Mrs. VOSHININ. Exactly opposite direction away from Russians. Let's put
it this way. And that was our direction throughout our life, I'm afraid.
Mr. JENNER. Your direction all your life has been away from the
Russians?
Mrs. VOSHININ. Yes; away from the Russians.
Mr. JENNER. And you went to where?
Mrs. VOSHININ. Well, we came as far as Kempten, Bavaria. And, of
course, we were stopped there because we heard that that's as far as
you can go without being extensively controlled by Germans. Because,
you see, we did not have the permit to leave, or anything. We did not
have any permit to leave town--and this we might have been shot for
it. Because, before we left town--several days before--Germans made
an announcement that whoever leaves will be put to death. But, if we
stayed, we would be put to death by Russians--so, what could we lose,
you know?
Mr. JENNER. And you arrived in Bavaria--and were you liberated by
anybody?
Mrs. VOSHININ. That's right--by lots of people. First, I believe it was
French Moroccan troops, they were the first who just zoomed through
Kempten; and then came American troops.
Mr. JENNER. And you were completely liberated by them?
Mrs. VOSHININ. Yes; that's right. It was good!
Mr. JENNER. You were pleased to see the Americans?
Mrs. VOSHININ. You bet! I was pleased to see the Moroccans also, you
know--any friend.
Mr. JENNER. And did you come to America then?
Mrs. VOSHININ. That's right, sir.
Mr. JENNER. And settled temporarily, at least initially, in New Jersey?
Mrs. VOSHININ. In New York--well, let's see. No. First of all we
settled in New York. We were taken to the Diplomat Hotel and put down
there. Then we lived at the Diplomat Hotel for--I'm not sure--Gee, I
don't remember. Anyway, we worked in New York always, both of us, my
husband and I, and we lived in Bayonne, N.J., part of the time in New
York, and then we lived in Highland Park, N.J.--which was across the
bridge from New Brunswick. New Brunswick is were Rutgers University is.
I was going there, so we lived across the bridge from it.
Mr. JENNER. Did you eventually come to Dallas?
Mrs. VOSHININ. It was in September--beginning of September 1955. I
believe it was around the 1st or 6th of September.
Mr. JENNER. Did you come to Dallas directly, or did you stop in another
Texas city first?
Mrs. VOSHININ. Well, we went on vacation before we directly settled
in Dallas and we were sort of looking around where would be right to
stop. So, we went to Houston but the climate was not quite pleasant
there--and, you know, my husband had a very bad case of asthma in New
York and he was advised to look for a hot and dry climate. So, we
decided against that. And then we came to Dallas and liked it very much.
Mr. JENNER. Do you like the climate here?
Mrs. VOSHININ. Very much. Yes, indeed.
Mr. JENNER. Your husband was very helpful in telling us about the
Russian community that you found here, or the community in which you
moved, which he related largely to two parishes of the Greek Orthodox
Church. He said that when you and he came to Dallas, either you didn't
know anybody at all, or you knew some one person--I forget.
Mrs. VOSHININ. No; we didn't know anybody at all personally. But, you
see, when we were in Houston, we met there--of course, we went to the
church first. That's usually your first move. And we met the priest
there and----
Mr. JENNER. His name?
Mrs. VOSHININ. Father Alexander Chernay.
Mr. JENNER. Spell it.
Mrs. VOSHININ. [Spelling] C-h-e-r-n-a-y--or "I". I don't know how he
spelled it.
And then he introduced us to Mrs. Jitkoff's mother.
Mr. JENNER. Spell that, too.
Mrs. VOSHININ. Let me think of her name. What was her name? She died.
She was the mother of Mrs. Andre Jitkoff--[spelling] J-i-t-k-o-f-f.
3714 Locke Lane--if you need the address.
And, first of all, we met her and she told us the lay of the land and
all the pros and cons of Texas life. And, finally--she spoke very
convincingly--she liked Texas very much--and we decided to stay here.
And she directed us to Mr. George Bouhe in Dallas. And then we came and
met George.
Mr. JENNER. You didn't know Bouhe prior to this time?
Mrs. VOSHININ. No, sir; no, sir.
Mr. JENNER. Who is George Bouhe?
Mrs. VOSHININ. Well, he's an accountant, I believe, and I don't know
exactly for whom he worked at that time--but I know that he worked for
a long time for DeGolyer and MacNaughton. And he was sort of a manager
of the Russian parish there--Father Alexander's parish.
Mr. JENNER. What parish is that?
Mrs. VOSHININ. That was the St. Nicholas parish.
Mr. JENNER. Tell us about this community of people.
Mrs. VOSHININ. Well, there were very few people and who we met there
were Clarks--one of the first--Gali and Max Clark--that's [spelling]
G-a-l-i.
Mr. JENNER. In what town do they live?
Mrs. VOSHININ. They live at 3712 Selkirk--[spelling] S-e-l-k-i-r-k--in
Fort Worth.
Mr. JENNER. Max Clark is an attorney, is he not?
Mrs. VOSHININ. That's right; uh-huh.