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A. Varesano interviewing Helen Fedorsha -5- 6/15/72 Tape 14-2

had an aunt, but her parents had died when she was small. She didn't remeber either one
of her parents. She was raised by her aunt. So then, she had enough money to get a passport
and come to America. She came here to her sister. And then, she met my dad, I don't know how long
she was here in America. And they got married. they were married in Hazleton because there
wasn't any Roman Catholic church in Freeland. there was St. Mary's, but at that time the church
ruling is, if a Byzantine/rite is marrying a Latin rite, they have to be married in the fellow's rite.
If he is Roman Catholic, then they still have to marry in the Roman Catholic rite. If the two of them
are Roman Catholic, then they can marry in either one of the churches, his church or her church, if
they belong to churches in different towns. then they can marry in either one. But with the Byzantine,
rite, you have to follow the man. At the one time, you followed the girl. So they had to go to Hazleton.
And as I said, I used to hear them talking. They had to walk, they and two witnesses, I don't know who
their witnesses were - it may be on their marriage certificate, for all I know - they walked to Foundryville,
they got the train at Foundryville, they went to Hazleton, they went to St Joseph's Church in Hazleton,
they were married there, and after they were married, they walked down to the train again, got the train
and rode to Foundryville, and walked from Foundryville home! And they didn't go on a honeymoon!

AV I guess it wasn't the custom at the time to go on a honeymoon.

HF No, naturally it wasn't. Oh, it wasn't the custom for ages. Well, when Anna was married it still wasn't the
custom to go on honeymoons Now, even though you have to loan them money, they go on honeymoons.
Even tho they don't have their own money, they'll loan money from the bank and go on a honeymoon.

AV So at that time they used to get married and set up their house right away?

HF Yes. Sometimes they'd have to board wherever they were until they got themselves all set up. But
there were a lot of homes here, and they could get a home easily because naturally they kept it for their
workers. The company had the homes, because the town was big here, and there was what they called
Number Four, but I don't remember the homes that were down there. Although I did her my mother
talk about them.

AV What was Number Four?

HF That was down back of the church. There was part of the town down there. See, they used to build their
homes where there were workings. And there was a slope down there, and there was a breaker down
there. And they tried to build the homes, that the men would be close to the working. that's how they used
to build their homes. And then down at Number Seven, there were workings down there, there was a boiler
house down there, there wer homes down there.

AV How may homes at these places?

HF I don't know how many were in Number Four, and I don't know how many were in Number Seven, because
in Number Seven all I saw was the foundations. We used to take a walk out when I was just a kid, with my
mother and dad on a Sunday afternoon. We used to take a walk out and we used to go down through the
woods and we'd pick teaberries, and then in the fall of the year we used to go for chestnuts. And we went
down through Number Seven there, and I was these foundations and I asked about them. And my dad
and mother said, well, she said, these were homes. People used to live here. And I said, in the woods
like this? And my dad said, that wasn't all woods when peope lived here. And he showed me the home
where the Maloney family lived, that was Margaret Maloney's grandparents. Margaret lives down near
Mary Zurko now. that was her grandparents. They lived in that home, and there were a number

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