Maria Komarovskaya’s grandmother, Chaya-Risya Komarovskaya

My grandmother, my father's mother, Chaya-Risya Komarovskaya. The photo was made in the 1950-s in Kiev. The parents of my father, my grandparents, lived in Oster. My grandfather's name was Chaim Komarovsky. I don't know exactly what year he was born in. the grandfather owned a metalwork shop. He repaired various tools, such as ploughs and holdfasts for the peasants. I remember that the workshop was across from the house where grandfather lived, and I often ran to the workshop to see how he worked. I liked watching him work very much. My grandmother's name was Chaya-Risl Komarovskaya. I don't know her maiden name. Grandfather and grandmother lived in a one-floor house for a long time. The house had four or five rooms. They occupied a half of the house. The second half was occupied by the doctor of Oster by the name of Vegeratsky. I remember that house well. I was born there. From the entrance led a big hallway, from which was an entrance to the doctor's rooms (to the right) and on the left were two rooms where my grandparents and parents lived. My mother told me that there was a pear tree right outside the window and she was in bed after delivery, the pears dropped almost in the room. There was a stove to heat the house, but the toilet and water were outside the house. There was also a big outhouse with a garden. Grandmother took care of the house. There was a "Russian stove" in the kitchen; grandmother heated it and cooked in it. Grandparents had five children: four sons (my father was the eldest) and one daughter, the youngest.