Descriptions

Laima Gavare, a resident of Galgauskas Parish:

"There was a wife in the native parish who had a lot of cats. Once, I do not remember what need, she came to our home. Mom moved into the kitchen of the barn, the neighbor went in there. As she walked away, she turned in the wrong direction and got into the pork pot her mother had set aside to heal. I saw it all and laughed a lot. Once I saw him again, we pass our house. As a playful girl, I opened the window and cried out: "Cat, old woman, how did you get into that pig's house in our house?" My mother had heard me shout, “Oh yes! You will call a grown man, immediately break the nettle and come and get drunk! ” Crying, I broke the necessary shit and went to my mother's. Mom put the nettle bundle next to her and said, "That you may have a lifelong lesson, no matter what a person is." I was deeply angry - why did I have to pluck the nettles if I wasn't beaten. ”


Maija Simone, a resident of Galgauskas Parish:

"I was three years old when my mom said at the dinner table that when we ate, we would both visit my cousin. I ate faster, ran out in the yard and waited. I couldn't wait to start walking alone because I knew the way. The parents went outside and did not see the girl anywhere. Most worried about whether or not I went to the river. Called, but no one responded. A neighbor boy was fishing by the river, and he hadn't seen little Maijin either. Her parents cried and searched in despair, but no message from the girl. Dad looked at the road and saw that a little refugee was walking up the hill. Then I got a bang from my mom. That's how my visit ended. "


Vija Poļaka-Rikveile, a resident of Stāķi, Stradu Parish:

Like a glass of honey ruined Christmas
"When it was Vija 's second birthday and Christmas was here again, as Santa Claus had chosen Zelma' s aunt through the door, she was laden with all sorts of puppets. - Honey was dropped on the table, freshly baked bread smelled and the pies smelled like honey. and younger sister Vija measured the room from one end to the other and back again for important steps, while the dish was empty The evening was very sad The child had a fever, nausea "It remains to be seen."


Dace Dzilna, a resident of Stauku Parish in Dauksti Parish:

My schooling was very interesting and exciting. At that time I lived in Elste and studied in Gulbītis. I walked to school 5-6 km along the railway tracks. Together with my classmate, we hid in the culverts of the train. In the winter, we ate snow on the roadsides because it was our ice cream. We liked the shadows that shone because it seemed like we had high heels. While waiting for the bus to go home, we slipped from the hill on our bags and got wet at home, but our parents didn't notice because there was nowhere to go - the marks were good for us.

The best childhood game was Drifter. It was a hiding game. I really enjoyed playing this game in the summer, when it got dark outside, because it created fright and more interest. We could live up to three nights outside in the summer. I enjoyed playing rubber jumping. There were a lot of guys in the yard, and we also played knives.

The most interesting adventures of childhood - a dog that always caused surprises. One day the dog brought a hedgehog home. He stayed in the house, his grandmother was sleeping, and the blanket had fallen to the floor, the hedgehog got into bed on the blanket and touched his grandmother's bare feet. Of course, my grandmother was very scared.

The interview was recorded by Līga Tole and Laimdota Ostrovska


Inese Sukure, a resident of Rauku Parish in Dauksti Parish:

I got this beautiful name from Inese's dad because he really liked it. I am pleased that Dad and I have the same name day. I was the eldest child, two younger brothers. My childhood was very cool because I grew up with these two beloved brothers.

There were times when my mom and dad went to town for bread and left us home alone. We knew that our parents were hiding sweets in a cupboard between the sheets, we found bananas and we were disappointed because they tasted soap, it turned out they had to be yellow instead of green (my mother had put them to ripen). When the closet was searched (we didn't find anything), my older brother and I pushed the younger brother to the top of the closet, where we once found dates that were very, very tasty. Well, the parents had to think of a new hiding place.

.. my brother taught me to ride a moped, I was scared, I got into the bushes and rubbed my knees. The most exciting adventure was when we went to visit relatives, because there I really enjoyed annoying the turkey. At first I didn't understand why he was so angry with me and he came on top of me until I found out that I was wearing red tights that he didn't like.

The interview was recorded by Līga Tole and Laimdota Ostrovska


Laimdota Ostrovska, a resident of Dauksti Parish    

Childhood - my dear "Pabēržu" house, where, like elsewhere in Apple, blossoms of green and red gooseberries stuck in Staros. There were also red and yellow currant bushes. My favorites were the yellow egg plums, which lined up beautifully as soldiers between the "Pabērži" house and the meadow, in the middle of which there was a swarm of bees in the pine. Like children born in the 1960s, I remember the Beam School, the greenhouses, the rhubarb fields (they could play secrets there, just like in the corn fields).

There were so many childhood dreams - I wanted to become a singer (some said - be like Nora Bumbiere), an actress (my acting skills were appreciated by my mother's cousin, director Māra Ķimele when we visited her in Valmiera), circus acrobats , which I tried to walk and even jump).

I was a big dreamer, I enjoyed sleeping on a sled in winter, looking at the sky and seeing an animal in every cloud.

School years: Stari - this is a summer holiday, working in the field of sovkhoz strawberries, in an apple orchard, planting cabbage and bushes in the fields of the beam . The greatest satisfaction - once a month to stand at the box office box office and receive your earned money.

Interview - Kintija Ostrovska


Ligita Kronite, a resident of Dauksti Parish

My schooling - the school was 10 km away from home. When the bus was not running, we walked, even in winter. We were not allowed to miss a day at school. I have a bigger sister and brother. I didn't like studying and asked my sister and brother to write it all down. When they stopped writing, they also enjoyed studying. I liked math the most - the more difficult the tasks, the more interest.

As a child, I played with my sister because my neighbors' children lived far away. I liked to make medicine in bottles, pouring sand inside. I really wanted a doll for myself. My sister had a doll, but she didn't let me play.

My most interesting adventure was when my mom took me to the toy store and there I saw beautiful dolls. When I was growing up, my mother gave me a long-awaited and long-awaited doll for my birthday. The dresses of the dolls, which we cut and sewed from the fabrics in Mom's closet, which were intended for sewing a dress or blouse, when Mom saw it, dictated us. At school we played classes and mentioned colors.

The interview was recorded by Līga Tole and Laimdota Ostrovska


Kintija Ostrovska, a resident of Dauksti Parish

Every day was like a new adventure, especially summer will be in my heart forever. After spending the whole day with friends, I couldn't wait to see the next day when I went to bed. We really enjoyed playing "Family". I was a mom, I had kids and a husband. I was a housewife and made sure the house was tidy and my husband had dinner. In the sandbox baked meatballs, the money we had lilac leaves. We also had our own vehicle - a wheel with which we take the children to school.

Definitely one of the funniest games I remember from childhood - "Ladies Committee". The whole activity took place in my grandmother's Epe's country house, where I had to take the water from the well, wash it in the sauna or in the meadow by the barrel. Well a real country house. While she was at work, my sister and I prepared a variety of dishes from vegetables that were available right in the backyard garden. I remember that the dishes were funny - radishes cut into slices and served with salt or cucumber salad - grated into crumbs. Epe appreciated the food and it was a great pleasure to welcome her home.

I didn't live without pranks as a child! We had a big toy - an elephant. I thought I could use it as a horse. I'll sit on top of it, sister behind me and GO! The joys began! We were mad, we rejoiced until we overturned and I saw that everything was in the blood - my sister's teeth were in the air. Good that milk teeth!

At the end of the house, my sister and I traded currant juice. Think anyone bought it? No! If only Epe, because she lives near our house.

My first childhood job was reading beetles in potato furrows. Dad gave 1 santim for each beetle found and put in the jar. My sister and I had a great gamble - who will then earn more and earn more! We went to the local grocery store for the money we earned and bought ice cream.

Cynthia's story was heard by Laimdota Ostrovska


Sandra Otlāne, a resident of Dauksti Parish

My childhood was very nice. We are three children in a family. We lived here in Stari - "Dreiņi" house. In 1965 we moved to an apartment building. There were many children in the yard who were very friendly and friendly. The parents trusted their children.

An interesting activity in the summer was the school field days. Each student had specific days to arrive at the school to clean up the school's nursery. The summer was spent usefully - we read herbs and paid at the pharmacy. We read acorns for forestry. In the summer we worked on the Soviet farm Stari to earn a free lunch - we cut weeds from the fields with scissors, picked beetles, weeded beets.

The most interesting adventure in childhood - we helped my mother to weed apple trees at the coke school, while my mother weeded, we went over to pick strawberries. In the ditch I noticed a patterned glove that I showed my sister, but the sister said it was a snake to run away. We ran to my mom and since then we didn't go to pick strawberries anymore. When I was 3 - 4 years old, I was very interested in watching my neighbor's aunt walk with the bees. At first I didn't understand that they were biting, but the honey was very tasty. Probably this taste of honey encouraged me to keep bees myself.

The interview was recorded by Līga Tole and Laimdota Ostrovska


Skaidrīte Kaulakāne, a resident of Dauksti Parish

My childhood was exciting. The first school I attended was the Krapa School. It consisted of 4 classes. I had no problem getting to school, because the school was only 2 km away, we walked through the silo, which delighted us with the first whisks in the spring, my mother was also happy when I brought the flowers home. In the winter, when the roads were cleared, our father took us to school with a horse. During the school, we drove to the potatoes in a large gas trailer, and we were able to bake potatoes by the fire.

The summer was spent weeding the beet fields and grazing the collective farm cows. At that time I was 12 years old and I had to graze around 20 cows. I went to the shepherds with the dog, but I didn't like to graze. Usually when grazing cows, I fell asleep, and so did the dog. I realized that he, like me, did not like to sit in the pasture. I rarely saw my mother at home, because my mother was mostly at work - she worked in the collective farm "Taisnība" as the chairman. My brother and I were mostly cared for by my grandfather. I got angry when my best friend Maija went to the party, but I had to wash the dishes and dig the garden.

During the Midsummer celebrations, the smell of the town was pleasant, when my grandfather made beer from hops. In the barn of "Dambrožu" in Elste, merry league balls took place, to which the parents took us, the children, to change their daily routine and learn folk customs. In winter, I really enjoyed skiing and walking on the snow when there was mud. On the evening of the old year we went out, there were no such fireworks at that time, but it did not lose our sense of celebration in our hearts, because we were delighted by the stars in the sky. They shone so wonderfully on New Year's Eve, creating a desire for everyone to find their own star, and if one of them fell, happiness was complete, because they could wish for anything.

As a child, the biggest trip was to the Gulbene cemetery, it was an exciting joy. It was a day when I met all my relatives. We went to the funeral home with a big car in Kuzava, because there were no other cars at that time. The children were especially happy, because the driver Anton was standing on the step of the car and steered through the window, because otherwise he was asleep.

The interview was recorded by Līga Tole and Laimdota Ostrovska


From the memories of Inta Grīsle (b. Paegle), a resident of Lizuma parish.

Many days are spent living in a papa shop under the counter. Once Inta broke his forehead hard on a metal meter that was standing across the counter. This was because the children usually slept under a counter on a shelf where there was a pillow and a blanket during the day.

Many different people went to the store. Usually both for Christmas time. Then the children had a lot of different snacks. Rozenburg, a German, was the representative of one company. It usually led to oranges and even before school taught the older children the German Christmas carol O Tannenbaum, o tannenbaum. This was the first step in German. There was another representative, Jacobson, the owner of a small company, a Jew of nationality, who took the goods from the pope. He always carried cakes for children, neatly wrapped in a white cardboard box. The tastiest was Dundaga syrup, which was usually brought only for Christmas to bake gingerbread. All the children of Paegļi get as much candy as they want. Only not expensive, but Crisis mixture, Saivu, Milk Drops, Milk Plastic. There were also representatives of the most famous confectionery factory of that time - Ķuze factory Āboliņš and Kazāks. They didn't bring anything to the children, but they were great friends with Papa and usually came to Paegl in a motorcycle with a sidecar. There was also a representative with the name Stamerškina, who represented a company that traded in haberdashery. He offered bubi needles - hair clips. Little Alfred, unable to pronounce the long name Stamershkin, told Metkins. Another representative named Gorchel presented Alfred with a tricycle, which soon the children broke the chain and now had to push Alfred. Since the wheel was left without a chain, Inta once cut the knee while falling on the wheel, the scar lasted for life. The prank took place in one show - wanted and unwanted. That's when Inta climbed the long shelves of the store at the very top. The stairs tilted and little Inta, clinging to the shelf, remained hanging. The next nonsense, where Austra caught the children, is under the store counter we eat raisins from a bag. She plucked them and at least washed them, because they could be caught from where they were made. Since then, raisins have been eaten only washed and obtained with permission.

During the holidays, the priest allows Inta to stand at the store's checkout and receive money, as well as to weigh sugar in the evenings, which sometimes falls to the ground. Inta at the scales, the salesman pours the sugar in the paper tubes. Mom, in turn, allowed the saffron to be weighed and divided into portions (in small grams), then each small stack of saffron had to be placed on white paper. Mom later weighed them all, if a pile was smaller or bigger - she had to weigh them so that they are all exactly the same.

Once, on Turf Market Day, Inta stands at the box office all day. The people of Lizumna and Velēni were already used to it, that Paeglis' children stood at the box office and gladly gave money. But on the day of Lejasciems market, when Inta is at the box office for the first time, Alfred sells papyrus at the box office, no one gives money to the children, but goes to look for papa to get money. Little Inta was very offended by that. In the evening, cash was counted by little Inta, and shopkeeper Alma counted checks. Since the day has passed well, without a shortage at the box office, the girl is allowed to choose something for a good job. Inta had been dreaming of a warm flannel blanket for a long time, now she is getting her first earned money. The girl is only 8 years old.

(Memories from I. Grīsle's diary transcribed by Gundega Ozoliņa, Inta Grīsle's granddaughter)