[original page 23]
The location of the blacksmith shop as shown on the village map is #7 [see p. 19], and, as indicated [ there, it] was on high ground close to the river -- ideal for dumping his refuse. With only one horse and wagon in the village, it was obvious that for the blacksmith to earn even a meager income it had to be derived from sources other than in the village. On market days (Thursdays) nearly all the peasants came first class in their horse-drawn wagons. Then, if they did not have money for shoeing their horses or for repairs to their wagons, the barter of many items such as live chickens, eggs, ducks, geese, wool, woven cloth, cordwood, et cetera, was always acceptable. When the Russian Army had their maneuvers around the village during the summer it meant sad days for the poor blacksmith, and poor he was. If any of their horses needed shoeing or just other attentions, such as repairs to their military vehicles, he had to do the work without compensation.
Military Maneuvers... A Gift to the Blacksmith
During a week of military maneuvers our Chader class (Hebrew school) was dismissed for an afternoon-an unusual event. Outside, the loud clanging noise from the blacksmith shop aroused my curiosity, and I decided to visit the site of the noise. [The] blacksmith was at work shoeing an officer's horse. The officer was observing every movement of the blacksmith, while I, at close range, was intensely observing the blacksmith and the officer. I was admiring his ... elegant uniform, and his clean, plump, glossy horse. That horse was a striking contrast to the one owned by our Balegola (an owner of a horse and wagon for hire). His horse was lean [and] had a swayback, dirty body, and his embossed ribs were most [prominent]. After the work on the horse was completed, the officer -- in a rare instance of showing his self-importance or his generosity -- took a silver coin out of his pocket and placed it in the palm of the blacksmith's hand. It appeared to me to be a Russian silver gilden thirty-kopek coin (valued at that time at thirty cents). I knew what a gilden looked like. I had previously found one on the cobblestone street ...
It did not matter to the blacksmith what motive was behind the token gift.
He smiled with delight, for a lot could be purchased with a gilden. From his smile and financial status one could interpret his thought as, “Now, my wybelha (a [loving] expression in Yiddish referring to one's wife) can purchase soup bones with a little more meat on them for our vetcharys (evening meals) and have plenty left over for many breakfasts” (which would be eaten at room temperature). For a gilden in cash one could at that time purchase a supply of whole grains, potatoes, and other root vegetables to cook a large amount of vetchary for a week or more, [satisfying] the appetites of a half-dozen children.
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