Becoming American Becoming Ethnic

My Paternal Forebears

Michele Kitko (UC San Diego 1982) My Paternal Forebears Mypaternal forebears left Austria-Hungary as a result of discontent with the monarchy and as a means toward realizing a value that in their lives had priority above all others. They sought in America a place where they and future generations could have a better life. The desire to better the lives of their children was so important to them that they willingly left their homeland and its people. Austria-Hungary failed to provide the opportunity they needed to better their lives-specifically, to own land-and so they voluntarily immigrated to America, a country that could provide the opportunity they sought. In order to utilize the opportunity that existed in America, they assimilated for the most part, although not entirely, into the American way oflife. In their hearts was a dream; within their reach, a place that could fulfill this dream. My forebears became part of the place that made this dream possible and in becoming a part of it, their dream became a reality. Life in the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary during the 1890s was one of economic hardship. In a Slovakian region one hundred miles east ofBratislava, my paternal grandfather's family was suffering economically, as was the rest of the agrarian class of this period. My great-grandfather Joseph Kitko disliked Austria-Hungary and did not permit his children to attend Hungarian schools; thus my grandfather received no formal education during his childhood. Greater though, was my great-grandfather's discontent with the lack of opportunity in Austria-Hungary to better his life and the lives of his children. Because he placed such a high value on 39 My Paternal Forebears providing a better life for his family, he was willing to immigrate to America alone, to a country he believed would provide the opportunity that Austria-Hungary could not. The pull to America, a land of opportunity and a place to realize his dream, was greater than the push from AustriaHungary where his life was beset with economic hardship and political discontent . My grandfather Steven Paul Kitko, at the age ofsixteen, along with his mother, brothers, and sister, crossed the Atlantic crowded in steerage on his way to America. The family arrived at Ellis Island in April 1908 and joined my great-grandfather and other relatives in the Slavic-populated coal mining town of Madera, Pennsylvania. Here, the family retained many of their old customs and spoke chiefly Slovak. Life was hard; the streets were not paved with gold as some stories went, but here existed the opportunity they sought-to better their lives. In 1913, five years after my grandfather'S arrival in America, he married my grandmother, Susanna Stroka-then fifteen years old-in what was more or less an arranged marriage. Her parents and older sisters had emigrated from the same region ofAustria-Hungary for the same reason my grandfather had-to better their lives and the lives of their children. The family was, according to my grandmother, very happy in America and fit into the American way oflife. My grandmother attended school through the third grade but quit because it was not required that she attend. Her family also lived in a region ofPennsylvania populated by Slavs, spoke little English, and retained many oftheir ties with Austria-Hungary. The retention of religious ties was shared by both families. My grandmother's and grandfather'S families were Catholic and attended church regularly. While both families preserved old customs during their years in Pennsylvania , they also assimilated into the American lifestyle. They had voluntarily left Austria-Hungary to seek a home in America. Whatever it took to become American, they were willing to do. Living among their countrymen resulted in the retention of old customs and values. My greatgrandparents would have assimilated more fully into the American way of life had they had the chance, as most of their children later had, to leave this Slavic-populated region. Directly following their marriage, my grandparents had no choice but to remain in the coal mining community ofMadera. During the next eight years, my grandmother bore three children; one in 1915, another in 1917, and a third in 1919. My grandfather continued his work in the coal mines. His job was to pick the coal loose by hand and load it into cars that were pulled out of the mines by mules. Besides the work being very laborious [18.191.84.32] Project MUSE (2024...