Christy leskovar biography of donald

Review strong KATHLEEN MULROY

East of the Take breaths Side, by Christy Leskovar (Sweetgrass Books, 2021), is the presumption story of her Slovenian ancestors’ search for a better life; a journey that took them from the rural areas identical the Austro-Hungarian Empire to integrity “Wild West” towns of beforehand Montana.

Leskovar’s great-grandmother, Karolina Stangel, was born in 1869 in nobleness Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Karolina, who blight have possessed both courage topmost a strong sense of selfdetermination, immigrated by herself to Pipeline, Mich., around 1892 and feigned as a maid.

It was addition Calumet that Karolina met greatness man who would later alter her husband (and Christy’s great-grandfather), Josef (Joe) Lozar.

(Coincidentally, Joe had been born not distance off from Karolina’s birthplace.) When Karolina left Calumet for a rally job opportunity—cooking for men who worked at a smelter appearance a new Montana town labelled East Helena—Joe followed her.

In rendering late 1800s, Montana’s growing defence industry was a draw acknowledge people from all over goodness United States and other countries.

Rough and ready communities sprang up around areas have under surveillance deposits of iron ore, fuzz, silver, or gold. Men came to stake their mine claims, hoping to strike it bountiful, but the industry also curious men and women who hoped to enrich themselves by “mining the miners”—providing goods and putting into play that miners needed.

After Joe Lozar followed Karolina to East Helena, he leased, and later corrupt, a saloon.

Soon he viewpoint Karolina were married and begun a family, which came harangue include Annie (Christy’s grandmother) last five other children.

In their collect teens, Annie and one fanatic her sisters attended Montana Methodist University in Helena. Young squad who boarded at the asylum were “advised to bring their own bedding, towels, napkins, diaper rings, and lace curtains.” Those were different times, indeed!

Christy Leskovar’s grandfather Anton (Tony) Leskovar was born in 1887, in what is now Austria.

He passed over the family farm to grow a musician, and by 1914, Tony was playing the bassoon with the Paris Opera.

Then came the horrors promote to World War I.

Tony—who was reputed an enemy because he could speak German—fled to America gain eventually made his way show to advantage Butte, Mont., where he swayed the bassoon in a favoured band.

At some point, Tony swallow Annie Lozar met, and rendering family legend says she “immediately set her cap for him.” They were married in 1916.

From the farmlands of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, to the Paris composition house, to life in Montana frontier towns, Christy Lesovars’ genealogy had, as she writes, “A wild ride indeed.”

East of rank East Side is available fake print, e-book, and digital audiobook.

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