The Escape from Russia Story

1918

A True Story

Written in 2010* 1,394 Words*

Why Grandfather Eddie Lazaroff was my hero

By Howard Yasgar

I’m sure many people have interesting stories to tell about how their families immigrated to the United States.

But I think my story is one of the best.

In my case, most of my mother’s family came to the United States from a small village in Russia, and I think the way they did it, was nothing less than spectacular, and I soon learned that my grandfather Eddie was a real hero.

As I was growing up, I would always ask my mother questions about where she came from in Russia and what it was like for her as she was growing up, however, it wasn’t easy getting any answers from her, and it was not

any easier trying to get information from her sisters either.

Eventually, it turned out that my grandfather, Abraham, Eward Lazaroff, who I called Grandpa Eddie, was to be my best source of information, but he was also very tightly lipped about everything as well.

However, by talking to several family members, I was eventually able to put the story together in bits and pieces.

My grandfather, who I called Grampa Eddie, told me he was born in Russia in 1887.

Grandpa Eddie also told me that his marriage to my grandmother Molly Aranoff was a family arranged affair.

Grandpa Eddie said he was absolutely scared to death the day his family took him to a distant village to meet his new bride.

He was afraid she was going to be homely, but he was surprised when she turned out to be beautiful.

At the wedding Grandpa Eddie said he was suffering from an acute hernia.

He said one of his testicles was hanging low and it had dramatically altered his voice.

Grandpa Eddie said that over the years, he never had the nerve to ask Grandma Molly what she thought about his hernia situation.

My mother was the oldest of my grandfather’s three daughters, two of whom were born in Russia and the youngest, my aunt Lillian, was born in the United States.

My mother said that as a child they lived in the small village of Mestachka Pablov. I believe it was on the outskirts of the larger city of Pavlov.

But as there were never any maps printed in Russia at the time, my mother never knew exactly where their village was located.

Based on her best guess, she said it was in between the city of Minsk and the Polish frontier.

However, back in those days, no one ever knew for sure where the Polish border really was anyway.

Grandpa Eddie said, the border with Poland was fought over many times, so it changed owners constantly.

Sometimes their village was ruled by Polish troops and sometimes by Russian troops.

Grandpa Eddie, said that as a young man, he worked as a blacksmiths apprentice, and because he spoke several languages, he was often used as translator, depending on who was ruling their village at the time.

My mother said, their house was very small and the rooms were divided only by hanging up sheets.

She said they had lots of vegetables to eat, but meat was in short supply and they rarely had it.

From what I was told, the worst part about living in small rural Russian villages was that they were under constant attack by the Cossacks who not only attacked the villages but also stole the farm animals and raped the women.

It appears that living in rural Russia in the early 1900’s was a dangerous, affair, and the attacks by the Cossacks were possibly the major reasons the Lazaroff family wanted to migrate to the United States.

My mother said that at the time, the rumor in her village was that in America, the streets were paved with gold, all you had to do was pick it up.

It was 1917 when the Lazaroff family decided it was time to send their most responsible family member to the United States, they knew he had to be strong enough to develop a pathway for many other Lazaroff family members to leave Russia and migrate to America.

At the time Eddie was 32 years old and he was married with two daughters, and the Lazaroff family knew my grandpa Eddie would be the one to make things happen.

It appears that my Grandpa Eddie already had a sponsor living in America, he was an uncle, who was working as a blacksmith and living at 54 Vernon Street in New Haven Connecticut.

On February 18, 1918, my grandpa Eddie arrived at the port of Baltimore Maryland, and the address he listed on all his entry papers was the 54 Vernon Street address, so it appears that had become his first permanent address in the United States.

The first thing Grandpa Eddie did upon arrival in America was to join the Army.

I saw a picture of him in his army uniform, and I can honestly say that my grandfather was a good-looking guy in his army uniform.

Within a few years, Grandpa Eddie not only achieved the rank of sergeant and he had also somehow acquired U.S. citizenship.

Upon his discharge from the army, Grandpa Eddie was ready to return to Russia and start getting his relatives out, the first being his wife and his daughters, my mother Betty, and her sister Adele.

Grandpa said that he was told that American Army officers were treated like royalty in most of Europe.

But that was not so in Russia, If an American soldier was caught by the Russians, they would be shot as a spy.

So, Grandpa Eddie decided to fake it as an officer, but to avoid going into Russia.

So, grandpa Eddie dressed up like he was an American Army officer, and he was even carrying an army officers swagger stick.

He said word spread quickly that an American officer was in Europe, and all the small villages sent out their bands to play American music and greet him when he arrived.

When he reached the Russian border, he knew that he could go no further, it was just too dangerous, if caught he would be executed.

So, he hired a local smuggler, who would go into Russia and bring his family out.

According to Grandpa Eddie, he gave the smuggler a substantial amount of money to do the job.

But after two weeks went by, with nothing happening, Grandpa Eddie went looking for the smuggler.

When he finally found him in a tavern, the smuggler said he already had given the money to someone else.

Hearing that, Grandpa Eddie said he grabbed the guy by the “batsim” (scrotum) and he didn’t let go until the fellow told him where the money was.

Once he had the money back, Grandpa Eddie bought some farmer’s clothing and a horse drawn wagon loaded with sacks of potatoes.

Traveling only at night, he eventually reached his home village. Then he packed up his wife, and his two daughters into empty potato sacks.

My mother said they traveled only at night, and during the day they hid in the woods, and ate the potatoes.

Once they arrived in Poland, they made their way to Antwerp Belgium where they all boarded a ship named the SS Zeeland a ship that was making the crossing to America.

My mother said that she and her sister Adele cried every day, because Grandpa Eddie proudly dragged them all around the ship singing American war songs that he had taught them to sing it in English.

On August 1, 1921, Abraham Edward Lazaroff, his wife, Malka (Molly), my mother Bluma (Betty), age 9 and her sister Chaja (Adele) age 7, all landed at Ellis Island in New York, using the 54 Vernon Street address in New Haven as their sponsor.

Once in New Haven, Grandpa Eddie said that to make a living he obtained a plumbing license.

And because of what he did, that is why I think my Grandpa Eddie was a real hero.