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75:(earlier absorbed by the Soviet Union) on June 22, 1941. Rutzisky was recruited by partisans because of his non-Jewish appearance, education, and language skills; the partisans promised to help get his family to safety. He, however, was recognized, denounced as a Jew, and shot. His wife and his youngest son, two-year-old Shlomo, were also killed during the war.
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was often used, although he was also fond of more exotic materials. He stored hundreds of blanks of
Goncalo Alves, Kingwood, Canadian Maple, Zebrawood, and Macassar Ebony, which dried year after year under the tarpaper roof. Merry Widows formed the basis of his production, although Abe did a number
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Shortening his surname to Rich, to match the usage of relatives already in the United States, he emigrated to the US in 1960, where he spent the remaining 46 years of his life (and never married). From 1962 to 1965, he worked for the Rich Q company, founded by his uncle Izzy's son Sol. The company
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One day, an SS officer came in to demand a repair or replacement of an ivory cigarette holder which had been a gift from his father. He struck Abe. Abe never recovered from this injury and became a hunchback, 5 foot 3 inch (1.6 m) tall as an adult. Having nearly starved to death, he suffered
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Survival was by the barest of margins: Morris weighed 68 pounds (31 kg) and Abe 61 pounds (28 kg) when they were liberated in April 1945. They were sent to the
Benedictine St. Ottilien Archabbey in Landsberg to recuperate. Morris was an invaluable witness in the Dachau War Crimes trial
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from chronic gastritis. Morris created a perfect replica of the cigarette holder out of cow bone. Impressed by the workmanship of the finished object, the officer declared, "Hitler lied." Until his transfer, this SS man smuggled food to the boys, which proved important to their survival.
172:. The 4,000-square-foot (372 m) facility, including an 800-square-foot (74 m) showroom, was principally dedicated to Richwood Turning. Misunderstandings developed between the brother-partners, and in 1973 Abe started a new business, Star Cues.
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in
Bavaria. Their woodworking skills again proved invaluable to their survival. They made clogs and canteens, and later internal scaffolding for the hangars the Germans erected to shield their aircraft from Allied reconnaissance and attack.
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Abe, having worked at Rich Cue for three years, produced many pool cues at Star which bear a familial resemblance to his cousin's output. He favored Merry Widow forearms, and
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on
October 29. Approximately 3,000 of the 37,000 Jews living in Kovno survived the war, 500 of them by hiding in the forest, and 2,500 in German concentration camps.
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Impressed with the apparent success of the enterprise, he interested his brother Morris in a similar venture. In 1965, they founded
Florida Cues on 29th Street in
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of
Titleist conversions. He was particularly fond of Delrin trim rings and Ivorine-3 ferrules, assembling his cues with his own, top secret epoxy blend.
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because of his photographic memory and the length of time the brothers had spent in the ghetto. Morris personally identified the former commandant,
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Martinez, Ray (July 25, 1996). "Shooting
Straight: For master craftsman Abe Rich, making world-class cues is more than a job—it's a way of life".
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94:, Fritz Jordan. The brothers were seen as valuable for their ability to make chess pieces and toys for the children of SS men.
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By the time the proceedings ended, the window for Jewish refugees provided by the Truman
Declaration had shut. Abe moved to
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was the son of Chaim and Hodel
Rutzisky (sometimes rendered as Rutzaisky), a woodworker in Lithuania. Chaim Rutzisky was a
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Stewart, Paul (May 3, 1965). "A Man Could Wind Up on the Bowery for the Love of a Two-piece
Billiard Cue".
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This was originally a podcast, but is no longer available, only a short summary with some photos.
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His other sons, Morris and Abe, were assigned as woodturners in the workshops established in the
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survivor. He was inducted into the International Cuemakers Hall of Fame for the quality of the
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29:(July 21, 1926 – November 25, 2008) was a Lithuanian-born Israeli-American wood craftsman and
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The Kovno Ghetto was destroyed in October 1941, with 10,000 Jews being shot dead at the
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for beer kegs. A secular Jew, he was well-educated and spoke Lithuanian and Polish.
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Like his New York relatives, Abe did not lack for star customers at Star Cues;
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128:, where he worked in the Negev from 1948 to 1960 on road construction.
82:(July–October 1941). These were issued two of the 5,000 Jordan passes (
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Agnir, Fred (September 2009). "Abe Rich: The Ultimate Survivor".
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Fields, Sidney (May 27, 1963). "The Man Who Cued Many a Star".
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This obit appears to have been written by newspaper staff.
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Kaddish for Kovno: Life and Death in a Lithuanian Ghetto
88:) given to "useful Jews" and named after the ghetto's
474:(3rd ed.). Minneapolis: Blue Book Publications.
252:. November 28–30, 2008 – via Legacy.com.
464:. December 3–18, 2008 – via Legacy.com.
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559:American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent
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372:Learn how and when to remove this message
335:This article includes a list of general
140:In the 60s with a treasure trove of wood
416:United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
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554:Israeli emigrants to the United States
223:"International Cuemakers Hall of Fame"
490:Korten, Tristram (January 19, 2009).
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529:Dachau concentration camp survivors
195:(who played the original fictional
408:Hidden History of the Kovno Ghetto
341:it lacks sufficient corresponding
121:, who was hanged on May 29, 1946.
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185:Rudolf "Minnesota Fats" Wanderone
456:"Abe Rich Obituary [II]"
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244:"Abe Rich Obituary [I]"
549:Lithuanian emigrants to Israel
424:Kovno Ghetto: A Buried History
406:Klein, Dennis B., ed. (1997).
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492:"A True Old World Craftsman"
446:Mishell, William W. (1988).
205:) all bought cues from him.
164:The 29th Street shop in 2011
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254:This family-written obit
110:Dachau concentration camp
306:Rich, Howard; quoted in
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470:Simpson, Brad (2005).
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354:introducing
202:The Hustler
155:Long Island
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508:Categories
410:. Boston:
388:InsidePool
337:references
209:References
103:Ninth Fort
38:cue sticks
524:Cuemakers
57:, making
31:Holocaust
273:Klein 22
256:also ran
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430:. 1997.
350:improve
318:Sources
70:Germany
339:, but
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