THE LIFE AND WORK OF THE DONOR ATANAS BLIZNAKOV IN THE MONOGRAPHS OF SLAVE KATIN
Doca was 20 when she married Ivan, who was 24 at the time. Their married life was very happy and they cherished the respect they had for each other, which they passed on to their children. They really were a very satisfied and happy family.
Doca had a sister named Dimana who married in D’mbeni but moved to Prilep after the war. She married Naumo Miovski from D’mbeni who was a famous freedom fighter and President of the Judiciary Committee in Koresta during the Ilinden period.
Doca and Ivan had three sons and one daughter. Unfortunately one son died. The firstborn was Atanas, the second was Vasil and the third son Pando died in 1925 at the age of four. Their only daughter Slavka was the third child but she died in 1912 at the age of three. Vasil was born in 1906 and died in 1999 in Gary, where he was also buried. He went to the U.S.A. at an early age (1927) and lived there with his wife Anastasija, born in the village Aposkep.
She arrived in the U.S.A. in 1957 where she married Vasil. Their only daughter Docka (Dorothy) was born on April 13, 1962. She is an intelligent woman who graduated from college in the U.S. Today she lives with her mother in Maryville, Indiana. Atanas and Slavka maintained close relations with them.
Atanas’ Macedonian origin and roots could be traced and understood from the data about the Bliznakovs. The family, as Atanas said in an interview, had put down deep and long roots both in Macedonia and in the U.S.A. СлушнетеЧитајте фонетски
Atanas used to speak constantly about his family with pride and respect, about his roots, Macedonian spirit, Christian morals and the respect that was cherished among members of the Bliznakov family. Many times he stressed that his upbringing was important in his life since his parents raised and taught him to comply with Solomon who said: Listen, my son, to the moral teachings of your father and don’t disavow your promise to your mother. They taught him to be an industrious, honest, law-abiding, and decent citizen.
The village of Dmbeni
These words were always in his mind, giving him a strong incentive which shaped his life and work. Therefore he used to repeat these positive human qualities and often said that America achieved much because it taught people to be punctual, honest and efficient in business. This was his business motto.
There are many anecdotes about the family of Atanas Bliznakov, as well as about other families from D’mbeni. Here is an anecdote about his father Vanco that others in D’mbeni experienced as well as emigrants of D’mbeni living in the U.S.A. and beyond.
The festival of Epiphany was celebrated in D’mbeni for years and everyone remembers it. On that day, all village dwellers gathered in the yard in front of the church of St. Nicholas after liturgy was performed. There, on the day of Epiphany male dancers usually performed around the drinking fountain not far from the Cinar where many men, women, children and old people gathered. There were also four local taverns and several shops in front of the church.
Since Epiphany is in winter everything was usually covered with snow; houses, the mountain Vinjari, hills and woodlands, and everything else was white.
Not far from the church there was a puddle in the center of the village where priest Dimitri used to throw a cross. A great number of men, boys and children tried to catch the cross, which was a sign of good luck. It was a shallow puddle, not more than one meter deep.
To be continued
By SLAVE KATIN
