Fannie's story: 'Hungarians are to love and be loved'

By Marilyn Rosenthal
MILFORD — It is every immigrant's story, Diana Wiener said.
The story of her Hungarian great-grandmother, Fannie Freed, captivated the audience at a recent story-telling event sponsored by the Readers and Writer's Festival and the Triversity Center in Milford.
"It is a love story, it is a story of overwhelming risk for love, and it is about the strength of this woman who was always positive and, like many Hungarians, always felt that, 'Everything will work out,'" Weiner said.
Fannie would say, "Hungarians are to love and be loved," and she lived by that principle.
She met Samuel Freed when she was 18 and they were both students. Their attraction was instant, passionate, and mutual. But Fannie's father did not approve of Samuel. He insisted that Fannie, an excellent student, finish school before getting married.
She did, and they finally married. Lots of bumps in the road awaited them. At one point, Fannie had to put two of her children in an orphanage temporarily because she couldn't care for them. She was able eventually to retrieve them. All the while her love for Samuel and his for her never waivered.
Samuel came to Mauch Chunk, Pa. — now Jim Thorpe — in October 1888. He found work as a gentleman's tailor and was quite successful. Fannie remained in Budapest for five years waiting for passage money. Meanwhile, Fannie's father tried to dissuade her from going to meet Samuel.
"You haven't seen him in five years," her father said. "How do you know he'll be the same? Maybe he has another family!"
Once again, Fannie followed her heart.
She arrived in Ellis Island in August 1893 with their three sons — Albert, 8, Morris, 6, Rudolf, 4 — and Diana's grandfather. They lived happily in Mauch Chunk for two years before moving to New York City. Fannie had a child every two years, as did many people at that time. Samuel died of tuberculosis in August 1904. Fannie was pregnant with their ninth child, who was born three weeks after his father's death.
Every chapter in Weiner's book, titled "The Wellspring: Fannie's Story," is written in the first person from two viewpoints.
"It's like a Rashomon effect," Weiner said.
She researched every aspect of the story and even tried to adapt the language to the more formal tone of the day. The research took her eight years. The research and writing of became an obsession.
"This woman is me," she said of Fannie. "I could feel her."
Fannie's story is not only a love story. It is a wellspring of true grit and perseverance. And, perhaps it is also the story of Diana Wiener and her true grit in making this book come to life.