Sophia Chalupa was born on July 1, 1918 in Chicago to Victor Fiala and Renata Doubek, both of whom were immigrants from Czechoslovakia. Victor worked as a railroad laborer and mechanic in a town near Prague, and after he married Renata Doubek, the two of them decided to immigrate to Chicago in 1908. They settled […]
Gus Anagnos was born on April 1, 1931 in Chicago to Marios and Eva Anagnos, both of whom were Greek immigrants. Marios worked in a bakery, and Eva cared for Gus and his younger brother, Andrew.
Gus attended Lane Tech High School and at some point took an aptitude test at Truman College to determine whether […]
Imogene Ferris was born on April 12, 1903 in Chicago to Xaver and Elena Bergmann, both of whom emigrated from Germany as children. Their families were neighbors in Chicago, and Xaver and Elena often played together in the streets. When they grew up, they married and had six children: Thomas, Imogene, Roberta, Caroline, Estelle and […]
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 […]
