This photograph was taken at our wedding dinner that my mother arranged for us. Our closest relatives and friends came to greet us. My husband Alexandr Speranskiy is on the left and I am on the right. This photo was taken in Tallinn in 1967.
In 1952 I became an apprentice in the Sanhygiene store. Later it became merely a perfumery store, but at the time I went to work there, they were selling washing powder, perfumery and even some plain drugs. My apprenticeship was over after two weeks, and director of the store appointed me to the position of a shop assistant. After the war stores hardly offered any products whatsoever. When there was something available in the store, there were long lines forming immediately. Shop assistants had to be smart, reserved, confident and be able to put down whatever conflicts at the start. People were spending hours standing in line. They grew angry and irritant, and were always ready to snap at a shop assistant. However, they never complained of my services. My customers even left their grateful notes in our blotter book. We had continuous contests for the title of the best shop assistant in the store, and I won numerous performance awards and thanks. We also received a rise to our salary for good performance. So, each of us was stimulated to perform better. I liked my job a lot. It wasn't always easy, though. When a supply of deficit goods was delivered to our store, there were lines forming long before our opening hour. There were even fights, when we ran out of goods, when there were still people in line expecting to get what they wanted. However, we managed all right, and there were no complaints about our performance. I worked in this store for 16 years. My aunt Sonja worked in a commission store. When she decided to quit her job, she offered me her position. I worked there 16 years before retiring.
I met my husband Alexandr Speranskiy incidentally. Director of our store awarded me with a vacation in a recreation center in Iza, a resort on the Baltic Sea, for good performance. I shared a room with a couple of ladies. We went to a cafe in the evening. We had coffee, ice-cream and danced. I liked dancing. I noticed a guy continuously watching me in this cafe. He invited me to dance and that was when we met. Alexandr and I saw each other every day. When it was time for me to leave, I told Alexandr where I worked. On my first day at work he came to see me at the end of my day. We saw each other for over three years before getting married. Alexandr was Russian, but this didn't embarrass my mother. She liked Alexandr. Mama said he was quiet, intelligent and reliable. Alexandr and I got married in 1967, and he moved in with us. After we got married Alexandr went to work in construction.
Alexandr was trained in the construction business and got a job assignment to the plywood/furniture factory in Tallinn to be a worker. He worked at the factory until 1952, when he was conscripted to the army. When his service was over, he became a sailor. After we got married Alexandr went to work in construction.
