.jpg)
Roman )seatted) and friend before emigrating .
Roman's mother, brother Matfiei, wife, and cousins.Did not emigrate.
Roman Furman – Stories
These are stories of my father, of his youth until he emigrated to Argentina. The recordings were made in 1988 and early 1989 using an old cassette recorder and recently re-mastered. They are presented in six sections based on the original narration. Some accounts are repeated, the result of recording sessions done months apart and in a free-flowing conversational style.
My father, Roman Furman, narrated these stories many times over the years. In fact, my mother can be heard exclaiming emphatically, “I’ve heard you mention them so many times, even I can tell them!” There are many other stories that were not recorded, unfortunately, such as accounts of his arrival in Buenos Aires, his stay at the “Hotel de inmigrantes," his travel to the province of Cordoba where a job as a farmhand awaited him at the farm of Don Ernesto Mitelsky, earning enough money to move to the province of Chaco in Northern Argentina, traveling on top of cargo trains along with other immigrants, starting his own transport business delivering cotton from farms to the train station, marrying my mother and starting a family, moving to Buenos Aires and finding a job as a foreman at General Motors refurbishing truck engines during WW-II, starting his own metallurgy business in Villa Industriales, near Buenos Aires, and eventually emigrating again in 1960 to the USA.
All of the above stories would have taken many recording sessions, but these at least, survive to give a good idea of what it was like to immigrate to South America in the early 20th century. They are narrated by my father with some interjections by my mother and the occasional bark of the family dogs in the background.
Some readers may be familiar with some of the themes, people or places, but everyone will find the stories compelling. They offer an incomplete albeit vivid view of self-made people of character, forged during times marked by social and economic dislocation, political conflict, and religious change.
The background music interspersed throughout the narrations are excerpts of some of the songs and hymns that were frequently enjoyed at home. While the songs don’t necessarily speak to any specific narration, they reflect the ambience of the home in which the stories were told many times.
My father, Roman Furman, narrated these stories many times over the years. In fact, my mother can be heard exclaiming emphatically, “I’ve heard you mention them so many times, even I can tell them!” There are many other stories that were not recorded, unfortunately, such as accounts of his arrival in Buenos Aires, his stay at the “Hotel de inmigrantes," his travel to the province of Cordoba where a job as a farmhand awaited him at the farm of Don Ernesto Mitelsky, earning enough money to move to the province of Chaco in Northern Argentina, traveling on top of cargo trains along with other immigrants, starting his own transport business delivering cotton from farms to the train station, marrying my mother and starting a family, moving to Buenos Aires and finding a job as a foreman at General Motors refurbishing truck engines during WW-II, starting his own metallurgy business in Villa Industriales, near Buenos Aires, and eventually emigrating again in 1960 to the USA.
All of the above stories would have taken many recording sessions, but these at least, survive to give a good idea of what it was like to immigrate to South America in the early 20th century. They are narrated by my father with some interjections by my mother and the occasional bark of the family dogs in the background.
Some readers may be familiar with some of the themes, people or places, but everyone will find the stories compelling. They offer an incomplete albeit vivid view of self-made people of character, forged during times marked by social and economic dislocation, political conflict, and religious change.
The background music interspersed throughout the narrations are excerpts of some of the songs and hymns that were frequently enjoyed at home. While the songs don’t necessarily speak to any specific narration, they reflect the ambience of the home in which the stories were told many times.
Pedro Mular, Esteban Bondarczuk & other church leaders
Parts 3 & 6. Above: Slavic church conference, Argentina
Kirilo Semenchuk, his mother & spouse
In part 3. Kirilo, father of Andrew Semenchuck, was Roman's cousin. He and his wife emigrated to Canada about the same time as Roman did to Argentina.
Ernesto & Maria Mitelsky
Mentioned in parts 1 & 6. Roman's first job in Argentina was at the farm of Don Ernesto and Doña Maria Mitelsky. Ernesto's cousin had been Roman's boss in Ukraine and had written to Ernesto about him. They remained friends for life and we visited the Mitelsky's often at their farm near San Pedro in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The Furman Family
Above, and around: with his wife Ana (Ñura), daughters Rosa, Delia, Lidia and son Pablo. Right, showing grandson Daniel, (about 10 years at the time) the business of building tanks for distilleries around Buenos Aires. Roman's pick-up truck, 1958.
Berdan Rifle
Parts 1 & 4
.jpg){kind=spacer}
The Berdan rifle (винтовка Бердана/Vintovka Berdana) is a Russian rifle created by the American firearms expert and inventor Hiram Berdan in 1868. It was standard issue in the Russian army from 1870 to 1891, when it was replaced by the Mosin–Nagant rifle. It was widely used in Russia as a hunting weapon, and sporting variants, including shotguns, were produced until the mid-1930s. The Russian Berdan I (M1868) and Berdan II (M1870) rifles of .42 caliber are distinct from the Spanish Berdan 15mm (.58+ cal) conversion rifles adopted by Spain as the M1857/67 Berdan (and related engineer, artillery & short rifles). Markings on the Berdan rifle usually consist of the Imperial Russian double-headed eagle cypher on the top receiver flat. The manufacturer's name in Cyrillic, date of manufacture, and rifle serial number, are on the top of the barrel. Some rifles also show a date of manufacture on the receiver. The serial number was also applied to the bolt. Additional proof marks and property markings are found on the receiver and barrel.
For more information see BERDAN'S BREECH-LOADING RIFLE in Scientific American, Vol. 11, No. 22 (NOVEMBER 26, 1864), p. 343 Published by: Scientific American, a division of Nature America, Inc.
Case-hardening or surface hardening is the process of hardening the surface of a metal object while allowing the metal deeper underneath to remain soft, thus forming a thin layer of harder metal (called the "case") at the surface. For iron or steel with low carbon content, which has poor to no hardenability of its own, the case-hardening process involves infusing additional carbon or nitrogen into the surface layer. Cyaniding is a case-hardening process that is fast and efficient; it is mainly used on low-carbon steels. The part is heated to 871–954 °C (1600–1750 °F) in a bath of sodium cyanide and then is quenched and rinsed, in water or oil, to remove any residual cyanide.2NaCN + O2 → 2NaCNO2NaCNO + O2 → Na2CO3 + CO + N22CO → CO2 + CThis process produces a thin, hard shell (between 0.25 and 0.75 mm, 0.01 and 0.03 inches) that is harder than the one produced by carburizing, and can be completed in 20 to 30 minutes compared to several hours so the parts have less opportunity to become distorted. It is typically used on small parts such as bolts, nuts, screws and small gears. The major drawback of cyaniding is that cyanide salts are poisonous.