Novel Notes of Local Lore

Moira Hardy was born on December 16, 1907 in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia to Kenneth Stewart and Effie MacCain, both of Scottish descent.  Kenneth was a foreman in a steel mill there, and Effie cared [...]

Lidka Klimek was born on March 13, 1900—one of twelve children—in what is now Radziechow, Poland. Not much is known of her parents, her childhood, or her early life with her husband, Edmund [...]

Agnes Faraldo was born on April 11, 1917 in Chicago to Feodor Ciesielski and Vera Bergmann.  Both Feodor and Vera were born in Chicago, though Feodor’s family came from Poland and Vera’s from [...]

Leona Wilson was born in Oklahoma on December 16, 1906 to Nigel Wilson and Elizabeth D’Evers.  Nigel was born in England and had a passion for the American Wild West since the time he was a [...]

Liberty Adelaide Appleby was born in Chicago to Alice Myers and Maurice Von Pfersfeld on July 4, 1914.  Because she was born on Independence Day, Maurice insisted they name their new daughter [...]

Arthur Kowalski was born on February 14, 1911 in Chicago to Jacek and Elsie Kowalski, both immigrants from Poland.  Neither Jacek or Elsie had had much education in Poland, but upon arriving in [...]

Regina Dubala was born on March 24, 1923 in Chicago to Lew Wojciechowski and Stefania Mazur, both Polish immigrants.  Regina does not remember what type of work her father did, but she does [...]

Shirley Denenberg was born on November 24, 1923 in Chicago to Aleksandr Krasny and Marie Altman.  Aleksandr emigrated from Kiev as a young man and found work in Chicago making cigars.  Marie was [...]

Sophia Chalupa was born on July 17, 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 [...]

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 [...]