Document text
N.H.F.W.P.#18o1
Julia M. Sample Sub ect;Living Lore
HERE WE CAN BE GLAD
Chapter 5
Honey -moons were unknown in those days. So Monday saw Katherine
and Jan in their places in the mill. Katherine worked up to the birth
of Charlotte, her first child. Meanwhile they had moved to larger
quarters. They now lived in two rooms, the kitcheitthe centre of the
households They did everything but slkep there. ,Katherine was a very
good cook. She delighted in making the old Polish dishes, parogi,
golumpi,sauer krout sweetened with fresh cabbage and sometimes mush-
rooms added or dried peas to thicken it and always barszcz-- sou+f
every variety, beet,mushroom,sausage,fish. This barszcz with black
rye bread and fruit and perhaps cheese was their supper. The pastries
and breads which took so long to bake she bought at the Polish bakery
This shop was a God -send to the women. It saved their strength and
time for work in the mill. But it was easy to cook now, for in this
new place Katherine had a new stove. Almost new for Jan had bought
it from someone returning to Poland. This stove was Katherine's
delight. A neighbor came in one day just as she finished cleaning
and polishing it. What an opportunity to show off the stove!
Katherine turns one damper. "See ,make hot the stove and this one
make hot the oven. This one for cool off, no cook now or only a leetle
bit."
The place for the ashes and the tank for the water all had to be
explained and shown. "No have fancy stove like this in Poland. Men
make stove. Two weeks, men make stove. No make of this, so hardoiron.
No, use ground. Take beeg piece ground, go like this," she treads
with her feet.w-
Make dough, like bread,twist like bread. Lay one piece down and
another down and another piece. Soon have stove. Man take wood,plenty
Chapter 5 HERE WE CAN BE GLAD
-2-
WOODfBUILD BEG HOOD; MAKE FAR BACK. soon all finished. Maybe last
two years. Sometime maybe break. Woman take ground, make dough."
Katherine rises and treads, again making dough. She gestures with
vigor, showing how the woman fills the cracks in the break of the stove
and. smooths smooths ibla over.
"Now, alright. Bake again good, make bread cake. All time burn
wood in stove. No burn coal in Poland. No like coal, no understand.
Use wood here too. Better, much better."
Tired with the neighbor's interest, she asks,"You like see pic-
tures of old country? Yes?"
With one of her quick motions she darts into the bed -room and
dashes back with her black hand -bag. It is crammed with a woman's
usual assortment of letters,cards, make-upokeys a little money and
what she wants to show-- family photographs.
"This my fattier, mudder. What color dress? Black, all black.
Kerchief on head, bright, ver' bright, all 'round kerchief bright.
She make and fadder,he can make. Fadder strongjer' strong. Big
moustache. see? Strong man."
The next photograph is a family group taken much earlier. tit
very large square is hanging on the wall in the background. The
children's and mother's clothes are lavishly embroidered. She ex-
plains, "Family leetle, all leetle. Here fadder, mudder, Charlotte,
Kathleen, me, Henry. Long dresses wear, beeg, beeg(reaches way out
with her arms) plenty big. No wear here, me send back to sister,she
wear. Me help, Charlotte help make dresses fancy. Look funnyveh?
Pretty? Maybe. No wear heretonly church, have celebration then wear.
You like big square? My fadder make on loom. He goes up, down with
Chapter 5 HERE WE CAN BE GLAD
-3-
feet and swish, swish with shuttle."
Words are not enough to give this picture of her father at the
loom. She must execute all the motions of weaving
"He make good. 3i,e ask in letter, they send me one maybe, have for
play in church."
Katherine shows more family photographs. The men are less
foreign looking than the women, even the women with 'stylish' English
clothes.
"This my brudder, his girl. He marry her. He smatt man, make
money. You knew Jew,yes? He sell to Jew. Raise plenty eggs, pig,
chicken,milk-- sell Jew. Make plenty money, he smart man."
The last picture she shows is one of a church. Very simple,
with lovely lines, apparently in the country.
"Here picture of church, all new. Break up old church, all
break. Go to church in old stable. Make all new church on same spot.
Vero nice."
To the right and back of the church is a thatched cottage.
"That," points Katherine, "is my hoke. Mudder, brudderolive
there now. Sister work in shoe factory. Marry. No live here, live
city. Other sister AXIL she dead. All live in Poland, only me in
America."
Katherine sees her neighbor to the stair top,Thank you. Hear
all about Poland. Thank you!"
Having awakened memories of her home Katherine decides to write
to her mother She sends her a dollar. Shefiguyes," One dollar,
she go to priest, he geeve two dollaPilk4oltii money. MittaXIMIXFor
two dollar geeve Five. Lots money. Mudder glad. She think,' Katherine,
she reech, she glad in Aaprica.g