Mary Nowak Sudy

The Seedling Mary Nowak Sudy

It was Jakub's fate to be torn between two worlds - Poland and America. His early years were pleasant - farming with his father, searching for the perfect evergreen top with his brothers and sisters, his mother's love, singing, and flowers. He learned of Poland's glorious centuries, when it was considered the "Melting Pot of Europe." Fortunes turned, however, and by the beginning of the 20th century rural inhabitants led meager lives. Jakub's father's desire was to send as many of his seven children to the "Land of Plenty" as he could. When Jakub was sixteen it became his turn to sail to America.
After leaving the U. S. S Lincoln he traveled by train to a brother in Chicago. During his stay there Jakub learned to play the harmonica - and what work was like in a slaughterhouse. Over time he realized that his brother's values from home had diminished. Jakub decided to go back to Poland, but first he would travel to Hamtramck, Michigan to visit two sisters who had left home a few years ago and now lived with an aunt. He found them settled and happy. He enjoyed his time there. Jakub's uncle said that he could get a job when a new automobile factory, "Dotch" (Dodge), opened. But Jakub was steadfast. After a short stay he sailed back to Poland.
He found many circumstances changed. The worst, that his beloved mother had died as he was aboard ship, coming home. And as war loomed, Jakub's father warned him that he would likely be conscripted into the Russian army. Jacob took his advice to sail back to America.
During the trip he befriended a young girl, Felcia. Jakub asked about the treasure she brings to the new world, a beautiful doll to which she clings. He told her the fanciful legend of how the city of Krakow was named. He described the Statue of Liberty as an immigrant too, as she came from France. When he told her that his younger sister Mania had many friends to play games with (he described hide-and-go-seek) excitement shone in Felcia's