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Ion from the village Glod, insisted on filling our pockets with
fresh walnuts -- 'for the road'

Village Scenes -- October 1999:

Doca from Slatioara doing laundry in the river.

They have special swirling vats where the water tumbles their heavy rugs and blankets for hours in the fresh water.

Clothes get treated by hand. (Sarbi, Jud. Maramures)

Ion is Doca's husband. He's industrious, making all manner of things for his village from metal and wood.

Behind him is his grave marker. He makes them for sale, but he's already put his own together, just in case.

Another friend's shed is evidence they're not leaving anything to the last minute. This way they're sure they're not a burden to the living and they get the measurements right.

  Thoughts of living through the winter have most men bringing home firewood. Not just twigs from the forest either. (Glod, Jud. Maramures)

We met an Englishman who's adopted the town of Breb. Here he's shaking his tree for walnuts.

 He got a lot of help from his wee friends.

Peeling beans. (Sarbi, Jud. Maramures)

Wool drying for sweaters and rugs. (Oncesti, Jud. Maramures)

   Free range pigs and their favorite food. (Glod, Jud. Maramures)

No other way to this person's home. (Sarbi, Jud. Maramures)

Once upon a time these pots were sign of the dowry being offered by an eligible maid's family. Now it's just a way of drying them without getting the kitchen wet. (Calenesti, Jud. Maramures)

We've found ourselves in the midst of women trying to make Kathleen look like a folk dancer's picture.

They kept loading things on her hoping she'd buy something.

She didn't look anything like the picture, but they kept saying "It's perfect!!"

Most families have a room decked out like this. (Slatioara, Jud. Maramures)

This man has an amazing presence.

Perhaps watching sheep is a kind of meditation. (Cornesti, Jud. Maramures)

Ion shows us his Tuica (pronounced tswi-ka) shed.

Just like back home in West Virginia...

Water still makes corn into flour. (Slatioara, Jud. Maramures)

On All Saint's day they light candles on their family graves.

Then the priest calls out the names of the beloved of everyone who brought bread, wine or money. This took him about an hour.

While he was singing, he stopped often to cough, but many of the villagers didn't notice because they were socializing.

     
Friend of Doca beside Mamaliga, Slatioara,Jud. Maramures.

On to November 1-14 2000

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