Pachuta references in The Immigrant Cocoon |
Black Top and the Pool Hall The book by Dr. Porter contains several references to my relatives, in addition to photographs of Black Top, Ohio, where my father's family lived. The following mentions my grandmother: Black Top was typical of the foreign towns. The hundred residents were almost totally Slovak. The plank houses clustered around the tipple, next to the deep shaft mine. Behind the tipple was the equipment barn, the hay barn, the mule barn and the slag pile. Across the "street" from this nerve center was Jack Davis' company store and the Miners' Hall. A railroad spur paralleled the mud "street" and the creek, its cars disgorging American miners for each shift. Julia Pachuta's family lived next to their "Slovak store." She spent her free time playing with neighboring children. They were Roman Catholic and Lutheran, but that was not divisive; in the old country, especially Gemer Province, the two faiths frequently shared a church building. This pool hall and store was operated by my grandparents' family for the coal miners. The pool hall and the adjoining house were the only buildings in the valley not owned by the mining company. My grandfather (Czedo) stands near the doorway with my grandmother (Baba) on the right side of the photo. My Aunt Mary (who was called Mack) is holding a baby who is either my Uncle Bill (born in 1923) or my Aunt Julie (born in 1927). Since my Aunt Mack looks like a teenager in the photo (she was born in 1910), I'm guessing the baby is Aunt Julie. This would mean that the picture was taken in 1928.
The pool hall was converted into a house for Uncle Bill and his family in the 1960s. It stood on the property until two years ago when someone bought it and moved it up the valley to a new location. The last time I saw it, it was sitting on blocks waiting for someone to construct a new foundation. Only a few of the houses in the photo are still standing. The land where the pool hall stood is now owned by my Aunt Julie who still lives in the family's house. The Cemetery at Trail Run Dr. Porter also discusses religion and the cemeteries at Trail Run: Trail Run had mushroomed from the Hutton pasture to house nearly 2,000 people in the trough between the hills. The large majority were Byzantines, but they were a mission of Pleasant City. Nothing was theirs; even their dead were buried in Christian kindness in Bethlehem Methodist Protestant Church yard in the Lower End. (footnote) Burials in Bethlehem include . . . Julie, Joseph and Andrew Pachuta. They are my father's siblings who died shortly after birth. In customary fashion, the next three children were named after those who had died. Therefore, I have an Aunt Julie and uncles named Andrew and Joseph. Business in Lore City It was a pleasant surprise to find this reference: The upward mobility of the ethnics is illustrated by this list of area businesses advertised in the 1947 SS. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church Jubilee Booklet: . . . John Pachuta, Hires Root Beer Distributor. This, of course, refers to my father, who was in a partnership with my uncle, Mick Crevey, to distribute "pop" to the population centers around Lore City. My parents had moved to Canton after they were married in 1940, but returned to Lore City when the business opportunity became available. My mother tells me that, one year, my father only made $100 a month. In 1951, the family moved to back to Canton. The photo is of my father as a machinist at the Timken Co. in Canton during World War II. Here is how my father and his siblings looked in later years. I took this photo in the dining room of the house in Black Top. From left to right are my Uncle Paul (Farmer), Aunt Mary (Mack), Aunt Julie, Uncle Andrew (Bill), and my dad. |