An Ancient Discovery from Harbin

According to my trusty calendar, today is National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day. Since my great-great grandparents were Ukrainian Jews-cum-Russian-Orthodox merchants who operated stores in Siberia and Manchuria, I thought I'd celebrate by posting this amazing set of vintage snapshots taken in Harbin—and furnished by my cousin, Jorge Poulson.

Circa 1930's
Harbin, China

What makes this collection so special is that my branch of the family lost practically everything on the eve of the Korean War. Only two treasured portraits could be saved before everyone was hastily herded onto Jeeps in the middle of the night and driven to a ship bound for Japan. All photos of our life in Harbin were lost. Until now, that is! Thanks, Jorge!

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These first two pictures were taken at the funeral of my great-great grandmother, Kharitiniya Afanasyevna Kozyreva (Козырева Харитиния Афанасьевна) on 11 January 1941. You can read more about her here. Kharitiniya was Ukrainian, born in 1862 in Starokostiantyniv. Married at 14, she and her husband spent the next two years migrating 4,530 miles east to Ust-Karsk, a one-horse town in the Transbaikal region of Russia. Kharitiniya then spent the subsequent quarter-century in a perpetual state of pregnancy and child-rearing, ultimately birthing a dozen kids. They say she was a Shaman, and her children spoke of her with respect and fear. According to family legend, Kharitiniya could heal small animals. She also used onions to cure skin infections, and she was a Psychic who had premonitions that her kids would be murdered by the Bolsheviks. Tragically, by the time she and her family fled the Russian Revolution for Harbin, only four of her children survived. Kharitiniya did, however, successfully use her psychic powers late in life to help her remaining family "escape the Chinese police at least twice." Not sure why the Chinese police were after them, but good lookin' out, Kharitiniya.

Obituary for Kharitinya Afansievna Kozyreva
11 January, 1941
Harbin, China

"The grief-stricken son, daughter-in-law, grandsons, and granddaughters notify friends and acquaintances of the death of their beloved mother and grandmother Kharitina Afanasyevna Kozyreva. The body will be carried from the home at No 23, 7th Street, Zelenyi Bazaar (Green Bazaar), to the Uspenskaya Cemetery Church (Church of the Assumption) today at 12:00 noon. The funeral service will be held at the Uspenskaya Church at 2:00 p.m."

Kharitiniya's last two decades played out in yet another strange land, growing older and more senile while her remaining gaggle of shell-and-culture-shocked Monarchist kids fought amongst themselves, and turned their spoiled, Harbin-born offspring against each other. All while crammed into a tiny shop in a crappy part of town. And with the Chinese police after them. God speed, Kharitiniya! It couldn't have been easy.

Zina and Aleksey Arkhipov, and Orthodox Priests
Circa 1930's
Harbin, China

Second from the left is Kharitiniya's second-youngest daughter, Zinaida Yakovlevna Arkhipova née Kozyreva (aka "Zina"). (Архипова Зинаида Яковлевна). The Charlie Chaplin-looking dude third-from-left is her husband, Aleksey Sergeevich Arkhipov (Алексей Сергеевич Аркипов). Zina was my grandmother's aunt. I never met her; she emigrated to Brazil in the 1950's, and died in 1981. However, having seen her in a few photos, I feel like I know her. You know how you can just tell from pictures? In every snapshot of Zina, I see a similarity in facial expression and body language to closer members of my immediate family. According to Zina's grandson, Jorge, she was a gourmet cook who loved to whip up mouth-watering, Asian-influenced dishes. She even managed a restaurant in São Paulo for a while. I love Zina.

Circa 1932
Harbin, China

I already have tons of snapshots of Zina's sister—my great-grandmother, Stepanida Yakovlevna Mitrofanenko née Kozyreva—taken in the 1950's in Japan and San Francisco. You can read more about her here. So this was a great find. It's Stepanida and Zina—in Harbin, circa 1932—hanging out with three kids. The girl on the far right is Zina's daughter, Vera Alekseyevna Arkhipova. I theorize that the girl in the middle is my grandmother's cousin, Nonna Mikhailovna Kozyreva (Козырева Нонна Михайловна). She later married a man named Georgiy Nikolaevich Sun-Nekrasov (Сун-Некрасов Георгий Николаевич) and moved to Kazakhstan (Сун-Некрасова Нонна Михайловна). The chick on the far left is way too cute to be a member of our family. Must be a neighbor.

Circa 1932
Harbin, China

I think I may know that broad on the far right. I'd recognize that bitchy, Film noir smirk anywhere. It's my grandmother, Natalia Feodosievna Mitrofanenko aka Natalie F. Vasilev. You can read more about her here. She was, by all accounts, Harbin's own first-generation Lauren Bacall by way of Joan Crawford. Later on, Natalie would cement the Crawford reputation by having daughters of her own, and being very Mommie Dearest-like toward them. But I digress.

I presume this photo must also be from around 1932, because Natalie married my grandfather in 1933 and moved to Korea soon thereafter. I heard they only came back to China a few times after that "to buy shoes." Never once was harvesting branches mentioned. What are they carrying? Looks like those plants Finnish people beat themselves with inside saunas. If anyone has the 4-1-1 on what branches the Russian women of Harbin were known to harvest along the railroad tracks, drop us a line. We'd love to hear from you!

Circa 1937
Harbin, China

Featured top-center in this ancient photograph is my Great-Aunt—fabled children's author and scout master, Yelena Aleksandrovna Vasilyeva (Васильева Елена Александровна) aka "Helen Orloff." You can read more about her here. It's rumored that Yelena had a crush on my Great-Grand Uncle Aleksey Arhkipov—and here she is, dramatically throwing her arms around him in this snapshot as if to say, "Yes, it's true! It's all true!" I bet Zina hated her.

Circa 1937
Harbin, China

Here's another photo taken on the same day, and again Yelena is—quite literally—diving between Zina and Aleksey. Sin Vergüenza! I love the look on Zina's face. According to my mom, "I think most women hated my Aunt Helen. In fact, I think I was the only one in our immediate family that liked her. Kids loved her, and men liked her, too."

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Who doesn't love a Russian wedding? Well, I'm not crazy about weddings—Russian, or otherwise—but this is a great collection. The groom isn't Ray Wise; I think Aleksey Arkhipov's brother, Porfiry (Архипов Порфирий Сергеевич) was getting married. Question: After folks got married in a Russian Orthodox church, did they get to keep the crowns?

Russian Orthodox Church
Circa 1930's
Harbin, China

Thank you, Jorge, for these wonderful pictures! I can't wait to see more.

Love to Love Mew, Baby: Cool Kitties in the 1970's Vol. 2

I hate to visit a blog, only to see that the first sentence is, "I've neglected this blog for a while." But, having said that, I've neglected this blog for a while. I think it's because when you deal in family photos, your audience is a little limited. You're, like, "This Ukrainian did this in 1910, and then another random Lithuanian happened in 1920." As Allie, my Millennial friend put it, "Ugh, family pictures? That's boring. Let's eat chicken wings!" 

So with this blog entry, I'm going to try to ensnare viewers with cat photos and 1970's interior design. 

This was my cat, Keeton, sleeping on a Herculon couch next to an authentic Kliban cat pillow.

This is Keeton again, this time sleeping in a sink. Keeton did a lot of sleeping (as cats are wont to do).

This was Alexandra. She'd just gotten spayed, so she had to wear one of those cone things that cats wear after having surgery. I don't remember the orange cat's name. I think it may have been Moogypus.  

The orange cat on the floor was named Amber. You can read more about him here. I wish I still had that desk.

This was Olivier, sitting next to an original, 26 volume Life World Library set. I'd love to have that collection now, so I could read all about Rhodesia and Yugoslavia.

I don't remember who this cat was. It was either a girl cat we had named Madeline, or a boy cat named Napoleon. Either way, I can tell it was in the pre-cable years due to the lack of a box on top of the TV set.

This was Marmaduke. He was a heavy smoker.

I think this cat's name was Hecuba. Check out that wall unit. 

I've got about 700 other vintage cat photos stashed away in a box in the closet. So stay tuned if that's what you're into.