HOLIDAYS

Holidays were an important part of our life. Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving were important in shaping our life’s and character. You knew the holidays were coming when my mother started cleaning. She’d start a week or two before the holiday and finish the night before... Many times she would buy new curtains or linens. She bought them through a man we called Srider Meider, he a was short, balding Jewish man with a red face and gravel voice... He would bring samples or sometimes take my mother to a store to select the fabric or goods. Once bought she would pay him weekly and when paid off buy something else. She always liked to have something new and fresh for the holidays.

The windows were washed, then the curtains washed, stretched and hung before the holiday. The kitchen curtains were hung the night before the holiday. I can still see my mother on Christmas Eve ironing and hanging kitchen curtains. The house smelled fresh and clean.

When Christmas came my father would take the kids shopping for a Christmas tree. One year the neighbors across the street brought trees in from Wisconsin and sold them in front of their house. It was one of the nicest trees we ever had, Another year we bought a tree on Damen near Augusta Blvd, and I remember carrying it home. The most memorable time was when I went with my brother, in a snowstorm, to Riverview Park to buy a tree, It was 1947 and he was about 21 or 22, had a car and out of military service. While driving to Western and Belmont we were listening to the Championship Football game between the Chicago Bears and Chicago Cardinals. Jack Brickhouse and Irv Kupcient were doing the play by play on WGN. The sponsor was Standard Oil. It was a great game won by the Cardinals who were lead by quarterback Paul Christman and the all-star backfield of Pat Harder, Elmer Angsman and Charlie Trippi. We found a nice tree, placed it on the roof of the car and brought it home. Once home we placed the tree in the Shandra where it was kept until ready to be decorated.

A week before Christmas we would bring the tree up to the back porch, my father with saw and chisel in hand shaped the bottom of the tree to fit in the old wooden cross tree stand. It was always a challenge, and after some cussing he would get it to fit. The tree was brought into the house and placed in front of the front room window... In the meantime we would bring down the lights and ornaments from atop the China Closet. The lights were tested and burnt out bulbs replaced. Once the tree was set, my father hung the lights and then we decorated the tree with ornaments, garland and silver. We always had favorite toys such as the clown face or colored stars. My sisters decorated the bottom of the tree with cotton and toy houses. The tree touched the ceiling. The lights sparkled on the woodwork and brought alive the feeling of Christmas. If it was a Sunday the radio was tuned to Lionel Barrymore and the Mercury Theatre presentation of a Christmas Carol. .

On Christmas morn we’d awake running to the fireplace to see what Santa had brought! Our stockings were hung on the gold railings of the fireplace. For stockings we used my sister’s old long ugly winter brown stockings. My parents didn’t have much money during those early years so our stockings would be filled with fruit, nuts and loose change. We were lucky if we got a toy. My sisters and brother would go to church while my mother prepared Christmas dinner. For the Christmas meal she would invite guests for turkey, sweet potatoes, salads, and maybe a cake and jello.We always enjoyed her potato salad. My father’s brother would spend the holidays with us. He followed my father from Russia, leaving behind a wife and daughter. They were to have followed him to the U.S., but that never happened.

After Christmas we normally had a visit from my godfather’s wife. She and her sister had been close friends with my mother. She would come every year from the town of Cicero to bring me a Christmas Gift. They were very generous. One year they bought me a wagon and another year a tricycle. My godfather was a motorman for the elevated system. One year they invited us for Christmas dinner. She was a wonderful cook and quite handy. In fact she made her own flocked white Christmas tree. It was beautiful.

Thanksgiving was another exciting holiday. We always seemed to have different people for dinner. The weather would be turning cold and sometimes there would be snow. Since my father didn’t have any family, except his brother, he would invite some Russian friends to join us for the holiday... Thanksgiving meal was much like Christmas. In the morning before dinner my father would go to the shandra and chop wood for winter. It was neatly stacked and ready to keep us warm during those cold winter months. Once the guests had arrived we had dinner served in the dining room. The table was extended, providing plenty of room... After the meal the guest would talk and visit. Sometimes my brother-in-law would get some people to join him in song and merriment.

Easter was another biggie because it was a time we got new clothes. My mother liked to dress her kids up for Easter. Although my mother and father weren’t steady church goers she always saw too it that we all went to church. There was no excuse to miss mass or confession before Christmas or Easter. Easter was centered around the preparation of food. We’d shop for polish sausage(kielbasa) and ham(Synka). We would buy a couple of sticks of horseradish and made our own horseradish. My father normally made it but eventually I inherited the chore. First you would scrape the old skin off the plant, and then grate it. As you would do this the strong scent carried into your nose causing you to tear and cry. It was always strong. After grating you would grate some whole red beets and mix the horseradish in with a little salt, sugar and vinegar. Walla, we had the best red horseradish in town. On Good Friday evening we would color Easter eggs. We’d shine them with lard or Crisco. On Holy Saturday my mother prepared the Easter Basket by placing eggs, kielbasa, ham, horseradish, butter lamb, container of water and bread in it. We’d head off to St. Aloysius Church which was located at Claremont and LeMoyne for the blessing of Baskets. The basket would be blessed and ready to feed us on Easter Sunday. We had so much Easter food that it lasted for days.

When we celebrated Easter the Russian Orthodox Church celebrated Pusey Willow Sunday, the equivalvaent to Palm Sunday. Sometimes I would go with my Father to the Holy Trinity Russian Church on Leavitt... The Russian services were long, they lasted several hours. There were no pews and you stood throughout the service. The priests were dressed in fancy robes and headdress. They sang their chants and prayers in Russian. It was a moving experience.

There was a lot of tradition in the holidays and we try to continue them to this day. I hoped you enjoyed the discussion. Please join me next week as we return to the Front Porch to discuss the War Years.


Sasiad

AS TIME GOES BY

Today let’s begin with a little history of the family. My father was born in 1895 in Ternavka, a small village in the Russian Ukraine. His family lived on a farm in the rich farmlands of the Ukraine. He had three brothers. He came to America at the insistence of his mother to escape the tyranny of the Russian Revolution. He set sail on the Vaterland and arrived at Ellis Island in 1914. It was a bold an adventurous journey for a 19 year old who didn’t know the language or anyone in a new home called the United States. He came to Chicago and boarded with a Polish family. There were other boarders and the lady of the boarding house was known as Hazika. My father went to evening school and learned to write, speak and read English. In a very short time he was competent in the language and soon found work in the picture frame industry...

My mother was born in 1903 in Philadelphia of Polish parents. Her parents were born in Szczawnica, Poland. At an early age she made two trips with her parents to visit her grandparents in Poland... She had two brothers and twins that died when babies. Her mother died when she was 13. Her father remarried and had two boys and a girl with the second wife. My mother completed most of grammar school but had to quit and go to work. She worked for a Jewish family cleaning house. Her father died in 1929. She met my father through Hazika. They were married in 1922. They had three girls and two boys; I was the youngest. My oldest sister was 15 and the youngest sister 7 when I was born. My parents had a long history of living on Evergreen Avenue. They lived in two different houses before moving to 2143 W. Evergreen. My Uncle Frank owned the grocery store and then bought a 3 flat three doors down. During the depression Uncle Frank lost everything and my parents moved to 2143 where I was born.

My mother was the boss; she managed the house, kids and money. My father was easy going and brought home the pay. Times were rough during and after the depression. Somehow my father was able to work and support the family. By the time my three oldest siblings were 16 they quit high school. Education wasn’t a priority when the family needed financial help. It was an era when working in a factory and steady work was looked upon as success. By the time young people were 19 or 20 they were getting married. We were a disciplined family and followed the rules. If you got out of line, the strap came out and you scurried to find safety. No no, no don’t hit me!

Supper time meant everyone sat down together. We learned to share and work together. Everyone had chores. As you got older the chores went down the line. Pretty soon I had inherited the chores. You learned to respect each other and bind together. We weren’t an outward affectionate family, but inside had the love and respect for each other. The credit goes to my mother and father for instilling good values: honesty, hard work, respect, courtesy, the tradition of family, how to manage good and bad times, responsibility, cleanliness, and to be a good person.

My mother was quite sociable and liked to entertain. Although we didn’t have much, we always seemed to have guests and plenty of food and drinks on the table. My relatives would take turns visiting .Uncles were called Wujek, aunts ciotka,grandma busia and grandpa dziadek. The kitchen table was the vocal point for the visit. .For the men my father would bring out a quart of beer and a half pint of whiskey and coffee or soda was served for the ladies. Around supper time my mother served lunch meat, bread, pickles and cake. When my uncles came they liked to play cards, 66 was their game. They would argue and accuse each other of cheating. They took this game seriously. They smoked cigars and sometimes cigarettes. The kids weren’t allowed to congregate with the adults, they stayed in another room. At the end of the evening they would say their good byes and head home. Most lived within walking distance and some would take the street car.

I can recall when my oldest sister was dating that my mother invited her fiancé and friends for Sunday dinner. They were from Pennsylvania and weren’t fortunate to have good home cooked meals. My mother served golambki and won everyone over. One of the memorable guest was the father of my future brother-in-laws friends. His name was Pop Laskowski. He was a tall, gray haired, slender man in his sixties. He loved to sing ,his favorite song was Jak Sybko Mila Chwile, As Time Goes By, In fact the whole group loved to sing and we where entertained with their harmonies of: Down By The Old Mill Stream, Dinah, I’ve Got Six Pence, Me and My Gal and other songs of the 30’s and 40”s. Their visits brought joy and happiness to the house.

When you talk about happiness and fun times I remember my youngest sister’s First Communion Party. It was held on the 2nd floor and all the aunts and uncles came. They were a fun bunch and liked good times. To celebrate they formed a band of combs, scrub board, paper and other items to make musical sounds to which they sang their favorite Polish songs. The windows were open and the merriment could be heard down the street...

In the summer my uncles would take us picnicking at Dam No. 2 or 4 on the far Northwest Side. My mother fried up hamburgers, prepared breaded pork chops, potatoe salad, coffee would be put into an empty gallon bottle and everything placed in a big picnic basket. This was a treat and always exciting. At one time I remember going in a truck, otherwise we traveled in one of the uncle’s cars... My father never owned or drove an automobile. The families didn’t own homes, everyone rented, and free time was for family. In those days cars had running boards while the small coups had rumble seats. Rumble seats were seats that are now occupied by your trunk and they would open outward with two seats. They had no roof and you were vulnerable to the weather.

One of my most favorite times was visiting Coitka Wlodska, Aunt Lucy, in Chicago Heights. We’d start out early on a Sunday taking a Damen Avenue Streetcar to Halsted Street and Halsted all the way to Harvey where we would pick up a bus to Chicago Heights. Once in Chicago Heights our Uncle Schultz would pick us up in his car. He was wild and drove like a maniac. They lived in an old frame house. They shared a bathroom with a next door neighbor; the bathroom was interesting because the water closet was on the wall near the ceiling. In the back of the yard they raised pigeons which were kept in little houses or coups. Ciotka had a large garden where she grew vegetables for canning. I always loved to come for her pork roast and roast potatoes. The best roast potatoes you ever tasted. She was a cook at the local country club. After several hours we would start our trek back home.

In the summer we would have visitors from Philadelphia, my mother’s mother’s brother, Wujek, would come with his daughters Mary and Nellie and spend several days with us. At times we would have other relatives from Philadelphia. My Uncle John was also a periodic visitor. He was a career soldier and came with his wife. It was never boring; there was always a variety of friends and relatives to make things interesting. I still can’t figure out how my mother managed, housed and fed all those people...


Next week I would like to continue our discussion by talking about holidays and how they were spent at 2143 W. Evergreen.


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