Vol. 4-Interview-Zosack

W. Brown interviewing Susan Zosak -18/12/72 Tape 3-1

WB Do you know what I wanted to ask you Susan? SZ What? WB First of all, how do you spell your name Zosak, right? SZ No Zoshak, when (Linea?) came from the old country they spelt it in Slovak Zosak and then when I got a job at the colliery they spelt it Zoshak so its good either way, in his miner's checks in his pay checks (in his pay checks it was Zoshak) they spelt Zosak and in school and when the girls went in training when they pronounced it they spelt it Zoshak. It's the same thing. WB How long have you lived in Eckley here? SZ Since 1913, the year I was married, I was married on the 13th of August, 1913. I was married in the morning. WB So you're originally from SZ Humboldt, it's 4 miles from Hazleton to Humboldt, we walked to Harleigh to shop but to church we always walked to Hazleton. WB When were you born Susie? SZ 1895 the first of December. WB You're 77 years old SZ I'm 76 I was born the first of December 1895 well I'll be 77 the second day of December. WB And you're Greek? SZ It's Greek Catholic, but I got to the Roman Catholic because the kids, Pop was a Roman Catholic and we drove we had a car and the kids were all baptised after that was the rule only unless the woman was cocky and smart that she seened that the kids would be baptised after her I wasn't boss and I wouldn't want it when they earned the bread and the kids were all baptised at St. Johns, one priest baptised 12 of our kids and the very first there was a priest Father (Bobyuh?)

W. Brown interviewing Susan Zosak -28/12/72 Tape 3-1

he baptised my eldest daughter and the other 12 Father Cronin baptised every one. WB You're Slavish, right? SZ Yes, Roman Catholic and Greek Catholic it's all the same, my mother could talk Greek, the Slavish would understand her because it wasn't a hard Greek like I'm sayin' my father and mother were both Greek Catholic and my mother could talk in Greek but you could understand her and then all the kids we just talked Slavish like when I got married my husband talked Slavish I could talk good Slavish, I can understand it I can even write a little bit in Slavish if you understand English you can learn Slavish, very easy WB What was that you said the witch was SZ Buyurka WB Is that a Slavish name how do you spell that? SZ Buyurka means one time they they say the lady take the milk and all that stuff you know WB What do you mean they take the milk? SZ Well say you have a cow and, witchcraft you know, around Lancaster they say, do you remember one time when some man killed a lady in Lancaster? WB Was she a Busurka SZ Well I don't know wether she was or not may he thought she was, I wouldn't say she was who am I to judge her WB But they would steal the milk from cows? SZ They would fix the cow that the cow wouldn't have no milk, you know what theye wasn't no busurka in Humboldt, but like I said, I think I tild you when we had Holy Supper, it wasn't Holy Supper it was Christmas Eve and we always had a feast, no meat, fish and labotkias we baked little breads we made a big roll, a big thing of bread and then you cut it and then you baked it WB And that was called labotkia SZ Yes and then you broke it up and put boiling water and honey and poppy seed. I didn't lke

W. Brown interviewing Susie Kosak -38/12/72 Tape 3-1

but all of our people liked it and some(?) of people made (?) like a piece of paper and (?) and milk break that up and put honey and poppy seed and water and have that but I didn't like, that but my mother made it anyway. WB Is this a traditional Slavish meal at Christmas time? SZ Yeh, and some people, we'd have bean soup we'd have mashed potatoes, sour kraut and dried mushroom soup we'd have, my mother would have, but my mother wouldn't use butter, I use butter to this minute I got it on my own but she would just brown the flour on the stove, just dry she didn't like oil, see I would just as soon have butter, but she didn't like oil and nobody else did everybody had to eat it how she liked, you know, and the mashed potatoes didn't get no milk in or butter they just got mashed and the sour kraut WB Now the way she did this was this traditional Slavish? SZ See you're supposed to fast, it's not that we didh't have butter we had homemade butter because we had cows but you weren't supposed to eat butter WB What was the name for this day was there a special name for this dinner? SZ I think it was the Vigil of Christmas see like our Lord was going to be born and then at 12 o'clock we'd have supper and then we'd burn a candle too like the Slavish would get a volotkie I think I have some here I don't know the Greek didn't have a volotkie the Slavish did but it was like a wafer like communion only it was big so then we'd put honey on that and you'd eat that first WB You'd eat that before the meal? What did that signify? SZ Well that was blessed. WB That was holy bread, how's come you ate it before the meal? SZ Well you couldn't very well eat it any other way, here the organist from the church brought - that I have some in wax paper somewhere WB Well then were there traditional foods that you ate at this meal SZ Oh no some people would boil prunes you were supposed to have 12 like 12 apostles like 12 different things I made "3 comers" do you know what "3 comers"is

W. Brown interviewing Susie Kosak -48/12/72 Tape 3-1

did you eat any of them, well I like them well for supper I didn't care for anything else but you're not supposed to them but when we had supper I always made them, I didn't care for anything else, we made pea soup, dried mushroom soup, mashed potatoes and saur kraut and labotkies our kids liked them even that guy that's a teacher he liked them, you put hot water, honey and poppy seed, you it was good if you liked it but I didn't like sweet stuff but I always made it because all of our liked it, and what was left over they liked it but I didn't like it but you could make these little breads they were all little round things like that but you know the last year the baker had them

WB Were they about and inch in diameter?

SZ Yeh, but you could make them smaller or bigger but they were baked with a crust all around

WB About how long were they, about a foot long

SZ Oh no, you got the bread and you stretched it and you cut it and put pieces all over like dots and then you broke them up and put boiling water, honey and poppy seed

WB Now so far you only told me 5 courses and you said there would be 12

SZ Oh my God, well kinds of fish they'd have , any kind and some people had fish and herring, Eva always had dried herring and soup, mashed potatoes, saur kraut, labotkies and if you wanted to make them we didn't always have 12 things

WB Did you get served one dish at a time or did you just fill your plate up

SZ Just put it on the table and help yourself but the first thing would be the labotkie, it's like communion wafers and you burned the candle and do you know what my poor old faher used to do, may his soul rest, he used to work in the mines and he washed like Richard Harris in a little wooden tub on the floor you had to kneel beecause you were just like they stuck you in tar so you'd wash and after you'd get washed we'd put the tub they didn't empty it . I son't lnow what but

W. Brown interviewing Susie Zosak -58/12/72 Tape 3-1

I know the tub would be left there all the time on the side by the wall and when you got done eating my father would sit on the tub and blow the candle and look where the smoke goes and say wherever the smoke goes that party was goin' to die, that's full of baloney

WB Now this was after the meal now and wherever the smoke went

SZ Well everybody didn't do that by my father would do

WB But what ever direction it would go

SZ But it never went any place but up, there was no body blowin' so where was it goin' to go

WB Now you always had a candle you always ate by candle light during that

SZ It was blessed candle we would by candle's on (Candlemaus?) Day in church

WB Candlemaus Day?

SZ Yeh, Candlemaus Day is the Blessed Mother's Day but they call it Candlemaus Day cause that's when they bless candles and you but them in churcch, you know, I have one up stairs, I have a decorated one, has all kinds of things on it

WB And you burned one candle at the table and you ate by that one candle

SZ Yes, but we had a lamp burnin' on the side too but they always burned the candle like the big shots do now, when you see them in the movies they always have candles, we're not the only ones that burn candles

WB This was the night of December 24?

SZ Christmas Eve, and you know my mother and father before he ate, I think I told you this, he would take a little bit of everything, and we always had a cow and he would take this in a little wash and put it in and give it to the cow sayin' was my father, may his soul rest, would say that somewhere some(body?) is the sister, in the old country the call him Gosda, the head of the family and when somebody was out there and they heard the cattle sayin' their master's havin' a good meal but he didn't give them any so I guess that's just sayin'