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My paternal grandfather’s name was Meyer Khlevner. He also came from Rogachyov. Everybody called him Meyer-the-water-carrier, because he delivered water in a barrel. At first he was a rope maker, he weaved ropes. Fires often occurred in Rogachyov. The houses were wooden and the wood dried during summer. If one house started to burn, a lot of houses caught fire and burnt down. Grandfather Meyer once lost a house in the fire. And his rope business also burnt down. He was a very proud man. He had very rich cousins and they wanted him to ask them for help in order to restore his business. He said that he didn’t want to ask them for help. So they bought him a horse and a barrel, so that he could deliver water from the Dnepr. Water was delivered like that to houses at that time. Only in the 1930s the water supply system was constructed and water-pumps were placed in the yards.
People in Rogachyov said that Meyer was too proud. When he arrived and saw that there was no container prepared for water, he poured the water out and left. That is why everybody considered him an evil man, though my father told me that Grandfather was a very kind, but independent man. People wanted him to wait for the containers to be brought and the money to be paid. But he did not like to wait and plead. That is why he was humiliatingly called Meyer-the-water-carrier. He died before the Revolution [5], I don’t know exactly which year.
People in Rogachyov said that Meyer was too proud. When he arrived and saw that there was no container prepared for water, he poured the water out and left. That is why everybody considered him an evil man, though my father told me that Grandfather was a very kind, but independent man. People wanted him to wait for the containers to be brought and the money to be paid. But he did not like to wait and plead. That is why he was humiliatingly called Meyer-the-water-carrier. He died before the Revolution [5], I don’t know exactly which year.
Period
Location
Rogachyov
Belarus
Interview
Nina Khlevner