We called both our grandmothers, Baba, which, in the Russian tradition, is a name that shows respect for the oldest woman in the family. Both my parents held family in the highest regard and from an early age I learned to respect my extended family.

 

If you were lucky enough to live in close proximity to your Baba, you would experience the visits of the ‘away’ aunts, uncles, and cousins whenever they would come to Jermyn for a visit.

 

As children we lived five short blocks from my Baba Fedorchak, and less than a mile from my Baba Kiehart.

 

I was one of the lucky ones.

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