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- Notes from Alan Lincoln Cook about his father: Gerhard Cook.
A story about Uncle Don Cook (see notes re: Ezra Albert Cook, Gerhard's father)- Uncle Don said to Dad: regarding Dad's budget proposal to Uncle Don for funds for Gerhard to attend grad school - "As a maker of budgets you are no piker. I am not interested in what you have proposed." (Dad has included... a year in Europe as part of grad school.)
Notes from Stephen and Linda Cook, December 2003:
"Dad (Gerhard) and Stephen went to Germany in1973. Dad wanted to go to East Germany (Halle) to see relatives but he couldn't cross the border as he didn't have a visa. So Steve and Dad went to Overwolfach Conference Center where there was a meeting of scientists. They drove to Heidelburg and then flew home. Mother met them at the airport in Toronto.
"Heidelburg had an extra advantage of having old dueling societies as Dad regaled Steve with the following story. Dad said that when he was in Heidelburg with his cousin, he attended a secret society to watch his cousin duel and receive a scar. When Mother heard the story, she said "you never told me that."
Where upon Dad replied, "you never asked."
"Dad was a Great dancer, especially of the waltz. In later years, Dad and Mother joined the State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNYB), Saturnday night square dance group. One time, Dad gave Mother an Arthur Murray book on How to Dance. (Mother was tone deaf and wasn't able to learn how to dance.)
"Dad once escorted his cousing, Gerta, on the train from Hamburg to Berlin. While on the train they were hassled by the "black shirts" (not army but they seemed to think that they owned the train and made Dad and Gerta leave the train.
"Dad loved to eat goose grease. One of Dad's cousins who was widowed and lived in East Germany, would write to Dad and send him goose grease. Lelly Stern, a wonderful friend of Dad and Mother who lived in Clarence, NY, would translate the letters for Dad. Dad thought that goose grease was medicinal."
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