Letters from Lida - 53

   

July 10, 1927

Fanechka, my dear! 

We are so used to getting your letters every week that this week gave us a lot of worries. Fanechka, how to explain this? We worry terribly. If you don’t have time to write send us just couple of words on a postcard. We are waiting impatiently for Thursday, although today is only Sunday. Karpeskaya did not leave yet, so I took back from her everything that we were going to send you with her, just don’t trust her. People are so terrible, it is hard to recognize a good person among them. If she goes at all, she plans to leave at the end of July, and then I will take everything back to her. There is not much news at home, the renovation goes very slow and it is hard to bear this crowdedness. The floor in the other rooms is already taken off and <unclear>, may God let everything be finished soon. Although he is saying that by Saturday he will finish everything, but he, e.g. Mendel lies terribly so it is hard to believe him. We will send with Karpeskaya samples of the wallpaper in the dining room and Lisa’s room, squares in frames, it looks very beautiful and rich. Fanechka, how are you? Fanechka, if you will start some business over there I probably will come to help you. As I feel, I would go tomorrow if I could be sure about being able to feed myself. What’s good about you? How do you bear the heat? Write me in detail about what you bought, may God let it be for good.  I will write you everything, but not now. I have to write you a whole notebook; you understand yourself that for that one has to be in a special mood, at least in a good one, which I don’t have right now. Robert (Bevka) is getting married tomorrow, if you want I could give you his address, and you can write him a congratulatory note.

America

Columbia Lighting Fixture Co Inc.
182-4 Grand Str.
New York
Mr. R.Wolf

 Moisej and Revekka already have visas to go to America for ½ of the year, they will go in a month or month and ½.  Taibochka is in Bastuni at the dacha. Revekka also is going to join her to get well. Mania is also at the dacha in Bastuni with Chaia and Olia (1). Uncle Beniamin already left for Vilno. Monia wants to come to Lida very much, but if we don’t invite her you know very well that nobody will invite her. Yet we literally don’t have any place now.

 The style & penmanship of the above letter suggest that it’s from Frida.

 Dear Fanechka!

This week we did not receive any letter from you. Did you receive our letters that you did not receive in turn? As to the piece of land, we already wrote you in the lat letter and sure, will try to send you money so the down payment would not get lost. Find out about the construction, is it possible to build on loan? Did they start construction already and if they did, how much have they built? We think that it would be good to start some kind of business, for example some convenient store. What do you think about it? About 10 days ago Krasnoselsky’s brother-in-law came to Warsaw from Palestine. He came for  treatment and asked Krasnoselsky to go there because he has to have an operation. Krasnoselsky is already in Warsaw for more than a week. I presume that Kransoselsky will take him in for recovery. Did you receive everything that we sent you with Arkina? There are the things that Frida wrote you about and 13 dollars. We still are busy with the renovation and still are crowded in one room. Write about yourself. How is your health? Do you meet people? Write about everything. With kisses, loving you mama Revekka.

 Fanechka, dear, I already do not remember myself if we sent 12 or 13 dollars with Arkina. But it seems you write that you received only 10. Write about everything. Fanechka, I am waiting for your letter with details. Berem is a charming boy, but I doubt that he will be raised well because you know Abram yourself and Sheina (2) is of the same kind, and in some aspects even easier. There is still no picture of him, they did not take it because they want us to take it as we are going to send you a picture. But after everything we did not have a free minute. I will tell you something else: for the same money we could make a picture of all of us, and in addition, receive a big print for free. Everybody sent you regards. Borenka (3) is sending you his kisses. Kiss you with love. Loving you Frida. Give my regards to Vulv (4). Tell him from me, why we don’t have anything from him?  Write us about his life.

<Note in Yiddish or Hebrew>

It is very hard to find a job here and I already lost my hopes.

(1) Mania Poliachek, mentioned in many letters. Olia is probably the Olia to whom Meishel Poliachek wrote letters in 1926. By 1927, she had returned to Lida from Palestine. On the other hand, I was unable to find a linking of an Olia/Ola with Mania or Chaia in the Yad Vashem Database, although the Olia to whom Meishel wrote is in the database.  Bastuni: Bastuny, a tiny village in the Lida vicinity. Perhaps today Bastunai, Lithuania.
(2) Abram is Fanya’s brother, who married in 1925. Family members living after World War II only knew of two sons, Eliahu and Berele, both born in the 1930s. It seems that this child, the first Ber, died  young and their third son was named for him.
(3) Family members also recall that Fanya had a brother Boris, but nothing more. It’s possible he was a late child who died in childhood.
(4) Ze’ev Pupko, a cousin who also made aliyyah. Later, he submitted many Pages of Testimony to Yad Vashem.