Milda Krumins 1907 - 2005

Milda Krumins
Born 1907
Third of seven children,
The oldest two children die of scarlet fever at a young age, the rest survive into their eighties and nineties.

Milda started life on her parents’ farm in Latvia. She had a very vivid memory. She easily remembers being 8 years old in Latvia on the farm. She remembers how a distinct moment actually looked, smelt, and who was sitting in what corner near the window… and how the warm sunlight played on the wooden floor.
She would tell stories of her childhood. She was always with her sisters, singing, playing, and doing farm chores. They would argue who had the smartest and the prettiest doll.
When they were older, they would sneak out of the bedroom window and, in their nightshirts, go running through the dark. In the spring, they would take on the challenges issued by their resident laborer-songster to learn the words of a new melody (in harmony) before the day’s work was done.

Milda had to leave her homeland twice. At end of WWI, she was sent to live with a relative in bordering Russia. There, in a one-room schoolhouse, she remembers the deep snow, the wood stove in the mornings, and only going elsewhere on weekends. During WWII, Milda fled to Germany to escape from the incoming communists with her 4 children and with her sisters and their children. Without their husbands, these sisters and their 11 children traveled by boat to Sweden (a plane strafed it on one pass) and then by train to Germany. Eventually, the husbands were able to meet up with their families. The youngest sibling, a brother (psychiatrist) found his loving wife in Germany.

By 1952, each of the sister’s families had found a sponsoring country where they could start their lives over again. Milda’s family ended up on a farm in West Virginia, USA. The other sisters settled in Canada. For the next couple of years the family pooled their resources to reestablish their Old World careers in their new countries.

Milda always had a vivid memory. Early on, she memorized reams of Latvian poetry.
She was known for her informal recitals that would occur randomly. The poems would begin quietly. The first phrase would lift out of the darkness like a sound balloon. Milda would continue line after line until the remembered poem reached its conclusion. She graduated from college in Latvia in the1920’s as a mathematician. In 1970’s, she “aced” a Ford Foundation refresher course for Women Math Majors at Rutgers. She declined the offer to help teach the next group because she felt her English wasn’t strong enough.

Milda always referred to and adored her talented father, Andrejs, who passed away in Latvia when she was very young. She maintained close relationships with her sisters and brother (a medical doctor; an architect, a dentist, and a psychiatrist) and their families. Singing was a favorite past time in her family. Family celebrations included food and evenings of singing Latvian folk songs. She met her husband in their collegiate chorus and kept singing in this alumni group even in America till 1980’s. She helped her sons with their college mathematics (Calculus, trigonometry, etc).

Throughout her lifetime, Milda held several jobs. In Latvia, she cared for younger siblings and shepherding the family’s farm animals. Later, she married and helped care for her children. In Germany, Milda and her sisters maintained hearth and home while the husbands were conscripted in work camps. In America, Milda worked as a housekeeper on a Virginian farm. She also worked as a seamstress for Lee’s Jeans, seamstress for Switlik parachutes. A natural math whiz, Milda was always sought after for tutoring.

In the Fifties, Milda’s husband worked as a bar-sweep in Wash. D.C., and then as a draftsman. Her family was present at the extravagant Inaugural Parade for Dwight D. Eisenhower’s first term of office. The family then moved to Trenton, NJ where her husband has continued working at drafting jobs meanwhile studying nights to become certified as a Professional Engineer. Milda was the house wizard, creating meals out of pennies, black pots, and water. Her husband assumed the responsibility of decorating the house and children with Rescue Mission’s furniture and clothes. Milda was a very busy woman. She washed and ironed all the children’s clothes, prepared meals and worked 5 days a week. She usually spent part of her mornings praying in bed.

The family was granted citizenship within the United States and life goes on. As a new American working wife and mother, Milda spends daytime working at Lee’s clothing factory, then some years at the Switlik parachute company. Her four sons were always into something. Her husband is the “All-American Dad” who buys musical instruments for the three youngest children and smokes home rolled cigarettes in a cigarette holder. He enjoys taking the family and their Dalmatian dog swimming in the nearby clay pits. Milda’s husband even made sure that each of his children had a used car when they were old enough to drive. It was a proud day when husband lined up the four clunker-heaps in front of his $14,000 home and photographed the family standing in front. The family shares fond memories of eating dinner without television. Conversations at the table would segue into laughter, and the meal would often be followed by music making.
It was Milda who managed the squabbles bubbling between her boys. Her use of Latvian traditions instilled cultural pride in her children. The family always celebrated the seven family birthdays, seven family NamesDays, Latvian Independence day, attended Latvian School on Sundays, and supported Latvian community theatre, dances, and sports. In addition to a house full of children, Milda looked after the family cat Mini Mo and the dog Doc. She also welcomed the neighbor boy’s pigeon coop that graced the 30 by 50 back yard along with its lilac bush and irises. One of her boys sometimes hung out in the doghouse (under the back steps). Their kitchen more than once hosted a live sheep which the daughter had borrowed from her agricultural college. Each Saturday, mother would have her late morning in bed (praying) while father soft-boiled 4 eggs for himself and 2 for his youngest son, a prelude to their shopping spree at the Rescue Mission, a charity organization. The Father knew how to save. He spent hours at the shoe cobbler’s bench in the cellar, dinging the shoe nails which were once again poking into the soles of the children’s feet, or fixing the electrical wire of a lamp with masking tape.
In the sixties, Milda’s husband accepted an engineering position within the NJ Department of Transportation. Their three sons went off to college, their daughter married, and Milda learned to drive an auto. Together she and her husband commuted twice a month to Brooklyn, NYC to sing in their college alumni choir. At the age of sixty she followed the goings-on in the Vietnam War because her youngest son was on duty there.

Everyone who knew Milda knew that she possessed a wonderful gift. Her children, grandchildren, and her great grandchildren still ask, “Please holds your thumb for good luck!” And as a result, the outcome of the petitioned event was often favorable. Over time her daughter and three oldest sons were married and grandchildren started arriving. Babysitting became Milda’s new job description. She also spent lots of time on the phone with her friend, Kreslina Kundze, and with her sisters in Canada. Her husband eventually retired and retreated to his daily chores, crossword puzzles, and biweekly trips with her to sing in the chorus. Also, Milda knits the occasional sweater for her grandchildren and children.

In the seventies and eighties, there were more birthdays/name’s-days to remember because the family kept growing larger. Milda kept tabs on all of her offspring through the telephone. She had everyone’s number, knew all of the children’s birthdates and remained genuinely interested in their wellbeing. Milda helped rear her youngest grandchild during his first semester of grade school. She still calls him “my baby”. Her husband however grew tired and had to give up driving.

Life changed a great deal in the nineties Milda lost her husband in 1991 and stopped driving shortly thereafter. It was with pride that she watched her family grow. Many of her grandchildren began having children. Milda also took a trip to recently freed Latvia. There, her son and her grandson took her to the spot where her childhood home once stood. The farm home of her youth was home to some of her fondest memories.

The computer changeover (Y2K) of the 21st century didn’t faze Milda. She had her children, her grandchildren, and her great grandchildren to hold thumbs for. Look around, she is holding her thumb right now.

She is in a good place. Rest in peace. She is Peace.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 13th, 2005 at 11:35 am and is filed under Remembering Vecmamina. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.