Moisey and Maria Reznik

These are my grandfather and my grandmother on my father's side: Moisey Reznik and Maria Reznik, nee Scherbo. The photo was taken in Gaisin in 1928. My grandfather Moisey, born in 1878, went to a wedding party in Dashev once. He saw my grandmother Maria, born in 1881, at this party. She was 14 and my grandfather was 17 years old. Following the Jewish tradition they got engaged. They got married in four years' time and lived in the house of Avrum Scherbo, my grandmother's father, in Dashev. Avrum was a well-to-do merchant. Moisey became his assistant. It was rather common in Jewish families to accept a son-in-law into a family and help him to start his own business. However, my grandfather Moisey Reznik was very nervous about being dependent on his father-in-law. After he earned some money he and Maria rented a part of the house to live their own life there. Moisey's parents Nuhim and Reizl Reznik were poorer than my grandmother's parents. They lived in a small house in the woods in the vicinity of Vinnitsa. Nuhim was an accountant assistant and worked for a timber manufacturer. My grandfather Moisey had three sisters: Hontia, Sheva and Feiga. Although my grandfather's family wasn't rich, they managed to give their children a good education. Thus, Moisey knew Hebrew, could read the Torah and the Talmud. My grandmother Maria's family was more secular. Theirs was a rich house and they always had guests. It was always very noisy and there was music - they had a record player and records. My grandmother used to take her children to her father's house quite often and my grandfather Moisey didn't quite like it. In 1910 he moved his family to the town of Gaisin and started his own business. He had a partner and they bought a mill to grind grain and sell their products. His business was a success and they could even afford to buy a small house.