Tribune Excerpts
The following article appeared in the March 2008 Edition of the Macedonian Tribune
Detsa on the Line
By Mitch Pedroff
The New Year arrived; it was now January 1910. Life was harsh for the detsa during their first two months in America -- long hours, low pay, substandard housing and food, adjusting to a new language and customs, social rejection, but the ‘carrot of The Line’ drove them on. Working on the railroad line was the goal.
Quoting father, “that is why we came to America … to work on the line … to make golemma paree (big money).
There was a coffeehouse in the neighborhood that served as the social center for the immigrant men. It was here that news was exchanged or gained.
Being a teenager and under the duress of survival, father had no interest in partaking of coffeehouse politics and card games during his first two months in St. Louis. He preferred to visit the Bulgarian bakery where he could meet and socialize with the local girls. But, his reluctance to visit the coffeehouse changed in January.
Word spread quickly through the boarding houses that news of employment by the Great Northern Railroad Co. would be found at the coffeehouse. During the first three weeks of January the detsa, now including father, were regular visitors.
Their attendance produced immediate results. The lads learned they would be required to buy proper work clothing and boots in St. Paul, Minn., before they could start on the line. This meant they would need cash in hand. For father it was another delay in sending money home to his mother.
The detsa continued to work at their respective jobs for the remainder of the month. A frugal mentality set in. Saving every nickel was a priority. January ended with glowing news that the Great Northern would be hiring a crew or crews for the coming season. To verify this information a delegation went to the Great Northern office to inquire and, indeed, it was a fact that the employment process would begin soon. News spread throughout the boarding rooms and soon the detsa formed lines at the employment office.
In mid-February, father and his roommates went to the employment office. They met with a company official where they were briefly interviewed and some paperwork was completed. Then, individually they were given a health exam.
As father described the checkup, “The man had rubber tubes stuck in his ears and these tubes came together with a round piece of metal. In the selo (village), they pounded on our back and chest, but this man was listening to our body. I never saw such a thing in the selo.”
Later in life father learned that the medical instrument was called a stethoscope. The exam went well, and he was told to wait in another room. In time, the official called him into the office and after a brief discussion informed him that he was hired; the company man gave father an envelope with a train ticket to St. Paul, along with instructions.
Jubilation prevailed. Father and his roommates were hired. The boys of Konamladi were bound for the line. Preparation and planning for the eventful day was next.
Fifteen weeks had passed since this group arrived in St. Louis as shabbily dressed migrants; drawing looks of disbelief from the locals. Gone were the homemade selo clothes and ill-fitting free clothes. On the eventful day, the detsa left as American workers, well groomed and dressed in store-bought clothes. The transformation was complete, and no one would suspect these boys were immigrants -- save for their speech.
For their self-protection, the detsa walked in small groups to the railroad station with a specific purpose in mind. The lads carried all their worldly possessions with dollars stuffed into their leather money belts. They believed that strength in numbers was the best way to avoid a robbery. They did not experience violence and robbery in Macedonia, but they learned very quickly that they had to protect each other in St. Louis -- staying together on the walk to the station was one way.
At the station, many other Macedonian boys greeted the roommates. Introductions and pleasantries were exchanged and the beginning of many friendships started.
As father noted, “I was with my own people, and I felt safe and secure to be with them. I could trust them.”
With loading complete, the passenger train traveled north to St. Paul. Upon arrival, the first order of business was to secure quarters for the evening. Heeding the instructions of the elders at the coffeehouse, the detsa stayed near the rail yard where ample housing and restaurants were available.
