Tribune Excerpts
The following article appeared in the April 2008 Edition of the Macedonian Tribune
Detsa, cold & hungry, ride the rails to Montana
By Mitch Pedroff
On the next day the locomotive made its first stop in a small North Dakota railroad town to take on water and coal. It surely was a welcome relief for the detsa. In the selo (village) and St. Louis, tea was the drink of choice, but on this day, they were served hot coffee -- bitter, very bitter coffee that could only be drunk by adding sugar. This drink would be the standard for the next eight months and in time father and the detsa grew accustomed to it, having no other choice.
The trip would take four days to reach the first work site, allowing the detsa ample time to socialize with their car mates and to reflect on their past. Father made a comparison between the freighter and this train experience, saying, “I was homesick and seasick on the Holiday; I cried and wanted to go home, but now I was cold and hungry … crackers and cheese just did not warm me.”
During the night he thought about his tatko (father) and what could have been, if tatko had lived. “I will be 17 years old in April,” father thought to himself, “and if tatko were alive, I would have graduated from the gymnasium (high school) and be enrolled in the university. Being the firstborn, tatko’s dream was to educate me. Instead, I am in a wooden boxcar far from home, listening to the click-clack of the rails. This was my destiny and now I have to accept and live it.”
Father felt remorseful for sending his mother only $5 since his arrival in America, but he took a vow one night that he would send her $20 on his first payday. With tears in his eyes he thought about her and his brother and sister, wondering if they were thinking about him, as he thought about them.
With so much time to pass until the first worksite the detsa sought ways to entertain themselves and keep their minds off the rigor and hardships of travel. “To keep our spirits up, we sang every day and told stories about growing up in the selo.”
Goat tending for boys in the villages was a rite of passage to adolescence. Daily, it was their responsibility as youngsters to take the kozi (goats) to the hills for grazing. In the early morning the tenders of the herd would venture down the streets of the selo with their family’s kozi. The lead koza (goat) had a bell fastened around its neck. As the herd passed each house with the tinkling of the bell in the air, kozi from each home would join the pack. By the time they left the village the dominant koza ascended to leadership of the pack and led the way into the hills. Returning in the evening the process was reversed and father noted, “the kozi peeled off from the herd and returned to their owner’s home without any prodding from the tenders. Our Macedonian goats were intelligent and wonderful creatures.”
The detsa called the dominant one – the Kralj (king). Upon arrival at the designated place the Kralj separated from the pack and stood alone, signifying he was the supreme one, or as it is said in America, the ‘king of the hill.’ The younger bucks took offense to the privileges of the Kralj and his air of superiority. Daily, they sparred and fought with one another so that one of the bucks would be prepared to challenge for supremacy. The young kozi fought by charging at each other and banging their heads, attempting to drive their opponent to retreat.
The detsa shared stories about the numerous encounters for supremacy and, indeed, there were times when the Kralj was defeated. His reign would be over and he was now a member of the herd. One of the detsa told of a most humorous encounter. A young buck went up the hill to challenge the dominant one; the Kralj snarled, pounded his hoofs onto the ground, puffed out his chest and the young koza cowardly whimpered back into the pack. The detsa regaled with laughter.
These goats were an important component of life in the village as they provided sustenance for life. They supplied mlko (milk), which was the main ingredient in making seerenye (cheese) and potkvas (yogurt). Father added, “I was nursed on goat milk from infancy and we (detsa) drank fresh koza mlko every day … and we ate a lot of potkvas. We (detsa) were healthy and hearty boys because of koza mlko and potkvas.” The detsa yearned and desired a glass of koza mlko so desperately, knowing it would quell their hunger, but it was only a wishful dream as the train continued westward.
The work site
On the dawn of the fourth day the click-clack of the rails appeared to be slowing and the detsa seemed to sense they were approaching the work site. The train was moving at a steady and slow pace and, then, it came to a sudden and complete stop. The car doors were flung open and the detsa felt their first blast of cold Montana air. Within seconds they hit the ground walking, running or exercising.
Father noticed something odd about the location of the rising sun in the east. During the trip from St. Paul the sun’s rays were always to the back of the train and in the evenings they faced the sun. On this morning the sun’s rays were directly on the side of the boxcars; the detsa wondered where they were. They knew the main line ran east to west from St. Paul to Seattle, but now the train faced toward the north.
They would have to wait for their answer since a hot breakfast would be served shortly and this was more important to them. As the detsa prepared for breakfast, they saw another train slowing approaching from the south. The company men had arrived! The detsa lined up and entered the dining car where their meals would be served for the next eight months.
