Brezova pod Bradlom from the M.R. Stefanik Memorial, May 2015

In the summer of 1905, my 18-year-old grandmother, Judita Rechtorisova*, left  Brezova pod Bradlom, a small town in the shadow of the Carpathian Mountains in present-day Slovakia, for the U.S.  She left in the middle of a wave of 1,500 citizens from her small town, population 6,000, who emigrated between 1893 and 1908.

Judita, or Julia as we knew her, never saw her parents again.  By the time she had the money and time to return, in 1957, Brezova had been rebuilt and was quite a different place than the old-world village she left more than 50 years earlier.

Judita (Julia) Rechtorisova Schlegel, circa 1961

Grandma Schlegel did not have an easy life in Chicago.  She married my grandfather, Hilmar  Schlegel, a German immigrant, and together they had 7 children.  My mom, Ruth, born in 1923, was the youngest.  During the height of the Great Depression Grandpa developed epilepsy and couldn’t work, leaving Grandma to support the large family.

With the help of my hardworking aunt and uncles, the family survived and even managed to own a home with a large vegetable garden that helped feed the growing brood.

Grandma died when I was only about 2 years old, so sadly I did not get to know her or taste her legendary Apple Strudel.  I grew up hearing about her deep religious faith, and her devotion to helping neighbors in need.  This extended to Grandpa’s formerly prosperous German family, who suffered greatly during the war and she managed to send medicine and supplies that apparently kept them afloat.

Our family knew very little about Grandma Schlegel’s past until my sister, Jeanne, discovered the name of her birth town about 10 years ago while doing some genealogical research.  Jeanne had the fortune to visit Brezova  at that time and reported her surprise at the loveliness of the spot Grandma left.  My imagination was captured by the thought of our grandmother leaving this verdant spot for what turned out to be a not-so-easy life in a big city a world away.  Why did she leave, and why didn’t she tell her children more about the place she came from?

Town square, Brezova pod Bradlom, May 2015

I found some answers a few days ago, and I will tell the story in  a few installments.  In my next post, I will tell some of the history of the Myjava Region, where Brezova pod Bradlom is located, and tell a little more of my grandmother’s story.

*One of the things I learned during my visit is that the ending -ova is typically added to the surname of a woman, thus my grandmother would have been known locally as Judita Rechtorisova.