Old World Traditions - Handwork

Lace curtains hang in the window and house plants rest on a decorative runner. There is a hand-made doily on the back of Carl Gerhardt’s chair, while Louisa Gerhardt knits lacy pieces together to make something larger - a shawl? a throw?

Louisa and Carl Gerhardt enjoying an evening at home. 

Photo used with permission from Lauren Summers

 

Embroidered pillow case

Lace making, embroidery, tatting, knitting and quilting were comforting reminders of artistry of the old country. The traditions and stories were passed from mother to daughter. These crafts were also a way to embellish the utilitarian parts of their lives. Simple pillow covers, tablecloths, table runners, doilies, blankets and quilts were an outlet for personal expression. And there was the old world idea of making good use of one’s time - no idle hands in Globeville.

Anticipating Christmas

There was a time before door-buster sales, Black Friday, Gray Thursday, Christmas in July, 24-hour advertising, piped-in carols, gift catalogs and decorations that appear in the fall. Despite the lack of constant reminders, the days leading up to Christmas in Globeville (and in America before World War II) were filled with hope and anticipation.
For months, women would set aside a little in their food budget to afford the walnuts, honey, raisins, and poppyseed to make potica, kolache, kuchen, blini or the other ethnic treats that reminded immigrants of home. Obtaining oplatek, a wafer impressed with religious scenes and eaten before Wigilia, (the Christmas dinner) required a conversation with the pastor of St. Joseph's Polish Church or a request (well ahead of time) from a relative in Poland. Baking family favorites was a day-long event that involved helpful children and the telling of family stories in the process.
And there were choir practices, play rehearsals and special scripture readings during Advent.  Traditions from Eastern Europe, such as setting an extra table setting for an unexpected visitor or to remember someone who died, were preserved. Hymns, legends and symbols from the Old Country were maintained in church services and lodge events.
Children from large immigrant families didn't expect a lot of toys, and were likely to receive practical things like socks, sweaters, or shoes. Ed Wargin longed for a bike, but got a donkey because the animal could transport building supplies for Ed's father, and June Jackson remembers the delight of receiving the doll her older sister Helen had outgrown. Many old timers fondly recall the sack of hard candy distributed at church, probably donated by grocers Carl Gerhardt or John Yelenick. And a Christmas tree was a genuine treat, maybe purchased at Bomareto's, fresh, fragrant and decorated with strings of popcorn, lights, glass ornaments and tinsel.
Our current preparations for Christmas seem to involve the non-stop activities of shopping, wrapping, eating, attending multiple gatherings, texting and posting. Yet there are many of us who miss the richness and flavor of those earlier times.
Here's wishing you some memories of a simpler time as we await the birth of Jesus.

Potica or Povitica

Kolache

Oplatek

Blini

German-Russian Wedding

Although Globeville's German-Russian immigrants were incredibly poor, they knew how to have a good time. One of the most memorable of those good times would be a wedding. Sam Dreith remembers stories of his parent's celebration. "When my folks got married, the wedding lasted three days. The first day, when they got married, the band walked down the wooden sidewalks (Globeville still had wooden walks) and played in front of them on the way to the church. After the ceremony the couple went back to the house where they were going to live.
"The first day of the celebration was only for the family and real close relatives, who were supposed to cook the food. And the traditional dish was a noodle soup and a butter dumpling made out of butter, eggs and bread. The second day was for extended family, maybe 20 to 30 people, and the third day was for everybody, maybe 50 people. Small by today’s standards. And everybody was supposed to bring food."
There were many traditions for helping the young couple raise money for their life together. Any man who danced with the bride pinned money to her dress, or the bride's shoe would be stolen and have to be bought back (presumably, the shoe would reappear for the bride to continue dancing). A beautiful pillow made by the bride's godmother would be passed around and money pinned to it. Sometimes men would steal the bride and make the groom buy her back, (a custom adapted from the Slovenians).

By the 1900s, white gowns were the custom with white gloves that were a gift of the groom. The groom wore flowers in his lapel and a long sash or ribbon. If the bridal couple traveled to church by horse and wagon, the horses were also festooned with flowers and ribbons.
Sam continued, "Folks used to chivareebeat on drums and wash tubs the night of the honeymoon. The groom was supposed to come out and throw money so you’d go away and leave them alone.”

from a conversation at the home of Sam Dreith, August 5, 1995 with Sam, Mary Dreith Modic, and Linda Dreith Kornafel.

1912 Wedding photo from First German Congregational Church, used with written permission from Sarah Wolf

Left to right, Christine Schwartz, groom John Lehl, Hrch Kildau, bride Katherine Hilzer Lehl, 

minister Adam Traudt at right, man with hat is Henry Treber. 

For more stories and customs http://www.volgagermans.net/portland/wedding.html

or http://library.ndsu.edu/grhc/history_culture/custom_traditions/index.html

Pysanky

Because the Eastern Europeans and Russians who migrated to Globeville endured religious and cultural oppression in the "old country" they enjoyed continuing their cherished customs, such as ornately decorated Easter eggs. Called pysanky by Ukrainians, pisanki by the Polish and pisanica by Croatians, the blown eggs were decorated using a stylus to draw designs with melted beeswax. The patterns, symbols, and colors all varied by country and even by region, but many featured symbols of spring, Easter, faith, and the Resurrection. The winter months and six weeks of Lent provided ample time to decorate the eggs.
The process involved heating beeswax in a small bowl on a stove and scooping up the wax in the stylus as needed. The hot wax was applied to a clean surface of the egg, rotating the egg while drawing. The egg was then immersed in the first color. More designs were drawn in wax and the egg was dipped in another color. The process continued with added designs, always going from light to dark colors. After the last color was applied, the wax was removed by gently heating the egg and rubbing off the wax with a soft cloth.
These eggs were given to friends and relatives as a symbolic wish for a good life, and could be displayed all year, since they were hollow. Many of these eggs would appear in the baskets that were blessed on Holy Saturday. What remains is a rich tradition of making art from the simple egg and beeswax.