Thank You Slovak Brothers and Sisters

In the first few days of this blog, the second largest readership I have had outside of the United States has come from Slovakia, That is rewarding and fitting for me, as the great-grandchild of Slovakian immigrants.

In 1923, John Kravchak (his name was adjusted here in the U.S.) left Udol, Slovakia and came to the United States to start a new life. He was a veteran of the Austria-Hungarian Empire's army in World War I. Just a few years after the war, now living in Czechoslovakia, he left his wife and baby daughter and came here, first settling in Clifton, NJ, then coming out to Brainards, NJ because the men found work along the Delaware River for Alpha Cement. He arrived in 1923 in America. My great-grandmother arrived in 1924 with her daughter Mary, as one of the last ships of immigrants that got in at that time. John became a citizen in 1930, and died in the mid-1950's. My great-grandmother, Julia Helen Kravchak, died in 1992, when I was nine. I've maintained a knowledge of the old country, from where they lived, to the way of life there, ever since. Udol was a farming town in the mountains of Eastern Slovakia, and it sits just a short ride from the Polish border. They are Byzantine Catholics there, and when they came here, they built Sts. Peter and Paul Church on South Main Street in Phillipsburg, NJ. The church is currently 100 years old. They descend from the Carpathian-Ruthenians in Eastern Europe, and are found most prominently in America in Pittsburgh, the Lehigh Valley region, and in the Passaic region. I have distant relatives from this part of the family in Ohio, Johnstown, Pittsburgh, and Passaic County, NJ.

Anyway, I'm really thrilled that someone over there is reading me, and if they so choose, please reach out. I'd love to learn more.