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