By BERNIE BELLAN We received an email from former Winnipegger Stephanie Gutnik about a new children’s book (titled “My Very Best”) which she had authored and which is set to be released on September 22 (Erev Rosh Hashanah).
Here is what she wrote in her email: “Born and raised in Winnipeg, my school and career in advertising has taken me to several other cities – though my Judaism and connection to Winnipeg remains strong.

“Prior to the birth of my younger sister’s first child, I have written a book called ‘My Very Best,’ which is for early readers – but can also be enjoyed be readers of all ages for its teachings on the values of determination, empathy and individualism.
“It is currently in presale at Indigo and on Amazon. I am hoping to organize a reading at McNally Robinson as well, as part of the launch on Rosh Hashanah.”

We wrote back to Stephanie, telling her that we are always glad to promote books by members of the community, current or former, and invited her to send us some further information about her background and how she came to write this particular book.

Stephanie responded, telling us we could find a brief description of the book on Amazon: “‘My Very Best’ celebrates the confidence that comes from approaching tasks with genuine effort, embracing playful moments, treating ourselves and others with thoughtfulness and care, and appreciating the wonders of everyday experiences.

“This book delights multiple audiences, from toddlers and young children to adults seeking a boost of encouragement. What happens when we sing our very best, practice our very best, and dream our very best? The outcomes don’t need to be perfect, but gratification is heartfelt.”

She also sent some information about her growing up in Winnipeg and what her career path has been:

“I was born in raised in Winnipeg – my parents are Martin and Corrina Gutnik.
“My sister (Meghan) and I went to Brock Corydon, benefitting greatly from the Hebrew (Bilingual) program and the school’s incorporation of performing arts. Morah Leah (Braemer) was my English teacher for a couple years and played a large role in advancing my passion for reading and writing – introducing me to new genres of literature and encouraging journalling, poetry and creative writing.
“I attended the AP program at Grant Park High School and left Winnipeg to study at McGill University.
“With a Bachelor of Arts, I proceeded to travel the world with my career in advertising: opening offices and speaking at conferences everywhere from the UK to China and Brazil. Upon completing a MBA while working, I moved to New York to open an office and lived there for about five years.
“I now reside close to my parents and sister (along with her hubsand and soon-to-be son) in Toronto. I have a doctorate in business, and am continuing my work in marketing and ad tech – but writing a children’s book has always been on my bucket list.
“When my sister informed me that she was pregnant, I sat down to write a book that touches on values we were raised with: determination, empathy and marching to the beat of our own drum.
“I found a gifted illustrator who I worked with closely for half a year to ensure the illustrations clarify the book’s teachings to early readers – and include Easter eggs about my upbringing. I also worked with a publisher to facilitate distribution across physical and online bookstores.
“What began as a tribute to my sister and our parents turned into a book with a message that I hope resonates with a wide audience, but certainly is a nod to Jewish values: ‘My Very Best’ serves as a reminder to readers of all ages that fun and fulfillment come from embracing experiences with our best effort.

By MYRON LOVE Last march, Lil Duboff celebrated her 100th birthday in a low key manner.
“I have always been a laid back kind of person,” says the Shaftesbury retirement home resident. “I just celebrated with my family.”
Lil Duboff’s life journey began in Russia in 1925. “I was six months old when we came to Winnipeg,” she says.  “Most of my extended family had come before.  We were supposed to leave Russia at the same time, but my mother was pregnant with me and my parents waited until after I was born.”
The former Lil Portnoy, the daughter of Hy and Pessie, grew up the youngest of five siblings in a large and loving family in the old north end Jewish community. Upon his arrival in Winnipeg, her father, Hy, joined his father, Jack, and his brothers, Nathan and Percy, in the family business, Perth’s Cleaners, which was established in 1914.
Following the education path of most Jewish Winnipeggers in the period between the wars and into the 1950s, Duboff started her schooling at Peretz School – although she attended William Whyte School for most of her elementary schooling, supplemented by evening classes at Peretz School – followed by Aberdeen School and St. John’s Tech for high school.
The family, she recalls, belonged to the Beth Jacob Synagogue on Selkirk Avenue.  
After completing high school, Duboff took a business course and joined the workforce. She first worked at Perth’s, then Stall’s, and lastly, Silpit Industries – which was owned by Harry Silverberg. (Harry Silverberg was one of the wealthier individuals in our community and a community leader who contributed generously to our communal institutions.)   
It was while working at Silpit Industries that Lil Portnoy met Nathan Duboff.  “Nathan worked in the shipping department,” she recalls.  “We dated for three or four years before getting married.”
They wed in 1953 at the Hebrew Sick Hall on Selkirk Avenue. The bride was pregnant soon after and quit work to look after her family. The couple had three children: Chuck, Neil and Cynthia.
The family lived in the Garden City area. While Nathan continued to work for Harry Silverberg for a time – at his Brown and Rutherford lumber business, he later moved to Portage Lumber as sales manager, and then Dominion Lumber, finally retiring as sales manager for McDermot Lumber in 1995.
During those years Lil did what many married Jewish women did and put her time in as a volunteer with different Jewish organizations.  She served as president of the Chevra Mishnayes Congregation sisterhood and the ORT chapter to which she belonged. She also volunteered with B’nai B’rith Women and Jewish Child and Family Service.  
Her leisure activities included playing mahjong with friends and enjoying – with Nathan – the ballet and the symphony.  There were also all the holiday gatherings with the extended family and summers spent at the family cottage in Gimli.
In the mid-1980s, Lil and Nathan sold their Garden City home and moved to a condo on Cambridge in the south end.  After Nathan’s sudden passing in 2003, Lil continued living at Cambridge Towers until three years ago when her declining physical health required her to move into assisted living at the Shaftesbury.
 While Lil Duboff suffers from many of the complaints of old age, such as limited eyesight and hearing, and other health issues, she retains a clear and positive frame of mind. She appreciates that her children all still live in Winnipeg and visit frequently. She happily reports that she also has five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
“It’s different living here (at the Shaftesbury),” she observes.  “I don’t see as many people as I used to. But I am accepting my limitations and take life one day at a time.  You never know what tomorrow might bring.”

By DAVID R. TOPPER Nearly every life has a series of “first times,” no matter how long or short one lives. The first day of school, or the first bicycle – these quickly come to mind. Probably because of the deep and wide reading I’ve been doing for a story I wrote, I recalled another “first” in my life. It came to me with the same chill up my spine as on the day it happened. And that was long ago.
I’m now into my early 80s and this event is from the late 1960s when I was finishing my PhD, which required that I pass a second language test. It was the last essential test, since I was finishing up my dissertation. In the early 1960s, as an undergraduate, I had taken German for the language requirement and naturally I opted for German for the graduate requirement too. Relevant here is the fact that of all the undergraduate courses I took, the only subject for which I had poor grades was – you guessed it? – German, where I got less than As and Bs.
On the day appointed, I walked across campus to the German department and took the test. The task was to translate a page of text. I can’t recall the content or anything about it. But the result was sent to me and – I suppose not surprisingly – I didn’t pass. I was informed that I could make an appointment with a member of the department to go over the test and to get some tutoring to help me prepare for another try.
But where is the “first in my life” that this memoir is all about? As said above, I only recently recalled this “first.” The trigger was a newscast that Yale University professor Timothy Snyder was moving to the University of Toronto because of the recent presidential elections in the USA. This caught my attention because his monumental book, Black Earth, on the Holocaust in the shtetls of Eastern Europe during World War II, was so crucial to that story I wrote. Thus, my subconscious kicked in and that newscast led me back to when I met the tutor.
Frankly, I don’t remember much about that day. Not the time of year, or the weather. Except that I again walked across campus, this time to meet my German tutor. Even so, I only remember three things about the tutor – beyond the fact that it was woman. She was much older than me and she spoke with a thick accent.
We sat at a table, she to my left, and in front of us on the table was my translation sheet covered with corrections in red; the original German text was beside it, to the right. Slowly she went over my translation, pointing out my mistakes. I sat, focusing on what I did wrong and listening to her suggestions for what I should have done – when, for a brief moment, she reached across my sheet to point to a German word in the original text. With her left hand and her bare arm right in front of me – I saw something on the underside of that arm.
At the time, I knew about this. I had read about it. But back in the late 1960s I had never seen it for real – in the flesh. Really. Yes, “in the flesh” isn’t a metaphor. Indeed, I’m getting the same chill now just thinking about it, as I did when I saw it – for the first time.
On the inside of that arm, she had a tattoo – a very simple tattoo – just a five-digit number. Nothing else.
I was so rattled by this that I couldn’t focus on what she was saying anymore. The tattoo blurred out much of everything else for the rest of the day.
Fortunately, this happened near the end of our meeting, and I apparently absorbed enough of her help so that when I did take the test the second time – I passed. And here I am: a retired professor after many years of teaching.
Even today, that first tattoo is still seared in my mind. Oh, and that’s the third thing I’ll always remember about the tutor who helped me pass that key test on the road to my PhD.