Dinah Kadish Dworsky 9/19/1895-9/26/1988
Family- Husband: Solomon; children: Bernard, Sarah and Leon
Dinah was six when she migrated to the United States. She grew up in Norwich, Conn.
As a little girl, Dinah was more of a tomboy, liking to play outside. She did not learn to cook. She had a good Jewish education and had been a teacher in the Hebrew School in Connecticut.
She met her husband when he was coming up to Norwich from Raleigh to visit his parents. He was there for only a few days but was immediately attracted to her. On the second day of meeting her, Solomon proposed, but she told him she "had to think about it." On the third day which was also the last day he was in Connecticut, he proposed again and she accepted.
Dworksy was creative in her approach to life. She always liked strange and different things. For example, she made up for her lack of cooking knowledge by becoming skilled at creating "concoctions." This meant using Southern vegetables in ways that her children and grandchildren loved. She was the first woman to be seen driving an automobile in Raleigh, and she always picked up hitchhikers. Once she picked up a crying woman with her baby. The woman was trying to get to a nearby prison to visit her husband. Dworksy drove her to the prison and then later picked her up.
Mrs. Dworsky, as she was known to even her friends, was always active in helping others and in volunteer organizations. Each Shabbat afternoon, she would walk to Dorothea Dix to visit Jewish patients. She did the driving for the other women of the community. She was a frequent collector of money for various causes. In the 30's, she would get monthly payments from the Jewish families, in order to pay the rabbi -- this was the way the rabbi was paid at those times. Families got used to seeing Mrs. Dworsky at their door.
She was a member of the Chevra Kadisha at a time when bodies were prepared in a small shack in the cemetery that was freezing in winter and boiling in summer. She was instrumental in getting the Chevra Kadisha what they needed. In 1935 she had formed a women's chapter of Mizrachi, the orthodox Zionist organization. She was active not just in Jewish organizations but also in other areas. She would go into the schools as part of the PTA and make lunches for the children who did not have food at home. She was also a member of the Eastern Star, unusual for Jewish women at that time.
She was strict with her children and had high standards.
Dworsky contributed a recipe to the Ladies Aid Society's 1946 cookbook:
Cranberry Orange Relish 1 lb. cranberries 1 cup sugar 3 large oranges (cut up) 1 cup honey Wash cranberries and oranges. Put through fine grinder. Stir in sugar and honey. Chill and serve.