Tribune Excerpts
The following article appeared in the February 2008 Edition of the Macedonian Tribune
DETSI of ’09
By Mitch Pedroff
Violence was a way of life in St. Louis, and one day father witnessed a man being killed. For a teenager it was a horrifying, unforgettable event. He stood there in disbelief. A chern chovek was knocked to the floor and pummeled to death. Very quickly, the crowd disappeared and the man laid on the floor bleeding. A few hours later, two company men dragged him out of the room. Father often wondered if anyone was charged with the murder, or if the company just reported it as an accidental work death. He never found out, as he would be leaving for Montana.
The detsi had now worked about six weeks in the factory and were becoming quite proficient at their jobs. Their relations with the Etalianos were amicable. One day the chief, a name given to the shop foreman by the workers, approached father and placed his arm on father’s shoulder saying, “You do good work, no mistakes … you hustle. I am going to raise your pay to ten cents an hour … one dollar a day.”
It was a memorable day for father, and later in life he said, “I made a lot of money in America, and I spent a lot of money, but I learned an important lesson. America rewards good workers. Do a good job, hustle, no mistakes and you will be rewarded, not so in the selo.”
One could do an excellent job; yet, raises were not forthcoming. The wage was set, but money or gold was not available for a day’s labor.
Five dollars a week gave father a different perspective on life. The added fifty cents per week would be set aside for his mother, or so he thought. If his savings reached $5, he would wire the money to his mother. These detsi worked a 50-hour week in the shops. On weekends, many took part-time jobs in restaurants – washing dishes, cleaning pots and pans, bussing tables, or janitorial duties. Father was no exception – he washed dishes, cleaned pots and pans for four and five cents an hour. “I did not work for the money; it was for food – meat, mashed potatoes, vegetables, pie, cake, etc. We did not have good food during the week – the best we had was manja (stew) or boiled chicken,” father told us.
To be Continued
Mitchell Pedroff was born and raised in Canton,
Ohio. He is the son of the late Mitcho and Dina
Pedroff, who emigrated from Konomladi and
D’mbeni, Aegean Macedonia. He received his
B.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Miami University
at Oxford, Ohio, and his M.S. from Kent State
University. For 35 years, he worked in public
education, 26 of these in administrative positions.
He and his wife Kathy, who have two daughters
and three grandchildren, live at Piqua, Ohio, and
Bradenton, Fla.
