Lynette Rakusin
Lynette's maternal grandparents came from a town in Lithuania called Kupishok, with her grandfather traveling ahead to Cape Town while her grandmother followed by boat with Lynette's infant mother, who had been born in Lithuania. Her grandfather eventually found success in property and money lending, while her grandmother made pickled cucumbers and white cheese. Her father was born in South Africa, and her parents met in Cape Town, where Lynette was raised as an only child. Her beloved grandmother, Granny Heidi, lived with the family from the time Lynette was four. She met her future husband Hedley, a Johannesburg dental student, over several summers in Cape Town, and they married at the end of 1975 when she graduated from UCT.
After marrying, Lynette and Hedley spent a year in London, traveled through America, and returned to South Africa, where Hedley opened a dental practice in Johannesburg. When he decided to specialize in endodontics, no program was available at Wits, so he was accepted at Baylor in Dallas, which was more affordable than Philadelphia and where they already knew the Israelson family. Hedley arrived first in June 1983, just after their third daughter Tracy was born, and bought a house. Lynette followed weeks later with her three little girls to find her belongings unpacked and her refrigerator filled by a welcoming group of South African women in Dallas.
In Dallas, Lynette adjusted to life without household help while her husband was a student, finding the settling-in period surprisingly easy thanks to warm South African and Dallas friends. The family joined a traditional synagogue and later Chabad, drawn to its familiar warmth. Lynette worked at Solomon Schechter and volunteered widely, co-chairing the JCC Arts Fest and helping with Federation, Jewish Family Service, and a synagogue fundraiser. She maintained South African Jewish traditions and foods, and raised her three daughters, who all attended the University of Texas and now live in Texas. A proud American citizen, she values the freedom and security of her adopted home while cherishing yearly visits to family in South Africa.
Full Transcript
The Net. It's August 2014 and you are being interviewed for our Roots to Boots project, of which you are one of the founders, and it's going to be archived and it's in conjunction with the Dallas Jewish Historical Society. Let's talk about why and when your family immigrated to South Africa And what you know about their lives and their early years in South Africa My mother's parents came from Lithuania From a town called Kupashik Which I think now has changed its name to Kupas or something to that effect My grandfather went a few months ahead of my grandmother, who must have been pregnant, because my mother was actually born in Lithuania, and it was six months when she went with my granny and my granny's cousins on the boat to South Africa.
My grandfather obviously went to sort of pave the way a little bit, you know, a wife coming with a new baby, and they went to Cape Town, and I'm not sure exactly what my grandfather did in the beginning, but it must have been something sort of peddler-ish. I know my granny used to make pickled cucumbers to sell and white cheese that she sometimes even made when I was a little girl in the muslin cloth where it would drip through and it would be like a feta cheese. Anyway, my grandfather in later years got into property and money lending and was quite successful. My father's parents, I'm not sure where both of them came from.
I think one of them came from England. My father was born in South Africa, actually, in Nusenburg. So I'm not really sure if my grandparents came over from somewhere together or if they met in South Africa. So your parents met in Cape Town and that's where you were born? My parents met in Cape Town and that's where I was born. Okay. And tell us about your life growing up in Cape Town. Where about did you live there I grew up my whole life in Wilmington We first had a flat an apartment and when I was four years old they bought a house and that was the house that I actually got married in and left.
That was the only home I had in Cape Town. I'm an only child, and my grandmother, my mother's mother, lived with us from when I was age four. so Granny Heidi was my granny, my mother my sister, my friend and I was very very close to her and she was a very special woman we always say that if she lived in today's world she could have been the president and where did you meet Heidi? long story but I can't fill the whole video with this Heidi and I actually We met, he's from Johannesburg, and we met one summer on Clifton Beach. I'd just finished matric, and he had just finished third-year dental school.
And just for future reference, South Africans didn't do an undergrad and then dentistry or medicine. They went straight from high school into dental school. So he was now going into fourth-year dentistry. And we never actually saw each other for a whole year. and then he came down to Cape Town as all the Johannesburgers did in the summer and he came over one night with his friend and I was having friends over and never said he would call me and he had a girlfriend that had followed him to Cape Town that he was actually about to break up with and another year went by and I never saw him or spoke to him or wrote to him now he was finished dental school and he was in the army in southwest Africa for four months.
He had been in Pretoria for four months, southwest Africa for four months, and had come to Cape Town in December because his whole family were down. And I think I could only see him on the last night of his five-day pass. And it was a very nice date, and he said, I think I'm coming to Cape Town for my last four months at Rhodesia-by-the-Sea, It was an old hotel in Simon's Town that now was a naval base. And he arrived on March the 1st and that was the end of day 10. Anyone else We got engaged in December and we only got married the following December when I graduated from UCT So when and how and why did you make the decision to leave South Africa We actually got married at the end of 1975 and waited for his brother to get married early 1976 and then we went to London for a year.
It was very popular for South African dentists to go to London, work for people there, and have a good time, a nice experience. So we went to London for a year, and then his brother joined us. So Anthony and Zilla came from South Africa, came to London, and the four of us traveled around America for six weeks. We had a great time, and then we went back to South Africa. And Hedley bought a practice in Johannesburg, Jebby Street. And we had our first child, and we were with the whole family. But I think he knew that he wanted to specialize. And when he decided he wanted to do endodontics, they didn't have a program at VITS, which means he would have to come to somewhere out the country.
And he actually applied at a few places. He got accepted at Philadelphia. Sent his deposit which in 1970, 1982 was a lot of money, $1,000. And two days it was in the mail. They hadn't received it. And two days later he actually got a call from the chairman at Baylor, Dallas, to say he doesn't even need an interview. So Philadelphia wouldn't get the money back, but we decided we were coming to Dallas for a number of reasons. We knew the Israelsons. Hilton and Hedley were at undergrad dental school together. The climate was easier, and Baylor was not going to be nearly as expensive as the private school in Philadelphia.
So for all those reasons we decided to come to Dallas. By the time we knew we were going to be coming to Specialized I had Lisa and Cherry and I was now pregnant with number three And I remember people saying to me, how are you going to manage? And my husband was also going to be a student. And my answer was, I'll let you know. coming from a privileged life with maids and garden men and chars and now coming with three children and a newborn baby. But it actually never bothered me. I was never worried about it. And we arrived. Hedley actually came ahead of me because he had to start his program on the 22nd of June and Tracy was born on the 9th of June.
and so he came and he bought a house and in fact I think he took pictures and I'm not sure but I think you actually brought the pictures back to Johannesburg for me to look at before we actually signed. It seems to be ringing a bell. Anyway, he went ahead and he bought this little house and I came about seven weeks after him. Maybe nine weeks. Tracy was seven or nine weeks old. And Hiddly was a student for two years. And I arrived here, and my entire container had been unpacked by the Dallas girls. The only one I knew was Maureen. One of them being Linda Bear.
Natalie Veronique Jill Menta I can't remember, I wasn't here but I think that was it the only thing they didn't unpack were my clothes they said that's it, that's your deal my fridge was filled my freezer was filled and that's how I arrived with three little girls to Dallas Back up to when you left South Africa, what was your family's reaction to your leaving? Okay. Hedy is one of four boys, very close family. I don't think his parents were that thrilled. It was, we were breaking up the family. But we weren't immigrating at that stage. We were coming to specialize. We were going to see.
We rented our house in Johannesburg with our furniture. and we were going to just see what happened after the two years. Me being an only child, you know, you would expect my parents to, well, my father passed away, my mom was a widow, my granny still lived with her, and she never ever said anything. I think she felt we were doing the right thing about making a new future for our children. Nobody really knew how it was going to turn out, but she just said as long as you're well and happy she never expressed any heartache which I'm sure she did have What was the airport scene like when you left?
Gosh, it's 31 years ago I can't actually remember I probably blocked it out Well, Hedley left first and then I left with the three girls we had actually been staying with my mother-in-law for the last three weeks because I had to move out of our house it was tough, it was difficult So you've already described how your friends helped you settle into Dallas talk about your feelings and your first impressions of the United States and Dallas particularly what were memorable experiences or adjustment issues? Well, the first day I arrived, we thought my baby was not well and landed up literally from the airport at the pediatrician because she cried almost the entire journey.
But she apparently was starving. She was hungry. So off we went to what was then Skate's Alpha Beta, which is now Albertsons on Arapaho and Hillcrest. and I just remember, because I went to Eat Formula, I just remember going up and down the aisles and I was absolutely flabbergasted by how many different oils, cooking oils there were. Like six or eight different brands. And I just remember arriving and thinking, oh my goodness, there's just so much of everything. But in a nice way. It was a very easy settling in period My husband was a student We had very little money Nothing was expected of us We lived very modestly and in some weird ways it just made it very easy and simple Sickling in was really easy.
People were so friendly. It was mostly South Africans that we came into contact with. school started pretty soon after I arrived I came the beginning of August and it was down in Sherith Israel the preschool and you know I met quite a few people through carpool we had two different carpools and it was a warm and friendly arrival so what was different from what you were used to in South Africa other than the oils in the supermarket What other things stand out as being different? Well, the climate for one thing. It arrived in August. It was very hot. It came, the first holidays, the first high holidays, was quite tough.
I did not go to shul for Rosh Hashanah with a new baby, but I did go for Kornidre night. And we weren't members yet. And we went to Sheriff, but we were in the overflow in a classroom that was piped in from the main sanctuary. And I just remember driving home and feeling that it was so foreign that there were women in the choir. Because that's something we never, ever had in South Africa. Obviously, most of the synagogues being Orthodox. And that was just something, it just didn't feel right. and we did not join Sheriff. A lot of our friends were there. We actually joined Fairhead, which was a traditional shul.
More on the orthodox side, but if I remember correctly, the first ten rows were separate seating and then after the tenth row you could sit together. So it wasn't 100% orthodox, but women weren't allowed our ears and up on the bimmer and things like that. And we were there for a number of years probably about eight or nine maybe ten years And then we left and we joined Chabad And not that we actually religious but we just like the warmth of the synagogue and the rabbi It felt more like home. Just what we're used to. And what was your occupation in South Africa and did you work in that same profession here in Dallas?
I did occupational therapy. I worked in London for the year. And then I worked for a year or two in Johannesburg until I had my first child, Lisa. And then we left a few years later. Unfortunately, very unfortunately, I didn't take my American boards in South Africa. It just wasn't offered to students then. I know it is now. and arriving with three little girls, five, two, and two months, there was no way that I was going to go back to school. I possibly couldn't when they were all at school, but I worked at Solomon Schechter until my youngest was actually in eighth grade. And so I basically really missed the boat.
and I somewhat regret it, but it's been okay. Going back to when you came to Dallas, how did you find the community's response was to you, the general community, as a new immigrant? I actually found Dallasites, or a lot of them were also transplants, very friendly, very warm, and they loved South African accents. and I don't actually remember any adverse reactions or uncomfortable feelings. And once you were introduced to the Dallas Jewish community, how did it compare to your experience of the South African Jewish community? I didn't really live that long married in South Africa to have been that involved as a young adult in the Jewish community.
So I can really compare I did belong to Union of Jewish Women in South Africa for my five years five six years in Johannesburg And I did join Ault when I was here which was a new chapter I don't know what actually happened to it. I think I started working and the days just didn't work out. So I can't really compare, but I think it's, I think there's a vibrant Jewish community here with many different organizations. All the Hadassah, the Union of Jewish Women is another one, National Council of Jewish Women, and their synagogues, and the JCC and Federation. I don't remember all of those.
I don't think I was that involved with other things in South Africa the short time other than the Union of Jewish Women. But they were here as well, and you got involved. They were here as well, and I think I realized that there's really a very vibrant, strong Jewish community here. And I was involved at the JCC. I co-chaired the annual Arts Fest run by the JCC. I've done some volunteering with Federation and Jewish Family Service. and I was a little bit more involved in the synagogue. I chaired a dinner, fundraiser. So I have been involved. And I think that did come from our upbringing in South Africa where we were proud to be Jewish.
Well, that brings me to South African Jewish cultural traditions. Which of them have you maintained, like the foods or the holidays? All the holidays, all the foods. I don't have any children living in Dallas, but I possibly, if I did, I think I would do, I don't know every, but I probably would do Friday night dinners. When they are in town, we do light candles and we have the khada, so we've maintained all that. Let's see what else. so you had those traditions growing up yes right and that and how important was Israel to you when you were growing up in South Africa and is it important to you today it was very important Israel was always in the news, we were always looking out for Israel, always seeing what was going on, watching the news.
We only got TV in 1975, but listening on the radio, reading the newspapers. And I think Zionism has always been very strong in South Africa. And I used to go to Abonim growing up for a little while, and I did grow up with Zionistic feelings. and what traditions rooted in your South African Jewish heritage do you see your children continuing like the religious traditions I think the religious two are married two guys that are both conservative Jews and I think the religion is not as important, the orthodox but I do see that they also do like making Shabbats and they do like all the South African traditional foods and like they do like Yichel and Herring which I don't find all my American friends grew up with but they do like all the South African Jewish foods that we still make and once you were here Did you have any friends who followed you here or extended family?
And did anybody come? And if so, when did they come? No. Unfortunately, no extended family. And actually no friends that followed But happy to say that all my South African friends here have become a family So tell us how your family has grown since you came to Dallas and where are they now and what are they doing? So I came with three girls, two are married, the youngest is single, and the two married daughters, Lisa and Sherry, are living in Houston, Texas. Sherry was in Chicago for 10 years and recently moved, so that's nice. And Tracy's in Austin, Texas. They all went to UT, to University of Texas in Austin, and now we're all in Texas.
So nobody's in Dallas, but it's still closer. And do you have any family left in South Africa? Yes. My mother-in-law is in Johannesburg and my husband has two brothers married with children in South Africa. And I'm very happy to say that I have two grandchildren that are in Houston. So Leo, who's five and a half as we speak, and Sylvie, who's two and a half. And what, if anything, do you miss about your life in South Africa? First, let me say that if I do miss anything, I don't think it's quite there anymore. People will ask me all the time, do you miss South Africa?
And I say I do miss certain things but I not sure that those things that I missing still exist I do miss the family. We're going back soon, and we seem to go back once a year. And there just is something wonderful when my husband is together with his brothers and the chenises and the nephews. and I know that if we lived in South Africa, we probably would be together Friday nights and on birthdays, etc. So it's more about the family than the actual country itself? Mostly, mostly. I come from Cape Town, which is just absolutely beautiful, but I was living in Johannesburg, which is not that different to Dallas, and I think Dallas really has become my home and it's been very good to us and we've enjoyed bringing our children up here and I don't really miss South Africa anymore.
So you're a proud American citizen. I am. And what does it mean to you to be an American? Given the climate of Johannesburg, where I hear every week somebody was held up, mugged, house robbed, I just spoke to my sister-in-law yesterday and her friend's house was burgled, she wasn't home. I think that for me the freedom and not living with anxiety of what going to happen what could happen what does happen is a big thing Also we are free to do speak We have freedom here We have a democratic society I think all those things are just, I think we're just very lucky. So it was a positive experience.
A very positive experience. and I think when we came here as students, even though we told the family we weren't immigrating, I think in our hearts, I think we knew that we probably would try and stay. We actually were, well, Hedley was denied Texas license after he graduated because in 1981, we came in 83, they stopped letting foreign debt to save Texas licenture. So we actually moved. Our third year was in Florida. We took Florida boards, and we moved to Florida, and then that didn't work out. And while we were there, we got granted a waiver of labor certification through Baylor, so we had to come back.
and we were quite happy to. That kind of helped us make the decision. So one year later we came back to Dallas and he started teaching at the dental school, working a couple of days privately and then in 1987 he joined his partner and has been with him for all these years and they now have two more partners. Is there anything else you'd like to talk about that I haven't asked you? I don't think so. All right. Thank you. Thank you, Lynette. Thank you very much.