What were the origins of her thoughts? What was the catalyst for this line of thinking? How did it all start?
1906…a Polish orphan girl has no possibilities…she is 14 years old. Where can she go? What will become of her? She and a small group of her friends get an idea. Each of them has brothers who have gone to America. Is it at all possible to go where their brothers live? Anna Mroz thinks she has found a solution.
The group of girls makes a plan. They will travel from their home in Jastrzebiec. With guidance from their brothers who instruct them through letters, they will get tickets for passage from Trieste, Italy, to New York, New York. This first part of their journey from Poland to Italy is more than 800 miles. How much of that journey will be on foot and how much by train? What will it cost each of them?
Safely arriving in Trieste, the group of five girls is ready to take passage on 30 April on the ship Georgia, which will accommodate 350 passengers in steerage. When passage was booked, Anna lied about her age. She says she is 16. They arrive in New York City on 24 May 1906. For more than three weeks, she and her girlhood friends have battled seasickness, uncertainty, anxiety. Perhaps, one of their first sights as they see the skyline of the city is the figure of Lady Liberty. Does her presence ease some of their fears? Then, there are the various stations to pass through at Ellis Island. Eventually, her brother Antoni will meet her before they leave for Connecticut. What will come next?
Origins of thought, origins of family and country, origins of a new life…so how did this start an adolescent thinking, planning, hoping? My grandmother…Anna Mroz.
Once Upon A Lifetime: Tales And Vignettes Of My Ancestors 