A Momentous Year

Thus, amid cares and daily work, we met the year 1952. This year proved very important and momentous for my family. In this year my youngest sister Katya was born – a beautiful little angel with large blue eyes, a tremendous blessing for our family. She became the first child born to the Loktev family in America. Also that year my dear nephews were born – the firstborn of my older brother Vasily – Pavel, and also Ben – the first son of Valentin Potlov and my older sister Lida.

That same year we felt how our church had grown and how our life filled with pleasant cares. By this time our family stood fairly firmly on its feet, and we made every effort to help emigrants recently arrived in America settle down. My father, together with Pyotr Amegin, helped people find work and housing, Vasily assisted in choosing cars and even freely repaired them for those in need of his help but without means to pay, and we children helped other teenagers integrate into our community.