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I know that my grandpa had two wives. The first one was called Lea; Astruk was her maiden name and she was from Sofia. The second one was Luna from the region of Vidin. His first wife had died, so he got married for a second time. I don’t remember her. My grandfather had three children with her, and with his second wife he had five. My father was his first wife’s eldest son. My grandpa knew many Turkish songs and sometimes we used to make him sing one of them. He wore traditional civic clothes: a coat and a sleeveless jacket. He had a rosary, always wore a hat and he even had a separate sleeping hat. My grandpa’s wife was a housewife. She wore long dresses and a kerchief on her head.
My grandpa’s children from his first wife were: my father Leon, his brother Mordo and his sister Regina. From his second wife there were: Mois, Avram, Salamon, Ester and Zelma. All the men from my family were craftsmen. My father was a carpenter. For a while he was a worker in a tobacco warehouse. He worked at home and sometimes people asked him to repair woodwork or doors. Yet, he didn’t have many projects so he went to work in the tobacco warehouses. He wasn’t able to provide for the family, therefore, my mother also went to work in the tobacco warehouses. All my father’s siblings used to work there in their youth. The region around Dupnitsa was a strongly developed tobacco growing area.
In those times crafts were learned at old masters’ workshops. They started serving as apprentices already as young boys. Uncle Mordo was a tailor. Sometimes he sewed trousers by order, and sometimes he sold them at a stand in the market. He had a small shop together with a shoemaker in the Jewish neighborhood. Uncle Mordo’s wife was called Sara and she was born in Dupnitsa. They had three children: Sabat, Lili, and I can’t remember anything about the third child. The whole family left for Israel.
My grandpa’s children from his first wife were: my father Leon, his brother Mordo and his sister Regina. From his second wife there were: Mois, Avram, Salamon, Ester and Zelma. All the men from my family were craftsmen. My father was a carpenter. For a while he was a worker in a tobacco warehouse. He worked at home and sometimes people asked him to repair woodwork or doors. Yet, he didn’t have many projects so he went to work in the tobacco warehouses. He wasn’t able to provide for the family, therefore, my mother also went to work in the tobacco warehouses. All my father’s siblings used to work there in their youth. The region around Dupnitsa was a strongly developed tobacco growing area.
In those times crafts were learned at old masters’ workshops. They started serving as apprentices already as young boys. Uncle Mordo was a tailor. Sometimes he sewed trousers by order, and sometimes he sold them at a stand in the market. He had a small shop together with a shoemaker in the Jewish neighborhood. Uncle Mordo’s wife was called Sara and she was born in Dupnitsa. They had three children: Sabat, Lili, and I can’t remember anything about the third child. The whole family left for Israel.
Location
Bulgaria
Interview
Sabat Pilosof