1837 Kaiserowa Huta - 1895 Pine Creek
On my sixteenth birthday, I was hired as a worker
At the Lubiana ceramics factory. I was tired of helping
On other families' farms and I was making no money.
I knew what I wanted. A good, hard working husband and
A working farm on good land, where we would raise
Good, hard-working young farmers and farm wives
Strong in patriotism and in their Roman Catholic faith.
I was happy to work hard and save.
I met Franciszek at the factory. He was done with his service
To the evil old Prussian king, and known as a worker,
And very handsome too. Everyone said he would amount to something
Yet I tested him anyway, and made him
Court me in the proper fashion.
We pooled our money to pay for a farm, but predictably
We could not afford the farm land we wanted
What we could afford would not feed the two of us,
Much less the family we were aching to begin.
Franciszek spoke more and more about America:
About Minnesota, the newest state, and the booming
River port town of Winona. We had enough money for the fare
Franciszek, baby Alojzy, and I. If the child in my womb
Could wait until we were at sea to be born
We would only be paying for three.
We had been five days on the sailing ship Donau.
When Jacob arrived. A healthy squalling little boy, a force of nature
It would take another force of nature to take from this life.
Not so poor Alojzy, who did not even make it to New York
We came to Winona a family of three, scrimping and saving
For a working farm on good land in Trempealeau County.
The first winter in Hungary Valley I stayed in a dugout
With Jacob and baby Franek, while Franciszek went north logging
But then more babies came. Mary, Paulina, and Barney,
Anna (the thoughtful one), Anton, Julian, and Stanislaus.
All grew up to be good hard-working husbands and wives
Save for Anton, the big moose, but we were proud of him too.
What a joy to watch them raise their own big families
More joyous still - watching them with my Franciszek at my side.
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