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I let my pigeons out in the evening. I had a post with a cloth on its end that I used to wave. My pigeons flew high up into the sky turning into black dots and then they returned home. I was happy watching them fly. Unfortunately, my hobby ended tragically. One sad evening they flew as usual and then, when all pigeons were back I locked the shed as usual. When I came to give them food in the morning there were no pigeons in the shed, although the door was locked. A polecat had got into the shed and stolen all pigeons. Even in winter when we came to pick wood for the stove we found traces of blood and feathers in the shed. I gave up my hobby then, but I didn't lose my love for pigeons, and now I've kept pigeons again for several years. However, since the only place where I can keep them is my balcony I only have decorative breeds of pigeons.
In the 4th grade I became a pioneer [see all-union pioneer organization] 8. All I remember from my pioneer childhood is spending vacations in pioneer camps. There was a camp near Cherkassy. I remember lining up in the morning for the flag-raising ceremony and I also remember singing pioneer songs at the fireplace in the evenings. This was so long ago... Another childhood memory: there was a vendor selling bagels near school. A bagel with poppy seeds cost one kopeck and without half a kopeck; there was a half-kopeck coin. My parents gave me a half-kopeck to buy a bagel.
My father hired a private teacher for me to study Hebrew. I don't remember his first name, but I remember his surname: Uchitel ['teacher' in Russian]. He taught me to read and write in Hebrew. Unfortunately, I have forgotten it and only remember how to write my surname in Hebrew. I cannot remember why, but I didn't have classes for a long time. In the 5th or 6th grade I fell ill with scarlet fever. I was so severely ill that I missed many days at school and had to go to the same grade the following year. I finished school at the age of 16 in 1931.
My teacher of drawing gave me a letter of recommendation to enter an art institution. There was none in Uman. In Kiev there was a vocational art school. It was closed after I graduated in 1934. My parents decided to move to Kiev. My father received a room in a communal apartment 9 on Kuznechnaya Street, present-day Gorky Street, in the very center of Kiev. It wasn't my national origin that was an obstacle for admission. At that time it was one's social status. My father was a clerk but children of workers and peasants had admission privileges 10. The admission commission liked my drawing and if my father had been a worker, my admission would have been guaranteed. My father loved me dearly and to remove any possible obstacles he went to work as a laborer at the nail plant. When he came home from work in the evenings it was next to impossible to recognize him. He handled heavy carts with nails and wires all day long. He came home exhausted and dirty, but this job helped for me to be admitted to the school.
In the 4th grade I became a pioneer [see all-union pioneer organization] 8. All I remember from my pioneer childhood is spending vacations in pioneer camps. There was a camp near Cherkassy. I remember lining up in the morning for the flag-raising ceremony and I also remember singing pioneer songs at the fireplace in the evenings. This was so long ago... Another childhood memory: there was a vendor selling bagels near school. A bagel with poppy seeds cost one kopeck and without half a kopeck; there was a half-kopeck coin. My parents gave me a half-kopeck to buy a bagel.
My father hired a private teacher for me to study Hebrew. I don't remember his first name, but I remember his surname: Uchitel ['teacher' in Russian]. He taught me to read and write in Hebrew. Unfortunately, I have forgotten it and only remember how to write my surname in Hebrew. I cannot remember why, but I didn't have classes for a long time. In the 5th or 6th grade I fell ill with scarlet fever. I was so severely ill that I missed many days at school and had to go to the same grade the following year. I finished school at the age of 16 in 1931.
My teacher of drawing gave me a letter of recommendation to enter an art institution. There was none in Uman. In Kiev there was a vocational art school. It was closed after I graduated in 1934. My parents decided to move to Kiev. My father received a room in a communal apartment 9 on Kuznechnaya Street, present-day Gorky Street, in the very center of Kiev. It wasn't my national origin that was an obstacle for admission. At that time it was one's social status. My father was a clerk but children of workers and peasants had admission privileges 10. The admission commission liked my drawing and if my father had been a worker, my admission would have been guaranteed. My father loved me dearly and to remove any possible obstacles he went to work as a laborer at the nail plant. When he came home from work in the evenings it was next to impossible to recognize him. He handled heavy carts with nails and wires all day long. He came home exhausted and dirty, but this job helped for me to be admitted to the school.
Location
Ukraine
Interview
yakov voloshyn
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