experienced, was my Grandmother
putting on her Boyar costume to sing in
the Russian Orthodox Church and
Russian gatherings. There was so much
ceremony and beauty-if she had only
know her precious Ma-Ma was a Countess – if she
would have only known - she was a Countess.
I wonder now how their lives would have played
out in a royal arena. But my Grandmother was not
one for airs-she was a hard worker and focused my
Mother’s life on achievement. Her royal costume was
just that; a costume. Little did my mother know she
would be living the Cinderella story of all time.
After leaving Russia my Grandmother settled in
Detroit Michigan with her two daughters Nadia and
Ann - my mother Luba was still in Russia with her
beloved Grandfather and Grandmother. “Countess”
Katherine Lebedez went to work in a factory and
soon married another Russian factory worker; It
was now time to send for Luba. So the ticket was
sent and Luba was put on the boat to cross the
Atlantic - alone- at only 8 years of age.
18
VOLUME 4 – I SSUE 1
| www.todaystxwoman.co m
Her trip was to be interrupted
by a nasty case of The Chicken Pox and she was
forced to spend a couple of weeks in a London hospital-alone. But that didn’t keep this young
Countess down! When she recovered, she jumped on
another boat and proudly sailed into New York harbor to rendezvous with a Mother she hardly even
knew. Imagine! Here was this eight year old child
going through Ellis Island protocol-alone. There was
a full day of red tape and health exams shared
among hundreds of strangers that waited in never
ending lines. As this little girl entered America she
was ushered into the arms of her Mother who waited anxiously on the dock. The re-union was bitter
sweet for my Mother. She missed her grand-parents
and homeland. But remember…she came from