Synopsis
Unwilling to go to lay down his life for the Austro-Hungarian Empire which was in control of western Ukraine before WWI, Elias Chopek goes AWOL to America. His wife, Mary, afraid of immigrating to the void called America, stays behind with their half-year old daughter finally joining him a year later just before the war began. Their lives, rich with family and traditional culture, changed drastically. They had to cope with life in the slums surrounded by people from different countries, learning a baffling language and struggling to find jobs.
Just as they began to thrive, building a home in the suburbs, the Depression struck. Elias became a leader in the Ukrainian church community, and Mary the breadwinner with two nighttime jobs. Also examined are the contrasting struggles of their two daughters, one born in Ukraine, the other, fourteen years later, in Boston, Massachusetts.
Just as they began to thrive, building a home in the suburbs, the Depression struck. Elias became a leader in the Ukrainian church community, and Mary the breadwinner with two nighttime jobs. Also examined are the contrasting struggles of their two daughters, one born in Ukraine, the other, fourteen years later, in Boston, Massachusetts.