IN 1938, Oregon Journal artist George Andrew Corley created this drawing of Portlander Nadine Cherkes—whom a Journal writer at the time described as “an attractive, petite Russian emigre.” The drawing accompanied a June 1938 article by Cherkes about the landing a year earlier in Vancouver, Wash., of an historic trans-polar flight by Soviet aviators.

70 years later

SOMEWHAT FAMOUS

By DEBORAH MOON

A chance discovery at the funeral of her mother’s 103-year-old friend has given a Portland woman the opportunity to fulfill her mother’s dream to become "somewhat famous"—albeit nearly 20 years after her death.

In 1937, Nadine Cherkes translated cockpit notes from the first trans-Polar flight from Moscow to the United States. The famous flight, under the command of Soviet pilot Valery Chkalov, fell short of its goal to land in San Francisco, instead putting down in Vancouver, Wash., which later named a street in Chkalov’s honor and now houses an exhibit about the flight at the Pearson Air Museum as well as a monument dedicated in 1975.

Through a series of "minor distractions," Cherkes narrowly missed meeting the flight crew several times, but did translate the notes the crew exchanged in the cockpit during their 63-hour, 16-minute flight covering 5,288 miles. Due to roar of the monoplane’s engine, the crew had to communicate with notes—many of which referred to navigation and flight conditions. Her failure to keep a copy of her translation kept her from acquiescing to various publications’ generous offers to publish a story based on those notes.

But, now Cherkes’ daughter Natasha Lenhart has a newspaper article her mother wrote a year later about her experiences. Lenhart said she attended a memorial service in December for her mother’s friend Florence Goodman. On the memorabilia table was an almost full-page article from the June 19, 1938, Oregon Journal in which Cherkes had reminisced about her experiences.

Cherkes concluded that article saying, "That was all. That was enough, and my chances to become somewhat famous were shattered once again."

Since then, Lenhart has been trying to spread the word about her mother’s role in the historic flight. Over the fourth of July, Lenhart met with the Russian delegation that came to Vancouver in honor of the flight’s 70th anniversary. She is attempting to learn where in Washington, D.C., the original notes and her mother’s translation were sent, and she hopes to obtain a copy of those notes and the translation to present to the museum in Russia that documents the flight.

"I want her to have her moment of glory even if she’s not here to enjoy it," said Lenhart.

Cherkes immigrated to Portland in 1923 as a child with her twin sister Vera, her mother Tanya Fishel Cherkez Dokin and grandmother to join her mother’s sister Adele Nussbaum, who had arrived from Russian in 1914 with two brothers. Tanya joined Adele in running Adele’s restaurant on SW Park for nearly 35 years. Cherkes spent several years as a hostess/cashier at the restaurant, which was a gathering place for many in Portland’s Jewish community.

In the 1970s, Cherkes became well-known as Nadia to a new wave of Russian émigrés for whom she served as a volunteer translator and mentor.

But Lehnart said her mother’s greatest moment seems to have been in 1937 when she was asked to translate the notes from the trans-Polar flight.

In her 1938 article, Cherkes wrote: "These notes (to me) were more than interesting; they were thrilling. They were mostly between the chief pilot and the commander. There was note, for instance, which made fun of the fact that the assistant pilot was getting sleepy and he was advised to get some sleep. Another one located Medford, Oregon; one estimated the position of Vancouver; one gave orders to turn back from Medford; one gave orders to land in Vancouver."