Sarah Pizanti with her cousin Rebecca and a friend

This picture was taken in the P. T. Brasnarev photo studio in Vidin in 1919. The woman first from right to left is my mother Sarah Pizanti, nee Lidgi, before she got married. She was photographed with a cousin of hers - tanti [aunt] Rebecca, and a friend. My mother's name was Sarah Avram Pizanti, nee Lidgi, but everyone called her Freda. She was born on 8th August 1895 in Vidin. Her mother died when she was giving birth to her last son. My mother didn't know her father, because she was seven years old when he died. So, I didn't know any maternal or paternal grandparents. My mother was a diabetic. She was almost illiterate. During the Law for the Protection of the Nation, she worked as a housemaid for the rich Jews. I, as the youngest child, went with her, peeling onions, potatoes etc. My parents knew each other from early on, because they were neighbors. They dressed like the others. My mother told me that her brother bought her cheap high-heeled shoes. The other sisters wore slippers with heels. My mother was raised by her brother, who also raised his other brothers and sisters. The shoes she was talking about were a bit above the ankle, with laces. Once she cut them from top to the bottom with a knife and he made her sew them together again. Then she continued to wear them for quite some time. Uncle Yako, her brother, bought my mother her first nice pair of shoes when she got engaged. That made her very happy.