How did we get “here?” When I mean “here,” I mean America. Someone from your family made the bold move to come to America and probably a very wise move. Let’s face it; we live in a very ugly world. My heart breaks when I hear about all the genocides in Africa. My body trembles when I learn more and more about sex slaves and YES, even in this beautiful city I live in has a horrible underbelly of crime and other horrible things, like poor Russian girls kidnapped and turned into sex slaves. But, this NOT what this subject is about (don’t even get me started)! This is about my family story and it’s a good one. I just wish I had more details because it makes I am so proud of the sacrifice my great grandmother did for her family….
It happened when Nicholas II, the last czar of Russia was in power, (May 18, 1868 -- July 17, 1918). I am not sure of exact dates or do not even know why, but my great grandparents wanted to flea Mother Russia and go to land of the free… America! My great grandfather fled first and ended up in Scranton, PA. Apparently many Russians ended up there. My great grandmother had a very scary experience on her way to meet up with him...
I assume this was during the Russian Revolution, or perhaps during the Russian –Japanese war when everyone was just getting the hell outta there. My great grandmother, her baby girl (my grandmother) and her sons were hiding underneath the street, probably a secret passage to the border where someone was paid to help these women get out. She was with a bunch of other young ladies and their children. My grandmother was not having it, she was a crying and crying. The other women were very upset and getting agitcated. They told my great grandmother that she would have to smother her baby girl and kill her if she did not stop crying because the soliders would hear them underneath their feet and kill and rape these scared women and children. My great grandmother was so nervous, scared and stressed out that her hair turned white! Could you imagine??? Thankfully my grandmother did stop crying. They all made it to Scranton, PA and had a very nice life (I think). My grandmother met my grandfather, started a family and here I am.
It is all because of my great grandmother. And all ll that she did to smuggle her family to a country of freedom, opportunity and no Czars that can take everything away in an instant and cause much harm and damage.
I am so proud of my story. I tell everyone about it. I like having a story and wish I could tell my great grandmother how happy and how proud I am of her. She was very brave and obviously an incredible woman and she had red hair (before it turned grey)! You go Great Grandmother, AKA BUBBY.
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