History Happy Hour: A Hug from Afar with Cynthia Flash Hemphill

Cynthia Flash Hemphill's presentation at the Washington State Jewish Historical Society's History Happy Hour on May 17, 2016, at the Society's Queen Anne office introduced attendees to the remarkable true story behind A Hug from Afar. Drawing on more than 16 years of long-lost family letters written in Ladino by her mother, Claire (Clara) Barkey Flash, Hemphill recounted the experiences of a Sephardic Jewish family from the Island of Rhodes as they struggled to escape growing World War II persecution and ultimately immigrate to Seattle. She described how ordinary family correspondence became desperate pleas for help as fascism spread, illustrating the perseverance, resilience, and determination that helped her family survive. Beyond telling a compelling personal story, Hemphill emphasized the historical significance of preserving family letters, oral histories, and personal documents, demonstrating how individual narratives illuminate the broader history of Sephardic Jewry, immigration, the Holocaust, and the enduring connections between Jewish communities in Rhodes and Washington State.