Tribune Excerpts
The following article appeared in the January 2008 Edition of the Macedonian Tribune
DETSI of ’09
By Mitch Pedroff
The village of Konomladi, Kostursko, was a beehive of activity in the summer of 1909. Men were planting gardens and tending goats and sheep; children were doing chores, and mothers and babas (grandmothers) were busy with domestic work. Prosperity was evident throughout the selo (village), but not with the Michoff family.
Tragedy had struck the family a few years earlier. Peter Michoff had passed away at the age of 47, leaving Ivana (Vana) to raise three children – Micho, Stassa (Steve) and Demetria. At that time, there were no ‘social safety nets’ and widows had to work as domestics and depend on support and assistance from relatives.
In late summer, a group of visitors (Americans and nashi [our people]) arrived from America. Their purpose was to inform the men that railroad lines were being built in America and workers were needed. The men would have to leave soon and spend the winter in America working as day laborers and be ready to start working on the railroad line in March 1910.
My father, Micho, was 16 years old, and like most teenagers, was curious and wanted to know more about America. He learned that workers must be 18 years of age, healthy and able to endure rugged outdoor life.
Father had nothing to lose, so he signed up for the health exam, indicating that he was 18 years of age, stating that he was born in April, 1891, not April 1893, which was his actual date of birth.
The examination was very primitive – the American pounded on father’s back and his chest, examined his teeth, gums, mouth, ears, and felt his neck and arm muscles. Father was proclaimed physically fit and employable.
Decisions had to be made. All of the detsi (boys) that passed the exam gathered to discuss and plan the journey to America. Father loved to refer to the group as ‘boys’ stating, “We were just boys and really did not know anything about America … just innocent boys … we didn’t know any better.”
After the meeting, Father confronted his mother and discussed his desire to go to America. This discussion was no easy task, as his mother was adamantly against the idea. Father then asked his Uncle Dinko (Dan), who was going with the detsi, to intercede in the matter.
Dinko promised Vana that he and the elders would protect and watch over Micho and the other younger boys. Next, Uncle George entered the discussion and sided with Vana. The situation did not look promising.
Finally, father and Uncle Dinko came with the ‘clincher’ – the idea that sealed the deal for Vana and Uncle George: It would be in the best interest of the family for Micho to leave with the detsi, as there would be one less mouth to feed and body to clothe. Father also promised with ‘all his heart and love’ that he would always send money home and mother would not be a burden to Uncle George and other relatives. Father kept his word, and supported his mother until she arrived in America in 1926.
With summer ending, the day of departure finally arrived. Mother bundled up Micho’s clothes and packed a meal of cheese, bread and pita for her son to eat during the trip. The farewell was sad – brother, sister and mother were in tears, but father did not shed a tear because he had to show mother that he was a man. He knew that he may not see his family again for a long while and did not want mother to have a lasting impression of him crying. The detsi gathered together with their families and bid them farewell.
The entire group walked for a long distance and eventually families dropped by the wayside as the detsi continued their trek. Since there was no train depot in Konomladi, the detsi walked to Lerin and boarded a train to Belgrade. In Lerin, the boys of Konomladi met detsi from other villages with the same objective -- railroad work in America. In Belgrade, the detsi boarded another train to France.
The train trip was uneventful, but arrival in France was another matter. As father told us later, “We must have been an unsightly lot of young men, dressed in homemade baggy clothes, carrying bundles of clothing tied together with sticks and heavy strings, not to mention our body odor. The French people stopped and stared at us.”
The young Macedonians were amazed when they saw machinas (automobiles) and trucks for the first time on wide streets with curbs and sidewalks. The French people were dressed in neatly tailored, storebought clothes. Activity was everywhere.
As they came nearer to the port, it seemed everyone was dressed in some type of uniform, and these uniforms must have designated some type of responsibility. The uniforms were fancy and made a lasting impression on the detsi.
