SELETS, BELARUS

                Селец

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Memoirs and Family Stories

                                     Excerpt from the writings of Dr. Harry Ruskin

                        (Born Harry (Aron-Hirsh Orechkin; Selets 18 February 1898)

It was about year 1902 that I first remember being given a ride in a little wagon pulled by a one legged man in the city of Nikolai of on Black Sea in Russia. I was about 3 1/2 years old. I do not remember going back to the city of Mogilev by train, which my mother and my one-year-old brother did, because my father passed away in that city of a heart attack. He was a rabbi there and I heard a big monument was placed on his grave. I remember next, of two or three men offering me Kopeks (pennies), to bribe me to say Kaddish, to repeat the words after them.

My mother and father lived in a town known as Shiletz, a Jewish village about 6 miles from the big city of Mogilev, population 250,000. It is in that city that my father got his Hebrew education by living in different Jewish houses and eating meals at different houses every day. My father was the oldest son, with three sisters and two other brothers who were willing to sacrifice so he could continue schooling.

My mother was the youngest in the family of seven, five older brothers and one sister who was the first born. They lived six houses away from each other on the one and only street in Shiletz. The houses were made of logs and had a big fire place built on one end. When it was cold they slept by the warm stove. When mother came back from the funeral, her father found it hard to support three more people. Since my father was the favorite of his family, his sisters used to play with me. His three sisters at that time were not married yet, and little by little I found myself living with my father's mother and her family. My mother and brother were living with grandpa and grandma Slietsken. All their children were married at that time.

Occasionally I would get a child's toy such  a clay whistle when a relative’s older child died. When I was five years old I started Cheder. We would fix paper lantern with a candle in the center because our school used to have classes way into dark and we used to take food with us.  I felt very much at home.

In spring we would go and pick certain green grass and bring it home to make soup with. Summer and fall we would go into woods to pick different fruits and even small nuts. We would steal apples and pears from orchards. I had many little friends, but unfortunately when I return to visit in 1931, I found many had died in the first world war because the Russians conscripted boys 15 or 16 or 17 to serve in a the Army in the war {1914-1918}. In the year 1904 and 1905 Russia was at war with Japan. Troops were conscripted and were sent to Vladivostok to fight the Japanese. Soldiers would pass through our town on the way to join the Army. They were usually conscripted in other towns and when they would pass through Shiletz, most of them would be drunk and would break windows and break into houses. It got so that the citizens organized a voluntary army of their own and would send women and children to live in homes off the main road and guarded their homes while conscripts were marching thru town. I remember sleeping in those homes. We slept on the floor. fifty or more in one large room. It was fun,

The next thing I knew was that my uncle Israel was served notice to appear to be examined for military service. The family immediately got together all the cash they could raise. An agent, who used to bribe the immigration inspectors was given the money.  The next thing we heard is that he was in England. That was the year 1905. In 1906 Israel Orechkin landed in Canada in Windsor, Ontario and was earning a good living peddling. In 1907 remaining family in Russia sold their house and land. Since I was the oldest and part heir to that house the buyer insisted that I sign a contract too.

A year previous to that my mother married a man living in the city of 20,000 population about 25 miles from where we lived. The man was 20 years older than she was and had a son who was away from home. Mother took my brother Morris with her. He was willing to accept one child but not two. I don't think my grandma would have given me up at that time. We were getting ready to go to America. Grandma spilled some boiling water on her leg. It was decided she would go to Mogilev and stay with her married sister until she could get medical care. She took me along.

I didn't have to go to school so I roamed the city. The wind cause a redness in my eyes. Grandmother was very kind. In 1906 a family of five girls and their mother (cousins) left for Windsor. The family went to meet her husband and their father. One of the girls was turned back because of her eyes. So the mother sent her back to Shiletz until her eyes got better. She and her four daughters came to America. The girls stayed with her aunt and uncle. The girl was two years older than I. Now that her eyes were better, grandma adopted her and put her on the passport as my sister. February 1908 we departed for America, but first stop was the city of Libau on the Baltic Sea. Libau is 350 miles from Mogilev. It took about 24 hours to cover that distance by train. We left with woven suitcases woven suitcases of every reeds. It contained food and clothing. My aunt Dora, my uncle Aaron, and the girl Rose and myself and grandma were met by steamship agents that arranged our trip to America. We were picked up by horse and buggies and taken to a place for immigrants.

In a couple of days we went for medical examinations and I and Rose were rejected for our eyes. The family decided to have the rest of the family go on and grandma and I and Rose remained in Lebau until eyes were cured. My eyes were cured in two weeks Roses eyes took nearly 8 weeks. I got to know Libau pretty well. May 1, 1908 we departed for America. We are put in a boat that was on its way to England. We took bread and herring and potatoes and a lot of baggage on the boat. The boat seemed to hug the shore and we saw many windmills on land. On the third day we embarked for Hull England. We were put on a train and were rushed across England to the city of Liverpool. In Liverpool we boarded a larger boat for Canada. We were assigned cabins on the lower deck. Everyday we were made to go upstairs. They would yell upper deck, upper deck for fresh air.

                                                     Memoirs of Samuel H. Ruskin M.D. 

                      (Born Shmul Haim Orechkin February 2, 1895 in Selets 1980 written at age 85)

I was born in a small village in Russia called Shiletz. As far as I can remember it had only a road composed of crushed stone running through it. The jewish people lived at one end and the non-jews at the other end. The road was somewhat elevated. There was no interchange between the non-jews and the jews but there was some commercial interchange with the non-jews. Some of the non-jews worked for our families. There was one girl with a son whom it was said was illegitimate and who spoke both Russian and Jewish. He was quite a handsome young man. I think he later went into the Russian army.

As I said the village was small, even smaller than the village in Fiddler on the Roof. They could afford a rabbi, we couldn't. We couldn't afford to have a doctor. We had what was known as a felscher, which I think is equivalent to a nurse assistant which has now become prevalent. I was delivered by a midwife which may still be in vogue in foreign communities. I know it was prevalent for many years after I was in practice.

Shiletz last was located about 10 vierst, probably 10 km from a fairly large city Mogilev which was on the Dnieper River.

My father was the second youngest of six boys and two girls. I recall all but the oldest brother. He must have died when I was very young.

My father was the shortest of the boys and the only one who had to serve in the Russian army. How the others escaped I do not know. His youngest brother suggested that he cut off his right hand so that would make him unfit for service.

In Russia all young men had to serve in the Army when they reach 21. At least they had to report for duty although they weren't always taken. I even received a letter from Russia reminding me that I should report for military duty even though I lived in Canada. At that, Russia never gave up on the citizenship of anyone born there. My father's military service was instrumental in his meeting my mother. I don't know exactly how they met but they used to talk about how he would visit her in uniform. My mother at that time was living in Mogilev with an older brother. He was employed in a dry goods store and apparently have a responsible position, from what I remember. My mother was orphaned at 13. Both parents died of cancer

I have only one recollection of my paternal grandfather. His name was a Laib  or Leo. I don't know what he did it. He was a learned man and people came to him for advice. He was called Reb Laib which means venerable or something like that. I have a photo of him  in our apartment. He certainly was a fine looking man. I named my son Robert after him.

My grandfather apparently lived with us because when I was about three my brother, who was about one, and I were taken to my uncles house across the road because they expected my grandfather to die.

Our home was small with only an earthen floor. I don't know how many rooms that  it had. I remember a living room mostly furnished with drapes and a large brick oven over which the children slept. There must have been a couple bedrooms, one for my parents and one for my grandfather.

I know we had chickens because my mother told me I was so smart that I could distinguish our chickens from my grandfathers. I do not know what my grandfather did,  all I remember was that he read the bible constantly and everyone called him Reb which is a venerable title. Our house was located on what I feel was a highway. It was made of crushed stones and was slightly elevated with grassy banks. Next to the double house was the synagogue and next to it was the town steam bath with steps leading two different levels and a mikvah.

I don’t remember very much about my life in Russia. I was taken to Cheder at the age of five. My father told me an angel would drop candy to me but I looked up and saw it was my father's hand. This was my first the disillusionment. There I learned Hebrew and to write Yiddish. I had no education in the Russian language either written or spoken. It was a self-contained community. I went to the synagogue daily and on Saturday. Being an Orthodox synagogue, the woman sat in the balcony. There were also some benches where wandering jewish beggars slept. I don't know how they were fed.

The people were superstitious. When there was a hailstorm they would throw brooms and shovels out to stop the hailstorm.

When there was difficulty with the police the women would come forward because the police would not use force against them. The men were kept in the background.

On Friday the men went to the bathhouse. It was steamed and the steam was produced by heating rocks and throwing cold water over them. Small branches of trees were used to strike the body as a stimulant. The women went to the mikvah on Friday afternoon and after menstrual periods. I do not know if the water was changed there.

There was a pond up the road and one day a circus including elephants went up the road apparently going to another town. People said the elephants would drink up all the water and then urinated all back. There was one incident that stands out. There was a rumor one day that a buggy without horses was to come by. It was in the late afternoon and everyone flocked to the road to wait for it and went by very fast. It must have been a steam car as I saw what appeared to be burning coal underneath the car. After it went by we all waited for her to return it and after a short while it did.

I do not remember any boyfriends or girlfriends in Shiletz. We played a game called laftos. It consists of a small piece of wood being hit with another piece something like a bat and we ran bases and that's all I can remember about that.

I remember my father taking us to Mogilev when my brother and I and had our hair clipped for a kopec . We thought it was quite a treat when we were there my father bought some ice cream for us.

When I was about five my father had to do some military service for a couple of weeks. My mother took me to see him. He was stationed in the barracks in Mogilev. I saw him in uniform standing guard duty. I felt somewhat embarrassed on seeing him. It was during my oedipal period

One thing that stands out is the high holy days. We always brought in the cantor from the city. He seemed to have such a fine voice. I've heard many fine cantors since, some with operatic voices, and none of them compare to that cancer which shows how in retrospect your memory magnifies things.

When the Russian-Japanese war broke out, my father being in the Army reserve decided to go to Canada. He had a nephew Nathan Cherniak living there.

In Russia you need is a passport to travel about the country. Certain cities were forbidden to jews except in certain instances.

My father couldn't get one of these because he was in the reserves. I do not believe he even applied for it. He and a group of others got out of Russia through back roads and the bribing of border guards. I don't know from what port he sailed.

                       Memoirs  of Chernykh, Galina daughter of Grigory, born in 1921

I was born on May 10, 1921 in the Jewish shtetl Seletz (at that time people used to sign envelopes as Jewish Seletz).

My grandmother and mother were very religious. They whispered us in Yiddish “When you are told there is no G-d, you’d better be silent. You can’t fight against the entire world… But always remember deep in your hart - there is a G-d”. Mother has never had an opportunity to go to school, but she could read and pray in Hebrew. There were two synagogues in Seletz. One of them got burnt in 1920s, when I was a little girl. The other one was converted at first into a storehouse, later in club, and we were going there to dance. When we were attending the synagogue, women were trying to sit closer to my mother so she could help them with words. She learnt to write in Russian later, and a lot of old Jewish women asked her to write letters for them. When I became older and could write, I inherited this responsibility. My mother and granny were very kind. They helped poor people although they never were too rich. They welcomed everybody, whether it was Russian or Jew. They could give away their own clothes if they saw that someone has nothing to wear. Later, when we lived in Mogilev, she felt sorry for our neighbor Anastasia who was very wick and got sick very often. We always had a hot tea on the stove and my mom was ready to bring this tea to our neighbor’s home no matter what the weather was.

I only know about my maternal grandfather and great grandmother from family stories. Great grandmother was a self taught midwife. She assisted in delivering children within the whole Vendrozhskaya Volost. Mother told me how she washed her hands before delivering babies. Later I found out that she was doing it in accordance to sanitary rules. Many people knew and respected her. My grandfather, Meer Charny, was considered as the local Rabbi. He did nothing but prayed. Many people were coming to him to receive a good piece of advice.

In 1937 I completed 7 classes of Hebrew school in Seletz. My two teachers rented a room from us. Then I was going to school in Mogilev and lived in the school dorm. Later I lived with my older brother in his rented apartment. There was a winter admission to the medical college and we decided I should apply there. In this college students were given a scholarship. We sold our house in Seletz just before the war and moved to Mogilev. We bought a small house near an airdrome in Lupolovo. When we came back after the war, the house was gone.

I loved my profession and I was a good student. In 1939 I graduated with a midwife diploma. Most of the college graduates had to work in the western area of Belarus; I was left in Mogilev and assigned position in the outpatient clinic in Lupolovo. The head of the clinic was Moisei son of Lazar Gurevich. Between our offices was a thin wall.  He used to tell me “If you have a patient who you can not diagnose, don’t run to me, just knock at the wall, and I will come to take a look”. He taught me how to work, and I became a good specialist.

When I graduated from the medical school I was ranked as a lieutenant of medical service. My mother stayed with the parents of my brother’s wife. Their last name was Shenderei. I hoped she would get evacuated with this family. But later I learned that for some reason my mother was left behind. My brother, who was a military pilot, told me what happened to her.

His airplane got shot down in Chausy but he managed to jump out of the plane on his parachute. He had injured his had. An old man found him and helped him to cross the frontal line. When the war was over my brother always helped this man. Right after the liberation of Mogilev, my brother went there to find out what happened to our mother. It turned out that mother used to live in town for one year (she lived in Lupolovo near the cemetery). Nikolai and Anastasia (the girl who was given a tea by my mother) lived near by. Nikolai helped partisans. He was able to make my mother a “Russian” passport.  Then a lady moved in to mom’s house. I don’t know how but she found out that mother was Jewish. This lady gave my mother up to the fascists. Mother and Nikolay were arrested. Anastasia told the story to my brother. Brother found this lady. It appeared she was working as a typist at pedagogical university. He and his friend went to visit her and noticed our mothers’ belongings. “You don’t even worth a bullet” he said. He struck her with the butt of a gun and took her to the authorities. We do not know what happened to her later.

                                                 Memoirs of Naum son of Alter Zeitlin

I,  Naum son of Alter Zeitlin, was born in shtetl of Seletz of Mogilev Gubernia on January 7, 1917. My sister Sarah told me that my nick name was “Chochem-Chochem”. I was growing up as a normal child. I think I was treated well as I was the only boy borne after two girls, Reizlya and Sora, and everybody was happy.

I do not remember myself when I was little. I do remember my father teaching me how to work on the land.  I learned how to ride a horse and how to plow the land.

I do not remember when I was sent to cheder, but I know that I learnt to read and write at school.  Our Rabbi’s last name was Gurevich. After the cheder I went to Mogilev where I continued going to Hebrew school, after that I was accepted to pedagogical college.

Seletz wasn’t able to avoid a catastrophe. Only few young men left in Seletz and in Mogilev. At that time most of the population was elderly men, soldiers’ wives and children.  Soldiers in reserve were mobilized when the war has begun. Students of Mogilev pedagogical college were called to the military registration, passed the medical commission, but for some reason we weren’t deployed. We were all waiting for further orders. We were engaged in militia.  Some people were given guns. We were divided into groups. Each group was assigned objects to guard. When Germans entered the city we began to fight. At that time many young people died and many were captured by Germans. Some people managed to hide and later they went home. I also was hiding, and one week after Mogilev got captured I returned to Seletz.

There was no one on the streets. I approached Gorodner’s house. Our house was next. Parents and Abrashka were at home, the others: Rosa, Sarah, Polya and Galya – are not. All were glad to see me, but their faces were sad and confused. Everybody hoped that Germans will leave soon. Someone suggested joining the partisans. But what should we do with children, old and sick people? It was the middle of August. Germans created commandant's office in the village, but so far they didn’t touch anybody. We work at collective farm. There was a harvest time. Germans took away all grains and vegetables. We left with nothing. I and my neighbor Aron understood that we are trapped. My mother begged father to save children. He put on tallis and prayed. On September 9, 1941 we woke up from dogs barking. Through the window we saw Germans in helmets with guns. Everybody was ordered out of their houses. Our neighbors were already on the street. German soldier entered our yard. He wanted us to leave the house. There were no German soldiers by the houses where Belarusian people lived. It meant they only wanted Jews out. Father was in the field. He heard the noise and came back. He was also captured.

All people were moved to the direction of Mogilev. Women and children were crying. But soon they stopped. The column passed a brick factory, silk factory, market. Lupolovo was on the right. We moved along Pervomaiskaya Street and then Vilenskaya Street.  I, my brother Abrashka, my neighbor Aron and two of his brothers Elya Nemchin and Benya Bulman – were separated from the rest of people. People were moved to Vilenskaya street and placed in several houses. We were moved further.

I was the only one from our family who survived. The other family members were shot in 1941. My father’s name was Alter son of Nokhem Zeitlin, he was 54 years old. My mother’s name was Zelda, and she was 52 years old.  My sisters Sara, Polya and Roza got evacuated, and I’ve never heard about them ever since.

A lot of Jews died at the concentration camp. I, Aron and Elya managed to escape and fight against fascists. We wanted to become partisans before fascists came, but we were afraid to leave our parents. We escaped at different periods of time so we were in different partisan groups. Aron died while in partisans in 1944. Elya eventually got in the army. He came back from war wounded. Then he immigrated to Israel.  I was in partisan group No. 255 in Rogachev.

My wife Chaya was born in Seletz as well. Her parents were Moisha son of Zalman and Revekah daughter of Leizer. They had 7 children: Rosa, Rokhul, Chaya, Zalman, Aron, Tankhe, Chonya. Chaya was the only who survived. Zalman died in 1941 in Leningrad. Aron escaped from the concentration camp in Mogilev, joined partisan and died in 1944. The rest of the family members got killed.

                                          Memoirs of Ekaterina Antonovna Sobolevskaya

                                                          born in 1923, resident of Seletz.

Before the war we all lived in piece and friendship. Jewish and non-Jewish children were going to school together and played together. My father had a Jewish friend Gamshei, sometimes he came to our house to pray when he was working near by.

There were seven children in our family. Jews always helped us. If my father did not have money, Jews would always loan us some. . We, as children, helped to weed vegetable gardens. Mother helped to bake matzoth and we were given not perfect ones as a treat.

In the village we had our own musicians, violinists. There was a slaughter-house, synagogue and many orchards. We never had to buy fruits. People took as much as they wanted. Trader Zeitlin provided us with clothes.

All adult were working at “Voroshilov” collective farm. In the village there were 150 houses, mostly Jewish.  There were few Belarusian families who lived far from the center of the village. Before the war the head of the local administration was Palchik.  He and my father were friends. He saved my father from being arrested, when father signed the letter about returning the church. Head of the collective farm was also a Jew.

When the war started my friend Gita Slutskina and her family got evacuated; only few people from our village got evacuated. My other friend Boris Brodkin went to war.

All Jews were taken to the ghetto in Mogilev. The day when they were moved from their homes we were hiding, because anybody could get killed. Many people joined partisan groups, and we too. In partisans I met young people from Seletz – Slutzkin, Yakhnovich, and others.

I remember how in the summer of 1941 our friends, brothers Belyatskin, visited us. Their father was at war. They used to be our neighbors. At that time adults were not allowed to leave the ghetto, while children could run around. Later they came back to the town and died there. Their father returned home from the war, but then he left; he couldn’t stay here.

After the war Jews didn’t live here. Even Jewish cemetery does not exist any more. Sometimes their children and grandchildren are coming to visit this place. I miss the life we’ve had. There were no bad tongues or envy.

                       

                                                                       Interview with Helen Katzman

Helen Katzman was born in Selets on April 14, 1913. She was the third child of Zalman and Chere Katzman, both of whom were born in Selets. She lived in Selets until age 16 at which time her family moved to Canada. The Katzman family had a large presence in Selets. They were descendants of Iser Katzman one of original settlers of Selets in 1837.

Zalman Katzman was a cattle dealer. He traveled the countryside aroun Selets, bought and drove the cattle back to Selets and sold them there. Zalman built the family home that had a number of rooms including a kitchen with a wood burning stove which was used for cooking and also heated the home.

The family had a small garden in which they grew potatoes, vegetables and a small amount of wheat. Helen’s first four years of school were in Selets. The next four were in Mogilev, a city of two hundred fifty thousand that was a few miles away from Selets.

Helen describes Selets as a small community with houses on both sides of a road, which was referred to as a Shoo-shay. The village was surrounded by a pine tree forest. There was a sanatorium at the north end of Selets which attracted people because of the pine aroma in the air from the surrounding trees. The Jewish community lived south of the sanatorium in the middle of Selets. A small gentile community live at the south end of Selets

Helen recalls the ongoing fear of the communist government that policemight show up at any time at their home. In the 1920 the Katzman home was taken over by German soldiers who remain for several weeks before leaving.

Between the early 1900s and 1928 many Katzman families left Selets and migrated to Canada and the United States.

From Selets to Windsor and Beyond

(A Story of Two Families)

Among my earliest memories was that of my dad telling me that he was born in Russia.  Specifically, he was born in a small village (Shtetl) named Shiletz, that was located near a larger city named Mogilev. He emphasized that there were two cities named Mogilev, the one near Shiletz was on the  Dneiper River and was referred to as Mogilev Dyapro, not to be confused with Mogilev Podolsk which was in the Ukraine.

 

He had many tales to tell, and, at the age of 85, wrote an autobiography that inspired me to do further research about Shiletz, learn family history, and write the story that follows.

Before I begin, there is a side-story, regarding Shiletz and the correct spelling of that name. In searching for more information about the place where my dad came from, I looked at several maps of Russia trying to locate Shiletz. Mogilev was easy to find, located, now, in eastern Belarus on the Dneiper River. I could not find Shiletz.

The JewishGen web site is an important resource in my genealogic research.  It

was there that I learned of the Jewish agricultural community, Selets, near Mogilev that was easily located on maps of that area. Because it seemed likely that Selets was the place from which my father and his family came, I sent an email to JewishGen raising the possibility that they had misspelled the name that should be Shiletz. After a series of emails, the JewishGen authority convinced me that Selets is the proper spelling of that community as translated from the Cyrillic Селец, then added  Shiletz to their listing as the Yiddish spelling.

This is a story of twos. Two men, patriarchs of families who lived in Russia in the early 1800s. Two Jewish communities, one in Russia beginning in the 19th century and one in North America in the 20th century. Two people who meet in Selets, move to the United States and then to Windsor, Ontario and who marry, joining  the Orechkin and Katzman families. Their two families follow them to Windsor and become important members of the growing Jewish community.

The following are the sources of my information: “The Jews of Windsor”, 1790-1990: A Historical Chronicle” by Jonathan V. Plaut , “Why Windsor? An Anecdotal History of the Jews of Windsor and Essex County” By Alan Abrams, the memoirs of my father Dr. Samuel Ruskin and that of his cousin Dr. Harry Ruskin, a conversation with Helen Katzman (born in Selets and now living in West Bloomfield), and “The Golden Jubilee Book” of Congregation Shar Hashomaym of Windsor.

.Jewish Agricultural Colonies were established in the early 1800s by decree of Czar Alexander I. The Jewish Agricultural Colony of Selets (Shiletz) was established by decree of the Governor of Mogilev Gubernia on March 12, 1836. It was to occupy 95 desaytin (256 acres) of land to be located 8 verst (8.5 kilometer) south of the town of Mogilev, situated on the Dneiper River. Selets was at that time a part of Russia, but is now in Belarus.

In May 1836, 30 Jewish families petitioned for land in Selets.  186 people  settled  in   Selets,  including 33 males from 17 to 50 years old. It is likely that two of the men who established Selets were Iser Katzman and Azriel Orechkin. Both raised families. Iser had 4 sons: Samuel, Shimon, Aaron and Cula. Azriel had 3 sons: Laibe, Yankel and Maishe. Many descendants would follow, bearing and raising children in Selets over the rest of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century,

Selets, from the beginning of its existence was involved in the cattle business. Some modest efforts were made to raise fruits and vegetables, but the major occupation of the Jewish residents involved cattle.

Dr Samuel Ruskin’s memories of Selets:

“…it had only a road composed of crushed stone running through it. The Jewish people lived at one end and the non-Jews at the other end. The road was somewhat elevated. There was no interchange between the non-Jews and the Jews, but there was some commercial interchange.  Some of the non-Jews worked for our families..

The village was small, even smaller than the village in “Fiddler on the Roof.” They could afford a rabbi, we couldn't. We couldn't afford to have a doctor. We had what was known as a felscher, which I think is equivalent to a nurse assistant. A midwife delivered me.

Our home was small with only an earthen floor. I don't know how many rooms that it had. I remember a living room mostly furnished with drapes and a large brick oven over which the children slept. There must have been a couple bedrooms, one for my parents and one for my grandfather.

I know we had chickens because my mother told me I was so smart because I could distinguish our chickens from my grandfathers. I do not know what my grandfather did.  All I remember was that he read the bible constantly and everyone called him Reb which is a venerable title. Our house was located on what I feel was a highway. It was made of crushed stones and was slightly elevated with grassy banks. Next to the double house was the synagogue and next to it was the town steam bath with steps leading to different levels and a mikvah.

I was taken to Cheder at the age of five. My father told me an angel would drop candy to me but I looked up and saw it was my father's hand. This was my first disillusionment. I learned Hebrew there and to write Yiddish. I had no education in the Russian language either written or spoken. It was a self-contained community. I went to the synagogue daily and on Saturday. Being an Orthodox synagogue, the women sat in the balcony. There were also some benches where wandering Jewish beggars slept. I don't know how they were fed.

The people were superstitious. When there was a hailstorm they would throw brooms and shovels out to stop the hailstorm.

When there was difficulty with the police the women would come forward because the police would not use force against them. The men were kept in the background.

On Friday the men went to the bathhouse. It had steam that was produced by heating rocks and throwing cold water over them. Small branches of trees were used to strike the body as a stimulant. The women went to the mikvah on Friday afternoon and after menstrual periods.”

Dr Harry Ruskin’s memories of Selets:

“It was about year 1902 that I first remember being given a ride in a little wagon pulled by a one legged man in the city of Nikolai on Black Sea in Russia. I was about 3 1/2 years old. I do not remember going back to the city of Mogilev by train, which my mother and my one-year-old brother did, because my father passed away in that city of a heart attack. He was a rabbi there and I heard a big monument was placed on his grave. I remember next, of two or three men offering me Kopeks (pennies), to bribe me to say Kaddish, to repeat the words after them.

My mother and father had lived in a town known as Shiletz, a Jewish village about 6 miles from the big city of Mogilev, population 250,000. It is in that city that my father got his Hebrew education by living in different Jewish houses and eating meals at different houses every day. My father was the oldest son, with three sisters and two other brothers who were willing to sacrifice so he could continue schooling.

When I was five years old I started Cheder. We would fix paper lantern with a candle in the center because our school used to have classes way into dark and we used to take food with us.  I felt very much at home.

In spring we would go and pick certain green grass and bring them home to make soup. Summer and fall we would go into woods to pick different fruits and even small nuts. We would steal apples and pears from orchards. I had many little friends, but unfortunately when I return to visit in 1931, I found many had died in the first World War because the Russians conscripted boys 15 or 16 or 17 to serve in a the Army in the war {1914-1918}. In the year 1904 and 1905 Russia was at war with Japan. Troops were conscripted and were sent to Vladivostok to fight the Japanese. Soldiers would pass through our town on the way to join the Army. They were usually conscripted in other towns and when they would pass through Shiletz, most of them would be drunk and would break windows and break into houses. It got so that the citizens organized a voluntary army of their own and would send women and children to live in homes off the main road and guarded their homes while conscripts were marching thru town. I remember sleeping in those homes. We slept on the floor. Fifty or more in one large room. It was fun.”

Windsor, Ontario is the southernmost major city in Canada. It is located on the Detroit River directly across the river from, and south of Detroit. Initially established as a French agricultural settlement in 1749, the area was referred to as Petite Cote, “Little Coast”. In 1749, after the American Revolution, the settlement of Sandwich was founded there and later renamed Windsor (officially as a village in 1854).

The first Jew to arrive in Windsor was a fur trader from Montreal, Moses David. He was involved with business dealings there in the early 1800s. Between 1880 and 1900 a number of Jews came to Windsor from Russia and Poland, opened businesses and raised families. Windsor’s first synagogue was established in 1893. By 1891 there were 16 Jews living in Windsor. By 1901 the number had increased to 109 and by 1911 to 309.

Nathan Cherniak was born in Selets, Russia in 1878. He was the third of six boys and a sister, Minka. They were the children of Samuel and Tzirl Orechkin Cherniak and, the great-grandchildren of Azreil Orechkin.  Esther Rogin was born in Selets in 1882, the oldest child of Moseh and Chimbia Katzman Rogin and the great-granddaughter of Iser Katzman. Esther and her family came to the United States in 1901 and settled in New York. Nathan came to the United States in 1902 and also settled in New York. In Selets Nathan had been a schochet and Hebrew teacher and Esther was his student. Answering an add in a Yiddish newspaper, Nathan took a position in Windsor as a schochet and Hebrew teacher. Esther and her family soon followed. They were married in 1903.

With a family presence in Windsor, the next three decades would see an influx of family members of both Nathan and Esther. Nathan’s four brothers came to Windsor with Nathan’s help. Samuel, Jacob and David changed their name to Schwartz upon reaching Windsor (the German/Yiddish equivalent of the Russian translation of Cherniak). In 1908 Nathan’s sister Minka and her husband Hillel Croll came to Windsor with three children including David Croll, future Mayor of Windsor and Cabinet member in the Canadian government..

Four uncles of Nathan: Nison, Jacob, Azriel {Isadore) and Ellis Orechkin arrived in Windsor beginning in 1904 along with their families. My Grandfather Ellis Orechkin’s came to Windsor in 1904. His wife and three children came the next year. My dad Samuel Ruskin served in the Canadian army in World War I and along with his brother, Isadore attended University of Toronto Medical School. A number of Orechkins changed their name to Ruskin in the early 1920s.

The last of the descendants of Azriel Orechkin to emigrate to Windsor was the family of Shlome Gorodner. He arrived in 1927 with his wife and four sons.

Several of Esther Rogin’s siblings came to Windsor in the early 1900s along with their Katzman cousins, including additional members of the Rogin and Greenberg families. A number of the Katzmans, initially, came to Detroit and some went on to Windsor.

Some of the earliest of the Selets expatriates in Windsor were peddlers.  My grandfather earned enough money peddling in the year after he arrived to bring his wife and three children to Windsor. Others began as peddlers and then opened grocery, clothing and dry goods stores. Several Selets expatriates, who were in the cattle business in Selets, became cattle dealers in Windsor, others opened butcher shops. Isidore Katzman was one of Windsor’s first kosher butchers.

The earliest Jews in Windsor held religious services in individual homes. The first synagogue, Shaarey Zedek opened in 1906. The synagogue leadership came from the original group of Jews who settled in the early 1900’s. By 1908 Jews from Selets assumed leadership roles.  Aaron Orechkin was an early president of Shaarey Zedek. Over the next decade an on going struggle developed between the group of initial Jewish settlers who, by that time, had become more affluent and the later arrivals, especially the group from Selets. In 1919 a second synagogue Tifereth Israel was opened on Mercer Street. It was also known as the Katzman Shul and Nathan Orechkin was its first President.

William Englander, one of Windsor earliest Jewish resident was elected Alderman in 1899. Esther’s brother Charles Rogin was defeated in an election for East Windsor Council. He was a prominent Winsor businessman and President of the Jewish Library Council. His son, Dr. James Rogin became a prominent dermatologist in the Detroit area.

But it remained for a great-grandson of Azriel Orechkin, David Croll, to be elected the first Jewish mayor of Windsor and then gain prominence as Ontario Minister of Public Welfare and then as Minister of Labor. He was appointed a Senator by Prime Minister Louis St Laurent in 1955. David Croll came to Windsor with his parents and siblings in 1903. His mother was Nathan Cherniak’s sister. He remains one of Canada’s most prominent Jews along with Stephen Mandel, a great-great grandson of Azriel Orechkin the current Mayor of Edmonton, Alberta.

Some of the Jews of Windsor gained athletic prominence.  Among them is William “Moose” Rogin, a great-great-grandson of Izer Katzman.  Moose Rogin was an outstanding athlete and although he just missed attending the 1936 Olympics, gained fame as the referee of the controversial 1947 Grey Cup.

The generations of Orechkins and Katzmans that followed, like many immigrants’ children, sought education as the key to future success. They’re scattered throughout North America. They are the thousands of descendants of two of the founders of the Jewish Agricultural Colony Selets, Iser Katzman and Azriel Oreechkin. Within this group are many professional people, doctors, lawyers, accountants and community leaders.

There are about a thousand Jews remaining in Windsor today. The Jewish population peaked in Windsor in the 1930’s at about 3000. A few Katzman family members remain. There are no Orechkins in Windsor today. Many Orechkins changed their name to Ruskin in the early 1920’s.

SELETS, BELARUS