My mother's parents came from Yugoslavia. My grandfather, John N., was originally from Germany, but fled to Yugoslavia to avoid working in the salt mines. My grandmother, Amalia B., came from a farm. I think she was one of 16 children.
John came to the United States first. Amalia came to join her brother, Leo. I'm not sure how or when the two young people met, but they married and had two children, Johnnie and Amelia. Johnnie was the man-child, and my mother just a girl, born to do chores and marry (or so her parents thought) a Yugoslavian coal miner in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
My mother was born in the early 1920s, during a period of prosperity. Although her parents didn't speak or read English, there was work in the coal mines for John, and Amalia kept house. In those days, being a homemaker was really a full-time job. My grandmother made bread one day, washed clothes on another day (by boiling the clothes in some metal container in the front yard and stirring the clothes with a stick!), and cooked and cleaned constantly. Since the house was heated with coal, there was always dust, and with two kids, there was also always something to be cleaned! My grandmother also tatted, and made beautiful lace borders for pillowcases, handkerchiefs, and other household items.
When little Molly started first grade, she spoke no English, but she learned quickly, and every day, her father made her teach him what she had learned in school. Soon John was reading the newspaper, and because he knew what was happening in the world, he became respected as a leader in the Yugoslavian community. He used this to financial advantage, and started selling life insurance to fellow immigrants. My mom still remembers being dressed up in her best clothes and being taken to visit her daddy's clients. She hated it, but had to go because she was cute and her presence increased sales.
In 1929 - about the same time my mother started elementary school - the Great Depression began, and so did the hard times.
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