|
Perhaps the title is a little melodramatic, but there are a few events in our family history that if the event hadn't happened, many of us wouldn't be here. Sometimes it was an unexpected death, sometimes an unexpected child, sometimes the old country needed to recruit an army, sometimes an economic depression, and sometimes there was just the desire for a new kind of life.
Here are a few to ponder upon.
- One key event that changed much for the Filipeks was the unexpected pregnancy of Katerina Nemec in 1882. This event started a whole chain of events that changed the lives of Vaclav, Katerina and their descendants. While an early child might not generally change a lot of things, it was her parent's decision to send her to Chicago as a result that changed everything. While Katerina did return to Bohemia, the experience opened up a new life in the "big" city to her. In a way she got to see a wider world through her voyage and her stay in a vibrant area of a bustling and growing city. Through the experience she made many friends and developed a sense of life in a very different place than the farm where she grew up. After years of thought, Katerina and Vaclav finally decided to seek their destiny in the New World and they began it in the same neighborhood Katerina stayed in 1882 and with her old friends. Without the unexpected pregnancy and the somewhat severe decision by her parents to send her far away for a while, she and Vaclav would have had a very different life and so would we.
- It appears that James followed Katerina to Chicago in 1883 to avoid the draft. It was in this period that Antonín transferred the farm to his sister, possibly on the presumption that his son would not be returning. While Vaclav did return to Bohemia, he did get a taste of Chicago. Perhaps the transfer of the farm to his sister and the memories of Chicago helped him to know that there were many different ways to earn a living and many different kinds of lives to live. Thus the threat of the draft appears to have had a considerable influence on Vaclav's destiny.
- The unexpected deaths of Anna Sokolik (nee Filipek) and Katerina Jana also lead to a chain reaction of events. Without their deaths, the Sokolik boys would not have come to Chicago and most likely never met their future spouses. After Katerina Janas death, it appears that Frank Jana put his youngest child in a convent and arranged for the Sokolik boys to be raised by his wife's brother in Chicago. It then appears he took the remainder of his family to Pueblo, thus opening up a new path for James and Katherine a few years down the road.
- The unexpected death of Mary Filipek in 1916, led to a request by Katherine Filipek to her cousin in Bohemia to see if her daughter Rose Skoblik would come to Chicago to help raise Mary Barrett. Because of the war, Rose was delayed until 1920. With time, Rose got to know John Filipek, Katherine's son and Rose's second cousin and they were married about 1925. Without Mary's unexpected death, Rose would not have come and the destiny of John's family would have been very different.
- The loss of Jim and Grace's home in Riverside in 1938 led to a series of events that changed many lives. Certainly it was traumatic for Jim and Grace and for Marge and Jeanne. However, in Jeanne's case it changed her entire life. Without the loss of the house, she never would have met Dorothy and Erma at Parker High School. The three were a clique in high school and later became lifelong friends. But more importantly Dorothy Koob who was dating Herb Jordan in the early 1940s, fixed Jeanne up with Herb's brother, Ed. As the story goes, Herb and Dorothy had it all figured out and Dorothy asked Jeanne and Herb asked Ed to come to an outing at Starved Rock State Park where a bunch of friends and cousins were going for the day. Dad drove his own car and brought cousins and friends and his guitar. Later that day Herb and Dorothy introduced them and the rest is history. And thus the loss of the Riverside home changed Jeanne and Ed's lives forever.
|