boyhood sketch 2. RUSSIAN RENTERS

My home was at 10 Clark Street, a two-story rental. The green house was our house. It seemed so much larger when I was a child. Mom and Dad and Murray, five years my junior, and I lived on the main floor. We rented the top floor to three people, Mary Pankratz and her sister Elizabeth and Mary's daughter Betty who was four years older than me. They were religious people. In fact they attended the same church that we did, perhaps because mom and dad recommended it to them. They had not been in Canada very long when they came to live at our house. Their stories of persecution in Russia captivated me, terrified me. Mary's right elbow was misshapen. A large elbow bone protruded noticeably. She let me feel the large bone that was covered with skin. She said that a soldier on horseback had charged at her, slamming her into a wall. She was badly injured. Her husband had been killed by the Soviets. These friends were quiet and pleasant. I liked all three of them a lot. I remember that we shared an occasional meal together. Particularly on special days and seasons, Mom made enough food for everyone in our building to enjoy.