Johanna Kocijančić on her wedding day, October 6, 1901.
Never having a chance to meet my great grandmother wasn't necessary to surmise she was a very brave and gutsy woman. Just a little research regarding women who immigrated to the Minnesota Iron Range in the early 1900's reveals a difficult life which included long work days and substandard living conditions. For most, pre-immigration perception of the United States was much different than the reality. There were no streets paved with gold and in the Iron Range most were just red ore dust. In all likelihood, it was the promise of a husband that encouraged my great grandmother to board the SS Königin Luise in Bremen, Germany on April 14, 1901 with her cousin Franc Ščurek. Eventually her sisters, Ana and Franciska, would also immigrate, marry and raise families in Eveleth. Johanna's story can be seen on the Penne Family Page.
Franc Ščurek, who became Frank Stark in the United States, with Johanna's sister Ana Kocijančič Kerze.
Bob Dylan, legandary songwriter and singer, was born in Duluth, Minnesota and raised in Hibbing, the heart of the Iron Range. North Country Blues is a song he wrote about perils of the mining industry and there are plenty of versions of this on You Tube if you would like to listen. Bruce Springsteen also wrote a tribute to miners in his song Youngstown.
Youngstown,
From the Monongahela Valley
To the Mesabi Iron Range
To the coal mines of Appalachia
The story's always the same.