rehabilitate their fellow Jews from three very diverse migrations, namely Iraq, Russia and then Europe. A small presentation by Werner Lewin followed that same morning. Werner who was a former executive of the famous Fairmont and Hilton hotels in San Francisco gave an interesting talk about his many encounters with famous personalities from presidents to entertainers. His brother, Henry, who was in charge of the Hilton hotels in Las Vegas very sadly passed away from a long illness very shortly after Werner arrived back from the cruise. A 5:00 P.M. private cocktail party followed the following afternoon at the Fusion Lounge during which time Shanghailanders had more time to reminisce about the old times. The cocktail party was sponsored by our most capable and efficient travel agent. The next day we arrived at St. Maarten where our group separately enjoyed some shopping and saw several scenic sights of the island. One of the main highlights of the Rickshaw Reunion cruise was a visit with the Rabbi at the St. Thomas synagogue in the Virgin Islands. Arranged beforehand by our most capable organizer, Gary Naftaniel, Rabbi Arthur Starr gave an interesting presentation of the origin of the temple explaining that the synagogue was not the oldest one in the Caribbean but the oldest continually used in the Western Hemisphere. It was founded, according to Rabbi Starr, in 1796 and consists today of 110 families. A unique feature is the floor covered with sand most likely derived from a practice among Crypto-Jews during the Spanish Inquisition which helped muffle the sounds of their prayers. The Friday night Shabbat Service held in the Princess Theater was very well attended. Seema Zimmerman lit the Shabbat candles followed by a modest but meaningful service conducted by Fred Freud and Alfred Kohn, former boxing champ, and Leah Jacob Garrick. The last full day was spent by a few Shanghailanders at the Princess Cays, a beach island where passengers had to be tendered to shore. A High Tea Farewell get-together gave our group that last chance to schmooze and enjoy each other’s company. In summary, there was a lot of time during the cruise to be with former friends and acquaintances whether it was on the spacious decks of the ship or inside the elegant dining rooms. Shanghailanders came from far and near, from Australia to Canada and from the East and West Coast of America. The consensus seems to be that most of the Shanghailanders wish to repeat this relaxing and most memorable cruise in the very near future. Please submit your suggestions to our dear Webmaster, Rene Willdorff who will be delighted to pass them on. Please note that a series of photographs of the activities mentioned above in chronological order follows this report. Respectfully submitted by Ralph Harpuder