BIRTH CERTIFICATE

When Steve Sr. sent for Štefan in 1921 they needed proof of his identity.  Here is a photo of a certificate of his birth and baptism (click on the image for larger view- click a second time and it will be large enough to read). It was signed in Drahovce on July 2^nd 1921 by Jozef Reray, the Parish Administrator.

It is written in two languages.  First is Latin, the language of the Roman Catholic Church, followed by Slovak. Below is a translation.  The underlined words were written in ink into the space provided on the form.  Some of the lines on the form were left blank.   

Reading greeting in the Lord

The undersigned is a record from the book of baptized

Parish church Drahovce in the county bishopric_________

Next word for word is located (I think this means this is a word for word or accurate copy of the birth certificate)

In the year of our Lord one thousand________

Certificate number 42

Year, 1913 month and day of birth, July 17 baptism July 18

Name of the candidate: Štefan, gender: male, M female, __Legitimate Legit Illegitimate _______.

Name and surname of the parents, their occupation and religion:

Miklo Štefan, peasant (farmer) Sedláčik Paulína R. Kath. (abreviation for Roman Catholic)

Birthplace and residence, house number Drahovce č. d. 149

Name and surname godparents, their work and religion:
Miklo Ján, peasant (farmer) Michálik Štefania R. Kath.

Name, surname Baptist: Jedinák Teodor, parish priest

In witness whereof the handwritten signature seals parish to confirm

in Drahovce day 2^nd  month July in the year 1921

parish administrator Jozef Reray

MEETING ŠTEFAN'S GIRLFRIEND (Part 2)

When we visited Drahovce in 1998, Maria, Steve’s cousin, introduced us to Františka, the girl in the grade school photo. Steve said that she had been his girlfriend. We met her at the cemetery near St. Martin’s Church. She remembered Štefan. She said that they would dance with each other when they were teenagers. Here is a picture of Bob meeting Františka with Maria looking on.

SCHOOL PICTURE (Part 1)

Here is Štefan’s grade school picture that was probably taken in the fall of 1924 when he was in the 3rd or 4th grade (click on the photo for a larger view). He is in the top row - there is an X marked above his head.  Notice his embroidered suspenders and short haircut like all of the boys. Except for four girls in the front row, all of the girls are wearing traditional kroj.

The girl in the front center is holding a chalkboard that reads in Slovak, “R. k. l’ud škola, v Drahoviach, šk. rok 1924/1925 III-IV tr.”  Some of the words are abbreviated but I believe the sign translates to, “Roman Catholic school in Drahovce, school year 1924/1925 3rd and 4th grades”

The photo is printed in the same format with rounded edges, as the photo of Paulína and her infant son, and the photo that I believe may be Emera.

On the back there are words written in pencil and some doodling, including pictures of flowers. The words are faded and hard to read. Štefan Miklo is written twice and there are references to youth,  Drahovce, Bratislava and Slovakia.

Steve would look at this photo, chuckle and point to the girl in the second row from the front, third from the left side (behind the girl holding a book - click on the photo to enlarge it).  He said her name was Františka and that she was his girlfriend.  More about Františka in the next post.

STEVE, SR. SENDS FOR ŠTEFANKO

In 1921 when Štefan was eight years old his father made arrangements for Emerencia (Emera) Varačka, a twenty- three-year-old woman from Drahovce, to accompany Štefan to America.  The route would be via train from Czechoslovakia through Germany where they were to board a boat to Liverpool, England, and then cross the Atlantic Ocean to Ellis Island in New York Harbor. The final parts of the trip would be on trains to Chicago and then Iowa.

They left Slovakia in July. While on the train to the port in Germany, Štefan stuck his head out the window to take a look.  He got cinders from the train’s smoke stack in his eyes and they turned red. There was a health inspection before they got on the boat.  Because of his red eyes the inspectors thought Štefan had trachoma, a contagious eye infection.  So he was sent back to Slovakia*.

At Ellis Island there were heath inspections to assure that diseased persons were not admitted into the Country.  If one of their passengers was rejected it was the responsibility of the steamship company to return that passenger to where they came from.  To avoid this expense the steamship companies carried out their own inspections before passengers were allowed to board.  To learn more about the immigration process including the health inspections view this 28-min video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4wzVuXPznk

*Steve told me the story about sticking his head out of the train window and getting cinders in his eyes and he thought that is why he was turned back at the boat dock.  But he also told me that he had been hospitalized in Bratislava for his eyes.  Perhaps he really did have trachoma, an infection that may lead to blindness.

EMERA ARRIVES IN IOWA 
While Štefan was sent back to Czechoslovakia, Emera, his escort, continued on the trip to America. His father Steve, Sr. planned to meet them at the train station in Fort Dodge, Iowa. When Emera arrived without his son he asked, “Where is Štefanko?” She replied that he was sick so that he was sent back to Slovakia. Steve Sr. then said to her “And you came anyway?!” Steve Sr. may have told his son about this exchange of words with Emera at some point.

Regardless of his disappointment in Emera for not having fulfilled her task of bringing Štefanko to America, Steve Sr. married Emera three weeks after she arrived in Iowa (They were married on August 21, 1921). This made me wonder if Steve, Sr. had had a relationship with Emera before he left Slovakia. But that was unlikely. He was 28 when he left Drahovce in 1914. She was only 16 at that time.

Steve, Sr. might have known Emera’s older brothers back in Drahovce. There are six men with the name Varačka (Emera’s maiden name) listed on the war memorial that I posted a photo of on March 13. Were some of these Emera’s brothers?

Perhaps Steve and Emera were writing to each other when he was in Iowa and she was in Drahovce. Maybe they exchanged photos. Steve, Sr. might have sent Emera the photo that I posted on March 11.

Here is a picture that includes Emera. She is the front row - third from the left (there is a close-up above).  The photo was taken in 1920, the yeare before she left Drahovce. It includes the participants in an opera named, "Škriatok" or Elf. I received this picture from Helen Miklo, widow of Joe, who was the youngest son of Steve Sr. and Emera. Helen told me the Emera enjoyed singing and that she had a beautiful voice. (Click on the photo for larger image.) 

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THE VÁH RIVER

Now that we know about the house where Štefan lived let's go back to his early life in Drahovce.  One of Steve’s favorite stories about his life growing up there was about a time when his grandfather had him tend a flock of geese.  Štefan neglected his job assignment and went for a swim in the Váh River that flows near the village.  His grandfather found him and spanked him with a switch, because while Štefan was swimming, the geese had wandered off and were collected by the village constable. His grandfather had to pay a fine to get his geese back.

UNCLE JÁN’S HOUSE (Part 3)

(You may want to start with Part 1 below) A branch of the Miklo Family, Vilma Miklová, the widow of Serfín's, Štefan's first cousin, is still living in Ján's house where Štefan grew up. Here is a picture taken in 1998 in front of the house. You can see the gate that opens onto the courtyard. the house to the left is a 
more modern house that I think was built after Štefan had left for America. In the picture from the left: Paulo (son of Maria). Matt, Vladimír (son of Vilma), Vladimír's son is standing in front, Bob, and Maria. Next is Vilma' son in-law (I do not recall his name), his wife and Vilma's daughter Daniela, surrounded by their children. Vilma is next the to the end wearing the white top. The woman on the end is one of Vilma's friends. 

   

 

Here is a picture of the courtyard. Notice the statue of the gnome on the wall and the two bicycles. Vilma, who was about 70 years old when we visited, traveled around Drahovce by bike as did many of the other residents of the town. So in 1998 on our second visit we brought with us bicycle safety lights as gifts for our cousins.

Here is a picture taken inside the house. These are some of Ján’s children and Steve’s first cousins standing in the hallway in front of the living room. There is a picture of them when they were younger posted earlier.

On the left is Vendelin (Vendel). He was about two years old when Štefan left for America. He said that his mother used to tell him that Štefan played with him and when Vendel was first learning to talk he could not pronounce Štefan so he called him Sham. Vendel built furniture. He died in 1997. Next is Maria. She was born after Štefan had left for America. She welcomed us into her home. We stayed with her in 1996 and 1998 when we visited Drahovce. Next is Vilma, she married Serfín, who was five years old when Štefan left for America. He died in 1992. On the end is Filip. He was three when Štefan left for America. He lives in Leopold, a village about six miles south of Drahovce.

UNCLE JÁN’S HOUSE (Part 2)

Here is a sketch of the floor plan of Ján’s house as I remember it. On the street there is a gate that is much like an old-fashioned garage door. It opens onto a narrow courtyard that runs perpendicular to the street and along the length of the house. There is a small entry hall and a passage hall that runs down the side of the house parallel to the courtyard. The children’s rooms are still in the front. This is where Štefanko slept. Next there is a living room, then the kitchen and then the parents’ room. In the far back there is room where they still keep a pig. To get to it you have to go outside and through the courtyard. There is a large garden space in the back.

UNCLE JÁN’S HOUSE TODAY (Part 1)

Steve used to describe his uncle's house as having a thatch roof. He said that the children slept in the front room near the street, the parents farther back and the pig slept in the last room at the far end of the house.

When I went to visit the house in Drahovce in April, 1996 it was much like he had described, but the house had been modernized. The thatch roof had been raised and replaced with clay tile. The houses on the street are attached so they appear to be a long row of squat townhouses. They are made of brick and are covered in stucco.






Here is a photo of the Miklo house. It is the white one with the red tile roof – just behind the blue umbrella. Bob is standing with Paulo, the son of Steve’s First Cousin Maria.

ANOTHER PHOTO OF UNCLE JÁN

Here is a photo of Štefan’s Uncle Ján, who raised him after his mother had died. When I was about 4 or 5 years old I saw this photo in the top dresser drawer that contained unsorted family photos. I thought that the man looked stern and scary. I asked about the picture and one of my older sister’s replied that he was dad’s uncle, who lived behind the “Iron Curtain”. I did not know what the Iron Curtain meant but I understood that it was bad. I looked closely at the photo and noticed the cloth that hangs behind the man (it must have been hung by the photographer as backdrop), I assumed that it was the Iron Curtain. Here is a link to a more accurate definition:http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/294419/Iron-Curtain

The Iron Curtain did not enclose Czechoslovakia until 1948 when the Communist took control of the government. During Štefan’s time there the country was a progressive democracy with the leadership of President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, who believed in equality (he took his wife's name, Garrigue, when they were married in1878). Masaryk was also know for belief in the value of education.

UNCLE JÁN

Sometime after his mother’s death Štefanko was sent to live with his Uncle Ján (pronounced Y-on in Czech and Slovak - John in English). Štefan, Sr. apparently had written a letter to his brother, Ján, telling him that he would not be coming back from America and that Ján could have his land. When Miklós Sedláčik, Štefanko’s grandfather, heard this news he said something to the effect “Where the land goes you go.” So he kicked his grandson out and that is how Štefanko came to live with his uncle’s family.

A branch of the Miklo family, Vilma Miklová, the widow of Serfín, Štefan’s first cousin, is still living in Ján’s house where Štefan grew up. It is located at 21/469 A. Hlinku Street in Drahovce. 

Here is a picture of Ján and his family in Drahovce. I think that this photo was taken sometime in the late 1940’s. I base this on the age of Ján’s children and the clothing that they are wearing. Standing in the back row: Ján, Jr., Anton, Filip and Serafín. Front row standing: Ludmila, Anna, Maria and Vendel. Seated in front: Štefan’s Aunt Maria and Uncle Ján. Notice the fence in the background that is made of twigs and Aunt Maria’s traditional dress. (Click on the photo for a larger view.)

THE SEARCH FOR PAULÍNA'S GRAVE - PART 3: HODONÍN CEMETERY

This is that last post about Paulína's grave. To read the story in proper order you may want to start three posts back at THE SEARCH FOR PAULÍNA'S GRAVE - PART 1.

Gates of the cemetery in Hodonín

We arrived at the cemetery on the edge of the city. It was surrounded by a brick wall and had an impressive gothic gate. We found the office in a building located near the front of the cemetery. We repeated our request to the woman there. She pulled out a large ledger book and went down the rows of recorded burials from 1918. She told us that so many people had died in the war and of influenza that it was very chaotic and records were not kept of many burials. She said that many corpses were buried without being marked or entered into the record book. She said that it might not be possible to find the exact grave of Paulína Miklová.

Resigned to not finding her grave we walked the paths of the beautiful cemetery. I took a jar and collected soil from near the center of the cemetery. When Steve was buried in 1999 I deposited that soil, as well as soil from Drahovce, into his grave. It may not have been exactly from his mother’s grave but it was close and it was from his homeland. 

THE SEARCH FOR PAULÍNA’S GRAVE – PART 2

We entered the large wooden doors of the "Bishop’s Farm" and just inside there was an office with a young priest. He wore a long black cossack. We repeated our request for information about the location of the grave of Paulína Miklová. We told him that she had been employed at the Bishop’s Farm.

The priest responded that the records were once kept there at the office, but they had been taken by the government in 1950 after the Communists took power. He may have said something about the national archives having the records. He then suggested that we go directly to the cemetery, which was located north of Hodonín, and check the office there.

This is a picture of our translator, Gabriela, and me at the front gate of the Bishop's Palace in Hodonín.

THE SEARCH FOR PAULÍNA’S GRAVE - PART 1

In the spring of 1998 Matt and I went to Hodonín in an attempt to find Paulína’s grave. We hired Gabriela Pilniková, a university student in Bratislava, as our translator. The year before we had met some medical scientists from Slovakia who were doing research through an exchange program at the University of Iowa. They provided us with Gabriela’s contact information so she could accompany us to translate records. 

We first started at the Town Hall in Drahovce. They had records of Paulína's birth and her marriage to Štefan, Sr., but there was no information about her death or the location of her grave. So we set out to Hodonín in our rental car.

Our first stop in Hodonín was City Hall. We went to the records department and through Gabriela I told them that I was looking for my grandmother’s grave. I said her name was Paulína Miklová and that she had worked at the Bishop’s Farm. The city clerk listened closely to what we were asking and then responded that she had no such records at City Hall, but that we should check at the Bishop’s Farm, which was directly across the street. Whenever Steve mentioned the Bishop’s Farm, I imagined farm fields in the countryside like the painting pictured here. So I was surprised when we walked outside of City Hall and went across the city street to find the Bishop’s Farm – a tall stucco wall that held the Bishop’s Palace behind it. This must have been the administrative office for the Bishop. I assume the farmland was somewhere near the city. (More about the search for Paulína’s grave in the next post.)

Here is a picture of the City Hall in Hodonín where I was directed to the Bishop’s Farm, which is across the street on the left side of the photo.

THE BISHOP'S FARM

After Štefan, Sr. left for America, Paulína and Štefanko lived with Paulína’s parents – the Sedláčik family in Drahovce. During part of this time Paulína was a field worker at the Bishop’s Farm in Hodonín – located about 63 kilometers (39 miles) west of Drahovce.*

Steve told a story about his mother leaving him with his grandparents when he was about five years old. She had to travel to the Bishop’s Farm to work and would have to stay there for an extended period of time. He said that he dressed in his best clothes and was waiting at the cottage door so that he could go with her, but she had to leave him crying at the gate of his grandparent’s cottage as she went off to work. He never saw her again. She contracted influenza and died at the Bishop’s Farm near the end of World War I. He said that her body was buried in Hodonín rather than being returned to Drahovce. 

*The map shows Hodonín in the upper left corner. Drahovce is in the lower right corner just below the city of Piešt'any.

LIFE DURING WORLD WAR I

World War I broke out about four months after Štefan Sr. set off for America.  Paulína and Štefanko were left in Drahovce. During the war food was scarce. Steve said that his mother had to go out into the fields at night to steal potatoes so they would have something to eat. He also told the story about the machine guns firing at the church, which I wrote about in an earlier post.

He said the Russian prisoners of war were made to work the fields and raise the crops, probably because many of the village men, having been drafted into the Austro-Hungarian Army, were away from the village.* Steve attributed the Russian soldiers with having saved the lives of the villagers, because they raised food for them to eat.

A war-related story that Steve told was about the Serbian boys in town after the war. They were the illegitimate offspring of Serbian solders or prisoners of war. He thought that they were tough and mean kids who would fight to the death.


Another war story that Steve told was about his Uncle Gabriel, who was sent to the Italian front. Word got back to the village that Gabriel wanted to see what an Italian looked like so he stood up to look out of the trench and an Italian soldier shot him in the head.

*In World War I the Germans and Austro-Hungarians fought the British, French, Russians, Italians, Serbians and the Americans. The Slovaks, who were under the rule of the Hungarians resented their rulers and were probably not very good soldiers for the Empire. As noted before Štefan Miklo, Sr. may have left Drahovce to avoid fighting in the upcoming war. 

Here is a photo of the World War I Memorial in Drahovce. There are two Miklo’s listed: G. Miklo was the brother of Štefan Miklo, Sr. I do not know who T. Miklo was.

ONE MORE NAME FOR ŠTEFAN

"Štefanko" means little Štefan in Šlovak. It is similar to "Stevie" in English. Štefan, Sr. referred to his son as "Štefanko" when he first joined him in Iowa. "Štefanko" is also written in notes from his cousin Ján in Drahovce. So for some posts you will see the name Štefanko referring to Štefan, Jr. 



PAULÍNA AND HER INFANT SON
Here is a picture of Paulína holding her infant son, Štefanko. Note the rosary beads and the traditional Slovak clothing known as "kroj". (Click on the picture for a larger image.) The photo is printed on a piece of cardboard about the size of a postcard. There is a message written in ink in Slovak on the back. It translates to: “I wish a very good day to you and also your husband [there is a missing word or two] daddy. God be with you. Good-bye. Amen. Štefanko has a pacifier: if he didn’t have it, he would be much stronger.” 


This photo must have been given to one of Paulína’s female relatives. I assume this because the note on the back says, “To you and also your husband.” Perhaps it was sent to Anna Spal, Steve, Senior’s sister in Wisconsin. At some point the photo must have been passed on to Steve or his father because “Steve Miklo, Ft. Dodge, Iowa” is written in pencil on the back. I was surprised to learn from the note that they had baby pacifiers in 1913.
   Thanks to Steve’s cousin, Maria in Drahovce, her daughter Janka, in Trnava, Slovakia and my friend Katarina in Iowa City. They all helped to translate the message on the back. Parts of it are written in an older form of Slovak so it was not easy to decipher.

Back of photo with message written in Slovak

ŠTEFAN'S MOTHER: PAULÍNA (SEDLÁČIKOVÁ) MIKLOVÁ

Returning back to Slovakia and stepping back in time: Pauliná was born on September 17, 1893 in Vagdebrod (Drahovce). Her father was Miklós Sedláčik (not to be confused with the surname Miklo: Miklós is Hungarian for Nicholas). Her mother was Vincencia (Surová) Sedláčiková. The last name Sedláčik (pronounced Said-la-chek) means farmer. It is a common last name in the Czech Republic and Slovakia (Also note: “ová” is added to a woman’s last name.) Other than her birth date and her parent’s names we know nothing of Paulína’s early life.

Stefan, Sr. and Paulína were married on February 15, 1912. She was 19 and Stefan, Sr. was 26. I found this information in the records at the Town Hall in Drahovce. Here is a link to a good description of wedding customs practiced in Drahovce.http://www.iarelative.com/wedding/drahovce.htm

DRAFT REGISTRATION

One more story about Steve, Sr. before we return to Slovakia: Steve told me that his father (Steve, Sr.) was drafted into the American army in World War I, but the war ended before he had to go. This would have been ironic because as we learned earlier he had supposedly left Europe in 1914 with $50 and a loaf of bread in order to avoid being drafted into the Austro-Hungarian Army. If he had been drafted into the American Army and sent back to Europe he would have been fighting his own countrymen, who were being conscripted against their will into the Austro-Hungarian Army to fight the allies including Americans. 

There is something not quiet right with this story. Although Steve Miklo Senior did register for the draft in America, he never actually served. His draft registration card is dated September 12 (probably 1918 –for some reason the year is not written). The war ended in November 1918, so the part of the story that the war ending before he could be sent abroad makes sense. But because he was 33 years old it is unlikely he would have ever been actually called up to serve.

The registration card has some interesting information. It notes that Steve Sr. is an alien (not a U.S. Citizen), a Hungarian Slav, a laborer at U.S. Gypsum, his nearest relative is his sister, Annie Spal, P.O. Box 81, Curtis, Wisconsin. The card notes that he is medium height - 5’9” tall, slender build with grey eyes and light hair. There is a question: Has person lost arm, leg, hand, eye, or is he obviously physically disqualified? The answer is No.

You can see his registration card by clicking here:
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-26417-13245-58?cc=1968530&wc=M9MT-24Z%3A220102928

ŠTEFAN, SR‘S IMMIGRATION EXPERIENCE

Štefan (István) apparently was traveling with another young man who was also from Vogdebrod (Drahovce) named István Rusznyak, age 24. This information is recorded on the manifest of alien passengers arriving in steerage class in New York Harbor aboard the SS Imperator. The Imperator, pictured here, was at one time the largest ship in the world.

István Ruzynyak was going to Lansford, Pennsylvania, a coal-mining town (many Slovaks were employed in the mining industry).  On the manifest, Štefan Miklo is reported to be going there as well – but this might have been a recording mistake. Oddly, he reported that his last permanent residence was “Jordot”, Iowa, which maybe was what Fort Dodge, Iowa sounded like to the immigration officer when spoken in Štefan’s broken English. We know that he worked for U.S. Gypsum in Ohio in 1909. Does the note indicating his last known address was “Jordot” Iowa mean that he moved from Ohio to Iowa before he returned to Slovakia prior to 1912?  Or was this a recording mistake made by the immigration officer? 

The manifest indicated that Štefan was carrying $48.  This was in response to the question, "Whether in possession of $50, and if less how much?"  This was asked to assure that people coming into the country would not be a burden to the state.  Štefan's response also corroborates the family story that he left Slovakia with $50 and a loaf of bread. 

Here is a link to a 28-minute documentary about the immigrant experience, and the passage through Ellis Island as Štefan, Sr. would have experienced it. I once thought Štefan, Jr. had gone through Ellis Island as well. But I have since found that he was spared this part of the immigrant experience.  More on that in later posts.  Click here for the documentary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4wzVuXPznk

ŠTEFAN (STEVE) MIKLO, SENIOR

Before we return to Štefan’s early life, here is a little bit about his father Štefan Miklo, Senior.  He was born to Ján (John in English) Miklo on July 21, 1885* in Vagderbrod (Drahovce).  He had four siblings, Gabriel, Ján, Paulína, and Anna. Anna also immigrated to America.  She lived in Wisconsin. Her married name was Spal. She is buried near Steve, Sr. in Corpus Christi Cemetery in Fort Dodge.

We do not know much about Štefan, Senior’s life in the Old Country.  He said that he was sent to work in the farm fields when he was five years old and he did not see his parents much.

At the time Slovakia was ruled by Hungary as part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  The Slovak language was oppressed. Drahovce was officially known by the Hungarian name, Vagdebrod, although the Slovaks referred to it as Drahovce. The Empire even required first names to be written in the official language.  So Štefan, Sr. was baptized as István, the Hungarian name for Steven. Even today in Slovakia there is resentment toward the Hungarian minority that still lives in the country.

Steve, Jr. once told me a story that he might have heard from his father.  He said that the Empire would send inspectors to the school to make sure the students were learning the official language: Hungarian. Knowing the inspector was coming the teacher told the students to hide their Slovak books under their desks.  In front of the inspector the teacher would call on the student that he knew best spoke Hungarian. That student would answer the questions correctly. The inspector would leave satisfied that the students were learning the official language. The teacher would then return to teaching in Slovak.

Štefan, Sr. first came to American in 1909 to work for U.S. Gypsum Company in the gypsum mines in northern Ohio.  We do not know how long he was in the U.S., but we do know that he returned to Slovakia by 1912 when he married PaulÍna Sedláčiková

Steve, Jr. told me that to avoid being drafted into the army of the Austro-Hungarian Empire for World War I, his father left for America a second time.  He took the equivalent of $50 and a loaf of bread, leaving behind his wife and his infant son.  But the timing of the war indicates that there may have been other reasons for Štefan, Sr. going to America.

Immigration records indicate that Štefan, Sr. arrived in New York Harbor on May 10, 1914. The ocean crossing would have taken several weeks. The war did not start until July 28, a few months after he had left Europe. So  maybe he went to America to earn money, as he had done in 1909, rather than to avoid the draft.  In1914 he returned to his old employer, U.S. Gypsum, but this time in Iowa rather than Ohio.  If he had intended to return to Slovakia, or to send for his wife and son once he had established himself, the war would have interfered with such plans.

Here is a picture of Steve Miklo, Sr.  I believe it was taken in Iowa sometime between 1914 and 1921.

*The July 21 birth date was found in the records at the town hall in Drahovce.  But his draft registration card from 1918 notes his birth date as August 15, 1895 and his Social Security death record from 1964 notes his birthdate at August 20.

INSIDE ST. MARTIN’S CHURCH

This is a photo of the altar of St. Martin’s Church, where Štefan was baptized and served as an

altar boy. The words painted on the arch are Slovak.  They translate to “I am the bread of life.”

The ceiling and organ loft are pictured below. (Click on the photos for a better view.)

ŠTEFAN’S EARLY LIFE

In the following posts the name Štefan, the Slovak name, is used when discussing life in Czechoslovakia.  Steve, the English name, is used when discussing life in Iowa.

The next series of posts will be about Štefan’s early life in Drahovce, Czechoslovakia.  Most of this information was told to me by Steve, who enjoyed telling stories about life in the Old Country.  Other details I learned from visiting Drahovce and meeting Steve’s cousins, who still live there.  Some of Steve’s stories may have been “tall tales” or exaggerations.  Other information may be wrong because I misremembered what Steve had said. I have some of his stories on tape, but most of these I am reconstructing from what I remember of what he told me.  If he told you similar stories I would love to compare notes to try to achieve the most accurate account of his life.

ST. MARTIN'S CHURCH

Štefan Miklo, Jr. was born July 17, 1913 in Drahovce, Slovakia.  At the time Slovakia was part of the Austro- Hungarian Empire. The Hungarian name for the village of was Vagdebrod – it was changed to Drahovce when Czechoslovakia became an independent nation in 1918.  In the Slovak language, Drahovce means expensive sheep.  The people of the village think that name is funny and don’t know how their village got the unusual name. It must have had something to do with shepherds in the region.

Štefan was baptized in St. Martin's Church in Drahovce. He later served as an altar boy there.  To tell you how historic this building is - it was built about 1790 at the time George Washington was president of the United States. A cemetery surrounds the church on three sides. The church’s exterior is a mustard-colored stucco and it has a red metal roof (see photo). There is a bell tower with a fake clock painted on one side - the other sides are blank. There is beautiful tree-lined sidewalk that leads from the main street of the village to the front of the church.  It is lined with little stucco shrines that contain the fourteen stations of The Way of The Cross.

Steve told me that during World War I there was fighting in the village.  Soldiers were shooting machine guns.  The villagers took refuge in the church because the walls were so thick they repelled the gunshots.  I do not know if this story is true or a village legend.  The war started when Štefan was a year old and ended when he was five.

Drahovce, like much of Slovakia is heavily Roman Catholic.  Village life revolves around the church and the celebration of Holy Days.  In that way it is similar to small Catholic towns in Iowa.   Here is a link to an article about the Easter in Drahovce as Stefan would have experienced it:

http://www.iarelative.com/easter/mihalek.htm

THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO

The picture of Steve that appears on this page was his passport photo. It also appeared on his Green Card. It was taken in Czechoslovakia in 1930 just before he came to America to join his father, who had come to Iowa in 1914. The passport is a beautiful document.  It is written in both Czech and French, which at the time was the international language. His name appears as Štefan (the mark above the S is a "hatchek" used in the Czech and Slovak alphabet) and is pronounced Shtef-on. The passport describes Štefan as a workman (robotnik in Czech - the word robot is one of the few Czech words to make it into the English language). The passport goes on to describe Štefan as having a round face, ash-grey eyes and brown hair.  It notes that he will be traveling to the United States through Germany.  Near the back of the passport there is a stamp dated June 2,1930 from the American Vice Consul in Prague. His Green Card notes that he arrived at the port of New York on June 15,1930 on the steamship Berlin. His first sight of America was the New York City skyline and the Statue of Liberty.