The Journey to America
For a fairly small place, Osturna has produced a surprising number of dedicated researchers. One of the most notable is Sue (Kovalcik) Balog. In addition to extensively researching Kovalcik, Palviscak, and other Osturna families, she has worked with her son, Larry, to interview a number of the Osturna immigrants and their children. Together they collected memories from many of those who settled in Barton, Ohio. The topics included everything from leaving Osturna to typical punishments for misbehavior. From time to time, we intend to share selections from these interview transcripts. For this issue, we’ve chosen the subject of the ship journey to the United States. We’d like to thank Sue for her gracious permission to use the portion that follows. On a personal note, we’d like to mention that we especially value these notes for showing the immigrants as they really were, and not as we tend to imagine them. Many of us associate the immigrants in our families with the white-haired people in those faded photos, the ones who never quite spoke English fluently, who seemed so "quaint." In point of fact, as the following segment shows, those who ventured to the United States had more courage and ambition than most of us could ever muster. One final comment is warranted before the interviews. The comments made are, of course, dusty memories for some and second-hand stories for others. While most are probably quite accurate, it’s possible some took a little poetic license!
Mickey Pavliscak: Mother had trouble coming over on the boat because Paul (who was three years old at the time) kept going up to the first class part and she had to keep after him. Joe Zavatsky: Of course that was rough, a long time on the water, herded like cattle in the boats, that must have been awful. It was all new, they knew nothing. I guess being all alone, not being educated, and not knowing what the outside world was like must have been an awful experience.
Julia Gereg: My husband, John, was born in Europe (not Osturna), and was two years old when his mother brought him over. They, too, were where the cattle were. They had to take John on board, he used to be glad to go out. He only had a dress, they didn’t have pants, you know (little boys). Here he was going overboard, they just grabbed him by that dress. He would have drowned, that long dress saved him. If he had worn pants they could not have grabbed him fast enough.
Mary Grena: I know Mother said it took her three weeks or more, it took them that long. They were always in that third class and they were sick all the way. They would just prod them and make them get up and go on deck every day, but they were so sick, they couldn’t get up if they had to.
Sue Balog: I remember saying to my mother that I never went anywhere except to Barton, that I had never traveled and that she at least had traveled to get to America. She didn’t explain or express it in words, but the feeling I got was like, "Are you kidding?" Now I think I know why.
Martha Rose: It took my mother 19 days to come here.
Barbara Mlecik: All I remember them saying is that it was rough.
John (Bearcat) Koval: Mother used to mention how sick they got. They came steerage, the cheapest there was, no modern conveniences, almost like a slave ship, you know.
Julia Gereg: You know how they have on a ship — first class, second, and third. My mother was supposed to come second class. Here they put her down with the cattle, she never got that money refunded or anything. It took 21 days to come here from Europe and when the ship went back, it went down, sunk. That ship was so bad, my mother said, that those cattle, their feet, were just sinking into the boards and it was flooded. My mother was so sick on that ship, she said that every day they would make her go out on board to get a little air. She would have died there from that stink from the cattle. You had to be right there with that.
Veronica Dezera: When they came over, on board ship they stood all the way.
Larry: Surely they had to sleep some time.
Veronica: She said they slept somehow in shifts and before the trip was over many of them had died and that made more space for them.
Jacob (Joe) Kovalcik: Dad came on a freighter. It took five weeks of rough weather. I don’t remember him saying anything about being seasick.
Paul Koval: I’m sure they came steerage. You’re down in the lower hold of the boat which means that you have no outside visibility.
Katie Kovalcik: My dad knew how much trouble he had coming over, he didn’t want to let Uncle Joe come alone. But then they had to have passageway for two and they had to take the cheapest one, steerage, where the cattle were or with the sailors and workers. They had to put their money in their pocket and sleep on it because they stole everything from them, the men that worked on the ship.
S.S. Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse left Bremen Dec. 13, 1902 arrived New York December 22, 1902 Petro Smoleniak, 32 to acquaintance, (illegible), PA (note: had been in U.S. before in 1897 Eleonora (sp?), Pennsylvania Michal Petrulak, 18 uncle, (illegible) Petrulyak, (illegible), Pennsylvania Peter Brejczak, 27 brother (?), Miklos Brejcsak, Bridgeport, Connecticut Jakob Jascendziak, 34 cousin, Mihaly (?) Vanecsko, Barton, Ohio Andreas Wanecko, 25 (?), Nikolaj Vanecko, Barton, Ohio Ilies Kapral, 21 friend, Gyorgy Repszak, Dunbar, Pennsylvania
S.S. Grosser Kurfurst left Bremen June 4, 1905 arrived New York June 14th, 1905 Mihaly Szmolyenak, 40 Mihal Barcak, Kingston, Pennsylvania (note: had been to the U.S. before in 1900 Kingston, Pennsylvania) Matyas (?) Lazarik, 17 mother, Zsofia Lazarik, Brooklyn, New York Janos Szmolenyak, 37 John Glevanyak, Kingston, Pennsylvania (note: had been here twice before, 1899 & 1902 Kingston, PA) Janos Harabics, 17 sister, Anna Harabics, (illegible), West Virginia Janos Glevanyak, 44 acquaintance, (illegible) Glevanyak, Kingston, Pennsylvania
S.S. Grosser Kurfurst left Bremen May 25, 1907 arrived New York June 8, 1907 Anna Kosturak, 18 acquaintance, Mary Smolenyak, Bound Brook, New Jersey Zsofia Szmolenyik, 18 sister, Mary Smolenyak, Bound Brook, New Jersey
S.S. Belgravia left Hamburg October 6, 1903 arrived New York November 2, 1903 Stefan Smoleniak, 26 acquaintance, Ilko Kapral, Fayette City, Pennsylvania Johann Pawlik, 24 acquaintance, Ilko Wach, Wind Gap, Pennsylvania Stanislaw Wach, 25 brother, Ilko Wach, Wind Gap, Pennsylvania Vojciech Bassar, 21 (illegible)