My cousin Fimochka, the son of my mother's sister Rahil and I, Revekka Mexina.
I was born in the village of Novo-Ukrainka, Elisavetgrad province in 1913.
My mother's sister Rahil married a teacher David Rosenfeld from Cherkassy in 1903 and moved to Cherkassy. She was a housewife. They didn't have children for a long while. They'd lost all hope when they got a son Haim in 1921. He was called Fimochka at home. In 1928 Fimochka went to school. He was a talented boy. He loved music and played the violin. His music teachers believed he had a great future ahead of him. In 1930 Fimochka fell ill with scarlet fever and died.
In 1929 I finished school. I remember my prom party at school. There was a big and very beautiful garden near the school with fruit trees and flowers. Each girl got a rose from this garden at the prom and we pinned these roses to our gowns.
After finishing school I went to work at the "Pomosch" ("Help") association. This association provided help to the starving people. I was responsible for gluing bags. I was a foreman of a crew of teenagers.
