Simha Geron and Avram Geron

These are Simha Geron and Avram Geron - my maternal grandmother and grandfather in Ruse. The photo was taken in early 1920s.

My maternal grandfather Avram Geron and my grandmother Simha Geron lived in Razgrad and were in the trade with animals - sheep and cows - they used to buy them from the nearby villages and sell them to other villagers or sell them for processing. He had three or four brothers but I don't know of any sisters. Then they moved to Ruse from Razgrad.

My maternal grandfather Avram Geron was very religious. All the Jews from that generation were very religious, but not orthodox. On Rosh Hashanah and the high holidays they used to close their shops and go to synagogue. My grandfather Avram used to go to synagogue every day. They used to buy only kosher meat. They observed that. At home, all holidays were observed when the whole family gathered. They lived well. I know that my grandfather Avram Geron was a very good man. He used to carry 10-lev bank notes in his pockets so that he could give them if he happened to meet a poor man. [This sum was equal to the money one needs for food for a day, it is also comparable to two and a half tickets for cinema.] He had a purse full with white bonbons for the children. My grandfather used to wear bowler hat and all others were dressed in the way normal citizens did - in Western style. They spoke broken Bulgarian, Turkish and Spaniol, which is Ladino, while my grandfather in Dobrich spoke also Romanian. [Dobrich is located in the region of Southern Dobrudzha that belonged to Romania from the Second Balkan War (1913) until World War II.]

I remember one of my grandfather Avram Geron's sisters, but I have forgotten her name. Her husband's name was Prezenetti, while their children (four sons and a daughter) were owners of the 'Fazan' [Pheasant] textile company in Ruse. I know a story about my grandpa Avram. Once he went on business to Varna, but he missed the train back and when he was told that there was a train at the same time only the next day, he set off on foot for Razgrad (where he lived then) and came home one hour before the arrival of the train in question (the distance between the two cities is 137 kilometers).

My mother Rebeka Natan was a housewife. She was born in Razgrad in 1896 or in 1897. She had primary education and she was a dressmaker. During World War I she was the one to earn the living of the family because my uncle was mobilized. She used to make clothes and earn money for the family. She went to live in Ruse before the war. They moved to Ruse because the family business declined. Mum had two sisters, Ester and Rashel, and a brother - Yosif. Rashel had a high school education and Ester - primary. Both of them were housewives and lived in Ruse. Ester has a son, Rashel - two sons and a daughter, as well as two step-children because she married a widower.

Photos from this interviewee