Tukums

It was winter – February – when I got a notice that the only job at the moment was at Annemieka factory in the Tukums district near Lestene and Rumbus hotel. The nearest town was Dobele, about twelve kilometres away. I was a cream collection manager. The actual cream collective was in the Rumbus hotel until the factory could be opened. It was a rough pub at a crossroads’ stopover and it was built like the old manor houses from split stone. The land around was very flat. The farms were all very prosperous and the farmers conceited. The pub had been allocated to a blacksmith who had lived and worked there. He was very well-off and owned another farm as well. His name was Barons and he had two daughters and a son. The oldest daughter was married and the son was in national service. So, there were only four of us in the large building: myself, the two parents, and their daughter Guste who was a 25-year-old, slim blonde. At first the room I used was on the street side; very light, newly painted and with a built-in stove so that I could do my own cooking. As it was winter I was keeping my room nice and warm. Guste was coming in to warm herself and this led to some kissing until we found ourselves in bed.

Jan 26, 2010

At Vandzene, the factory was in a bad condition; dirty and a lot of the equipment was out of order. The manager said that nothing could be done as it was impossible to get any parts or repairs. With my previous experience at Snepele I knew that if I went in person with some butter I could get it, rather than leaving it to the committee. This way I could get anything that was in any of the warehouses so I took a truck and filled it with everything needed. I had the whole place whitewashed and all the machinery fixed so that we could really start producing.

Feb 12, 2010