Chapter 13 - 1912 Ludwik Borsuk Comes to America & Establishes His Family

Chapter 13 Version 4

1912

“Pawel!” shouted the excited twenty year old.

The train had just come to a stop after travelling through New Haven up beside the Connecticut River to Hartford. It had been four months since Pawel Mazurek had left for America to come to Hartford where a friend was living. His wife Agnieszka waited patiently while Pawel established himself in America before he sent for his wife.

Because it was safer for a young woman travelling to America to be accompanied by a companion, twenty six year old Pawel asked his neighbor Ludwik Borsuk to accompany his wife to America. Ludwik was twenty three and had international travel experience as his family had emigrated to Brazil to try their hand at farming in South America. After spending a few years in Brazil, including the death of a young child, the Borsuk family decided to move back to Poland.

“Agnieszka! Ludwik!” Pawel waved and his wife Agnieszka ran and jumped into his arms.

“I am so happy to see you! Agneszka I missed you so much!” said Pawel hugging Agneszka with a grip that was not going to let her go for the forseeable future.

Ludwik stayed back with the travel bags knowing that it would be a few minutes before Pawel would turn his gaze from Agneszka.  He was correct and turned to view Hartford’s teeming railroad terminal. There was an array of people some who looked like they blended in with the surroundings and others who were newly arrived from other parts of the world. Ludwik took note of what clothes he needed to buy to blend in with the local inhabitants. With his personable manner, Ludwik could have easily struck up a conversation with anyone in sight. He was already fluent in English which gave him an advantage over most new immigrants.

Ludwik pulled out his cigarette holder and attached a Chesterfield cigarette. He never used a metal holder as that would impart its metallic taste to the smoke. The Chesterfield’s were his first purchase in America at a cost of ten cents for the pack of twenty cigarettes. In a few years he would switch over to “toasted” Lucky Strikes in the green pack with the red circle but for now the Chesterfield’s were his first exposure to American tobacco. The idea of having a lucky strike resonated with Ludwik as he realized that he himself was lucky when he gambled. Deep in thought, he was not sure how long he was observing the scene in the train station but it was well after his Chesterfield had burned to a nub wasting none of the tobacco.

“Ludwik! ” said Pawel with Agneszka still attached to his neck. “Thank you for my package delivery, my friend”.

“I am at your service, sir” said Ludwik with a smile and a low bow.

“Then let’s get these bags and go back to my apartment” said Pawel “and you can tell me of the voyage and your plans”.

“Some day I will travel first class instead of steerage. The Finland was comfortable enough and you also made the trip through Antwerp so there is little more to tell there. Your friends from Huta Wisiawecka and Chlem send their best wishes. As far as my plans, they do not include any farm work. I am thinking of working in a factory to start and then apprentice in a trade. I think there is more of a future in a trade.” said Ludwik waiting for a positive or negative response from his friend. Pawel nodded his approval.

“Then New England is where you want to be right now. Factories are hiring and there are mills up and down the Connecticut River into Vermont and New Hampshire.” said Pawel. “You can stay with us at #29 Prospect Street until you find a suitable job.”

“Now there are more cute Polish girls here in America than in Poland.” said Pawel and quickly added “and many new Polish churches are being built to keep those good Polish girls under the watchful eyes of the Virgin Mary.” Ludwik smiled.

It was not long until Ludwig made his way up to Brattleboro Vermont to work in a chair factory. He met Leokadia Glinka who asked him to help her write a letter back to her younger sister Agata. Leokadia showed him a picture of Agata, who arrived in America in May of 1914. The courtship began. Over the course of the next year, Ludwig was able to win over the heart of Agata. Simultaneously, Agata was able to win over the heart of Ludwik. On July 3, 1915 they were married in St. Michael’s Church in Brattleboro. The 25 year old Ludwig and his petite 19 year old bride Agata were an improbable couple in Russia Poland as Ludwig would have been considered outside of his social class. In America they were just two young immigrant lovers setting up housekeeping.

Two can live as cheaply as one – providing one does not eat or need new clothes. However, three gets to be more expensive. The family’s first child of many future  additions arrived just over a year later on July 31, 1916 with the birth of Ignatius. By this time the Borsuks had moved to Bristol Connecticut and baby Ignatius was born at home with a mid-wife assisting at 29 Chestnut Street. He was originally named after the Polish patriot and pianist Ignatius Paderewski but this was later revised to Edward Ignatius as names were the first signs of Americanization. Music was in Edward Ingantius’ blood as well as his name and dancing and singing were ingrained in his soul and that could not be changed.

World War I was raging in Europe having been declared in August of 1914 after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in June. Ludwig kept out of harms way in WWI but Edward would be of prime military age for the next world war in the 1940’s.

Once the baby pattern was established it was difficult to stop with Sophie in 1917, Mary in 1919, the twins Helen and Rose in 1921 and Frances in 1923. Frances proved to be a particularly difficult baby as she was born with eczema from the top of her head to the soles of her feet. She (baby Faye but that might also include her mother) cried incessantly for her first six months and father Louis was “ready to throw her out the window”.

“Agata, you need some help.” Leokadia counseled her sister with a plan in mind. “We have not seen our mother in about 10 years. My husband has agreed to pay her passage if you want her to come and help you.”

In a situation reminiscent of Mary Poppins, Agata’s widowed mother Teofila arrived to help in February of 1924. Teofila’s husband Joseph had died when he fell off a staging at a church that was being built. With quotas on the number of immigrants in place in the 1920’s, Teofila bought another person’s entry visa. She was stopped at Ellis Island and questioned about this before being allowed to enter America.

Always the proper matriarch she never left the house without a suitable dress,  wearing her grey gloves and sporting her simple grey wooden cane.

“Agata, you need to stop having children. Six is enough.” Teofila concluded. “Had you married suitably you would not be in this position” she said knowing that Louis was within hearing distance. Louis smiled and was always gracious to his mother-in-law. But the children kept arriving on schedule – Jane in 1926, John in 1929 and Nancy in 1932 – until there were nine.

During this time Louis’s plans for becoming a tradesman were being fulfilled. He apprenticed to become a cobbler and moved to Easthampton Massachusetts. During the depression there was a great demand for shoe repairs and his shop beneath Lang’s Restaurant on Main Street was a profitable business. The family moved from 2B Franklin Street to a larger residence at 27 Maple Street. There was a cherry tree in the back yard that in addition to providing cherries, was Jane’s favorite reading place high in the branches until the Hurricane of 1938 took the tree to the ground. The house lot was large and included a barn where Louis raised pigeons and rabbits along with a vegetable garden that provided most of the family’s food. Pigeon was on the menu – three pigeons could feed the entire family in the form of soup. Kluski noodles provided most of the pigeon soup substance and this was perfectly acceptable to the soup consumers.

Relations sometimes were strained between Teofila and Agata. After a heated argument overheard by pre-school age Jane, Teofila was leaving for a Sunday afternoon church meeting at Sacred Heart Church. Fearing that Teofila would leave and not come back, Jane blocked the front door preventing her grandmother from leaving.

“Can I take Jane with me to church?” Teofila asked Agata. Teofila clutched her copy of Piesni Koscielne Z Melodyami , her 1901 Polish hymnal which was one of the few items she retained from Russia Poland.

“No. Just go yourself” replied Agata.

With the brood still expanding, Teofila stayed in America to help. After a time, her relatives in Poland took steps to obtain title to her property. When Louis found out what was happening, he wrote to Poland to see if Teofila could get compensated for her property. But it was too late and Teofila was stranded in America.