Faye Pesek was born on June 28, 1909 to Archibald Pesek and Rita Vesely, both of whom were born in Chicago and were of Czech descent. Archibald was a type of woodworker, Faye reports, and her mother cared for their three children: Lorene, Faye and Albert. Albert died of pneumonia, however, when he was just […]
Enid Walsh was born on July 10, 1911 in Rend City, Illinois to Bryn Sayer and Nesta Vaughn. Bryn and Nesta were from the same mining village in Wales and married there. Before they started a family, however, they decided to immigrate to the United States, having heard of mining work from other villagers who […]
Elbert Gurecki was born on December 29, 1912 in Chicago to August Gurecki and Barbara Korczynski, both Polish immigrants. August came to Chicago in 1905 and got a job at Crane Plumbing where he worked for the next forty years. Barbara also arrived in America around that same time, having come here from Poland to […]
Sveva Boucher was born on November 10, 1913 in Winnipeg, Canada to Jean-Marie and Sylvia Boucher. Jean-Marie was born in Switzerland, and Sylvia was born in Germany. They met and married in Switzerland where Jena-Marie had a small farm. They began their family there, but at some point, they decided to immigrate to Canada. Jean-Marie […]
Rosemary Luckstrim was born on September 5, 1912 in Chicago to Ora Feigel and Peter Luckstrim, both of whom were of Irish/German descent. Peter worked on and off in factories, and Ora cared for their four children: Roger, Millicent, Rosemary and Bert, though both Roger and Millicent died as infants.
Rosemary graduated from 8th grade and […]
Russell Schreiber was born on July 26, 1911 in Chicago to Paula Banas and Adam Schreiber. Paula was of Polish descent and was born in Chicago, while Adam was an immigrant from Prussia. Adam worked in a factory, and Paula cared for their three children: Norman, Lloyd, and Russell. When Russell was just two years […]
Arndt “Arnie” Winkler was born on February 8, 1911 in Odell, Il. to Hagen Winkler and Eileen Burke. Hagen was of German descent and worked as a farmer on his eighty-acre farm. Eileen was of Irish descent and cared for their ten children: Karl, Daniel, Lorene, Augustus, Freda, Arndt, May, Felix, Essie and Elbert. Hagen’s […]
Sadie Riley was born on February 16, 1914 on a farm near Pittsburgh, Kansas to Lonnie Belanger and Jeannette Fenske. Lonnie was a cattle farmer, and Jeanette cared for their six children: Fae, Alan, Della, Lila, Elbert and Sadie, all of whom lived into adulthood.
Sadie graduated from Crawford Community High School and got a job […]
Honza Ruzicka was born on October 22, 1904 in Chicago to Cyril Ruzicka and Lenka Vesely. Cyril was born in a little village outside of Prague and came to America as a young man to escape being drafted. He had an older brother living in the Pilsen area of Chicago, so we went to stay […]
Almera Navarro was born on August 2, 1908 in the Philippines to Jonray and Divine Santos. Jonray worked for a trucking company, and Divine cared for their seven daughters: Dorilyn, Eilene, Frela, Almera, Jelinda, Karmina and Lonila, who became known collectively as “The Seven Sisters” of Calamba, the town in which they lived.
Almera attended grade […]
