| The mayor meets us (Iryna and me).
He gives me a copy of "Moy Kolki" (My Kolki), an annual magazine that documents history. But this seems to mean 1930s, 40s, and 50s. I have included a photocopy for you. He confirms that there is nothing left from before WWI and, if I understand, nothing from pre-WWII either. Most of the current town grew up to the west of where the original town was. Though some existing houses seem old (though not very charming), they were apparently rebuilt by the Soviets. We are told that many houses still had thatched roofs through the 1950s, but now all seem to have corrugated tin. There are no records or archives. Reykin says there is an old woman in town who might remember some old families or have some memory of the town at least from before the War. We go to her house, but she is not home. (Identified in the photos as "old woman' house.") We (the mayor and a man who is in charge of agriculture) then drive to the forest outside the town where the Jews were shot in 1942. A memorial has been built in the pine forest about 2 km outside of town. Ground is very sandy and there are many mosquitoes in forest. The trees at the edge of the forest we are told are about 200 years old, but most of the woods are fairly recent. It is not clear if there is a mass grave under the memorial-apparently not.
We then go back through the middle of town (dropping the mayor off along the way-the agriculture guy stays with us) to the bridge over the Styr. This is the so-called new bridge; there were apparently as many as 3 bridges across river in the past. The bridge crosses a newer channel dug to help prevent flooding. But most of the land around the river is a marshy flood plain.
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Copyright © 2004 Andrew Blumberg