Golda Salamon with her horses in Nagybanya

That’s me, Golda Salamon and our horses in Nagybanya.

When my [second] husband, Aron Salamon was ill, I had to do his work, that’s why I was with the horses.

After my first husband, Jeno Simonovits had died in 1970, I sold many things, I sold the horses too, but I got married for the second time, and he had a horse too.

My second husband was Aron Salamon, they called him Uri. He was 1 year younger than my first husband, he was born in 1908 here, in Maramarossziget.

We had only civil marriage, in around 1972. I had to get married, as due to our profession we had two drays, horses, I worked with drivers, who were very impertinent, I couldn't stay alone.

Back then one had to get married early. Among us, Jews, if a woman looses her husband, it is not a sin to get married even after four weeks.

Since our religion says that instead of fornicating, it's better for her to get married and have a family.

While my first husband lived, I couldn't go anywhere, we were farming, and I couldn't leave the house.

We were keeping all kind of poultry, we had cows, we had horses, and my husband didn't want to be left alone even for one day.

When I got married for the second time, I left my husband at home, and I could travel. In 1973 I visited Israel, and in 1975 America.

In Ceau's time [Ceausescu, see: Ceausescu, Nicolae] they would let you out [from the country] in every second year [see: Travel into and out of Romania].

In those times a return plane ticket to America cost 13,000 lei, to Israel 2,500 lei.

When I visited Israel, I thought that seeing these beautiful festivals I would remember those times when we had been celebrating at home.

But festivals are not observed there either. Here [in Maramarossziget] people used to observe festivals consistently, even after the war [World War II], when there were still living Jews.

They weren't much too religious Jews, but we used to observe the holidays according to the custom. But in Israel I told my sister-in-law, 'Come with me to the synagogue so that I discover your traditions.'

It was the day of Simchat Torah, when the autumn festivals are ending, when they take out the Torah and they dance with the Torah.

'Oh, are you still observing this nonsense?', she says: 'Why should we go to the synagogue?' She doesn't light candles, she doesn't observe Sabbath. All this in Israel, on the sacred land. She says, 'We can't live on this', that is the religion. They are all great patriots, that's true. But they don't observe religion.

I could travel to America, because an acquaintance was here, and she compiled the invitation letter.

She is from Romania, and we were on good terms. Her nephew, Sanyi Leihter was from Aknasugatag, but she didn't even drink a glass of water in his house, because Sanyi's wife was Christian; she was religious, and stayed at my house.

Since I was acknowledged as a Jew, because my parents were Jews too. And back then I could observe religion, as we had a shochet.

America is very beautiful, it can't be even compared [to Romania].

First I visited Israel, and I thought there couldn't be a more beautiful country than Israel, as it is indeed very beautiful.

But after going to America I noticed a huge difference. It seemed to me that Israel could be related to America as Romania to Israel.

Well America... one could not even tell what a country it is. The people, the buildings, the employments, everything, it can't be compared.

In America I arrived in Brooklyn. Brooklyn is so big, as three towns together in Romania.

I visited there a cousin too, Szruli Walter [Haim Walter, the son of one of the mother's brothers], but I stayed mainly at an acquaintance, who had sent me the invitation letter.

And they would come by car, and take me to Philadelphia, to New Jersey, I visited several places at my cousins.

Then I was in Canada for three weeks, at my sister-in-law, Rifki Salamon.