Stories from my mother-- Mary used to play the violin at community festivals in her hometown in Croatia. Her father had a pottery factory and vineyard. He would take her with him to sell his wares in Hungary and elsewhere. She spoke several languages. The family home was so large that the Nazi's used it as a barracks during the war. The Danube flowed behind it, but it was little more than a brown, muddy stream at that point. Her mother had her educated at a European Cooking School. (I don't know which one.) As a wife and mother, she grew much of her own food, raised chickens (butchered them too), made noodles from scratch and took in boarders, so her family wasn't affected much by the Great Depression. In later years, after her husband passed and she was living in California (there were orange groves there back then), she made her living as a cook. She would often send gifts and care packages to family back in Croatia. I once saw a news article that had a photo of her with the other ladies of her local Red Cross in Wisconsin. The ladies were all dressed up in costumes of colonial American characters. I'll never forget it because she was wearing an outfit that reminded me of Paul Revere and I was surprised to see her dressed up in men's garb as well as proud of her involvement with the Red Cross. Looking back on it, I imagine she got involved because her son Emil was in the war. (WWII).
Another story passed down is of some minor nobility in the family (her maternal grandfather, Anton Zabadlia) from Italy who left there about 1860 due to the activities of Garibaldi. I am working on finding proof.
Another story passed down is of some minor nobility in the family (her maternal grandfather, Anton Zabadlia) from Italy who left there about 1860 due to the activities of Garibaldi. I am working on finding proof.
Stories from my mother-- Mary used to play the violin at community festivals in her hometown in Croatia. Her father had a pottery factory and vineyard. He would take her with him to sell his wares in Hungary and elsewhere. She spoke several languages. The family home was so large that the Nazi's used it as a barracks during the war. The Danube flowed behind it, but it was little more than a brown, muddy stream at that point. Her mother had her educated at a European Cooking School. (I don't know which one.) As a wife and mother, she grew much of her own food, raised chickens (butchered them too), made noodles from scratch and took in boarders, so her family wasn't affected much by the Great Depression. In later years, after her husband passed and she was living in California (there were orange groves there back then), she made her living as a cook. She would often send gifts and care packages to family back in Croatia. I once saw a news article that had a photo of her with the other ladies of her local Red Cross in Wisconsin. The ladies were all dressed up in costumes of colonial American characters. I'll never forget it because she was wearing an outfit that reminded me of Paul Revere and I was surprised to see her dressed up in men's garb as well as proud of her involvement with the Red Cross. Looking back on it, I imagine she got involved because her son Emil was in the war. (WWII).
Another story passed down is of some minor nobility in the family (her maternal grandfather, Anton Zabadlia) from Italy who left there about 1860 due to the activities of Garibaldi. I am working on finding proof.
Another story passed down is of some minor nobility in the family (her maternal grandfather, Anton Zabadlia) from Italy who left there about 1860 due to the activities of Garibaldi. I am working on finding proof.
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