Leon Anzhel with children from the Catholic kindergarten in Yambol

Here I am with children from the Catholic kindergarten in Yambol. The picture was taken in the garden and I am sitting on the ground, in the first row. I am the sixth from right to left. The photo was taken in 1924 or 1925. I was four or five years old at that time. Most of the boys are wearing white and blue striped sailor's suits, which were very fashionable at the time. I remember my own suit well. I lived in Yambol until 1932. At that time it was a peaceful, provincial town. Only the central streets were paved with something resembling cobbles. The electricity lit the town in 1924 or 1925. I remember that there used to be cafes, garment shops, cosmetic shops, and the cinema was nearby. The 'Tundzha' textile mills existed at the time. In winter you could buy 'salep' in the street. It was a very nice drink. The vendors would pour the drink into little cups, and in the evenings some Albanian guys with cans used to deliver boza to the houses. In the summer they sold syrup. In the streets people sold different things: pumpkin seeds, 'kebapcheta' [oblong rissoles]. In the morning villagers would come on little carts and shout, 'The milkman! The milkman!' and we used to buy milk, or the villagers would simply fill the containers left by the doors of the people, who hadn't woken up yet. I recall that a lot of villagers from the nearby villages used to come to supply goods. I have dim memories of the market place.