[original page 17]
A Memoir by Morris Tenenbaum
Transcribed by Romaine Tenenbaum
During the year 1902 the all-Jewish village of Visoko, [Lithuania,] Russia, and its inhabitants, appeared serene and calm, as they no doubt had been for many generations. People walked about slowly, talked slowly and sniffed from their snuffboxes slowly. The sameness was the rule every day, varying only on holidays.
The Fire of 1900
One exception was when, in 1900, the village had a very serious fire during a dark summer night. The women and children were safely evacuated from their homes, with some of their possessions, to the middle of the main street, and were told to run to the river in case the flames came close. All were trembling with fear and eyes were glued to the roaring flames, as yet a distance away. The men were in a frenzy, running with buckets toward the river for water to extinguish the fires, which were more than a block away, hollering, Pashar, Pashar (Fire) to awaken anyone who might still be asleep. The wind blew in our favor against the stone walls of the marketplace, and the rest of the village was saved.
Daily Life; Thursdays and Fridays
The main street was almost deserted most of the time, except on Thursdays, when the peasants came into the village to buy and sell a variety of items. Late Friday afternoons and on holidays the Shamus (sexton) made good use of the main street. It was the duty of the Shamus of the shul to stop at various locations in the village and holler at the top of his voice a number of times, In Shul Arrine, In Shul Arrine! (Time to go to shul!) Few residents were rich enough to own a watch or clock. Our family was one of the “have-nots”.
|
Table of Contents
(?)
