Interview with Helen Gurevitch, 2001
Item
Title
Interview with Helen Gurevitch, 2001
Description
Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Helen Gurevitch (1956-) on September 8, 2001. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky.
Source
024x6 Jewish Family and Career Services interviews, The Filson Historical Society, Louisville, Kentucky
Publisher
The Filson Historical Society, Louisville, Kentucky
Jewish Family and Career Services (Louisville, Ky.)
Date
Rights
Format
Language
Type
Identifier
024x6_gurevitchh
Text
QUESTIONAIRE FOR ORAL HISTORIES
l e
i n
1. lam
Joan K
w ith___ Helen Gurevitch v ________
on
0
0
1
September 8, 2
. am conducting an interview
for the JFVS archives
.
2. Can you tell me how and why your family originally came to this country and
when?
My mother and I came to this country, from Russia, January 5, 1980. My mother died
when I was four.
3. What were your parents’ names and where were they born?
My mother’s name was Sophia (Leah in Hebrew), and she was bom in the Ukraine in
a small Jewish town on the outskirts of the city.
My father’s name is Michael, who was also bom in the Ukraine in Popelia, a small
town.
4. What is your birth date? What language(s) were spoken in your home?
Where did you live then? Who lived in the same house with you Grandparents?
Uncles/aunts?
Brothers? Sisters?
I was born May 12, 1956 in Kiev, Russia. My father and aunt, Bronislava, who raised
me, spoke both Yiddish and Russian.
I was the only child.
5. What was your neighborhood like? Were there other Jews living in the
neighborhood? Did you walk to school? Sunday School? Temple? Was
there a neighborhood grocery? Drug store?
My neighborhood consisted of many apartment buildings and there were other Jews
in the neighboring apartments. I walked to school as there was no other means of
transportation for me. There was no Sunday school, but there was a small temple.
There were grocery stores and drug stores.
6. How did the 1937 flood affect you and your family?
This was not asked during this interview.
7. If you wished to travel what kind of transportation did you use? Did you
travel when you were young? If so, where?
As a teenager I traveled by bus or trolley to the center of the cite where there were
shops, movie theatres, and restaurants.
8. Was your family involved in a synagogue / temple?
There was no involvement in a synagogue or temple in Russia.
9. What holidays and rituals were observed?
Passover was the only holiday I remember observing.
10. Did you attend religious school? Were you confirmed? Bar Mitzvah?
I never attended any religious school.
11 .What is your educational background? What was your career?
I attended high school and beauty school in Russia, and when I came to the United
States I attended beauty school and became a beautician.
12. What brought you to Louisville and when did you come?
I came to Louisville with my husband, Bile, in 1993 to visit over the Jewish holidays
and I liked the community and lifestyle that was offered here. My husband had lived
here for years before.
13. How did you meet your husband/wife? Where and when were you married?
Did you have children?
I met Bile on a blind date in New York on September 5, 1981. I was married to him
October 2, 1981 in Brighton Beach, NY. We have two children, on boy and one girl.
14. Tell about you involvement in the Jewish Community? Was you whole family
involved?
My involvement in the Jewish community is through my children. They were
students at the Jewish Day School and my family is part of the Adath Jeshurun
congregation. My son attended bar mitzvah classes there and just had his bar mitzvah
this year. My family also holds a membership with the J.C.C. and my daughter,
Sabrina, was a camp counselor there, she is now a freshman at U of L.
15. How was your family affected by the World Wars? Wars in Israel?
I remember my grandfather on my mother’s side was killed in WWII.
16. What are your favorite spiritual memories? How did religion affect your life?
I remember that my grandmother and I would secretly have to go and buy matzos for
Passover, and that as a Jew In Russia I was called names and could not practice my religion.
17. What interests do you have?
My interests are based on my children and my family that are all over the country.
My pleasures are staying in touch and visiting for all occasions.
18. What are your favorite family memories?
My favorite family memories are when everyone lived together in Russia as a family
unit. My grandmother teaching me how to cook, and the close relationship I had with
my aunt, Bronislava, who recently passed away. My father retired from the NY area
and came to live in Louisville about 6 years ago, and he lives in Shalom Towers, and
is very involved with my children and me.
19. What is your legacy? How would you like to be remembered? What values
would you like to pass on to those you leave behind?
I want to be remembered as a loving mother, daughter, and wife, and a very
compassionate thoughtful person. I want always to remember my Russian heritage
and the customs that were taught in my home and have been passed on to my
children. My legacy is one of the family and its strength, I feel, is the most important
part of my life.
l e
i n
1. lam
Joan K
w ith___ Helen Gurevitch v ________
on
0
0
1
September 8, 2
. am conducting an interview
for the JFVS archives
.
2. Can you tell me how and why your family originally came to this country and
when?
My mother and I came to this country, from Russia, January 5, 1980. My mother died
when I was four.
3. What were your parents’ names and where were they born?
My mother’s name was Sophia (Leah in Hebrew), and she was bom in the Ukraine in
a small Jewish town on the outskirts of the city.
My father’s name is Michael, who was also bom in the Ukraine in Popelia, a small
town.
4. What is your birth date? What language(s) were spoken in your home?
Where did you live then? Who lived in the same house with you Grandparents?
Uncles/aunts?
Brothers? Sisters?
I was born May 12, 1956 in Kiev, Russia. My father and aunt, Bronislava, who raised
me, spoke both Yiddish and Russian.
I was the only child.
5. What was your neighborhood like? Were there other Jews living in the
neighborhood? Did you walk to school? Sunday School? Temple? Was
there a neighborhood grocery? Drug store?
My neighborhood consisted of many apartment buildings and there were other Jews
in the neighboring apartments. I walked to school as there was no other means of
transportation for me. There was no Sunday school, but there was a small temple.
There were grocery stores and drug stores.
6. How did the 1937 flood affect you and your family?
This was not asked during this interview.
7. If you wished to travel what kind of transportation did you use? Did you
travel when you were young? If so, where?
As a teenager I traveled by bus or trolley to the center of the cite where there were
shops, movie theatres, and restaurants.
8. Was your family involved in a synagogue / temple?
There was no involvement in a synagogue or temple in Russia.
9. What holidays and rituals were observed?
Passover was the only holiday I remember observing.
10. Did you attend religious school? Were you confirmed? Bar Mitzvah?
I never attended any religious school.
11 .What is your educational background? What was your career?
I attended high school and beauty school in Russia, and when I came to the United
States I attended beauty school and became a beautician.
12. What brought you to Louisville and when did you come?
I came to Louisville with my husband, Bile, in 1993 to visit over the Jewish holidays
and I liked the community and lifestyle that was offered here. My husband had lived
here for years before.
13. How did you meet your husband/wife? Where and when were you married?
Did you have children?
I met Bile on a blind date in New York on September 5, 1981. I was married to him
October 2, 1981 in Brighton Beach, NY. We have two children, on boy and one girl.
14. Tell about you involvement in the Jewish Community? Was you whole family
involved?
My involvement in the Jewish community is through my children. They were
students at the Jewish Day School and my family is part of the Adath Jeshurun
congregation. My son attended bar mitzvah classes there and just had his bar mitzvah
this year. My family also holds a membership with the J.C.C. and my daughter,
Sabrina, was a camp counselor there, she is now a freshman at U of L.
15. How was your family affected by the World Wars? Wars in Israel?
I remember my grandfather on my mother’s side was killed in WWII.
16. What are your favorite spiritual memories? How did religion affect your life?
I remember that my grandmother and I would secretly have to go and buy matzos for
Passover, and that as a Jew In Russia I was called names and could not practice my religion.
17. What interests do you have?
My interests are based on my children and my family that are all over the country.
My pleasures are staying in touch and visiting for all occasions.
18. What are your favorite family memories?
My favorite family memories are when everyone lived together in Russia as a family
unit. My grandmother teaching me how to cook, and the close relationship I had with
my aunt, Bronislava, who recently passed away. My father retired from the NY area
and came to live in Louisville about 6 years ago, and he lives in Shalom Towers, and
is very involved with my children and me.
19. What is your legacy? How would you like to be remembered? What values
would you like to pass on to those you leave behind?
I want to be remembered as a loving mother, daughter, and wife, and a very
compassionate thoughtful person. I want always to remember my Russian heritage
and the customs that were taught in my home and have been passed on to my
children. My legacy is one of the family and its strength, I feel, is the most important
part of my life.
Citation
Gurevitch, Helen, 1956- and Klein, Joan, “Interview with Helen Gurevitch, 2001,” The Filson Historical Society Digital Projects, accessed May 16, 2026, https://filsonhistorical.omeka.net/items/show/6924.
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