People of Saint Clair come from many diversified backgrounds

The Village of Rus. Komarivtsi (Village) is situated near the regional center – Uzhgorod, in the Transcarpathian Region, Zakarpatska Oblast, Ukraine. The Village is 18 kilometers (11.2 miles) southeast of Uzhgorod. The current population of the Village is 1,478 people (August 2000). The majority of the residents in the Village are Ukrainians. There are other nationalities in the Village too. They are: Russians, Hungarians, Slovaks, and Gypsies.

As far as is known, twelve families were the first to settle in the territory of the Village many years ago in about 1590. The surnames of these twelve families are: Adamcho, Dzyamko, Lukatch, Mytrovka, Halapy, Feshko, Buksar, Bilak, Petrishko, Dykun, Zheliznyk, and Pavlyulynets. All of the members of these families were workers and belonged to one very rich man. These people were obligated to work on his fields. The rich landowner had many granaries (komopu).

The family name of this rich man was OROS (Russian).That's why the Village of Rusky Komarivtsi (or Rus. Komarivtsi) was later called "Oros" (Rusky). The name "Komarivtsi" originated from the word "Komopa" (granary).

There is a small river that runs through the Village of Rus. Komarivtsi. In 1775 the villagers built a church near the river. There were only 39 houses in the Village.

In 1813 the people of the Village built a villa for the parish priest. Later on this house became, or was used as a kindergarten.

Today there are many streets in the Village of Rus. Komarivtsi: Central street, Gagarin street, Zhovtneva street, Tychyna street, Shkilna street, Travneva street, Nova street, and Peremoha street.

Today there is a secondary school in Rus. Komarivtsi. The villagers built the secondary school building in 1947 and 1948. Then a second building or addition was built in 1975. My cousin Angelica's classroom is in the newer addition. My uncle (Angelica's grandfather and my dad's brother), Steve Toth took part in the construction of the school and the school addition.

The Village secondary school is a rather comfortable two-storied building. The current secondary school enrollment is approximately 500 students. The secondary school students come from the Village of Rus. Komarivtsi and from three other nearby villages; Homtsi, Solotvyno, and Hlyboke.

Today, in the Village of Rus. Komarivtsi there is one shop, two bars, one hospital, a club, and a new kindergarten. The Village library is located in the secondary school building. The Village Rada is in Shkilna Street. The Village of Rus. Komarivtsi is green and especially nice and beautiful in springtime.

The Toth/Matyovka/Puzjak families were of Slovakian origin, a Slavic people that originally came from Slovakia -- a region now in Czechoslovakia. However, the Toth/Matyovka/Puzak families came from an area called Ruthenia (or Carpathian-Ruthenia or Zakarpatskaya), a region/district/province in the Western Ukraine located in the Southeastern part of the Carpathian Mountains.

This territory was part of Austria-Hungary before 1918 and between 1939 and 1945. It was a province of Czechoslovakia between 1918 and 1938. It was a part of the USSR from 1945 until the Soviet Union collapsed and is now part of the Ukraine. The principal city is Uzhgorod, approximately 6 to 50 miles from the small towns/villages that the Toth/Matyovka/Puzak families resided in.

Ruthenia (Ruthenian) was one of the branches of the little Russians formed chiefly of the Galicia[i] District in Austria-Hungary and the Eastern part of Czechoslovakia. It was annexed to the Ukrainian SSR along with the Ruthenian-speaking parts of former Southeastern Poland. Ruthenian is also the Ukrainian language as used/spoken in the District of Galicia.

Interesting Note. The element Ruthenium was named after Ruthenia where it was first found. Ruthenium is a hard, brittle, grayish white, polyvalent, rare, metallic element that is one of the platinum metals and resembles osmium (heaviest metal known), but is more resistant to corrosion. It is used chiefly for hardening platinum and platinum alloys.

a. West Slavic, which includes Polish, Sorb or Wendish (also called Lusatian), Czech, and Slovak. Polabian, now extinct, also belongs to this group, as do Kashubian (almost extinct) and Slovinzian (extinct). Polish is the official language of the Country of Poland. Sorb or Wendish is spoken along the river Spree[ii] in both Upper and Lower Lusatia. Czech and Slovak are two separate, although very similar, languages; Czech is spoken in the Western and Central regions of Czechoslovakia (Bohemia & Moravia[iii]), and Slovakia is used in the Eastern regions of Czechoslovakia (Slovakia). Polabian was spoken in the regions adjacent to the Elbe River[iv]. Kashubian and Slovinzian were found to be spoken in the regions around Danzig in Pomerania[v].

b. East Slavic, which comprises Russian, Ukrainian, and White Russian. Russian is spoken through the former Soviet Union, but was originally native only to Central and Northern European Russia. White Russian is spoken in the former White Russian Soviet Socialist Republic. Ukrainian is found in most of the former Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic; the variety of Ukrainian spoken in what was formerly sub-Carpathian Russia in Czechoslovakia was often referred to as Ruthenian. Ukrainian was formerly called Little Russian, and Russian proper was then designated as Great Russian.

c. South Slavic, which includes Slovene, Serbo-Croatian, Macedonia, and Bulgarian. Serbo-Croatian is a single literary language, the Serbian areas writing it in the Cyrillic alphabet, while the Croatian areas use the Latin alphabet (in the form given as transliteration for Serbian Cyrillic). Serbo-Croatian is the language of all Yugoslavia, but Slovene is used in Slovenia (Northwest Yugoslavia) and Macedonian in Macedonia (Southeast Yugoslavia). Correspondence between Serbian and Croatian alphabets ensures correct spelling of the Serbo-Croatian language in the Roman alphabet. Bulgarian is spoken in Bulgaria.

The West Slavic languages and Slovene and Croatian have always been written in the Latin alphabet. The other Slavic languages use modern forms of the Cyrillic alphabet. Cyrillic was devised in the 10th Century, being based on the Greek alphabet. It was created for the purpose of writing old Macedonian, which is usually called old Church Slavic, and the old form of the Cyrillic alphabet is now found only in printed ecclesiastical materials. Old Church Slavic is sometimes called Old Church Slovonic.

[i] Galicia - Historical region of Southeast Poland and Western Ukraine.

[ii] Spree - A 250-mile long river east of the former East Germany.

[iii] Moravia - Region of Central Czechoslovakia. Also see Marvin Gate (or Gap), a mountain pass of Central Europe between the Sudeten (variant of Sudetes) and Carpathian mountains.

[iv] Elbe - A 725-mile long river originating in Czechoslovakia, going through the former East Germany and the former West Germany, flowing to the North Sea.

[v] Pomerania - Historical region of North Central Europe along the Baltic Sea in present day Northwest Poland and in the Northeast of the former East Germany.

XXVII. MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS -- 29 December 1998, part of a handwritten letter from Margaret M. Curran (nee Metrovka or Mitrovka) in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Margaret Metrovka lived in Saint Clair right around the corner from where my parents use to live. She ran errands for my mother. Our family knew her family very well and their relationship goes back to the old country.

1. Martha or Marta (nee Rizak) Fatula. She is Margaret's cousin. She lives in Uzhgorod close to the "Zakarpate" hotel where the tourists stay. Marta's father William (Vassili) Rizak was a brother to Julia (nee Rizak) Kovach (Covach) and Veruska Rizak. Marta lives in Uzhgorod with her husband Michael Andrechick. Her stepdaughter, Natalia Andrechick still lives in the old family house and is a doctor at a nearby hospital.

2. William (Bill) & Mary Vislocky. They are tourist agents in Rahway, New Jersey. Also, they have relatives in Rus'ki Komarovci.

3. Petro Mitrovka (a.k.a. Metrovka). Margaret's uncle who lives in Rus'ki Komarovci.

5. George Lukach. Margaret's relative who also lives in Rus'ki Komarovci. Margaret's relative George also teaches school in Rus'ki Komarovci.

7. Mary (nee Chylack) Drosdak. Her father, Alex Chylack, was the original owner of a bar/tavern across the street from our parents' home in Saint Clair, Pennsylvania. She ended up owning and operating the business. She died in 1997.

8. Mary Krill. She was our next-door neighbor in Saint Clair, Pennsylvania. She lives at 25 North Nicholas Street, Saint Clair, PA 17970. Telephone: 570.429.xxxx.

9. Zatko Family. They lived next door to Mary Krill -- two doors from our parent's home in Saint Clair Pennsylvania.

10. Kustan Family. They lived next door to Zatko's -- three doors from our parent's home in Saint Clair Pennsylvania. Mary Kustan, age 63, passed away in October or November of 1998. Stephen Kustan and Pete Kustan still live in Saint Clair. Stephen's son John "Jack" is a doctor in the Boston, MA area.

11. Dorothy Sofilka. A friend of our mother's -- she still lives in Saint Clair Pennsylvania.

12. Anna (nee Kovich) Powlick. The Matouka and Kovich families were related. Our Grandfather married a Kovich after our grandmother died. Anna Kovich (married George Powlick) and lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

XXX. MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS -- 19 January 1999, from a letter written by John Covach, Col. USA (Ret) in Fairfax, Virginia.

1. Michael Covach (Kovach). Original from Rus'ki Komarovci and came to Saint Clair, PA in 1921. Worked in the anthracite coalmines for nine years. In 1928, he opened the first of a string of grocery stores. He also served as bank president for the only bank in Saint Clair, PA at that time. He was married to Julia Rizak.

2. Julia (nee Rizak) Covach. Mother of one child when she joined her husband in Saint Clair, PA in 1923. The child, a daughter named Anna, remained in Rus'ki Komarovci with Julia's grandmother.

3. Anna Covach. Born about 1920. Left Rus'ki Komarovci with my father and landed at a New York harbor on 24 December 1928.

4. John Covach. Second child of Michael and Julia Covach. Born in Saint Clair, PA in 1929 and attended school with Margaret (nee Metrovka) Curran (Saint Clair High 1946).

5. Veronika (nee Rizak) Dzamko. Sister of Julia (nee Rizak) Covach. Married John Dzamko (who was a marriage witness at the Mike Covach/Julia Rizak wedding) and had four children.

· Verna Dzamko. The eldest child and now lives in New Jersey. She is in poor health at this time.

1. William (Vassili) Rizak. Brother to Julia (nee Rizak) Covach and Veronika (nee Rizak) Dzamka and married to Mary (nee _________) Rizak. Left his wife and two children in Europe and came by himself to the United States illegally. He foolishly began to brag about it. The INS authorities caught up with him and he was soon deported. Instead of returning home to his wife and children in Rus'ki Komarovci, he went to Canada and found work. During World War II he was cut off from his family and remained in Canada. In 1976, after forty years away from his family, he retired with a Canadian Social Security pension and then returned to the Ukraine. He cashed in his life savings and purchased a home in Uzhgorod for his European family and a car.

2. Mary (nee ________) Rizak. Married to William (Vassili) Rizak and the mother of his two daughters.

· Martha or Marta (nee Rizak) Fatula. Daughter of William and Mary Rizak. She is Margaret (nee Metrovka) Curran's cousin. She lives in Uzhgorod close to the "Zakarpate" hotel where the tourists stay. Marta's father William (Vassili) Rizak was a brother to Julia (nee Rizak) Kovach (Covach) and Veruska Rizak. Marta lives in Uzhgorod with her (second?) husband Michael Andrechick.

· Natalia Andrechick. Marta Fatula's stepdaughter. Natalia Andrechick still lives in the old family house (purchased with William Rizak's life savings) and is a doctor at a nearby hospital. She writes to her cousin John Covach from time to time.

XXIX. MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS -- 23 January 1999, part of a telephone conversation with Mom.

John Gondorchin’s mother and our mother’s grandfather (Peter Puzjak) were cousins.

John’s sister Ann Maynard married a man who came from Alabama and they had twin boys.

The two Kustan girls, Helen (the oldest) and Mary, lived next-door and played with the three Toth boys. Joe received the large toy car, which was propelled by foot pedals operated by the driver. One of the girls wanted to play in the car and she pushed Joe off. Joe was seated on the car’s hood. The hood emblem was pointed and when he was pushed, it cut Joe’s inner thigh, including the trousers/shorts that he was wearing.

The black & white dog that we had in Saint Clair, Pennsylvania was a gift from Uncle Frank.

Marie Billy had a stroke and is now in a nursing home. (Last known address: 1646 Irving Street, No. 2B, Rahway, New Jersey, 07065.

“Uncle” John Zeleznick was the father of Marie Billy and Peter Zeleznick. He worked in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, operated streetcars in New York City, and worked in a New Jersey glass factory making drinking glasses. He and a partner went into the Saloon business and their saloon was located in a black neighborhood in Carteret, New Jersey (I think dad was also financially involved in this venture).

Dad gave Mom $75.00 for her to “select and purchase” the engagement/wedding ring. Mom started thinking and because she knew that she would be doing housework and scrubbing floors, decided not to select & buy a diamond ring, but instead chose to buy a plain gold band.

Years later, when she gained some weight, the ring became extremely tight and dad had to cut it off. Some time later she thought that she had lost the cut gold band, but after dad died, she found it in one of his boxes of personal effects.

She remembers the word “ganock” which means a little porch (or deck) that was built onto the homes constructed into the mountainsides. These little porches (or decks) usually projected out into space and anyone accidentally falling off could hurt himself or herself – maybe seriously.

Mom recalled bitter and constant arguments between her parents and she use to plug her ears. As a youngster, she often wished that she could stay overnight at other people’s homes so she would not have to listen to the arguments.

One incident that she talked about was knocking on a friend’s door late at night. When they did not answer, she remained on the porch that night along with some soiled miner’s clothing. When she finally went home, her father was getting ready to leave for work in the coalmines. As she stood there shivering from the cold and grimy from the coal dust from her friend’s miner clothing, her mother said; “Look what you are doing to that girl!”

XXXI. MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS -- 29 January 1999, part of a telephone conversation with Mom.

Michael Covach (Kovach) worked in the mines in Saint Clair, PA. He lived with his Aunt Federisko in a double house on Railroad Street. He made and sold wine in this house (the other family did not seem to mind.).

When Michael Covach opened his first grocery store he asked my mother to come and work for him. My mother, a teenager at the time, was working in a Jewish Delicatessen in Pottsville, PA. and which required riding the trolley to and from work. She accepted Michael Covach's offer and became his first store employee because she could walk to work. (She did continue to work part-time at the Jewish Deli because they treated her very well and they were short-handed at the time.)

She recalls that the Covach Family use to live upstairs over the store in Pottsville. She believes that Michael Covach died from cancer.

The village that that Julia (nee Rizak) Covach came from (nearby Uzhgorod) was noted for its short-statured men. According to my father, these men from the village all wore lofty top hats to appear taller.

There were three Rizak brothers. My mother stated that she and my father use to visit with a John Rizak who lived in Windsor, Canada. John Rizak had two sons. John Rizak is deceased.

John's older sister Anna. My mother mentioned that the Red Cross insisted that my father take the child on a certain ship. Mention was also made of my father's ship stopping in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and a Ukrainian women acquaintance of my father getting married aboard the boat and dockside.

When my father arrived in Saint Clair with John's sister, he asked my mother to take her over to Payco's Barber for a haircut and trim. (According to my mother, the Payco family was very nice at all times.)

Veronica Suprock, (sister to John Suprock or Veronica Metrovka who married John Suprock's brother?) who had a son and daughter, was a patient in the hospital at the same time as my grandmother (my mother's mother). She ended up dying at a very early age.

XXXII. MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS -- 29 January 1999, part of a handwritten letter from Margaret M. Curran (nee Metrovka or Mitrovka) in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and a 30 January 1999 telephone conversation with the same.

Margaret Metrovka attended a funeral in Saint Clair, PA for Michael Feryo on 22 January 1999. He died from the results of brain surgery some 2 ½ years earlier. Michael Feryo was Mary (nee Melkonich) Zelinsky (husband Joseph is deceased).

Herman & Edith (nee Kull) Morris was Margaret's neighbors. Herman's sister, Margaret Monahan was Margaret's 2nd grade English teacher (her father was Kyran Monahan, the town undertaker). Miss Margaret Monahan from 3rd Street was a High School teacher (related to Mary Monahan?).

CORRECTION: Herman's sister, Margaret Morris taught 2nd grade English in the Front Street School. Her father was an Engineer with the St. Clair Coal Co. Miss Mary Monahan, daughter of undertaker, Kyran Monahan, taught High School English, Bookkeeping & Typewriting.

· Margaret's Grandfather Bordas: He lived in the village of "Homci" -- a Hungarian name.

· Frank Melkonich (stepbrother). Gave mom a ring from a Cracker Jack box and proposed to her.

XXXIII. MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS - 02 February 1999 Telephone Conversion with My Mother.

Mom talked about her mother and father moving to Saint Clair, PA when they first came to the United States. It seems likely that some of people from the same village in Europe settled in this town so others simply followed in their footsteps -- probably because most of them could not speak English and had to depend upon their fellow countrymen.

My mother's father had a younger sister who was married to a man named George Toreolla and they had six children. This George Toreolla had a brother named Mike Toreolla and they all lived in Saint Clair and came from the same village in Europe. (According to my mother, this Mike was a wife-beater.)

My mother's family also had some friends with a family name of "Kustans". When my mother was about 16 years old, her immediate family insisted and directed her to be one of the godparents for the youngest Kustan child.

All of the people mentioned above came from the village of Ljuta in the old country.

XLIV. MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS - 05 June 1999 Telephone Conversion with My Mother.

Mary Krill (nee Halkovich) had a brother named Leo, a sister named Theresa, and another sister named Anna. Mary Krill’s mother, Mrs. Halkovich, was a saloonkeeper and owned the saloon located next door to our house on Nicholas Street.

One Christmas time, Mary’s mother’s boyfriend became upset because of a third party in their relationship. He brought a gun into Mrs. Halkovich’s saloon and ended up shooting two of the customers. One died and one survived. After the shooting in the saloon, he then went over to the Halkovich house looking for Mrs. Halkovich.

The gunman knocked on the back door of the home. The son Leo opened the door, the gunman fired into the house and Anna Halkovich, a young single woman who was studying nursing in Philadelphia, was fatally shot in the chest. At that point, Mary Halkovich (Krill) stepped up to the gunman and he did not fire the gun. Meanwhile, somebody had followed the gunman. This person took a full bottle of milk from my mother’s porch, crept up behind the murderer and smashed the bottle of milk atop the gunman’s head and knocking him unconscious.

For

committing the murder of Anna Halkovich, the gunman (according to my mother), instead of getting the electric chair, received a relatively light prison sentence – something like 1 to 20 years.

Mary Krill had - at that time, one of the few telephones in the town of Saint Clair. My mother recalls using the phone on a number of occasions. Mary was very kindhearted and purchased a set of toy drums for us when we were small children and just starting to walk.

Mary was married to Charles Krill. They had one son named Charles, another son named Gerald (who was a State Trooper), a daughter named Patricia Ann (Moncrieff), and a second daughter named Marie Theresa (Hassenbein). Mary’s brother Leo married a Doctor Weaver’s daughter and worked for General Electric. Leo and his family lived in Michigan (Birmingham) for a while and during that time he would visit with my mother and dad.

Mary S. Fitz (nee Sofilka) had a sister named Dorothy Sofilka. Mary was a church choir member along with my mother. A young and handsome man named Mike Youlinetez dated Mary for a while.

Mike’s father was somewhat of a drinker, which caused some problems in his marriage. Mike’s mother ended up taking off with another man and leaving both Mike and his father. Mike then asked my Uncle Frank if he could move into the Matouka house. Frank said he would have to ask his mother. My grandmother listened to Mike’s request and his reasons for not wanting to stay at his father’s house and subsequently allowed him to move in.

According to my mother, having Mike in the house was like another brother in the family and they enjoyed each other’s company. He treated her like a sister, i.e., kidding around, ordering her to do things, and getting involved in some typical teenage horseplay. Since Mike was not engaged or committed, the woman in the neighborhood would scold my grandmother that she was keeping the girls away and holding onto him for a future marriage to my mother.

My mother’s oldest brother, George, was – at this time, employed by the railroad and working in their maintenance department in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. (During that period of time, many of the young people went to the big city, Philadelphia, in search of good paying jobs). Uncle George convinced Mike that he should try his luck in the big city and soon Mike was off to the big city. Shortly after that, Mary Sofilka ended up marrying John (Jack) Fitz and having two children.

Their son, a young first grader in school, became sick with a severe cold and ended up staying home from school that day. Unexpectedly, without warning, he started gasping for air and began choking. The people present tried to help him – but to no avail. And he died that very day.

Their daughter Rita married a Kustan (the family was also originally from Ljuta, Austria-Hungary) and they had two sons.

XLV. MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS - 09 June 1999 Telephone Conversion with My Mother.

My mother mentioned that Anna, George, and Frank Gondorchin all resembled, and even had the same mannerisms and personality traits as their father, Frank Gondorchin senior.

The local barber, Mr. Paiko, had two sons. The oldest son became a teacher. The other son was an illustrator of books. At that time, Mr. Paiko was charging 50 cents for a regular haircut. He and his wife were frugal and saved their money. He was also the person who loaned my father $15.00 so he could move our family to Detroit, Michigan.

My Uncle Frank Matouka worked for Mr. Paiko in the barbershop. He was paid $4.00 per week to do such chores as sweeping and cleaning the barbershop, cleaning out the spittoons each day, re-stocking the shelves if necessary, cleaning the mirrors, etc.

Mr. Paiko was a serious wood whittler and he taught Uncle Frank how to work with wood. Later on, after Uncle Frank had displayed some ability & expertise with wood working, he encouraged Uncle Frank to enter the annual Fisher Body woodcarving contest. Uncle Frank, using one half of a large round wooden cheese box as a base, created a very elaborate and finely crafted stagecoach with a full team of four or six horses (the toy horses were purchased items). One day, my father, in a fit of rage, ended up throwing this beautiful creation down a flight of stairs for some unrecorded (and probably trivial) reason.

My mother's other brother, my Uncle Mike, was drafted into the U. S. Army and after basic training, was sent to Hawaii for duty. He was stationed at Hickham Field when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on 07 June 1941. He was involved in the conflict and ended up receiving the Purple Heart Award Ribbon & Medal because of some wounds received during this attack on the Government facility.

Uncle Mike during his tour of duty in Hawaii learned to enjoy and appreciate Hawaiian music. When he returned to Pennsylvania, he purchased a guitar and tried his hand at playing Hawaiian music. He drove my father – who did not share the same appreciation & love of Hawaiian music, nuts with his guitar playing of Hawaiian music.

XLVI. MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS - 15 June 1999 Telephone Conversion with My Mother.

My mother mentioned that she use to buy milk for the family in glass bottles from Saint Clair Dairy. Cost was about 5 or 10 cents a gallon for regular milk – with the cream on top. Homogenized milk came in about that time, but most women preferred the regular milk with the cream on top. They would remove a good portion of the cream for use in coffee and the making of desserts.

Doctor Weaver Senior was already retired when Mom was growing up. He had one son and one daughter with his first wife. The son became a doctor and he had a practice in Pottsville-Saint Clair. The second Doctor Weaver was married and had three children, two girls and one boy. He also had a large Saint Bernard dog that one day bit someone severely and for that reason they got rid of the dog. This second Doctor Weaver was in practice with a Doctor Jones who was a very good doctor – but had a drinking problem. The two Doctors went through medical school together and were close personal friends.

The retired Doctor Weaver's daughter lived with him and his second wife. His daughter later met and married a man from the Grace family. They had one daughter (the senior Doctor Weaver's granddaughter) who ended up marrying Leo Halkovich.

My mother referred to the "high" and "low" Grace families. The "high" Grace family made excellent ice cream and they operated an Ice Cream Parlor on Main Street. My mother, my uncle Nick, and my mother's best friend at that time, Mary Federisko would go over to the Grace's Ice Cream Parlor for ice cream (burnt almond was my mother's favorite), pretzels, and a glass of water at the counter.

My mother recalls that a young handsome man was found dead face down in a nearby stream. There was some talk of foul play and that maybe he was attacked. Nearby, up on a hill was an old Civil War cemetery.

There was a Doctor Delp where my mother would go when she was pregnant or sick. This Doctor was the one who took my mother to the hospital for the subsequent delivery of my brother George. My brother George was born on George Washington's birthday and Doctor Delp kidded my dad about naming the baby "Martha" after Washington's wife.

Doctor Delp reside in a large grand grey brick or stone home with a full front porch – similar to a Southern Mansion. He remarked one day to my dad that he was paying $90.00 per month in rent and would not have been able to afford the place if the Colonel (_____?) was not living with him and sharing expenses.

My mother asked me to ask you if you knew how long this Doctor Delp lived and what ever happen to him after we moved to Michigan?

A Mrs. Pear owned and operated a shoe store next to Doctor Delp's place and when her shoe store business folded, he asked her to come and cook and clean for him. She also did some cooking for the church and, according to my mother; she was a very good cook.

She ended up marrying a lawyer who eventually became Mayor of Pottsville. They had a daughter who had polio as a child and wore a metal leg brace until the age of 11 years old. This child had a quick temper just like her father. They took her to Philadelphia where an elderly French Doctor operated her on. From all accounts he did a very good job on her legs. She developed good strong almost perfect legs and only walked with a slight limp.

The daughter also married a lawyer and they had three daughters – all pretty girls. One daughter became the second wife of a Mr. Chornick. Her grandmother's brother played in John Phillip Sousa's band and afterwards ended up teaching in New York.

My father was in the wedding party for Anna Bucksar. Anna lived in John's Patch – a mining company-owned housing area.

Anna Bucksar and her husband moved to Clifton, New Jersey. They had at least one son and one daughter. When the children were young, the family came to visit my parents in Detroit. My parents gave their little girl my sister Ann's brand-new tricycle. (My sister Ann wanted a 2-wheeler and would not ride the tricycle.) Their daughter, after she was somewhat older (teenager? young adult?), had a serious tiff with her folks. She then left home and the family for some unknown reason.