The
cover shows Hollenbeck Park pond, south of the boat house, looking at
the original wooden bridge (downtown LA in background), beyond which
today is the Golden State Freeway (I-5).
This
2005 book produced by the Japanese American Museum documents most of
the exhibit: "Boyle Heights:
The Power of
Place" from
September 8, 2002 to February 23, 2003. A section of that exhibit
was about LA Molokan-Jumpers: Boyle Heights
Project — "Russian flats".
with 45 items showing American
Molokan-Jumpers (76 people, 37 photos, 5 texts, 2 videos, 1 CD
singing). Though many photos were loaned from the UMCA Heritage Room
for this
exhibit, unfortunately none were allowed to be published in this book
due to fears by some Jumpers on the UMCA board of directors about being
"worldly." |
Molokan
conscientious objectors and servicement gather at the United Molokan
Christian Association [UMCA]
on Utah Street in 1943. Shown, from left to
right, are (first row) Andy Patapoff,
Eddy Leigh [Leige], Paul
Vedenoff, and Paul Patapoff;
(second row) Alex Shubin, and John
Mendrin; (third row) Bill Haproff, John
Pavloff,
and Al Romanoff. Russian
Molokans, a sect
that broke away from the Russian Orthodox Church under tsarist Russia,
were faced with a difficult choice during World War II. Committed
pacifists, many Molokans originally fled Russia [most were Jumpers from Erevan oblast,
now Armenia] to
avoid being conscripted into military service during the Russo-Janaese
war. Nevertheless, young Molokan [and
Jumper] men, including Andy and
Paul Patapoff, chose to serve in the United States military. Despite
his request for non-combatant duty, Andy was assigned to a tank
destroyer batallion in the Pacific Theater. Paul served in the navy.
Some Molokans [and Jumpers],
like their friends Alex Shubin and John
Pavloff, were designated consciensious objectors by their draft boards
and served at civilian public service camps. Others who were denied
conscientious objector status were sent to prison for refusing to serve
in the military. (Courtesy Paul and Andy Patapoff, Japanese American
National Museum, 2000.211.4.)
|