Colorado Singles Resource Guide - Fall 2007 - (Page 12) ETHNICITY by Margo Hamilton Pola Lubarov Born in Riga, Latvia, Pola Lubarov’s heritage is deeply rooted in her European ancestry and culture. Her heart, however, found liberation, light and love after leaving her marriage of 27 years. “ I married when I was 21, and I was still living in the apartment of my parents in Riga,” Pola shares. “Dating in Latvia was very different from how people date in the United States. We’d gather in groups, and I would gather with groups of my Jewish friends. We went in the homes of our parents to listen to music and dance, or go to the beach. After you marry, you continue to live with your parents, which is what I did with my husband.” Tailors and seamstresses link the generations in Pola’s family, and they left more than a legacy to this descendant, they created a way of life. “After I completed junior high school, I got a job with a dressmaker during the day. I was attending high school in the evenings, and studying fashion design,” claims Pola of her schooldays that forged a lucrative career for her as well as making her a well-known dress designer in Cherry Creek years later. Pola and her then-husband came to the United States in 1973. With $20 in their pockets, two cherished children and two suitcases that contained “mostly clothes and toys for our children,” the destitute family made their way to Denver. “My aunt had married a Polish man after WWII, and they settled in Denver in 1963. Neither my husband, our children nor myself spoke one word of English, Pola reveals. “My aunt rented an apartment for us, and three days after we arrived, my husband found a job at a meat packing house.” Settling into life American-style, Pola became a stay-at-home mom, and soon baby number three entered their lives. “It became imperative that I work, and I found a job in a dress store in 1979. A couple of months later, I decided to start my own dressmaking business with my sister-in-law. I taught myself bookkeeping and payroll, and I had to learn to speak English,” shares this amazing woman who is fluent in Yiddish, Latvian, Russian and English. The business, appropriately called European Elegance, attracted clientele from Cherry Creek and beyond, and Pola became an entrepreneur who was on the path of self-discovery and personal growth. It was during these years her marriage started to deteriorate, as Pola describes, “I changed from being dependent on my husband to becoming independent. It’s a natural progression for many international people who settle in the United States.” As Pola was embracing knowledge and experience, she and her husband developed different lifestyles. “I started saving money, and in 1994, when I saved enough money, I left the marriage,” pola shares. “When I called my oldest daughter to tell her, she asked me why I had waited so long.” Light became a symbol for Pola after her divorce. “When I moved into my own home, I filled it with light, and I rid my closets of all my black clothing. Now 90-percent of my wardrobe is white.” Pola has transitioned her life to embrace any and all opportunities that were presented to her. “I knew I had to leave my marriage. It’s very difficult to depend upon yourself, especially in the culture that I was raised in. But I’m a very spiritual person. I went through a difficult time, but I felt safe and comfortable when I left my husband. He had changed our babies diapers, and I know he was a good husband, but we became so different.” 2 FALL 2007
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