Anniversaries Worth Remembering

The anniversary I’m remembering here today is the 79th anniversary of my parents and oldest sister arriving from Persia to New York on September 6, 1947. I’m posting this on the 79th anniversary of the day they left Tehran, Iran on September 3, 1947.

This is the actual airplane (Skyways International) that they traveled on arriving in New York, New York. Our daughter has been researching her grandparents history and has found information and documents we have not seen before. Andrew and Katie searched the Tail Number and were able to come up with the exact plane. Below is the Entry Declaration that they found, too.

These flights were during the Itinerant Migrant air Charter era. (1947-1949)

They embarked in Tehran and disembarked in New York, New York. The last leg of the journey was from Gander, Newfoundland.

My father’s sister and her husband and two children were on the plane, too.

Here is an account of events leading up to their travel in my Pop’s words dictated in Russian to a Russian journalist several years ago. My brother-in-law worked with a friend of ours to translate it into English. Sentences in (parenthesis) are my words inserted to the narrative.

At this time in our lives, (after our sister Kathy was born in May of 1946) my parents began to cultivate closer ties with our relatives in the U.S. In so doing they asked them to sponsor our family into the U.S. Sponsoring was necessary back then. The relatives agreed. As it turned out, only the siblings who had families and my parents had emigration status. That meant that my sister’s family and mine were the only ones who could leave. My parents decided not to come with us because they did not want to further divide the family. Because my father was a spiritual leader in the Molokan church, the immigration officer at the American Consulate advised us to have our American relatives sponsor him as a pastor which would expedite the emigration process for him and the rest of the family. And so it did for they all arrived two years after we did.

We ourselves left Teheran for the United States on September 3, 1947. I will give the details of our trip because it is different than how we would travel today. Our plane was a twin engine Red Cross cargo plane. There were no seats-only benches-and who needs seat belts? Some of us sat on the benches while others laid on the floor. Because our flight altitude was relatively low, we were able to discard Kathy’s dirty diapers out the window. Opening and closing them did not affect cabin pressure. Here is our itinerary; From Teheran we flew to Cairo, Egypt, refueled and flew on to Rome, Italy. We spent the night in Rome. From Rome we flew to London. We were not allowed off the plane and only stayed for lunch. We flew to Scotland and stayed overnight. From Scotland we flew to Iceland and had lunch. From there to Greenland where we spent the night. From Greenland we flew to New York. We arrived in New York late Saturday night, September 6th. ( I think my pop had mistaken the Greenland stop since the travel papers show they flew from Newfoundland into New York.)

We were planning on taking a train from New York to Los Angeles that night, however all our money was in travelers checks made out to my brother John. Union Pacific would not take those checks. We were stuck in New York for the night. We had the name of a Russian pastor and two kind ladies from Traveler’s Aid helped us locate his church. When we arrived he was just locking the doors of the church for the night. He took my sister’s family and the three of us to a hotel which did accept our traveler’s checks. In the morning Nadia woke up and was scared to death because of the height of the room. All she saw were people the size of ants below and this frightened her.

It being Sunday, we went to this pastor’s church morning and evening. On Sunday night one family took my sister’s family and another took ours for the night. Monday morning we notified our relatives of our plight. They wired us money for the train and we were able to leave for Los Angeles. (This was September 8th) We arrived in LA on September 12, 1947.

What a long journey for them with a toddler in tow and with my mom being pregnant and knowing very little English. Mom was pregnant with my sister Vera on this journey.

This is a photo of my parents and sister Kathy after they arrived in Los Angeles.

And that my friends is just the beginning of the story of my parents and relatives settling in the U.S.A. An Anniversary worth remembering for me and my family.

This is a very small portion of my Pop’s story. The last paragraph of his longer story ends this way;

I am so thankful for the unseen hand of the Lord guiding my life. I give all the praise to Him. It is my prayer that readers of my story come to know Jesus as I have come to know Him.

Thanks be to God for leading and guiding and bringing traveling ‘angels’ along to help them with the mishaps along the way! I am grateful to God for leading my parents to the USA and even more grateful to God for saving our pop through Jesus Christ and what that means for our family for generations to come.

Back to School Hodgepodge

From years ago, our sons heading off to the first day of school in Ventura, California and several years later our daughter waiting for the school bus on the first day of school in Bothell, Washington.

Hello to September and another Wednesday Hodgepodge hosted by Joyce From This Side of the Pond.

1. What’s something you wanted to do this summer that you never got around to doing? 

With fires and smoke filled skies we never got around to our short summer road trips.

2. Were you the student who sat in the front row or hid in the back of the class? If you could go back and take one high school class again just for fun, which would it be? 

When seats weren’t assigned, I’d tend to sit closer to the front than the back. We don’t sit in back at church, either.

If I was going to choose a class to go back to, I would choose English, especially literature.

3. What characteristics do you think are essential in a good teacher (this can be applied to anyone who teaches, not just classroom teachers)? 
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Listening to and knowing those whom you are teaching would be good.
I get weary of teachers who talk too much or ramble on.
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The teachers that I remember fondly are those who treated me as if they liked me, understood me, and were kind. Teachers I remember fondly are my 1st and 2nd grade teacher, my 6th grade teacher who was my first male teacher, a high school English teacher, and my social studies teachers in high school. I had 3 older siblings ahead of me who were good students (my sister Vera was Valedictorian and a math whizz). I got tired of hearing, “you aren’t like your sisters”.
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4.  September 2nd is National Grits Day. Have you ever eaten grits? Are you a fan? If so how do you like yours? Would people describe you as ‘having grit’? 
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Growing up in Southern California and now living in the Northwest, Grits are not a common thing. I might have tried grits when we were in the Carolina’s but I don’t remember. I can’t say that I’m a fan.
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Yes, I think some would agree that I have grit.
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5. What’s something you’re never too old or too young to enjoy? 
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The Zoo! 🙂
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If you are a Born Again follower of Jesus gathering on Sunday to worship Jesus is something you are never to young or old to enjoy!
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6. Insert your own random thought here. 
These two started 2nd and 4th grade last week. Each year they answer the question, What do you want to be when you grow up? At the beginning of this Homeschool year Addy wants to be a Daycare provider and JJ wants to be a Hunter.

Northeast Washington Fair Parade

This is Main Street Colville and in just a few minutes the street will be lined with people for the Northeast Washington Fair Parade. This year it will be different as it will start with a somber walk and ride in honor of a fallen Police officer from the city of Colville.

First the color guard and then the rider less horse and many many first responder vehicles from Colville, the county, State patrol, Border Patrol and surrounding cities to honor Officer Aaron Davis who leaves behind a wife and 5 children. Officer Davis died in a motorcycle v. deer tragic accident on one of our local roads.

After the somber start the parade continued with many of the usual suspects and always lots of candy being thrown out to the kids along the parade path.

Colville High School Crimson Hawks

One last shot of the Grands on our way to our cars when the parade was over.

I don’t want to leave without saying hello to September. I’m so happy to be in the ‘ber’ months!

Northeast Washington Fair 2026

We don’t have to travel far to get to the Northeast Washington Fair because it is in our city of Colville. It’s about 5miles from our home. We decided to attend on Friday morning even though the smoke was thick.

Our first stop was at the Children’s Craft entries since our granddaughter had entered a watercolor painting of a bee. Seems odd to have her entry in the craft section instead of paintings but that is where we found it.

We love it, Addy! Katie says you really did well on the feet.

Our next stop was a barn at the other end of the fair where they have a variety of adult entries including quilts and we were on the lookout for our Grands’ Great Granny’s quilts.

As soon as we stepped into the barn one of her quilts caught our eyes. Granny and Granny Great love purple!

Her postage stamp quilt is amazing and we can see why she got a stack of awards!

Linda entered her mom’s quilts without her mom knowing. (Linda is our Grands’ Granny)

 

This is the second of three entries made on Granny Great’s behalf, Purple Mountains Majesty.

Here’s Granny Great with her third quilt entry.

I took a couple photos of other quilts we enjoyed, too.

This was a clever Washington state quilt featuring several of our eastern counties with cities.

This entry tugged at the heart as it is a photograph that this young person took of her grandparents home in 2020 for a school project and it was a casualty of the Modrite Fire on July 30, 2026. If you look at the upper right photo that is what the home looks like now.

We saw lots of cows, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, bunnies, ducks, horses and dogs, too.

We stopped at the Colville National Forest booth and had a nice conversation with the conservationist.

Our fair is not a huge fair and it is easy to navigate. We think it’s great. On one of the days that the fair is in town they also have a rodeo that is well attended.

Tomorrow I’ll share some photos from the Fair Parade down Main Street Colville.

The Will of God is Always Best ~ Hymn

The Will of God is Always Best

The will of God is al­ways best
And shall be done for­ev­er;
And they who trust in Him are blest,
He will for­sake them nev­er.
He helps in­deed in time of need
He chast­ens with for­bear­ing;
They who de­pend on God, their friend,
Shall not be left des­pair­ing.

God is my com­fort and my trust,
My hope and life ab­id­ing;
And to His coun­sel, wise and just,
I yield, in Him con­fid­ing.
The ve­ry hairs, His Word de­clares,
Upon my head He num­bers.
By night and day God is my stay,
He nev­er sleeps nor slum­bers.

Lord Je­sus, this I ask of Thee,
Deny me not this fa­vor;
When Sa­tan sore­ly trou­bles me,
Then do not let me wa­ver.
Keep watch and ward, O gra­cious Lord,
Fulfill Thy faith­ful say­ing:
Who doth be­lieve He shall re­ceive
An an­swer to his pray­ing.

When life’s brief course on earth is run
And I this world am leav­ing,
Grant me to say, Thy will be done,
By faith to Thee still cleav­ing.
My heav’n­ly friend, I now com­mend
My soul in­to Thy keep­ing,
O’er sin and hell, and death as well,
Thro’ Thee the vic­t’ry reap­ing.

Words: Albrecht V0n Brandenburg, circa 1554.

Truth for Today #201

Friday August 28th

On Fridays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s continue to dig deep into God’s truth.

The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you.

1 John 4:7-12

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loves us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

From Vera:

Isaiah‬ ‭58‬:‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” ‭‭

From Debby Marie:

There were two that stood out to me. And especially what is going on in Nepal.

James 1:2-3

“My brethren count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.”

And 1Peter 1:6-7

” In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Prayers that our brothers and sisters in Christ in Nepal/Tibet/China will endure the suffering and that many will be saved during this crisis.

From Karen:

Matthew 5:16

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

 

Youth Soccer Season 2026

Tonight will be the final game for our short summer soccer season. There were fewer practices and games this season because of all the wildfires in our area which caused unhealthy air quality. Congratulations to our Grands for a well played season and to our son who coaches well.

This week the air was clear and we had games Monday through Thursday. Two games each for our ‘Grands’.

While at the game on Wednesday night,  the water bucket helicopters were still hard at work helping with the fires that are not contained yet.

The Wednesday game was later than usual so we got the bonus of seeing the sunset on our way home.

After the game tonight, our folding chairs will be back in storage until the next season.

I’m An American Hodgepodge

Speaking of cultures not my own, (Question #3) this is my kindergarten class. Top row left end.

Another summertime Hodgepodge is coming our way thanks to Joyce From This Side of the Pond.

When I went to link up this morning for the Hodgepodge we had the news from Joyce that her dear Mama passed away earlier this week. Our hearts and prayers are with you, Joyce, and with your whole family.

1. How do you feel about the transition from lazy summer days to a busier fall routine? 

I’ve always loved the transition from summer to fall. Even the years I was in school, I welcomed with excitement going back. These days I enjoy the fact that Ladies Bible studies will start up again and there will be more order in our days. I enjoy Fall weather and Fall events like cider fest and the corn maze.

2. Your favorite cookie? 
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I like homemade Loaded Chocolate Chip Cookies with oatmeal, walnuts, almonds, and sometimes coconut!
I use the toll house recipe and load them up with extras.
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3. What’s something you’ve learned from a culture different than your own?
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I grew up in Southern California just outside East Los Angeles and the neighborhoods we lived in were multi cultural with Mexicans, Jews, Russians, Armenians, Japanese, Scots, and Heinz 57 Americans. I included Scots, although I only first heard of anyone who was Scottish in 5th grade when Karen’s parents moved to Montebello and she was introduced as a new student in our class. I was enthralled with her from the start and she taught me a few Scottish dance moves that we shared with the class for show and tell. I think we sang a song, too, The Bonnie Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomand.
Apart from the great food we enjoyed in the homes of my friends from these cultures, I learned about the Jewish custom of coming of age.
A bar mitzvah and a bat mitzvah are both Jewish coming-of-age milestones. A bar mitzvah (“son of commandment’) marks the religious maturity of a boy at the age 13, while a bat mitzvah (daughter of the commandment) marks the religious maturity of a girl, traditionally at age 12. 
I was invited to one of my Jewish friends Bat Mitzvah and I was blown away by the lavishness of the celebration!
These are my multi-cultural Cheer friends from my high school  at a Russian dinner at my house before a football game. (My Scottish friend from 5th grade, Karen, is the one with the rollers in her hair). We would have a meal at a different Cheer members home before Varsity games. They are eating borsch. That was just one of the food items my mother prepared for them. I think I see piroshky on the table, also. After the meal we would all get our cheer clothes on and head to the game for a night where we would work off every calorie we ate at dinner!
This is one of my best buddies from school days, Nanc. I spent a lot of time in her home where I learned how to make guacamole and we learned every popular Leslie Gore song by heart. Her parents brought me along to Mexican restaurants with them and to the downtown wholesale fashion district for shopping. Growing up, my family did not eat in restaurants so that was an eye opening experience all its own. Her dad drove a Volkswagon Square back and we spent many miles in that little car. One summer when she got back from visiting her uncle who was a jeweler in Mexico City she gifted me the ring below that he made for me.
While we were living in Camarillo for a short time Nanc and I reconnected online and we met up a couple of times for meals and to catch up on life. The photo above is of one of our meet ups. I hadn’t seen her for 40 years! There is a long story about that…
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 4. Food critic, film critic, book critic, art critic…which hat would you most like to wear? Tell us why. 
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Of these choices I’d choose the Food Critic hat because I love to travel and I love to try new restaurants and eat good food. I’d have a hard time writing bad critiques, though. I’ll just choose to be a traveler and enjoy trying new food in different places and being satisfied.
I’m not a film buff, or the reader of a variety of genres, and I’m definitely not artsy.

5. What’s a small, random thing from your childhood that you still remember clearly? 

This will give you a little insight into my character. I remember hiding from my mother and father on Saturday mornings because I did not want to go to Russian School. When they found me, I would stomp my feet and say, “I’m an American!”. Well that didn’t work. In my latter years I was thankful to have learned the Russian alphabet and to learn to read and write in Russian.

To say “I am American” in Russian, use Я американец (if you are male) or Я американка (if you are female). If you want to say “I am from America” or “from the USA,” you can say Я из Америки or Я из США.

Я американка, Yah Amereekanka, I am American.

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

These questions pulled up a lot of memories from my past.

Until next time, hodgepodge friends…