Ida Alkalai in the factory for medicine

This is a photo of the brigade from Galenov Factory. It was taken in the 1950s in Dupnitsa. I’m second on the right in the first row. Mati, a Jew, is the first on the left in the first row. We got along very well. The picture was taken in the yard. In 1954 I started work in the Galenov Factory in Dupnitsa producing medicine. I started work when the factory was founded. My colleagues were very nice. Some of them were Jewish. The job wasn't easy, we had quotas to fulfill. I was respected at my workplace. I worked there for 21 years. It was later transformed into 'Pharmahim.' I retired from there with a small pension. I was easygoing and sang a lot. I was in the factory choir and had some solo performances in the community house of the town. I was also a soloist in the choir. I know songs in Ladino, which I learned from my mother.