Annie Flemming was born on November 18, 1900 in a small town in Wisconsin. Her parents, Myrtle Jones and Howard Gilman, were of English and Irish descent. Howard worked in a flour mill, and Myrtle worked in a tailor’s shop and also cared for their four children: Minnie, Ralph, Annie and Hazel. According to Annie, […]
Barbara Bianchi was born in Chicago on February 9, 1922 to Polish immigrants – Wislaw Gawrych and Olga Kobylinski. Olga worked long, long hours sewing table pads in a factory, and Wislaw worked as “a splitter,” a job he had done from the age thirteen, which consisted of “splitting” hides for jackets, shoes, gloves, etc. […]
Rosemary Tsukuda was born in Santa Cruz, California on March 10, 1913 to Japanese immigrants. Her father, Chihiro Hayashi, left Japan as a young man in search of adventure. His travels took him to Australia and then to California, where he found work as a gardener and mechanic for a wealthy man in Santa Cruz. […]
Felicia Billings says she began life at a mere two pounds on March 17, 1915. She was born prematurely in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Irenka Jasinski, a Polish immigrant who worked as a seamstress, and Lutz Mueller, a German truck driver, one of six or eight children, Felicia isn’t sure.
Apparently, the moment Felicia was born, barely […]
Jadwiga Jurkiewicz was born on December 26, 1906 in Pennsylvania to Polish immigrants, but she later changed her name to Judy Jurka. She was one of six children, including two sets of twins, of which Judy was one. At age three, however, Judy’s twin died, possibly of the flu epidemic. Then, when Judy was six, […]
Violeta Salcedo began life during the days of the infamous Pancho Villa. She was born on October 4, 1909 in Mexico to Alejo Abascal and Yamila Villalobos. According to Violeta, her great grandparents were Spaniards who controlled much of what is now Mexico. Her immediate grandparents were thus landowners, as well as tailors, who […]
Elizabeth “Jane” Hileman was born on September 16, 1914. Her parents were Mary Alice Newell and Cleveland Hines Hileman, both of whom had quite interesting stories, as well.
Mary was born in Ireland but immigrated to Port Huron, Michigan with her family when just a little girl. Cleveland, meanwhile, was of Danish descent and was born […]
Esther Matula was born in Chicago on August 13, 1929 to George Matula and Nicola Pacek, both of whom were children of Bohemian immigrants. George was born in Chicago and worked as a “heat treater” in a tool factory, and Nicola, who was born in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, cared for their four children: Vincent, Esther, […]
Waldemar “Wally” Karlsson was born on February 2, 1899 in Sweden to Ralf Karlsson and Beata Berglund. Ralf was a farmer, and Beata cared for their ten children: Olov, Njord, Melker, Carola, Ebba, Waldemar, Breta, Niklas, Ludvig and Hulda. As a young boy, Wally learned to play the violin and was often chosen to play […]
Jonas “John” Dusek was born on January 3, 1913 to Adolf Dusek and Valerie Janota, both Czechoslovakian immigrants who came to Chicago in 1908. Adolf worked as a cabinet maker, and Valerie cared for their three children: Tania, Josef, and John. When she was just thirty-one, however, Valerie died giving birth to what would have […]
