by Convivial | Feb 17, 2015 | Hess Family
A young NYC Jewish engineer’s 1946 trek to the American Southwest finds unexpected top secret collaborators. All is revealed almost seventy years later through the discovery of his letters by his artist daughter. After moving to New Mexico Melinda found a box...
by Convivial | Dec 15, 2014 | Awesome
Amazing opportunity to stop in and to attend the opening of Tikva Records opening in San Francisco. Put on by the Idelsohn Society for Musical Preservation and really cool Jewish guys – David Katznelson and Jos Kun and their friends. This music collection is important...
by Convivial | Nov 15, 2014 | Fundraiser
Our first public fundraiser for our project. Andrea Hess, the youngest daughter of Sanford O. Hess, and her husband Eric Rubin will host The East Bay House Party in Oakland, California. We are so appreciative for this opportunity to present the incredible story of...
by Convivial | May 24, 2014 | Hess Family
Today Private Sandy Hess, my father, would be 87 years old, if he were still living on earth. He’s been gone for almost 23 years now. So much has happened in space exploration since 1946 when he was assigned to ‘Project Paperclip’ and worked on the V2 Project at Fort...
by Convivial | Jan 22, 2014 | Letters
Amazing research day with Rick and Megan Prelinger at The Prelinger Library. The stacks of books, periodicals, printed ephemera and government documents are an incredible resource for our personal, popular culture approach to our stories. The library is located in San...
by Convivial | Nov 3, 2013 | Hess Family
In LETTER FROM CLOUDCROFT, a daughter uncovers the alliance between American and German rocket scientists in 1940’s New Mexico through her Jewish Father’s letters, discovered after his death. One still unopened 1946 letter from the Lodge at Cloudcroft...
by Convivial | Nov 10, 2012 | Documentary, Hess Family, Letters
Opening The Letter From Cloudcroft Symposium Speakers The unopened 1946 letter and associated intact letter collection provided a unique, personal touchstone for this unprecedented gathering of scholars and lay professionals addressing the complex issues surrounding...
by Convivial | Apr 25, 2012 | Hess Family
I have a cookie jar story to share that connects the present with the past. On a bitter cold day in December I revisited my grandparent’s old neighborhood in Washington Heights- a formerly German Jewish neighborhood in NYC. I hadn’t been there in over 30 years- not...
by Convivial | Apr 11, 2012 | Behind the Scenes
Last weekend, a triad of historic, scientific and spiritually significant events occurred within three days. The religious holidays of Passover and Easter flanked the solemn occasion of the one day public opening in April of Trinity site, the “ground zero” for the...
by Convivial | Mar 15, 2012 | Behind the Scenes
Standing in the middle of the dark bunker lit only by the sunlight streaming through the wide open door and three odd shaped windows, I felt not alone, but surrounded by ghosts. Ghosts of the men- German rocket scientists, U.S. Army soldiers and engineers that stood...
by Convivial | Feb 13, 2012 | German
On the Jewish Voice From Germany Facebook Page wrote: “Thank you so much! Warm greetings from Berlin!” I am utterly dismayed and surprised by my reaction to receiving an email that reads, “Warm greetings from Berlin.” I never thought I’d be excited or...
