A Never Ending Commitment
1918
This was the year my two grandfathers sailed across the ocean from Malta, a very small European country, and landed at Ellis Island for immigration processing. Both men were 18 years old and recently married. Both of their brides who were only 16 had to stay in Malta. Neither of their families would allow them to travel to America until their husbands could support them.
Traveling was hard. They both stayed in small below deck quarters on small ships. It was a ten day trip in those days. It was hot, dirty, smelly and cramped. They were each sponsored for entry into the U.S. by family and friends. Back then you couldn't just cross the border and become a citizen. There were limits on the number of immigrants because the existing population wanted to protect their jobs and their way of life.
After they were processed my grandfathers lived with family and friends in New York before they both moved to Detroit seeking jobs in the auto factories. Neither man spoke much English. They had very few skills. They were willing and desperate for work as they sought to build lives for themselves. One got hired by Ford and the other by Chrysler. Their work was hard. They toiled every day in loud, dangerous and dirty factories. OSHA or union rights did not exist back then. There was no such thing as paid vacations, personal or sick days. These men of just eighteen years toiled and saved. They saved enough money to each buy a house. They bought homes in the Maltese neighborhood in Detroit, near the old Tigers Stadium.
After ten years and many letters and testimonials to their brides families they were able to bring their wives to America. I can't imagine how afraid my grandmothers were. They were leaving their families and friends and moving half way around the world to live in a country that they knew very little about. They were totally dependent on their husbands and they really barely knew them. After all they were married when they were just teenagers. My grandfathers didn't know what to expect either. They married girls and now they were women with lives that had evolved without them. Both families were reunited in 1928. The next year The Great Depression came.
The next ten years heaped unimaginable stress and anxiety on these two young couples. They struggled for whatever work was available. One shoveled coal to make up for lost work at the factory. One of my grandmothers cooked for my grandfathers factory foreman just so he would select my grandfather for whatever work was available. Being good Catholic families, each couple had children during this time. Their children were born at home at first. Doctors came after the fact.
It took more than a decade for the economy to improve. And then the whole world was at war.
1918
This was the year my two grandfathers sailed across the ocean from Malta, a very small European country, and landed at Ellis Island for immigration processing. Both men were 18 years old and recently married. Both of their brides who were only 16 had to stay in Malta. Neither of their families would allow them to travel to America until their husbands could support them.
Traveling was hard. They both stayed in small below deck quarters on small ships. It was a ten day trip in those days. It was hot, dirty, smelly and cramped. They were each sponsored for entry into the U.S. by family and friends. Back then you couldn't just cross the border and become a citizen. There were limits on the number of immigrants because the existing population wanted to protect their jobs and their way of life.
After they were processed my grandfathers lived with family and friends in New York before they both moved to Detroit seeking jobs in the auto factories. Neither man spoke much English. They had very few skills. They were willing and desperate for work as they sought to build lives for themselves. One got hired by Ford and the other by Chrysler. Their work was hard. They toiled every day in loud, dangerous and dirty factories. OSHA or union rights did not exist back then. There was no such thing as paid vacations, personal or sick days. These men of just eighteen years toiled and saved. They saved enough money to each buy a house. They bought homes in the Maltese neighborhood in Detroit, near the old Tigers Stadium.
After ten years and many letters and testimonials to their brides families they were able to bring their wives to America. I can't imagine how afraid my grandmothers were. They were leaving their families and friends and moving half way around the world to live in a country that they knew very little about. They were totally dependent on their husbands and they really barely knew them. After all they were married when they were just teenagers. My grandfathers didn't know what to expect either. They married girls and now they were women with lives that had evolved without them. Both families were reunited in 1928. The next year The Great Depression came.
The next ten years heaped unimaginable stress and anxiety on these two young couples. They struggled for whatever work was available. One shoveled coal to make up for lost work at the factory. One of my grandmothers cooked for my grandfathers factory foreman just so he would select my grandfather for whatever work was available. Being good Catholic families, each couple had children during this time. Their children were born at home at first. Doctors came after the fact.
It took more than a decade for the economy to improve. And then the whole world was at war.
These two couples were now just I their late thirties. I'm sure there were times when they fought
and argued. They must have thought at times how awful their lot in life was. Each one must have
wondered to themselves “is this all there is”. Yet they persevered. They sought the better life that
they had dreamed of. They took joy in the growth and success of their children. They relished
time with their families and the came to realize what they had built together would leave a legacy
that was far greater than material success. Each family raised children that served in the military,
that went to college, that raised successful families of their own.
I am proud of my grandparents and they are among my greatest heroes. When I see friends struggling with relationships I think of these four people and the dedication they had to one another.
Pam and I are celebrating our 39th wedding anniversary today and I will always be grateful for the role models they were for us.
I am proud of my grandparents and they are among my greatest heroes. When I see friends struggling with relationships I think of these four people and the dedication they had to one another.
Pam and I are celebrating our 39th wedding anniversary today and I will always be grateful for the role models they were for us.
