South High School - Oriole Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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H1719 much in a month as we would have made in a -, f X sfo- whole season on our Lithuanian farm. We opened r5t fi a bank account in a big bank on Carson Street, and E , f Y. ' h f' f . it .,,, 555' mootnproud we were as we watched the igures fl V As soon as my household tasks were completed f,-ii. PP4, each morning, I would hurry to my cousins' home gf ,, , gpg!! Z! I with my books and they would help me with my K I f lessons. Strange as it seems, I had never gone to 1 visit school as we had planned. When I met other .- l 1 'f 11m K I girls I became very conscious of my foreign appear- I 7 f f 'S ance and my broken English. I determined I would . . not go to school until I could dress and speak as f V..-Q. 'i A the others did. if I In the meantime I made great progress in my ' . J work. My cousin took me to the South Side Branch I '-1', I! if of the Carnegie Library and introduced me to the IQ I f librarian in charge. She at once seemed to under- lllllllln' x , .1 I stand my problems and was an invaluable friend to me during those summer months. She knew just what kind ot books I needed, she showed me how to use the catalogue in the library and all the other things that were to prove so useful to me in the fall. By September my cousins pronounced me ready for high school. A teacher living near us had heard about my efforts to fit myself for school in the fall and she sent for me to come to see her. America was surely the home of kind people. She arranged for me to go to her three times a week for help in lower mathe- matics and geography. For the first time in my life I looked upon a globe repre- senting the world, and my heart swelled with pride when I saw the large space occupied by my newly adopted country. My parents were so grateful to Miss Wilson for the help she had given me that they insisted that they be allowed to pay her, but she said she was amply repaid in my progress and would accept no money. Finally my mother made her a present of a hand-embroidered shawl that we had brought from Lithuania and she was delighted with it. September fifth, the long heralded day, finally dawned and I went forth with my cousins to begin my education in an American school. I was surprised to learn that my parents were not going to have to pay for these lessons I was about to receive. just think-English, history, algebra, science, cooking, sew- ing, swimming-all to be had for the asking! How vividly that first morning stands out in my memory. I think I shall never forget it. My cousins escorted me to the auditorium and then departed for their own class rooms. I found myself seated in a huge hall, larger than our church had been in the old country. Hundreds of other boys and girls were wait- ing there in long rows of seats. I was so happy it seemed as though my heart would burst with gratitude. I turned to survey the girl sitting next to me. In a short time we were chatting like old friends. That friendship that sprang up be- tween us that morning has grown until today Anna Mindek is my dearest friend. She, too, was foreign borng she had come to America from Novgorad, Russia when she was but two months old. Of course she had no recollections of her old home as I had, but she.had the advantage of me in having spent eight years in the public schools. The girl in front of us overheard our conversation and turned around to say that her parents had come from Russia, too. When she was seven she had been taken back there on a visit. She assured me that Amer- ica was so much superior to the foreign countries that I should likely never have a desire to return to the land of my birth. Already I was ready to agree with her. After a short time the principal came in and I was assigned to a room called

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. '2'fIf-:cf . -. : .TV-,':-5'1-:t uf- 0 Q-'.'.:.g :jWgf. 2Q, . V ., 'IH I Qg:f:':Qf W' , 5'-lil IQ 4 ,.- , - lmi 1 gi fi'-L' .9f:5'3f,li ' I it llNf'2'3Lni5ifi.21:'6 T g it -.I-Vey -'TP' 1 Wi-'i N S ii its-.if Lidi'5'P'i: V -::,:5 mm lV'XX Q X 2 l :XXII xx 'Fix x S qilllll in ii X imx 2 1 illlll' ' I i , lm l Ui. ,X wi ,, i' '- , 2 'EE L 6 I, t5-EJ-.2.,,3..EE3iif3rm5-5 1. 4 - ' - -' - QF? j ri M' ll Q f -:rf-si:-fl 'lllj -r' iijefi' 45: u N.-1 lllli 1 5555. display at the end of each lesson my increasing knowledge of English. ln the evenings I helped my brother, and together we struggled over the primer our professor friend had given us. At last our steamer made portg she had come in during the night and l arose in the morning to look upon the Statue of Liberty. As l looked over the rail at the miles of streets, the stir of ferry boats, the grim skyline formed by the towering buildings, my hopes rose high and l prayed that somewhere in this busy world there would be a place for me. Would l, with my Lithuanian cus- toms and my Lithuanian background, ever become truly Americanized? Little did I dream of what an important part the public school was to play in my life. Twelve hours later we were in the Pennsylva- nia Station in Pittsburgh. Our cousins met us and no one will ever realize just what my emotions were when l saw a familiar face among that vast throng of people hurrying to and from the trains. How I envied them their easy familiarity with the American language and customs. They had preceded us by just three years, but were in- deed our American cousins now. Their colorful Lithuanian clothes had been exchanged for the more somber clothing of the American. The girls' hair, in- stead of being in long plaits, was bobbed according to the prevailing American style. Their fingers were bare of the many ringslso dear to Lithuanians. They spoke the English language without even a hesitancy in their speech, and were much amused at our futile efforts to follow them. We boarded a street car and were on the way home when suddenly my cous- ins said, Cla yra musu mokykla, which means, There is our school. l peered out into the darkness and was able to see what seemed to me a gigantic struc- ture of red brick behind a tall iron fence. How little we know of what the future holds in store for us: this structure of red brick was later to become my Alma Mater, dear old South High. We went directly to my uncle's home, where we were to stay until we had sufficient time to locate a home of our own. My uncle and aunt were watching for us as we came down the street, and what a reunion we all had when we met in their tiny front hall. My cousins soon carried me off to their room, where we talked until daybreak. How eagerly l listened to their stories of school. The dresses they wore they had made in the sewing department and they assured me they would help me make one just like theirs. My first disappointment came when they told me that l couldn't enter school before the following September. lt seemed there would be only one more month of school before the term ended. l could not hope to enter until l had learned to speak and write the English lan- guage. However, they promised me that as soon as I had gotten settled they would take me up to visit the high school. That summer brought many changes in my life. ln june my father succeeded in getting a position in the mills of jones G Laughlin. We then moved into a little home on Thirtieth Street, where we could be conveniently near father's work. My mother missed the farm at firstg she couldn't become accustomed to looking out on brick walls instead of rolling fieldsg but when she realized how much more prosperous we could be on American soil, she soon ceased to long for the things we had left behind. My brother went to work with a construction gang who were putting in a new county road. He and father together earned as eight

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a report room. My new friend, Anna, was sent to the same room. My cousins had told the principal about my preparation and he agreed to let me try out 9-B work. Anna had already spent two years in the building, so she was able to ex- plain the many bewildering things that arose the first day. We stayed in our report room until the bell rang and everyone hurried into the hall. At first I thought this must be the fire drill my cousin had spoken of, but I was reassured when I realized that no one was alarmed as the halls filled up with laughing, chattering young folks. Everything fascinated me that day, I was almost afraid I should waken up and find myself back in the plowed fields of Zuirblaukia- surely this must all be a dream. I had hoped to take both cooking and sewing, but I found I had to choose between them. I had always done more or less cook- ing, so I decided to sign up for sewing and learn to make the kind of clothes my cousins made. I was rather disappointed to learn that I must begin on something very simple before I could hope to make a dress. However, my teacher assured me that I could go ahead just as fast as I was able, and I felt fully confident that I would be making suits before the end of the semester. I went from class to class as one hunting new fields to conquer. At noon my friend introduced me to the cafeteria. This was my first experience in a cafeteria and I had gotten clear to the desserts before I could make up my mind what.to choose. When I turned to retrace my steps, I found what seemed to be hundreds of students behind me, so that first day I Iunched on custard, jello, and pie. My cousins had great fun that night teasing me about it. It didn't take me long to learn. though, and my mother was delighted to know that I could get a good nourishing lunch for fifteen cents. That afternoon I saw my first swimming pool. We weren't permitted to go in until later in the week. I wasn't at all certain that I wanted to go in. Surely with so many girls in the water, some of us would be overlooked. Most of the students already knew how to swim. Would they laugh at my feeble efforts to keep my head above water? Yes, I could think of lots of things nicer than a swimming pool that day. Time will not permit me to go into further detail about that epoch-making first day at school. In my estimation I had at least mounted the ladder of success and in my youthful enthusiasm I could already picture myself at the top. Day followed day, weeks developed into a month. Each day brought me new and interesting experiences. The impossible seemed to be coming to pass when one day I opened a savings account at school. I who a year before would have rejoiced over possessing a single skatikas was now receiving money regularly from my father to put into the school bank. Nothing could have persuaded me to draw out any of that money either, for I now had a secret ambition-so secret that I didn't even share it with my mother. Perhaps some day I might go to col- lege. In my idle moments I dreamed over the possibility, for had not our teacher said that money was our best friend? Yes, with money, everything was possible. By the end of my first year I could number many pupils among my friends. A few, like me, were born on foreign soil, but most of them had been born in America. There was Stanislov Slovinska and his brother Michael, both of Polish descent, Katherine C-eletko, a Slovik girl who lived beside me, Hulda Burgraff, who had been born in Leipsicg Maria Piazza, whose parents had crossed from Sicily two years before her birth. No one, however, was quite so dear to me as Anna Mindek, for I had met her when I was most in need of friendship. I found the extra-curricular activities interested me almost as much as my classes. Such fun as one can have in an American school! I joined the World Club and opened up correspondence with Frances Michalouskis, a girlhood friend of mine back in Zuirblaukia. I was quite thrilled to be able to write as an American student. As far back as I can remember my family had owned an accordian. As soon ren