Marian Lang’s Family Chronicles – Anna Quint Comes to America

The Chronicles Resume

February 20, 1989

To the Readers of the Family Chronicles:

It has been a while since I have written about Mom, her relatives, and her early family life.  I would like to take a little time to digress and “talk” to you, if you will.

It is Mom’s Birthday today, a gray and snowy day here in the Midwest.  I wondered what it was like weather-wise in Bocar the day that Mom was born and what care and comfort was afforded Grandma Quint when the baby was born. Just thoughts of mine on this day.  Catholics have a tradition of praying for the souls of the dead.  I prayed for Mom as I do every day, but this day I offered my prayers at Mass.  A candle was lighted at the altar for the peace of her soul.  I think she would have liked that, but if not, certainly the ritual was a comfort to me. I miss her so much.

Peggy and John Lewis along with Susan Kahles visited with me yesterday. No Gram-goodies for them but I did make Susan’s favorite cherry coffee cake which they enjoyed with tea and coffee.  Quite a bit of the conversation centered around their experiences with Mom.  We all agreed that it is not realistic to beatify the dead. Mom, great though she was, had her faults and failings. I’m sure that at a future time they will find their way into the record.

Changes are taking place in the Kahles and Lang families. Peggy is organizing a Kahles family newsletter which will keep us up to date.  It is possible that Dick might incorporate some of them into the Family

Chronicles. As for the Lang’s, Dick and Leslie’s son, Doulas is now a sophomore in college. Jan1ce will graduate from high school in June Kenyon, George, and Mary-Beth’s son, is in Prep School and Susan Quint will soon be twelve years old. The exciting news of 1988 was the arrival of Gina Elizabeth, a Korean born baby, who is being adopted by Mari and Jerry. She arrived at O’Hare Airport on September 19th, just five months after her birth on April 19th.  She is an adorable sister for Sean, eleven years old and Drew who is seven.  What a precious gift for the whole Lang family.

When I began writing about Mom a little over a year ago, I was preparing to “jelly” the Vanilla Grentzla. It is that time aga1n.  I just finished baking the cookies and now it is time to put the cookie halves together with the jelly.  They are going to be sent to Mary Beth in her Birthday box. Verbalizing love is absolutely essential and wonderful but sometimes I think my kids enjoy having love expressed in the form of cookies ‘n stuff.

Okay, Dick, you told me that I am always moralizing. Sorry, can’t help it, it’s just me.

Love,

Anna Quint Comes to America

January 27, 1990

Dear Dick

It has been almost a year since I have written for the Family Chronicles.

I must tell you about ·Theresa White.  Theresa is a widow friend of mine, a teacher of special education in the Chicago school system.  After her husband died, she was caught in a position of almost uncontrollable grief along with family concerns.  After a time and with the encouragement of her children she decided to continue her graduate studies.  She was awarded her PhD in Education last May.  We were conversing one time when I told her about my effort to write my Mother’s memoirs.  I met her the other day and she asked me how I was coming along with the writing.  I told her that it had been a while and that Mom was on Ellis Island.  She urged me to get on with it and I said I would.

A psychiatrist would not find it too difficult to diagnose the reason for the procrastination.  It has not been that I have been too busy. My everyday life is busy and during this last year, I have again enjoyed the camping season and my trip to Europe. I had wanted for a long time to experience Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, to spend at least a little time in the Louvre, and to stand in the Square in Florence.

All that, yes.  But this evening after some soul searching and a few tears I realized why Mom was still on Ellis Island.  With her arrival in America, it would become a time when her life and mine would intertwine.  Our love for each other was very strong and losing her has been painful.  The memories might be difficult to record.

Well, painful or not, I can’t leave Mom on Ellis Island for the second time, especially since the first was not too happy.

Sixteen-year-old Anna Quint travelled alone, steerage class, for almost three weeks.  Seas were stormy and she really didn’t know which was worse, the continual seasickness or the homesickness.

As an immigrant she came with her clothes tagged with her destination and one rattan suitcase holding her only possessions.  She cried most of the way.

November 2nd, 1909 is recorded as her arrival date on Ellis Island. An immigration officer trying to transfer her suitcase to the train bound for Philadelphia was met head on by a very determined Anna not to be separated from her only possession.  A tug of war took place with the case between Anna and the officer.  Finally, exasperated he pushed the case to her and said, “Get the hell out of here”. She understood. Welcome to America, Anna.

Love,

Ann Quint – Philadelphia and Chicago

February 20, 1992

Dear Family

Dick Lang, Susan Kahles, my friend Theresa White have all been urging me to continue with “Mom’s Story”. A few days ago, Tribune columnist Bob Greene wrote an article urging all parents to record family stories but also interesting bits and pieces of their own lives. Perhaps I will do so someday.

So here it is February 20th, 1992, Mom’s 99th Birthday.  I went to Mass this morning to offer it up for her joy and peace and to light a candle.  I whispered a “Happy Birthday from all of you and a tear from me.

Well, on with it.  The last effort left Anna Quint on Ellis Island.

Anna was put on the train, her destination Philadelphia noted on the tag pinned to her clothing.  She was met at the train station by her Sister, Maria (Marta Tante) and the family with whom she was going to live as a domestic. Their name was Gleich.  Mrs. Gleich was a warm-hearted Jewish lady who took Mom into a loving family home.

Mrs. Gleich took this tiny homesick sixteen-year-old girl, exhausted after three weeks of ocean travel in steerage and promptly put her to bed.  She covered her with a warmed blanket. Warmed is important because it must have seemed like heaven to Anna.  Mom never talked about The Gleichs without mentioning the warmed blanket.  Years and years have passed but I still like to imagine Mom cuddled up in that warmed blanket.

Originally Anna was hired to talk German to the Gleich children and to do some 1ight housekeeping chores. However, it didn’t take the family long to discover that Anna was an excellent cook, and to marvel at the wonderful strudels, kuchens, tortes, breads, and pastries that she made for them.

She was happy with the Gleichs. She saved every penny she earned until she had enough to repay the money paid for her passage to this country. After the debt was paid the first thing, she purchased for herself was a blouse. On her free day, Thursday, she would meet with her cousins Christine, Elizabeth, and her sister.

I’m not sure just how long Mom lived with the Gleichs but one day there came a time of decision.  Her sister returned to Europe to be married to John P. Lux. John’s sister, Emmie Boesa lived in Chicago so after the marriage the newlyweds returned to the United States and settled in Chicago. Mom wanted to follow her sister to Chicago.

When she arrived in Chicago she went to work for a family by the name of Britton. The Brittons lived on the Gold Coast and Mom was hired to be a cook. The family consisted of the Mother, Father and two teen age sons. The family budget was very rigid when it came to the purchase of food and the Britton boys were always hungry. On Sunday, one roasted chicken was carefully carved, one piece placed on each plate with no seconds. The leftovers were served the next day soup made from the bones.

However, it wasn’t as Spartan as it seems. Mrs. Britton was a sister of one of the Wielands of the Wieland Dairy Company of Chicago. The Wielands supplied the Brittons generously with mi1k, cream, cheese.and best of all, whipping cream. Mom loved whipped cream and would eat the dessert before the meal was ready to be served.

On Thursdays, maid’s day off, she would visit with her sister and her husband. John Lux was a janitor for an apartment building 1ocated on LaSalle Street and he and Marta Tante lived in the basement apartment.

I’m not sure how much time was spent in the flat on Southport Avenue because sometime between May 19, 1913 and September 1914, Dad had purchased a barber shop which was located at Montrose and Damen Avenues in Chicago.  It was there that John Frank Kahles was born on September 11, 1914.

Kahles Family Moves to Renville, Minnesota

A sad time followed about the time that John was six or seven months old.  Dad suffered a nervous breakdown which followed some minor surgery.  Mom took care of John, cooked for the barber who was employed at the shop and visited Dad in the hospital.  Following his stay in the hospital and keeping appointments with his doctors he was advised to leave his trade. He was told to go out into the country and work in the fresh air.

The barber shop was sold, and they moved to Renville, Minnesota where other friends and Landsleute had located. They rented a farmhouse. There was a large garden and room for chickens and a cow.  Gram also raised a little pig. To earn money, they hired out to farmers in the area.  The principal crop was sugar beets. The beets were picked by workers crawling on their hands and knees between the rows.  Along about this time Mom became pregnant with me which she always said was what she really needed at the time. However, as her pregnancy progressed, she decided that it would be nice to have another boy who would be a companion to John. She could always picture, the two little boys dressed alike. No wonder then that she delighted in sewing matching suits and clothes for my boys, George Jr., and Dick Lang. But as fate would have it the baby turned out to be a girl, Marian. I was born on December 6, 1917, Renville, Minnesota.  Mom said the temperature was 44 degrees below zero and the chickens had to be brought indoors so they wouldn’t freeze.

There has been some confusion about my name.  The Doctor’s Certificate lists my name as “Maria Anna”.  Mom said a neighbor visited her while she was still in bed after giving birth to me. She asked about my name and when told, “Ach, that’s too long for a baby, put the two names together and call her “Marian”. Fast forward to my application for a passport.  Doctor’s Certificate not legal.  Application sent to Minneapolis.  The returned legal document lists my name as “baby”.  But I was baptized in the Catholic Church in Renville.   My certificate lists my name as “Marian”. So it is!