Jan 21 / Aija Moon

1922: Farmhand Days

The next summer I was 16, no longer a shepherd. Next position – a farmhand. On the farm there was one farmhand on wages and one woman. My oldest brother Adams had taken over running the farm, even though mother owned it – she was sick a lot and was not a good manager. Adams also had control over the money.
The farm work was very hard with long hours. Starting at sunrise at 4 AM, then a short break for breakfast that was carried out to the fields. From 12-2 PM we could rest, then 2-9 PM it was back to work until sunset. There was no pay for this.
Summer dances were held in the open. Arturs and I waited until it was dark to sneak in without paying as we had no money. I felt very bad about this, insulted, that after a week of really hard work my brother would not give us the little money we needed for this.
As autumn came I expected to go to the technical college. When I raised the subject with my brother he refused to send me to school anymore as it was too expensive. When winter came I refused to go to the forest to cut logs as my brother was spending all the money received for the summer crops on building materials which he had already collected and stored in every possible place. He though only about himself.
Under the inheritance law the buildings belonged to the oldest son and the land to the other children. All along he behaved as if he owned the lot.

Jan 22 / Aija Moon

1924: Getting Away

At the onset of winter I had made a gun of ½ centimetre metal pipe (using Russian cartridges.) I straightened the then end and made it a hunting gun. Powder and other things could be bought. Arturs had a real hunting rifle. That year there were a lot of squirrels; they were everywhere that firs grew, eating the seeds from the cones. The skins could be sold for 3 lati, which was a days’ pay for a labourer. By walking around the different areas I could shoot 2-4 every day, which was very good money. It was illegal to shoot them, but when it is necessary you can do anything. With my illegal earnings I saved 30-40 lati. My dream was to go to Riga and work during the day and study at night at the technical college. After Christmas I decided to do it. Until this time I did not even have an overcoat, so I had one made from a rough, home made material. I packed my belongings in a home made box like a suitcase with a lock. My belongings consisted of what mother gave me: a small cushion, a thin blanket, and one sheet. My oldest brother, after all my summer work, refused to give me anything saying, “You are just going in the world to become a thief.” I decided that I would never come home to the farm again because it could not be worse than anywhere else. At least I could always work for food.
Now, I am surprised at my determination and courage to go back to Riga in the worst weather without even knowing anyone there. The beginning was a shock. There was very bad unemployment. I spent the first night in a hotel, but for the next night I found Dzirnavas street where the farmers who came to the city stayed with their horses and loads of goods. At these special accommodation areas you could get a straw mattress in a warm room for ½ lati. Fully clothes, the farmers used this for sleeping. For a few santimi (cents) you could buy ½ a loaf of white bread with water, and that was breakfast. I had to find work. Vacant positions were advertised in the paper “Jaunakas Zinas.” After a search I found a newspaper publishing place in inner Riga in a narrow lane, “Mazu Kaleja” street. When I got there, the street was full of people queuing for the paper to come out so that if there were any jobs advertised they would be the first ones there. Seeing this I became quite depressed. Standing there, I met a school friend from Aizpute in the crowd. He was also looking for work. We talked about accommodation and he offered me ½ a bed in a place he was staying. It was a room with 2-3 beds, all the people were strangers. The bed was all you got. The old woman who ran this rooming house was kind and suggested that it would be all right to squeeze up until I could find something better. I started to learn about Riga, which I did not know at all.

Jan 23 / Aija Moon

1924: My First Job In Riga

One day the old landlady said that the baker downstairs was looking for an apprentice. The work was only at night, starting at 4 PM and through the night until 8 AM (16 hours.) I worked with the baker making bread rolls. They were put in the oven in one end and taken out at the other end. The rolls were put on wooden platforms, covered with a linen fabric, and put near the ceiling to rise. My job was called “smuli.” I was in a rush most of the time: grab the platforms from the ceilings, then the baker puts them on slides like very long skis, then slides them in on the stone floor in the oven. The ovens were heated before use by wood to a temperature of 30 celsius. I slept and ate during the day in a little room above that I shared with another youth from the country. The food was very good but the wages were only 10 lati a month (approx. $10AUD) I wanted to explore Riga. After breakfast I would think to go on an hours’ walk, but often returned just in time for work at 4 PM. It was very hard. I was so sleepy that as soon as I stopped moving, I fell asleep. I struggled like this for 4-5 months. Spring was coming and I decided that being a baker was not for me.
I read in the paper that trainees were needed for milk production co-operatives. I went to Dzirnava street where the authority for this was. An elderly man, Mr. Kerselis received me kindly. He was a past manager of a milk co-operative. I told him all of my problems and that I was from the country. He told me the requirements for the job – I would have to work in the milk factory for six months on all the jobs, then three months theory in Riga that qualifies you to manage a milk co-operative. At that time, after the First World War, butter was in high demand overseas – in Germany and England – but only butter made under the state control. In every district the factories were organised but there was no qualified staff. Thus the managers were given crash courses in order to qualify. I was in the right place at the right time.