GODPARENTS

Here we have a 1968 photo of my Uncle Bob and Aunt Marijka (also my godmother), at the rear of the table, and my Babcia, Joanna Gissowska Chmilewskyj, in the left front corner, probably taken in the home near Patterson Park in Baltimore. The gentleman in the dark suit is my godfather Dr. Andrew Lemishka, and the woman is his wife Lidia. My grandfather persuaded Lemishka to come to Baltimore and open a medical practice.

COMING TO AMERICA

In 1949 the Chmilewskyj family made the ocean voyage from Europe to America. Here are a few shots from that trip.

Lydia Oxana Chmilewska (Tidd) laughing aboard the ship, dressed in her Girl Scouts uniform.

Mom (on far left) with a group of women (most likely fellow displaced persons), with what she later told me was the cook aboard the ship. He was the first black man she had ever met, and she said he was the nicest person. Have no idea, sadly, the others' identities.

A group of future Americans making the voyage to their new home. Most of the individuals I can't identify, but I am going to guess at a few. My mom is second from the right. Standing just in front of her to her right is my Babcia,Joanna Gissowska Chmilewskyj. The little girl with bow in her hair, in front, I think is my Aunt Marijka. The man standing next to the tall priest is my grandfather (I think) Jaroslav Chmilewskyj. My Aunt might be able to fill in the blanks or correct me.

This shot was likely taken earlier, before they left Europe, possibly in Germany. My mom is standing to the right, stylishly dressed in polka-dot dress and heavy jacket.

CHMILEWSKYJ 1963

Herewith a September 1963 shot of my grandparents and my aunt, most likely somewhere in Maryland.

MYSTERY MOM

Here is a little mystery for me. Sitting in the second row is my mom Lydia, wearing the vertically striped dress. On her right is her stepmom, Joanna. The picture is dated 1954. One of the girls in the picture may be Marijka. Otherwise, I have no idea who the others are, or what event they are attending. One of the few pictures I have of Babcia smiling. As an aside, the girl in the front row with the purse in her lap could be a doppelgänger for someone we knew in Florida, Sybil Athey.

FUNERAL FOR A GREAT MAN (1965)

My Ukrainian grandfather, Jaroslav Chmilewskyj (or Chmilewsky) died in 1965. A Renaissance man, he was a physician, artist, community leader, painter, archeologist, supporter of the arts, and many other things. I have few memories of him; I recall watching him shave in the little bathroom just outside the kitchen of his Baltimore row house, and that is about it. I know I was intimidated by him, awed. We must have been already in Hawaii when he passed, because I don't see any pictures of my mother among the mourners, and surely she would have been there had she been able to. He was sixty-nine and died of a heart attack. He was senior staff doctor at Henryton State Hospital (originally a tuberculosis hospital, but then a mental hospital). He had just retired. Here are some pictures from his funeral. I know almost no one in these shots, and hope my aunt can supply names at a later date.

My stepgrandmother Joanna Gissowska Chmilewskyj (who I called Babcia) is holding the purse and wearing the pillbox, and my Aunt Marijka has the black-lined veil across her face.

Don't know if this was a pre-funeral coffee, or a gathering afterwards.

His grave at St. Michael's Ukrainian Cemetery. Babcia is visiting. These two shots appear to have been taken a year later.