Dearest Rod and Mark:
Anne Marie and I often wished that our parents had taken the time to write about their past. They never did, at least not in any great detail, so we decided to take up a brief history of our families because one day you, too, might be interested in your background, and in our families’ histories.
We started the project in July of 1996. Six months later, through much research and hard work, we had pretty much covered the period ranging from your great-grandparents’ time up until December, 1996. We complemented this write-up with extensive research carried out in Russia, in the early 2000’s (we explain this in the Chronicles’ text). From 1997 through 2005 we updated the Chronicles year-by-year; after that, we summarized in an Epilogue what has happened between 2005 and 2014, and again between 2014 and 2020. We are writing this Foreword in April, 2021, when the world is gradually emerging from lockdowns decreed to combat the deadly virus COVID-19. From 2000 on, you will find much about my time at Tetra Pak (even more in the Appendix); I hope you will forgive this over-indulgence, but Tetra Pak was a very important part of all our lives – as you well know!
Although both of us are reasonably good communicators, we are not literary writers. Therefore, this work may be wordy in parts and certainly contains some repetitions; hopefully, not many contradictions…. From 1997 onwards, the text appears partly in present tense, because wherever possible, we added to the Chronicles as events unfolded.
We do hope that what it lacks in Pulitzer quality is compensated by it being an informative, down-to-earth narrative which at times will amuse you and, at the same time, provide insights that give you pause to reflect. No doubt as you read these pages, your recollection of certain events and occasions will be somewhat different to ours, and your view of us as parents will differ from our own; but this will only add dimension to your continuation of the Chronicles.
The Chronicles are written by Dad (Nick) in the first person, for simplicity; but they are very much a product of us both. I refer to your mother as Annie, or Anne Marie, or Mom. We start with a look into the past, reflecting as much information as we could recall or gather by talking to relatives (or, in the case of my own great-grandfather, information that we were able to extract from Russian archives) going back to the 1800’s. We continue with our marriage and your births – without a doubt the most wonderful thing that ever happened to Annie and me.
Part I is the story about the incredibly varied background of your forefathers. It is a story about tremendous achievements, and of stoicism in the face of adversity and of tragedy. There is so much to learn from those who went before us… There is substantially more information on the Shreiber side of the family, simply because we dug up so much more material than on the Becker side. Part II is about Annie and me. In Parts III, IV and V we hope to give you enough glimpses into our family life to illustrate the homes and countries in which you spent your early and formative years, as well as lessons we derive from our experience of parenthood!
We have included a few confidential anecdotes – both private and professional – so we would rather you did not share the Chronicles with anyone else except your wives and, eventually, your children. Please ensure it never gets into the public domain. We decided to gloss over details concerning the girlfriends you had growing up: that is for you guys to share as you see fit; our knowledge of your early “romances” is largely anecdotal – and anyway, it was part of your “learning-about-girls” phase. It certainly helped you to make the right choices of lifetime partners!
Eventually, we hope that you will want to add to this narrative, and pass it on to your kids as you go through this wonderful journey of life, with all its ups and downs!
Together with the Appendix (with its many sections), the box of Backup and Memorabilia materials, a series of short, true-life stories called “Life’s Little Incidents”, and the electronic storing of the dairies of some extraordinary holidays and one-of-a-kind parties we threw, these writings will give you a background to our and your lives. There are a couple of hard copies of the narrative, and the e-version (including the diaries) is on a USB memory stick together with our Will & Testament. But there is only a single copy of the Appendix and Backup/Memorabilia materials – because many are original documents – which would need to be shared.
We love you with all our hearts!
Mom & Dad October Dream, Dahlonega, April 2021
